philosophy reading question

D :

T H E U P A N I S H A D S

:D

You are what your deep, driving desire is.

As your desire is, so is your will.

As your will is, so is your deed.

As your deed is, so is your destiny.

[ B R I H A D A R A N Y A K A I V .4 .5 ]

D !

Also in This Series

D! T H E B H A G A V A D G I T A

T H E D H A M M A P A D A

The Upanishads D!

Introduced &

Translated by

E K N A T H

E A S W A R A N

Afterword by

Michael N. Nagler

© 1987, 2007 by The Blue Mountain Center o f Meditation

All rights reserved. Printed in Canada

Second edition. Second printing February 2008

i S B N - 1 3 : 9 78 -1-58638-021-2

I S B N - 1 0 : 1-58638-021-4

Library o f Congress Control Number: 2007927661

Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper

Eknath Easwaran founded the Blue Mountain Center of

Meditation in Berkeley, California, in 1961. The Center

is a nonprofit organization chartered with carrying on

Easwaran’s legacy and work. Nilgiri Press, a department

o f the Center, publishes books on how to lead a spiritual

life in the home and community. The Center also teaches

Easwaran’s program o f Passage Meditation at retreats

worldwide.

For information please visit www.easwaran.org,

call us at 800 475 2369 (US) or 707 878 2369

(international and local), or write to us at

The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation,

Box 256, Tomales, CA 94971-0256, USA.

m Table of Contents

Foreword 7

Introduction 13

i s h a 51

The Inner Ruler

k a t h a 6 1

Death as Teacher

B R I H A D A R A N Y A K A 93

The Forest o f Wisdom

C H A N D O G Y A 119

Sacred Song

S H V E T A S H V A T A R A 1 5 3

The Faces o f God

M U N D A K A 1 7 9

Modes o f Knowing

M A N D U K Y A 1 9 7

Consciousness & Its Phases

K E N A 207

Who Moves the World?

P R A S H N A 2 1 9

The Breath o f Life

T A I T T I R I Y A 2 3 9

Ascent to Joy

A I T A R E Y A 2 6 3

The Unity o f Life

m i n o r u p a n i s h a d s Beads of Wisdom

T E J O B I N D U 2 8 3

A T M A 286

A M R I T A B I N D U 2 8 8

p a r a m a h a m s a 2 9 1

Afterword 295

A R E L I G I O N FOR MOD E R N TI ME S

by Michael N. Nagler

Glossary 337

Notes 345

Index 377

F O R E W O R D

D! The Classics of Indian Spirituality

I m a g i n e a v a s t h a l l i n a n g l o -

Saxon England, not long after the passing of King Arthur. It is

the dead of winter and a fierce snowstorm rages outside, but a

great fire fills the space within the hall with warmth and light.

Now and then, a sparrow darts in for refuge from the weather.

It appears as if from nowhere, flits about joyfully in the light,

and then disappears again, and where it comes from and

where it goes next in that stormy darkness, we do not know.

Our lives are like that, suggests an old story in Bede’s medi­

eval history of England. We spend our days in the familiar

world of our five senses, but what lies beyond that, if anything,

we have no idea. Those sparrows are hints of something more

outside - a vast world, perhaps, waiting to be explored. But

most of us are happy to stay where we are. We may even be

a bit afraid to venture into the unknown. What would be the

point, we wonder. Why should we leave the world we know?

Yet there are always a few who are not content to spend

their lives indoors. Simply knowing there is something un­

known beyond their reach makes them acutely restless. They

have to see what lies outside - if only, as Mallory said of

Everest, “because it’s there.”

This is true of adventurers of every kind, but especially of

those who seek to explore not mountains or jungles but con­

sciousness itself: whose real drive, we might say, is not so

much to know the unknown as to know the knower. Such

men and women can be found in every age and every culture.

While the rest of us stay put, they quietly slip out to see what

lies beyond.

Then, so far as we can tell, they disappear. We have no idea

where they have gone; we can’t even imagine. But every now

and then, like friends who have run off to some exotic land,

they send back reports: breathless messages describing fan­

tastic adventures, rambling letters about a world beyond ordi­

nary experience, urgent telegrams begging us to come and

see. “Look at this view! Isn’t it breathtaking? Wish you could

see this. Wish you were here.”

The works in this set of translations - the Upanishads, the

Bhagavad Gita, and the Dhammapada - are among the earli­

est and most universal of messages like these, sent to inform

us that there is more to life than the everyday experience of

our senses. The Upanishads are the oldest, so varied that we

feel some unknown collectors must have tossed into a jumble

all the photos, postcards, and letters from this world that they

could find, without any regard for source or circumstance.

D! 8

Thrown together like this, they form a kind of ecstatic slide

show - snapshots of towering peaks of consciousness taken at

various times by different observers and dispatched with just

the barest kind of explanation. But those who have traveled

those heights will recognize the views: “Oh, yes, that’s Ever­

est from the northwest - must be late spring. And here we’re

south, in the full snows of winter.”

The Dhammapada, too, is a collection - traditionally, say­

ings of the Buddha, one of the very greatest of these explorers

of consciousness. In this case the messages have been sorted,

but not by a scheme that makes sense to us today. Instead of

being grouped by theme or topic, they are gathered according

to some dominant characteristic like a symbol or metaphor -

flowers, birds, a river, the sky - that makes them easy to com­

mit to memory. If the Upanishads are like slides, the Dham­

mapada seems more like a field guide. This is lore picked up

by someone who knows every step of the way through these

strange lands. He can’t take us there, he explains, but he can

show us the way: tell us what to look for, warn about missteps,

advise us about detours, tell us what to avoid. Most important,

he urges us that it is our destiny as human beings to make this

journey ourselves. Everything else is secondary.

And the third of these classics, the Bhagavad Gita, gives us

a map and guidebook. It gives a systematic overview of the

territory, shows various approaches to the summit with their

benefits and pitfalls, offers recommendations, tells us what to

pack and what to leave behind. More than either of the oth­

ers, it gives the sense of a personal guide. It asks and answers

the questions that you or I might ask - questions not about

philosophy or mysticism, but about how to live effectively

in a world o f challenge and change. O f these three, it is the

Gita that has been my own personal guidebook, just as it was

Mahatma Gandhis.

These three texts are very personal records of a land­

scape that is both real and universal. Their voices, passion­

ately human, speak directly to you and,me. They describe the

topography of consciousness itself, which belongs as much

to us today as to these largely anonymous seers thousands of

years ago. If the landscape seems dark in the light of sense

perception, they tell us, it has an illumination of its own, and

once our eyes adjust we can see in what Western mystics call

this “divine dark” and verify their descriptions for ourselves.

And this world, they insist, is where we belong. This wider

field of consciousness is our native land. We are not cabin-

dwellers, born to a life cramped and confined; we are meant to

explore, to seek, to push the limits of our potential as human

beings. The world o f the senses is just a base camp: we are

meant to be as much at home in consciousness as in the world

o f physical reality.

This is a message that thrills men and women in every age

and culture. It is for such kindred spirits that these texts were

originally composed, and it is for them in our own time that

D! 10

I undertook these translations, in the conviction that they

deserve an audience today as much as ever. If these books

speak to even a handful of such readers, they will have served

their purpose.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Di The Upanishads

“ t o w a r d t h e m i d p o i n t o f l i f e ’ s

way,” as Dante says, I reached what proved a crisis. Everything

I had lived for - literature, music, writing, good friends, the

joys of teaching - had ceased to satisfy. Not that my enjoy­

ment of these things was less; in fact, I had every innocent

source of joy the world offered. But I found myself thirsting

for something more, much more, without knowing what or

why.

I was on a college campus at that time, well trained in the

world of books. When I wanted to know what human beings

had learned about life and death, I naturally went to the

library. There I found myself systematically mining the stacks

in areas I had never been interested in before: philosophy,

psychology, religion, even the sciences. India was still Brit­

ish in those days, and the books available confirmed what my

education had taken for granted: anything worth pursuing

was best represented in the records of Western civilization.

A colleague in the psychology department found my name

13 ID

on the checkout card of a volume by William James and

grew suspicious. Everyone likes a chance to play Sherlock

Holmes; he did some sleuthing and confronted me. “See

here,” he said, “you’re in English literature, but I find you’ve

been taking home every significant contribution to my field.

Just what are you up to?”

How could I tell a distinguished professor that I was search­

ing for meaning in life? I gave him a conspiratorial wink

and replied simply, “Something big!” But nothing I found

appeased the hunger in my heart.

About this time - I no longer remember how - I came

across a copy of the Upanishads. I had known they existed,

of course, but it had never even occurred to me to look into

them. My field was Victorian literature; I expected no more

relevance from four-thousand-year-old texts than from Alice

in Wonderland.

“Take the example of a man who has everything,” I read

with a start o f recognition: “young, healthy, strong, good, and

cultured, with all the wealth that earth can offer; let us take

this as one measure of joy.” The comparison was right from

my life. “One hundred times that j oy is the j oy of the gandhar-

vas; but no less joy have those who are illumined.”

Gandharvas were pure mythology to me, and what illumi­

nation meant I had no idea. But the sublime confidence of

this voice, the certitude of something vastly greater than the

world offers, poured like sunlight into a long-dark room:

Hear, O children of immortal bliss!

You are born to be united with the Lord.

Follow the path of the illumined ones,

And be united with the Lord of Life.

I read on. Image after image arrested me: awe-inspiring

images, scarcely understood but pregnant with promised

meaning, which caught at my heart as a familiar voice tugs at

the edge of awareness when you are struggling to wake up:

As a great fish swims between the banks of a river as it

likes, so does the shining Self move between the states of

dreaming and waking.

As an eagle, weary after soaring in the sky, folds its wings

and flies down to rest in its nest, so does the shining Self

enter the state of dreamless sleep, where one is free from

all desires. The Self is free from desire, free from evil, free

from fear. . .

Like strangers in an unfamiliar country walking every day

over a buried treasure, day by day we enter that Self while

in deep sleep but never know it, carried away by what is

false.

Day and night cannot cross that bridge, nor old age, nor

death, nor grief, nor evil or good deeds. All evils turn back

there, unable to cross; evil comes not into this world of

Brahman. One who crosses by this bridge, if blind, is blind

no more; if hurt, ceases to be hurt; if in sorrow, ceases sor­

rowing. At this boundary night itself becomes day: night

comes not into the world of Reality.. . .

And, finally, simple words that exploded in my conscious­

ness, throwing light around them like a flare: “There is no joy

in the finite; there is joy only in the Infinite.”

I too had been walking every day over buried treasure and

never guessed. Like the man in the Hasidic fable, I had been

seeking everywhere what lay in my own home.

In this way I discovered the Upanishads, and quickly found

myself committed to the practice of meditation.

Today, after more than forty years of study, these texts are

written on my heart; I am familiar with every word. Yet they

never fail to surprise me. With each reading I feel I am setting

out on a sea so deep and vast that one can never reach its end.

In the years since then I have read widely in world mysticism,

and often found the ideas of the Upanishads repeated in the idi­

oms of other religions. I found, too, more practical guides; my

own, following the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi, became

the Bhagavad Gita. But nowhere else have I seen such a pure,

lofty, heady distillation of spiritual wisdom as in the Upani­

shads, which seem to come to us from the very dawn of time.

T H E V E D A S A N D T H E U P A N I S H A D S

Around 2 0 0 0 B .C ., scholars believe, groups of

Indo-European-speaking peoples calling themselves arya,

or noble, began to enter the Indian subcontinent through

the Hindu Kush. There, in the Indus river valley, they found

a civilization already a thousand years old, thriving and

advanced in technology and trade. From the fusion of these

two cultures, the Aryan and the Indus Valley, Indian civiliza­

tion was born.

The Aryans brought their gods and a religion based on

ritual sacrifice, with lyrical, life-affirming hymns meant for

incantation in an ancient form of Sanskrit. These hymns, dat­

ing from perhaps 1500 B.C., reveal an intimate, almost mys­

tical bond between worshipper and environment, a simulta­

neous sense of awe and kinship with the spirit that dwells in

all things. Even in translation they have a compelling beauty.

They worship natural forces and the elemental powers of life:

sun and wind, storm and rain, dawn and night, earth and

heaven, fire and offering.

These powers are the devas, gods and goddesses sometimes

recognizable in other religions of Aryan origin. In the hymns

they seem very near, present before us in the forms and forces

of the natural world. Fire is Agni, worshipped as the actual

fire on the hearth or altar and as the divine priest who carries

offerings to the gods. The storm is Indra, leader o f the gods

and lord of war and thunder, who rides into battle on his swift

chariot to fight the dragon-demon of the sky or the enemies

of the Aryan hosts. The wind is Vayu. Night is Ratri and the

dawn is Usha, loveliest and most luminous of the goddesses.

The sun is Surya, who rides his chariot across the sky, or Sav-

itri, the giver o f life. And death is Yama, the first being to die

and thereby first in the underworld.

Throughout the hymns of this early age there is little or

no trace of fear. The forces of life are approached with lov­

ing reverence and awe, as allies of humanity in a world that

is essentially friendly so long as its secrets are understood.

And although the devas must once have been a pantheon of

separate deities, it seems clear even in the earliest hymns that

one Supreme Being is being worshipped in different aspects.

“Truth is one,” one hymn proclaims, “though the wise call it

by many names.”

These poetic outpourings of worship served as liturgy in

a complicated ritual religion centering around symbolic sac­

rifice: the holy words of the hymns were chanted as offerings

were poured into the fire. Such ceremonies were performed

for the kshatriyas, the warriors and rulers of the clans, by

priests called brahmins, whose function in society was to pre­

serve rites already too ancient to be understood.

As time passed, brahmins produced commentaries to

explain the meaning o f these ancient rites. Hymns and com­

mentaries together became a sacred heritage passed from

generation to generation. These are the Vedas, India’s scrip­

tures. Veda comes from the root vid, “to know” : the Vedas

are revealed knowledge, given to humanity, according to the

orthodox view, at the very dawn of time. They exist in four

collections, each associated with its own family tradition: Rig,

Sama, Yajur, and Atharva, with the Rig Veda easily the old­

est. The first and largest part o f each collection, called karma

kanda, preserves the hymns and philosophical interpreta­

tions of rituals used in Hindu worship to this day.

Yet this is only a part o f Hinduism, and the least univer­

sal. The second part of each Veda, called jnana kanda, con­

cerns not ritual but wisdom: what life is about; what death

means; what the human being is, and the nature of the God­

head that sustains us; in a word, the burning questions that

men and women have asked in every age. The ritual sections

of the Vedas define the religion of a particular culture; but the

second part, the Upanishads, is universal, as relevant to the

world today as it was to India five thousand years ago.

What is an Upanishad? Etymologically the word suggests

“sitting down near” : that is, at the feet of an illumined teacher

in an intimate session of spiritual instruction, as aspirants still

do in India today. Often the teacher is one who has retired

from worldly life to an ashram or “forest academy” along the

banks of the upper Ganges, to live with students as a family,

teaching in question-and-answer sessions and by example in

daily living. Other settings are explicitly dramatic: a wife asks

her husband about immortality, a king seeks instruction from

an illumined sage; one teenage boy is taught by Death himself,

another by fire, beasts, and birds. Sometimes these sages are

women, and some of the men who come for spiritual instruc­

tion are kings.

The Upanishads record such sessions, but they have lit­

tle in common with philosophical dialogue like Plato’s. They

record the inspired teachings of men and women for whom

the transcendent Reality called God was more real than the

world reported to them by their senses. Their purpose is

not so much instruction as inspiration: they are meant to be

expounded by an illumined teacher from the basis of per­

sonal experience. And although we speak of them together as

a body, the Upanishads are not parts of a whole like chapters

in a book. Each is complete in itself, an ecstatic snapshot of

transcendent Reality.

When these texts were composed, or who composed

them, no one knows. The sages who gave them to us did not

care to leave their names: the truths they set down were eter­

nal, and the identity of those who arranged the words irrel­

evant. We do not even know how many once existed. For

the last thousand years, however, ten have been considered

the “principal Upanishads” on the authority of Shankara,

a towering eighth-century mystic who reawakened India

to its spiritual heritage. These ten Upanishads are offered

in this book, along with one other of equal importance and

great beauty, the Shvetashvatara. Four of the so-called Yoga

Upanishads have been added to represent later traditions.

Fascinatingly, although the Upanishads are attached to the

Vedas, they seem to come from an altogether different world.

Though harmonious enough in their Vedic setting, they have

no need of it and make surprisingly little reference to it; they

stand on their own authority. Rituals, the basis of Vedic reli­

gion, are all but ignored. And although the Vedic gods appear

throughout, they are not so much numinous beings as aspects

of a single underlying power called Brahman, which pervades

creation yet transcends it completely. This idea of a supreme

Godhead is the very essence of the Upanishads; yet, remark­

ably, the word brahman in this sense does not appear in the

hymn portion of the Rig Veda at all.

These are signs of a crucial difference in perspective. The

rest of the Vedas, like other great scriptures, look outward in

reverence and awe of the phenomenal world. The Upanishads

look inward, finding the powers of nature only an expression

of the more awe-inspiring powers of human consciousness.

If mysticism can arise in any age, there is no reason to

suppose that the Upanishads are a late flowering of Vedic

thought. They may represent an independent tributary into

the broad river of the Vedas. Some age-old elements of Hindu

faith can be traced more easily to the pre-Aryan Indus Val­

ley civilization than to Vedic ritual, and archaeologists have

uncovered there a striking stone image which a Hindu vil­

lager today would identify without hesitation as Shiva, Lord

of Yoga, seated in meditation, suggesting that the disciplines

of mysticism might have been practiced in India before the

Aryans arrived.

All this is speculation, of course. But the fact remains that

the Upanishads, while fully at home in the Vedas, offer a very

different vision of what religion means. They tell us that there

is a Reality underlying life which rituals cannot reach, next to

which the things we see and touch in everyday life are shad­

ows. They teach that this Reality is the essence of every cre­

ated thing, and the same Reality is our real Self, so that each

of us is one with the power that created and sustains the uni­

verse. And, finally, they testify that this oneness can be real­

ized directly, without the mediation of priests or rituals or any

of the structures of organized religion, not after death but in

this life, and that this is the purpose for which each of us has

been born and the goal toward which evolution moves. They

teach, in sum, the basic principles of what Aldous Huxley has

called the Perennial Philosophy, which is the wellspring of all

religious faith.

T H E S U P R E M E S C I E N C E

Yet the Upanishads are not philosophy. They do

not explain or develop a line of argument. They are darshana,

“something seen,” and the student to whom they were taught

was expected not only to listen to the words but to realize

them: that is, to make their truths an integral part of charac­

ter, conduct, and consciousness.

Despite their idyllic setting, then, these intimate sessions

were not casual Ivy League seminars on the commons green.

Students were there because they were prepared to devote a

good measure of their lives - the traditional period was twelve

years - to this unique kind of higher education, where study

meant not reading books but a complete, strenuous reorder­

ing of one’s life, training the mind and senses with the dedica­

tion required of an Olympic athlete.

In this context, it is clear that the questions the Upanishads

record - “What happens at death? What makes my hand

move, my eyes see, my mind think? Does life have a purpose,

or is it governed by chance?” - were not asked out of mere

curiosity. They show a burning desire to know, to find central

principles which make sense of the world we live in. The stu­

dents gathered in these forest academies were engaged in a

colossal gamble: that they could learn to apprehend directly

a Reality beyond ordinary knowing, of whose very existence

they had no assurance except the example o f their teacher and

the promise of the scriptures. It is no wonder that such stu­

dents were rigorously tested before being accepted - tested

not merely for intelligence but for singleness of purpose and

strength o f will. What is remarkable is that candidates were

found at all. As the Katha Upanishad says, only a few even

hear these truths; of those who hear, only a few understand,

and of those only a handful attain the goal.

This fervent desire to know is the motivation behind all sci­

ence, so we should not be surprised to find in Vedic India the

beginnings of a potent scientific tradition. By the Christian

era it would be in full flower: Indian mathematicians would

have developed modern numerals, the decimal place system,

zero, and basic algebra and trigonometry; surgeons would be

performing operations as sophisticated as cataract surgery

and caesarian section. But the roots of this scientific spirit are

in the Vedas. “All science,” Aldous Huxley wrote, “. . . is the

reduction of multiplicities to unities.” Nothing is more char­

acteristic of Indian thought. The Vedic hymns are steeped in

the conviction of rita, an order that pervades creation and is

reflected in each part - a oneness to which all diversity can be

referred.

From this conviction follows a highly sophisticated notion:

a law of nature must apply uniformly and universally. In renais­

sance Europe, this realization led to the birth of classical phys­

ics. In ancient India it had equally profound consequences.

While the rest of Vedic India was studying the natural world,

more or less in line with other scientifically precocious civili­

zations such as Greece and China, the forest civilization of the

Upanishads took a turn unparalleled in the history of science.

It focused on the medium of knowing: the mind.

The sages of the Upanishads show a unique preoccupation

with states of consciousness. They observed dreams and the

state of dreamless sleep and asked what is “known” in each,

and what faculty could be said to be the knower. What exactly

is the difference between a dream and waking experience?

What happens to the sense of “I” in dreamless sleep? And they

sought invariants: in the constantly changing flow of human

experience, is there anything that remains the same? In the

constantly changing flow of thought, is there an observer who

remains the same? Is there any thread of continuity, some

level of reality higher than waking, in which these states of

mind cohere?

These are the kinds of questions the sages asked, but for

some reason they did not stop with debating them. They

became absorbed in the discovery that as concentration deep­

ens, the mind actually passes through the states of conscious­

ness being inquired about. And in concentrating on con­

sciousness itself - “Who is the knower?” - they found they

could separate strata of the mind and observe its workings as

objectively as a botanist observes a flower.

The significance of this discovery cannot be exaggerated.

Since consciousness is the field of all human activity, outward

as well as inner - experience, action, imagination, knowledge,

love - a science of consciousness holds out the promise of cen­

tral principles that unify all of life. “By knowing one piece of

gold,” the Upanishads observed, “all things made out of gold

are known: they differ only in name and form, while the stuff

of which all are made is gold.” And they asked, “What is that

one by knowing which we can know the nature of everything

else?” They found the answer in consciousness. Its study was

called brahmavidya, which means both “the supreme science”

and “the science of the Supreme.”

It is important to understand that brahmavidya is not intel­

lectual study. The intellect was given full training in these for­

est academies, but brahmavidya is not psychology or philoso­

phy. It is, in a sense, a lab science: the mind is both object and

laboratory. Attention is trained inward, on itself, through a

discipline the Upanishads call nididhyasana: meditation.

The word meditation is used in so many different ways that

I want to be clear before going further. Meditation here is not

reflection or any other kind of discursive thinking. It is pure

concentration: training the mind to dwell on an interior focus

without wandering, until it becomes absorbed in the object

of its contemplation. But absorption does not mean uncon­

sciousness. The outside world may be forgotten, but medita­

tion is a state of intense inner wakefulness.

This is not an exotic experience. Even at the university I had

students whose concentration was so good that when they

were studying, they would be oblivious to what was going on

around them. If I called them by name, they might not even

hear. Meditation is closely related to this kind of absorption,

but the focus is not something external that one looks at or lis­

tens to, such as a microscope slide or lecture. It is conscious­

ness itself, which means that all the senses close down.

Similarly, although meditation is not discursive think­

ing, it is not the same as intuition or imagination. We read

about the concentration of great artists, writers, and poets

who, by focusing on the impressions the world presents, or

on a block of formless stone, seize what fits a unifying vision

in their mind and fashion some way to share it. Brahmavidya

has affinities with this way o f knowing also, which is not so

different from the intuition o f a great scientist. But brahma­

vidya is not concerned with the insights that come from con­

centrating on a particular part of life; it is concerned with how

concentration yields insight at all. Observing what happens as

concentration deepens, the sages of the Upanishads learned

to make a science and art and craft of insight - something that

could be mastered and then taught to others, as a painting

master in the Renaissance might take a gifted student to live as

part of his family and absorb his art.

Recently I read a penetrating remark by William James, the

great American psychologist, which spells out the significance

of this skill: “The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wan­

dering attention over and over again is the very root of judg­

ment, character and will. An education which should include

this faculty would be the education par excellence” James was

not guessing. He tried to teach himself this skill, at least as it

applies to everyday affairs, and he succeeded well enough to

lift himself out of a life-threatening depression. In this pivotal

achievement he grasped the connection between training the

mind and mastering life. He would have acclaimed the forest

universities of the Upanishads, which built their curricula on

this connection: “education par excellence” is almost a literal

translation of brahmavidya.

Brahmavidya and conventional science both begin when a

person finds that the world of sense impressions, so transient

and superficial, is not enough in itself to satisfy the desire for

meaning. Then one begins to stand back a little from the senses

and look below the surface show of life in search of underlying

connections. But the sages of the Upanishads wanted more

than explanations of the outside world. They sought princi­

ples that would unify and explain the whole of human experi­

ence: including, at the same time, the world within the mind.

If the observer observes through the medium of conscious­

ness, and the world too is observed in consciousness, should

not the same laws apply to both?

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad there is a long, haunt­

ing exposition of the states of mind the sages explored. They

called them waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep, but

somehow they had made the brilliant observation that these

are not merely alternate states which a person slips in and out

of every day. They also represent layers o f awareness, con­

current strata lying at different depths in the conscious and

unconscious mind.

In dreaming, the Upanishad observes, we leave one world

and enter another. “In that dream world there are no chariots,

no animals to draw them, no roads to ride on, but one makes

chariots and animals and roads oneself from the impressions

of past experience.” And then the leap of insight: “Everyone

experiences this, but no one knows the experiencer.” What is

the same in both worlds, the observer both of waking expe­

rience and of dreams? It cannot be the body, for in dreams it

detaches itself from the body and senses and creates its own

experiences - experiences which can be as real, in terms of

physiological reactions, as those of waking life. “When a man

dreams that he is being killed or chased by an elephant, or that

he is falling into a well, he experiences the same fear that he

would in the waking state”: his heart races, blood pressure

rises, stress hormones pour into the body, just as if the event

were real. Dream and waking are made of the same stuff, and

as far as the nervous system is concerned, both kinds of expe­

rience are real.

When we wake up from a dream, then, we do not pass from

unreality to reality; we pass from a lower level of reality to a

higher one. Havelock Ellis, the psychologist who devoted his

life to the study of sex, observed, “Dreams are real as long as

they last. Can we say more of life?”

If waking experience is impermanent, should there not be

something abiding, something real, to support it? Might it

not be possible to wake up into a higher state, a level of real­

ity above this world of constantly changing sensory impres­

sions? The sages found a clue: in dreamless sleep, the observ­

ing self detaches itself not only from the body but from the

mind. “As a tethered bird grows tired of flying about in vain

to find a place of rest and settles down at last on its own perch,

so the mind,” like the body, “settles down to rest” in dream­

less sleep - an observation in harmony with current research,

which suggests that in this state the autonomic nervous sys­

tem is repaired.

This still world is always present in the depths of the mind.

It is the deepest, most universal layer of the unconscious.

Wake up in this state, the Upanishads say, and you will be who

you truly are, free from the conditioning of body and mind in

a world unbounded by the limitations of time, space, and cau­

sality.

Wake up in the very depths of the unconscious, when

thought itself has ceased? The language makes no more sense

than a map of some other dimension. Here the Upanishads

are like pages from ancient logbooks, recording journeys of

exploration into the uncharted waters of the world within.

If Freud’s limited glimpses of the unconscious can have had

such an impact on civilization, the sages who mapped the

mind three thousand years earlier must rank with the greatest

explorers in history.

Yet this is dangerous territory. We know what forces can

buffet us in the dream world, and that is only the foothills of

the dark ranges of the mind, where fear, passion, egotism, and

desire so easily sweep aside the will. One o f Hopkins’ “dark

sonnets” hints at the dangers of these realms:

O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall

Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap

May, who never hung there . . .

The Katha Upanishad would agree. In famous words it

warns that the ascent to the summit of consciousness is not

for the timid: “Sharp like a razor’s edge, the sages say, is the

path to Reality, difficult to traverse.” Nothing in the Upani­

shads is more vital than the relationship between student and

guide. The spiritual teacher must know every inch of the way,

every danger and pitfall, and not from books or maps or hear­

say. He must have traveled it himself, from the foothills to the

highest peaks. And he must have managed to get back down

again, to be able to relate to students with humanity and com­

passion. Not everyone who attains Self-realization can make a

reliable guide. I have been saying “he,” but this is not a role for

men alone. My own teacher is my mother’s mother.

This spiritual ascent is so fraught with challenge that we

can see why the sages took their students young. Exploring

the unconscious requires the daring of the years between

twelve and twenty, when if someone says “Don’t try to climb

that peak, you’ll get hurt,” you immediately go and start climb­

ing. As we grow older, something changes; we start listening

to those cautionary voices and say we are learning prudence.

So it is no accident that the hero of the Katha Upanishad is a

teenager. The message of the Katha, which echoes through­

out the Upanishads, is to dare like a teenager: to reach for the

highest you can conceive with everything you have, and never

count the cost.

What makes a human being dare the impossible? What

fires the will when we glimpse something never done before

and a wild urge surges up to cry, “Then let’s do it” ? Here in

San Francisco a young woman blind from birth decides to sail

alone across the Pacific and succeeds; I can’t imagine getting

as far as Alcatraz. Mountaineers decide that it is not enough

merely to climb Mount Everest; they have to climb it alone,

take no oxygen, and choose the most difficult ascent. And just

a few months ago a man and woman mortgaged their future

to put together a fragile plane with a cockpit smaller than a

phone booth, so they could fly around the world without a

stop. We ask, “Why did you do it?” And the pilot of the Voy­

ager can only reply with a shrug, “Just for the hell o f it.” He can

give no better reason, yet everyone understands.

The sages would say similarly, “Just for the heaven of it.”

Just to reach for the highest. Human beings cannot live with­

out challenge. We cannot live without meaning. Everything

ever achieved we owe to this inexplicable urge to reach beyond

our grasp, do the impossible, know the unknown. The Upani­

shads would say this urge is part o f our evolutionary heritage,

given to us for the ultimate adventure: to discover for certain

who we are, what the universe is, and what is the significance

of the brief drama of life and death we play out against the

backdrop of eternity.

In haunting words, the Brihadaranyaka declares:

You are what your deep, driving desire is.

As your desire is, so is your will.

As your will is, so is your deed.

As your deed is, so is your destiny.

(Brihadaranyaka iv.4.5)

In the end, all achievement is powered by desire. Each of us

has millions of desires, from big to trivial, packed with a cer­

tain measure of will to get that desire fulfilled. Imagine how

mych power is latent in the human personality! With just a

fraction of that potential, young Alexander conquered conti­

nents, Rutan and Yaeger flew Voyager around the world, Ein-

33 sn

stein penetrated the heart of the universe. If a person could

fuse all human desires, direct them like a laser, what would be

beyond reach?

This stupendous aim is the basis of brahmavidya. Every

desire for fulfillment in the world outside is recalled - not sti­

fled or repressed, but consolidated in one overriding desire

for Self-realization. Contrary to a common misunderstand­

ing, there is nothing drab or life-denying about this apparent

reversal of human nature. The passion it requires is not dif­

ferent from what a great ballet dancer or gymnast or musi­

cian demands. In Sanskrit this ardent, one-pointed, self-tran­

scending passion is called tapas, and the Vedas revere it as an

unsurpassable creative force. From the tapas of God, the Rig

Veda says, the cosmos itself was born.

What daring the sages of the Upanishads conceal in their

anonymity! It is no wonder that so many came from the war­

rior caste. There was nothing world-denying when these

sages-to-be left their courts and cities for the Ganges for­

ests. World-weariness cannot generate tapas. They yearned to

know life at its core, to know it and master it, and that meant

to master every current of the mind.

Sex, of course, is the most powerful desire most people

have, and therefore the richest source of personal energy.

Brahmacharya, self-control in thought and action, was a pre­

requisite in these forest academies. But this was not suppres­

sion or repression. Sexual desire, like everything else in the

Upanishads, is only partly physical. Essentially it is a spiritual

force - pure, high-octane creative energy - and brahmacha-

rya means its transformation. Tapas, the sages say, becomes

tejas: the radiant splendor of personality that shows itself in

love, compassion, creative action, and a melting tenderness

which draws all hearts.

Nothing is lost in this transformation. It is clear in the Upa­

nishads that sex is sacred, and ashram graduates often went

back into the world to take up the responsibilities of fam­

ily life. But they did so in freedom. Free from conditioning,

they had a choice in everything they did, even in what they

thought. Their ideal was not to retire from the world but to

live in it selflessly, with senses and passions completely under

control. This freedom is the hallmark of the Upanishads, and

nothing better suits the life-affirming spirit of the Vedas.

A T M A N & B R A H M A N

In meditation, as the mind settles down to dwell

on a single focus, attention begins to flow in a smooth, unbro­

ken stream, like oil poured from one container to another. As

this happens, attention naturally retreats from other chan­

nels. The ears, for example, still function, but you do not hear;

attention is no longer connected with the organs of hearing.

When concentration is profound, there are moments when

you forget the body entirely. This experience quietly dissolves

physical identification. The body becomes like a comfortable

jacket: you wear it easily, and in meditation you can unbutton

and loosen it until it scarcely weighs on you at all.

Eventually there comes a time when you get up from medi­

tation and know that your body is not you. This is not an intel­

lectual understanding. Even in the unconscious the nexus is

cut, which means there are sure signs in health and behav­

ior: no physical craving will be able to dictate to you, and any

compulsion to fulfill emotional needs through physical activ­

ities will vanish. Most important, you lose your fear of death.

You know with certitude that death is not the end, and that

you will not die when the body dies.

The Taittiriya Upanishad says that the body is the first of

many layers that surround the human personality, each less

physical than the one before. These are, roughly, components

of what we call “mind” : the senses, emotions, intellect, will.

As awareness is withdrawn from these layers of consciousness

one by one, the sages gradually made another astonishing dis­

covery: the powers of the mind have no life of their own. The

mind is not conscious; it is only an instrument of conscious­

ness - or, in different metaphors, a process, a complex field of

forces. Yet when awareness is withdrawn from the mind, you

remain aware. When this happens you realize you are not the

mind, any more than you are the physical body.

When awareness has.been consolidated even beyond the

mind, little remains except the awareness o f “I.” Concentra­

tion is so profound that the mind-process has almost come

to a standstill. Space is gone, and time so attenuated that it

scarcely seems real. This is a taste o f shanti, “the peace that

passeth understanding,” invoked at the end o f every Upani-

shad as a reminder of this sublime state. You rest in medita­

tion in what the Taittiriya Upanishad calls the “body o f joy,” a

silent, ethereal inner realm at the threshold of pure being.

For a long while it may seem that there is nothing stirring

in this still world, so deep in consciousness that the phenom­

ena of the surface seem as remote as a childhood dream. But

gradually you become aware of the presence o f something

vast, intimately your own but not at all the finite, limited self

you had been calling “I.”

All that divides us from the sea of infinite consciousness at

this point is a thin envelope of personal identity. That enve­

lope cannot be removed by any amount of will; the “I” cannot

erase itself. Yet, abruptly, it does vanish. In the climax of medi­

tation the barrier of individuality disappears, dissolving in a

sea of pure, undifferentiated awareness.

This state the Upanishads call turiya - literally “the fourth,”

for it lies beyond waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep.

Turiya, the Upanishads say, is waking up in dreamless sleep: in

the very depths of the unconscious, where one is aware of nei­

ther body nor mind. In later Hindu thought this awakening

will receive more familiar names: samadhi, “complete absorp­

tion” ; moksha, “liberation” or “release,” for it brings freedom

from all conditioning and the limitations of time and space.

What remains when every trace of individuality is re­

moved? We can call it pure being, for it is in differentiating

this unity that created things acquire their name and form.

The sages called it Brahman, from the root brih, “to expand.”

Brahman is the irreducible ground of existence, the essence

o f every thing - of the earth and sun and all creatures, of gods

and human beings, of every power of life.

Simultaneous with this discovery comes another: this uni­

tary awareness is also the ground of one’s own being, the core

of personality. This divine ground the Upanishads call simply

Atman, “the Self” - spelled with a capital to distinguish it from

the individual personality. In the unitive state the Self is seen

to be one, the same in everyone. This is not a reasoned con­

clusion; it is something experienced at the very center of one’s

being, an inalienable fact. In all persons, all creatures, the Self

is the innermost essence. And it is identical with Brahman:

our real Self is not different from the ultimate Reality called

God.

This tremendous equation - “the Self is Brahman” - is the

central discovery of the Upanishads. Its most famous for­

mulation is one of the mahavakyas or “great formulae”: Tat

tvam asi, “You are That.” “That” is the characteristic way the

Upanishads point to a Reality that cannot be described; and

“you,” of course, is not the petty, finite personality, but that

pure consciousness “which makes the eye see and the mind

think”: the Self.

In this absorption there is no time, no space, no causality.

These are forms imposed by the mind, and the mind is still.

Nor is there awareness of any object; even the thought o f “I”

has dissolved. Yet awareness remains: chit, pure, undifferen­

tiated consciousness, beyond the division of observer and

observed. When the mind-process starts up again, as it must,

and we slip back into body and personality, the multiplicity of

the perceptual world will unfold as a seed bursts into a tree.

Astrophysicists use similar language when they talk about

creation. All the matter in the universe must have been present

in that “primeval atom,” supercondensed to an unbelievable

degree. In such a state, matter would no longer be possible as

matter. It would be stripped down to pure energy, and energy

itself would be raw and undifferentiated; variations like grav­

ity and light would not have emerged. Time would not yet be

real, for there can be no time before zero; neither would space

make sense in the context of a question like, “What was there

before the Big Bang?” Physicists reply, with Gertrude Stein,

“There’s no ‘there’ there. There’s no ‘then then.” Space and

time, matter and energy, sprung into existence at the moment

of creation; “before” that moment the concepts do not apply.

The sages would find all this a perfect metaphor for the uni-

tive state. In samadhi, reality is condensed into pure potential,

without dimensions, without time, without any differentia­

tion. Physicists do not say there was nothing before the Big

Bang; they say everything came from that, and nothing more

can be said. Similarly, samadhi is not emptiness but purnata:

plenitude, complete fullness. The whole of reality is there,

inner as well as outer: not only matter and energy but all time,

space, causality, and states of consciousness.

That fullness the Upanishads call sat: absolute reality, in

which all o f creation is implicit as an organism is implicit in

DNA, or a tree in a tiny seed.

The joy of this state cannot be described. This is ananda:

pure, limitless, unconditioned joy. The individual personal­

ity dissolves like salt in a sea of joy, merges in it like a river,

rejoices like a fish in an ocean of bliss. “As a man in the arms of

his beloved,” says the Brihadaranyaka daringly, “is not aware

of what is without and what within, so one in union with the

Self is not aware of what is without and what within, for in that

state all desires are fulfilled.” And what other scripture would

cap such an image with a pun? “Apta-kamam atma-kamam

akamam rupam: That is his real form, where he is free from

all desires because all his desires are fulfilled; for the Self is all

our desire.”

Nothing less can satisfy the human heart. “There is no joy

in the finite; there is joy only in the infinite.” That is the mes­

sage of the Upanishads. The infinite - free, unbounded, full

of joy - is our native state. We have fallen from that state and

seek it everywhere: every human activity is an attempt to fill

this void. But as long as we try to fill it from outside ourselves,

we are making demands on life which life cannot fulfill. Finite

things can never appease an infinite hunger. Nothing can

satisfy us but reunion with our real Self, which the Upani­

shads say is sat-chit-ananda-. absolute reality, pure awareness,

unconditioned joy.

T H E D I S C O V E R I E S

What can be said of a state of being in which

even the separate observer disappears? “Words turn back

frightened,” the Upanishads say: every attempt to explain pro­

duces contradictions and inconsistencies. But the sages of

the Upanishads must have longed so ardently to communi­

cate that they had to try, even if the picture was doomed to be

inadequate.

Some time ago I remember watching footage of how the

Titanic was discovered - two and a half miles below the sur­

face of the ocean, far beyond depths that light can penetrate,

where the sheer weight of the sea would crush a human being.

Scientists designed a twelve-foot robot called Argo and low­

ered it little by little through those black waters right to the

ocean floor. At those blind depths, probing with cameras

and sonar, they began to piece together a vivid picture of a

world no one could have seen before. The video seemed to

take us through doors that had not been opened for seventy

years, down that famous staircase into a silent crystal ball­

room uncorrupted by time - eerie, disjointed shots of a light-

less landscape. That is how I think of the Upanishads, prob­

ing depths where individuality itself dissolves and sending up

pictures of treasures sunk in the seabed of the unconscious.

What do they report? They tell us, first, that whatever we

are, whatever we may have done, there is in each of us an

inalienable Self that is divine:

As the sun, who is the eye of the world,

Cannot be tainted by the defects in our eyes

Nor by the objects it looks on,

So the one Self, dwelling in all, cannot

Be tainted by the evils of the world.

For this Self transcends all!

(Katha 11.2.11)

They remind us that love is the first and last commandment

of this realization, for the same Self dwells in all:

As the same fire assumes different shapes

When it consumes objects differing in shape,

So does the one Self take the shape

Of every creature in whom he is present.

(Katha 11.2.9)

They call us to the discovery o f a realm deep within our­

selves which is our native state:

In the city of Brahman is a secret dwelling, the lotus of the

heart. Within this dwelling is a space, and within that space

is the fulfillment of our desires___

Never fear that old age will invade that city; never fear that

this inner treasure of all reality will wither and decay. This

knows no aging when the body ages; this knows no dying

when the body dies.

(Chandogya vm.1.1.5)

They place us at home in a compassionate universe, where

nothing is “other” than ourselves - and they urge us to treat

that universe with reverence, for there is nothing in the world

but God:

The Self is the sun shining in the sky,

The wind blowing in space; he is the fire

At the altar and in the home the guest;

He dwells in human beings, in gods, in truth,

And in the vast firmament; he is the fish

Born in water, the plant growing in the earth,

The river flowing down from the mountain.

For this Self is supreme!

(Katha 11.2.2)

What does it mean to say that nothing is separate and God

alone is real? Certainly not that the everyday world is an illu­

sion. Hie illusion is simply that we appear separate; the under­

lying reality is that all o f life is one. The Upanishads view the

world in grades of significance: as waking is a higher reality

than dreaming, so there is a level of reality higher than that.

All experience is real. Confusion arises only when a dream

experience is treated as reality after one awakes - or when life

is viewed as nothing but sensation, without wholeness, mean­

ing, or goal. The ideal of the Upanishads is to live in the world

in full awareness of life’s unity, giving and enjoying, partici­

pating in others’ sorrows and joys, but never unaware even

for a moment that the world comes from God and returns to

God.

Last, most significantly, the Upanishads tell us that our

native state is a realm where death cannot reach, which can be

attained here in this life by those willing to devote their lives

to the necessary purification of consciousness:

When all desires that surge in the heart

Are renounced, the mortal becomes immortal.

When all the knots that strangle the heart

Are loosened, the mortal becomes immortal.

This sums up the teaching of the scriptures.

(Katha 11.3.14-15)

We should pause to understand the significance of such

words, for nowhere do the Upanishads reach loftier heights.

In the Vedic hymns, death meant roughly what other religions

promise: transport of the soul, the “bright body,” to everlast­

ing life in a heaven of bliss. The sages understood this “bright

body”; they knew firsthand that when the Self withdraws con­

sciousness from the body, the continuity of personality is not

broken. Death would not be different:

As a caterpillar, having come to the end of one blade of

grass, draws itself together and reaches out for the next,

so the Self, having come to the end of one life and shed all

ignorance, gathers in its faculties and reaches out from the

old body to a new.

(Brihadaranyaka m.4.3)

But they also knew that ultimately body and mind are made

of the same primal energy, called prana, and that everything

created must someday be dissolved. I f personality returns life

after life, then heaven too must be only a state of conscious­

ness, part of the created world. It might last longer and be

more blissful than bodily existence, but heaven too had to be

transitory: a kind of interregnum in another loka or “world,”

in which the Self can look back and learn from past mistakes.

In this compassionate view life becomes a kind o f school in

which the individual self is constantly evolving, growing life

after life toward a fully human stature. The goal is realization

of one’s true nature: not matter, embodied or disembodied,

but the uncreated Self:

The world is the wheel of God, turning round

And round with all living creatures upon its rim.

The world is the river of God,

Flowing from him and flowing back to him.

On this ever-revolving wheel of being

The individual self goes round and round

Through life after life, believing itself

To be a separate creature, until

It sees its identity with the Lord of Love

And attains immortality in the indivisible whole.

(Shvetashvatara 1.4-6)

Thus Self-realization is immortality in an entirely new

sense: not “everlasting life” but beyond death and life alike.

In this state, when death comes, one sheds the body with no

more rupture in consciousness than we feel in taking off a

jacket at the end o f the day.

In all of this, we need to remember that the Upanishads

present no system. When, much later, India’s mystics and phi­

losophers did build coherent structures on these foundations,

they found they had produced points of logical disagreement.

But all understood that in practice such systems come to the

same thing; they simply appeal in different ways to the head

and heart.

No one has explained this better than Sri Ramakrishna,

the towering mystic of nineteenth-century Bengal who fol­

lowed each path to the same goal: these are simply views from

different vantage points, not higher or lower and not in con­

flict. From one point of view the world is God; from another,

there will always be a veil of difference between an embodied

human person and the Godhead. Both are true, and neither

is the whole truth. Reality is beyond all limitations, and there

are paths to it to accommodate every heart.

In the end, then, the Upanishads belong not just to Hindu­

ism/They are India’s most precious legacy to humanity, and in

that spirit they are offered here.

T H E U P A N I S H A D S

ID

Translated by Eknath Easwaran

Chapter Introductions & Afterword

by Michael N. Nagler

m Isha Upanishad

The Self is everywhere. Bright is the Self

Indivisible, untouched by sin, wise,

Immanent and transcendent. He it is

Who holds the cosmos together.

[8 ]

I N T R O D U C T I O N

D? The Inner Ruler

I F A L L T H E U P A N I S H A D S A N D A L L

the other scriptures happened all of a sudden to be reduced

to ashes, and if only the first verse in the Ishopanishad were

left in the memory of the Hindus, Hinduism would live for­

ever.”

With these words Mahatma Gandhi paid tribute to the

remarkable Upanishad that traditionally stands at the begin­

ning of most Indian collections. It owes this priority to the

poetic grandeur and sustained profundity o f its language,

which in only eighteen verses establish the fundamental

building blocks of spiritual awareness.

What Gandhi had in mind with his great tribute he made

clear in his reply to a journalist who wanted the secret of his

life in three words: “Renounce and enjoy!” (tena tyaktena

bhunjitah), from the first verse of the Isha.

The fifth-century Greek writer we know as Dionysius

the Areopagite once said that as he grew older and wiser his

books got shorter and shorter. He would have envied the sage

of this Upanishad. In its intensity he does not mince words.

The central section, verses 9-14, is what scholars call a “crux,”

or famously difficult passage. The translation brings out its

practical significance: materialism leads us to lose awareness

of our inner life, which is bad enough; but to be hypnotized by

our own feelings and sensations and forget about others and

the world around us is worse. By living in awareness of both

these worlds, we can rise above them toward the one Reality.

With the last four verses we emerge onto that lofty plane, and

the Upanishad takes on a tone of intense devotion that is rare

even in later, God-centered mystical literature.

Each Upanishad comes with an invocation drawn from a

traditional set. The invocation to the Isha is especially strik­

ing. Consistent with the condensed meaning of the Upani­

shad itself, it rings changes on a simple household word, “full”

(purnam): in the inexhaustible Reality, the infinite of “that”

world, the unseen, sends forth “this” world of infinite variety

in which we live, without ever being diminished. The Ameri­

can poet Anne Sexton may have been thinking of this haunt­

ing invocation when she wrote:

Then the well spoke to me.

It said: Abundance is scooped from abundance

yet abundance remains.

This is a very Gandhian idea. Materialism reinforces a

“paradigm of scarcity” : there is not enough to go around, so

we are doomed to fight one another for ever-diminishing

resources. Spiritual economics begins not from the assumed

scarcity of matter but from the verifiable infinitude of con­

sciousness. “Think of this One original source,” Plotinus said,

“as a spring, self-generating, feeding all o f itself to the rivers

and yet not used up by them, ever at rest.” Or, as Gandhi put

it, “There is enough in the world for everyone’s need; there is

not enough for everyone’s greed.” The appearance of scarcity

overcomes those for whom, as the Upanishad says, “the world

without alone is real.” There is no scarcity of love, respect,

meaning - the resources of consciousness. Such is the time­

less wisdom of the Upanishads.

- M . N .

All this is full. All that is full.

From fullness, fullness comes.

When fullness is taken from fullness,

Fullness still remains.

o m shanti shanti shanti

D: The Isha Upanishad

’ The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of all.

The Lord is the supreme Reality.

Rejoice in him through renunciation.

Covet nothing. All belongs to the Lord.

2 Thus working may you live a hundred years.

Thus alone will you work in real freedom.

J Those who deny the Self are born again

Blind to the Self, enveloped in darkness,

Utterly devoid of love for the Lord.

4 The Self is one. Ever still, the Self is

Swifter than thought, swifter than the senses.

Though motionless, he outruns all pursuit.

Without the Self, never could life exist.

5 The Self seems to move, but is ever still.

He seems far away, but is ever near.

He is within all, and he transcends all.

6 Those who see all creatures in themselves

And themselves in all creatures know no fear.

7 Those who see all creatures in themselves

And themselves in all creatures know no grief.

How can the multiplicity of life

Delude the one who sees its unity?

8 The Self is everywhere. Bright is the Self,

Indivisible, untouched by sin, wise,

Immanent and transcendent. He it is

Who holds the cosmos together.

911 In dark night live those for whom

The world without alone is real; in night

Darker still, for whom the world within

Alone is real. The first leads to a life

O f action, the second to a life of meditation.

But those who combine action with meditation

Cross the sea o f death through action

And enter into immortality

Through the practice of meditation.

So have we heard from the wise.

1214 In dark night live those for whom the Lord

Is transcendent only; in night darker still,

For whom he is immanent only.

But those for whom he is transcendent

And immanent cross the sea of death

With the immanent and enter into

Immortality with the transcendent.

So have we heard from the wise.

15 The face of truth is hidden by your orb

Of gold, O sun. May you remove your orb

So that I, who adore the true, may see

The glory of truth.16 O nourishing sun,

Solitary traveler, controller,

Source of life for all creatures, spread your light

And subdue your dazzling splendor

So that I may see your blessed Self.

Even that very Self am I!

17 May my life merge in the Immortal

When my body is reduced to ashes.

O mind, meditate on the eternal Brahman.

Remember the deeds of the past.

Remember, O mind, remember.

18 O god of fire, lead us by the good path

To eternal joy. You know all our deeds.

Deliver us from evil, we who bow

And pray again and again.

o M shanti shanti shanti

Di The Katha Upanishad

When a person dies, there arises this doubt:

“He still exists,’’ say some; “he does not”

Say others. I want you to teach me the truth.

[ 1 . 1 . 2 0 ]

I N T R O D U C T I O N

d i Death as Teacher

I f t h e r e i s o n e u p a n i s h a d t h a t

can be called a favorite in all ages, it is the Katha. It is not hard

to see why. Its theme, broadly, is the same as that of all the

Upanishads: the deathless Self, the need for and the way to

its realization; but the Katha is more successful than other

Upanishads at describing this, in several ways.

As the Upanishads illustrate, the right questions are half

the battle in life. In the Katha we have the right question in

highly dramatic form; in fact we have a highly imaginative

confrontation of the ideal teacher (1.1 .2 2 ) and the ideal stu­

dent (11.1.4), and their identity is surprising: the latter is a

teenager, and his teacher is death.

We must consider why.

Nothing places the question “Who am I?” in such stark

relief as the fact of death. What dies? What is left? Are we here

merely to be torn away from everyone, and everyone from us?

And what, if anything, can we do about death - now, while we

are still alive?

Most social life seems a conspiracy to discourage us from

thinking of these questions. But there is a rare type for whom

death is present every moment, putting his grim question

mark to every aspect of life, and that person cannot rest with­

out some answers. It can happen to anyone: in the “fall of a

sparrow,” a dead animal on the freeway, news reports of some

faraway natural disaster, the passing of an old friend, or a

new one; in some chance reminder of the violence that is not

far from any o f us, in all these that unwelcome Presence can

make itself briefly but urgently known.

Nachiketa represents that rare type of awakened person

in whom this presence, once glimpsed, can never go away.

“Now that I have seen your face,” he says to Death, “what can

I enjoy?” Yet, rare as he is, he represents the capacity latent

in all o f us to face that grim awareness and use it as a drive to

deepening consciousness.

In other Upanishads and throughout Indian literature

allegory is a favorite device, but rarely is it more dynamic

and successful than in the Katha. The opening narrative is

an extended allegory which keeps spiritual depth and dra­

matic vividness in high suspense: the story never becomes

unreal and its archetypal significance never becomes invis­

ible; neither is mere vehicle or signifier for the other. Every

detail has both immediate and transcendent reality (in some

cases making translation unusually inadequate). Nachiketa,

who has more personality than most Upanishadic figures,

asks, as an abstraction could not, “What is death going to do

with me, today?” But at the same time he immediately uni­

versalizes his condition, which is in fact the most universal

of human destinies: “I shall go to death, at the head of many

more to follow.. . . ” That Nachiketa is consigned to death by

his own father cries out for allegorical interpretation, and it

is not hard to supply. As Julian of Norwich, a fourteenth-cen­

tury English anchoress and mystic, wrote, “We wot that our

parents do but bear us into death. A strange thing, that.” Birth

is but the beginning of a trajectory to death; for all their love,

parents cannot halt it and in a sense have “given us to death”

merely by giving us birth.

As for the student, we can only pause in admiration of this

ancient civilization whose hero is a teenager who has not

learned the rudimentary grace of civilized existence - to hold

his peace in the presence of hypocrisy. Nachiketa is an attrac­

tive character who cannot go along with sham; but he is not

an obstreperous rebel: he is more sincere about convention

than his father (including the convention of obedience to a

father even when the latter has lost his temper) and his first

wish is for reconciliation with him. At no time does he lack

respect. But that is just the point; he forces the issue by tak­

ing the demands of religion seriously when the majority have

long since allowed external observance to paper it over, mak­

ing of it a dead letter that no longer communicates anything

about personal struggle. But by poking holes in society’s

shroud of complacency he represents, again, what it would

take to awaken any and all of us. The text sums it up in the sin­

gle trait it tells us about the lad. He has shraddha: determined

seriousness, a deep, abiding, confident faith.

In structure and content, the Katha is more of an organic

whole than any but the briefest Upanishads. It begins with

a prose narrative of the “once upon a time” variety, sound­

ing very much like its source story in the Brahmanas, but it

quickly enters a gripping dramatic situation with the charac­

ters’ speeches in verse.

Then follows the encounter of Nachiketa with Death, and

its dramatic reversal when he passes Death’s severe test and

changes him from gruff and off-putting deity to delighted

teacher. Though this interpersonal drama falls into the back­

ground during the subsequent teaching, it comes back as it

were triumphantly at the end of the Upanishad, along with

several key words and the major themes of the question for

which Nachiketa had gone to the king of death to find some

answer.

The Katha consistently lays stress on several practical

themes of the spiritual life: that a spiritual teacher is essen­

tial; that in all human experience it is really only the Self, pure

consciousness, that is the enjoyer, so that when one realizes

the Self “there is nothing else to be known” and “all the knots

that strangle the heart are loosened” ; and of course that death

occurs only to that part of us which was born and launched

into separate existence. This Upanishad thus speaks to a long­

ing which could not be deeper or more universal: that some

day, somehow, as Donne put it, “Death shall be no more:

Death, thou shalt die!”

The Katha is also distinctive in explaining with the use

of two very practical terms that every moment we live, even

theoretically while we sleep, we face a steep choice between

what will move us closer to that day and what will only post­

pone it - that is, between what is good and what is merely

pleasant; in Sanskrit, between shreya and preya. While there

are no dualities and no compartments in reality, as long as

there are dualities and compartments in personality, we have

to pay careful attention to this distinction at every moment.

But that makes life very much worth living; and perhaps in

this sense, as Wallace Stevens wrote in “Sunday Morning” :

Death is the mother of beauty; hence from her,

Alone, shall come fulfillment to our dreams

And our desires.

- M . N .

May the Lord o f Love protect us.

May the Lord o f Love nourish us.

May the Lord o f Love strengthen us.

May we realize the Lord o f Love.

May we live with love for all;

May we live in peace with all.

o m shanti shanti shanti

Di The Katha Upanishad

P A R T I

[ l ]

1 Once, long ago, Vajasravasa gave away his

possessions to gain religious merit. He had a son

named Nachiketa who,2 though only a boy, was full

of faith in the scriptures. Nachiketa thought when the

offerings were m ade:3 “What merit can one obtain by

giving away cows that are too old to give milk?”

4 To help his father understand this, Nachiketa said:

“To whom will you offer me?” He asked this again and

again. “To death I give you!” said his father in anger.

s The son thought: “I go, the first o f many who will die,

in the midst of many who are dying, on a mission to

Yama, king of death.

6 See how it was with those who came before,

How it will be with those who are living.

Like corn mortals ripen and fall; like corn

They come up again.”

Nachiketa went to Yama’s abode, but the king of death

was not there. He waited three days. When Yama

returned, he heard a voice say:

7 “When a spiritual guest enters the house,

Like a bright flame, he must be received well,

With water to wash his feet. 8 Far from wise

Are those who are not hospitable

To such a guest. They will lose all their hopes,

The religious merit they have acquired,

Their sons and their cattle.”

Y A M A

9 O spiritual guest, I grant you three boons

To atone for the three inhospitable nights

You have spent in my abode.

Ask for three boons, one for each night.

N A C H I K E T A

10 O king o f death, as the first of these boons

Grant that my fathers anger be appeased,

So he may recognize me when I return

And receive me with love.

Y A M A

111 grant that your father, the son of Uddalaka

and Aruna,

Will love you as in the past. When he sees you

Released from the jaws o f death, he will sleep

Again with a mind at peace.

N A C H I K E T A

12 There is no fear at all in heaven; for you

Are not there, neither old age nor death.

Passing beyond hunger and thirst and pain,

All rejoice in the kingdom of heaven.

1J You know the fire sacrifice that leads to heaven,

O king of death. I have full faith

In you and ask for instruction. Let this

Be your second boon to me.

Y A M A

14 Yes, I do know, Nachiketa, and shall

Teach you the fire sacrifice that leads

To heaven and sustains the world, that knowledge

Concealed in the heart. Now listen.

T H E N A R R A T O R

15 Then the king of death taught Nachiketa how to

perform the fire sacrifice, how to erect the altar for

worshipping the fire from which the universe evolves.

When the boy repeated his instruction, the dread king

of death was well pleased and said:

Y A M A

16 Let me give you a special boon: this sacrifice

Shall be called by your name, Nachiketa.

Accept from me this many-hued chain too.

17 Those who have thrice performed this sacrifice,

Realized their unity with father, mother,

And teacher, and discharged the three duties

O f studying the scriptures, ritual worship,

And giving alms to those in need, rise above

Birth and death. Knowing the god of fire

Born of Brahman, they attain perfect peace.

18 Those who carry out this triple duty

Conscious of its full meaning will shake off

The dread noose of death and transcend sorrow

To enjoy the world of heaven.

19 Thus have I granted you the second boon,

Nachiketa, the secret of the fire

That leads to heaven. It will have your name.

Ask now, Nachiketa, for the third boon.

N A C H I K E T A

20 When a person dies, there arises this doubt:

“He still exists,” say some; “he does not,”

Say others. I want you to teach me the truth.

This is my third boon.

Y A M A

21 This doubt haunted even the gods of old,

For the secret of death is hard to know.

Nachiketa, ask for some other boon

And release me from my promise.

N A C H I K E T A

22 This doubt haunted even the gods of old;

For it is hard to know, O Death, as you say.

I can have no greater teacher than you,

And there is no boon equal to this.

Y A M A

23 Ask for sons and grandsons who will live

A hundred years. Ask for herds of cattle,

Elephants and horses, gold and vast land,

And ask to live as long as you desire.

24 Or, if you can think of anything more

Desirable, ask for that, with wealth and

Long life as well. Nachiketa, be the ruler

Of a great kingdom, and I will give you

The utmost capacity to enjoy

The pleasures of life.2S Ask for beautiful

Women of loveliness rarely seen on earth,

Riding in chariots, skilled in music,

To attend on you. But Nachiketa,

Don’t ask me about the secret of death.

N A C H I K E T A

26 These pleasures last but until tomorrow,

And they wear out the vital powers of life.

How fleeting is all life on earth! Therefore

Keep your horses and chariots, dancing

And music, for yourself.27 Never can mortals

Be made happy by wealth. How can we be

Desirous of wealth when we see your face

And know we cannot live while you are here?

This is the boon I choose and ask you for.

28 Having approached an immortal like you,

How can I, subject to old age and death,

Ever try to rejoice in a long life

For the sake of the senses’ fleeting pleasures?

29 Dispel this doubt of mine, O king of death:

Does a person live after death or does he not?

Nachiketa asks for no other boon

Than the secret of this great mystery.

Y A M A

1 The joy of the spirit ever abides,

But not what seems pleasant to the senses.

Both these, differing in their purpose, prompt

Us to action. All is well for those who choose

The joy of the spirit, but they miss

The goal of life who prefer the pleasant.

2 Perennial joy or passing pleasure?

This is the choice one is to make always.

Those who are wise recognize this, but not

The ignorant. The first welcome what leads

To abiding joy, though painful at the time.

The latter run, goaded by their senses,

After what seems immediate pleasure.

3 Well have you renounced these passing pleasures

So dear to the senses, Nachiketa,

And turned your back on the way of the world

That makes mankind forget the goal of life.

4 Far apart are wisdom and ignorance.

The first leads one to Self-realization;

The second makes one more and more

Estranged from ones real Self. I regard you,

Nachiketa, as worthy of instruction,

For passing pleasures tempt you not at all.

5 Ignorant of their ignorance, yet wise

In their own esteem, those deluded men

Proud of their vain learning go round and round

Like the blind led by the blind.6 Far beyond

Their eyes, hypnotized by the world of sense,

Opens the way to immortality.

“I am my body; when my body dies,

I die.” Living in this superstition,

They fall life after life under my sway.

7 It is but few who hear about the Self.

Fewer still dedicate their lives to its

Realization. Wonderful is the one

Who speaks about the Self. Rare are they

Who make it the supreme goal of their lives.

Blessed are they who, through an illumined

Teacher, attain to Self-realization.

8 The truth of the Self cannot come through one

Who has not realized that he is the Self.

The intellect cannot reveal the Self,

Beyond its duality of subject

And object. Those who see themselves in all

And all in them help others through spiritual

Osmosis to realize the Self themselves.

9 This awakening you have known comes not

Through logic and scholarship, but from

Close association with a realized teacher.

Wise are you, Nachiketa, because you

Seek the Self eternal. May we have more

Seekers like you!

N A C H I K E T A

10 I know that earthly treasures are transient,

And never can I reach the eternal through them.

Hence have I renounced all my desires for earthly

treasures

To win the eternal through your instruction.

Y A M A

11 I spread before your eyes, Nachiketa,

The fulfillment of all worldly desires:

Power to dominate the earth, delights

Celestial gained through religious rites,

Miraculous powers beyond time and space.

These with will and wisdom have you renounced.

12 The wise, realizing through meditation

The timeless Self, beyond all perception,

Hidden in the cave of the heart,

Leave pain and pleasure far behind.

13 Those who know they are neither body nor mind

But the immemorial Self, the divine

Principle of existence, find the source

O f all joy and live in joy abiding.

I see the gates of joy are opening

For you, Nachiketa.

N A C H I K E T A

14 Teach me of That you see as beyond right

And wrong, cause and effect, past and future.

Y A M A

151 will give you the Word all the scriptures

Glorify, all spiritual disciplines

Express, to attain which aspirants lead

A life of sense-restraint and self-naughting.

16 It is O M . This symbol of the Godhead

Is the highest. Realizing it one finds

Complete fulfillment of all ones longings.17

It is of the greatest support to all seekers.

When o M reverberates unceasingly

Within the heart, that one is indeed blessed

And deeply loved as one who is the Self.

18 The all-knowing Self was never born,

Nor will it die. Beyond cause and effect,

This Self is eternal and immutable.

When the body dies, the Self does not die.

19 If the slayer believes that he can kill

Or the slain believes that he can be kill,

Neither knows the truth. The eternal Self

Slays not, nor is ever slain.

20 Hidden in the heart of every creature

Exists the Self, subtler than the subtlest,

Greater than the greatest. They go beyond

All sorrow who extinguish their self-will

And behold the glory of the Self

Through the grace of the Lord o f Love.

21 Though one sits in meditation in a

Particular place, the Self within

Can exercise his influence far away.

Though still, he moves everything everywhere.

22 When the wise realize the Self,

Formless in the midst of forms, changeless

In the midst of change, omnipresent

And supreme, they go beyond sorrow.

23 The Self cannot be known through study

Of the scriptures, nor through the intellect,

Nor through hearing discourses about it.

The Self can be attained only by those

Whom the Self chooses. Verily unto them

Does the Self reveal himself.

24 The Self cannot be known by anyone

Who desists not from unrighteous ways,

Controls not the senses, stills not the mind,

And practices not meditation.

25 None else can know the omnipresent Self,

Whose glory sweeps away the rituals

O f the priest and the prowess of the warrior

And puts death itself to death.

[ 3 ]

1 In the secret cave of the heart, two are

Seated by life’s fountain. The separate ego

Drinks of the sweet and bitter stuff,

Liking the sweet, disliking the bitter,

While the supreme Self drinks sweet and bitter

Neither liking this nor disliking that.

The ego gropes in darkness, while the Self

Lives in light. So declare the illumined sages

And the householders who worship

The sacred fire in the name of the Lord.

2 May we light the fire of Nachiketa

That burns out the ego and enables us

To pass from fearful fragmentation

To fearless fullness in the changeless whole.

3 Know the Self as lord of the chariot,

The body as the chariot itself,

The discriminating intellect as

The charioteer, and the mind as reins.

4 The senses, say the wise, are the horses;

Selfish desires are the roads they travel.

When the Self is confused with the body,

Mind, and senses, they point out, he seems

To enjoy pleasure and suffer sorrow.

s When a person lacks discrimination

And his mind is undisciplined, the senses

Run hither and thither like wild horses.

6 But they obey the rein like trained horses

When one has discrimination and

Has made the mind one-pointed.7 Those who lack

Discrimination, with little control

Over their thoughts and far from pure,

Reach not the pure state of immortality

But wander from death to death;8 but those

Who have discrimination, with a still mind

And a pure heart, reach journeys end,

Never again to fall into the jaws of death.

9 With a discriminating intellect

As charioteer and a trained mind as reins,

They attain the supreme goal of life,

To be united with the Lord of Love.

10 The senses derive from objects of sense-perception,

Sense objects from mind, mind from intellect,

And intellect from ego;11 ego from undifferentiated

Consciousness, and consciousness from Brahman.

Brahman is the First Cause and last refuge.

12 Brahman, the hidden Self in everyone,

Does not shine forth. He is revealed only

To those who keep their minds one-pointed

On the Lord of Love and thus develop

A superconscious manner of knowing.

13 Meditation enables them to go

Deeper and deeper into consciousness,

From the world o f words to the world of thoughts,

Then beyond thoughts to wisdom in the Self.

14 Get up! Wake up! Seek the guidance of an

Illumined teacher and realize the Self.

Sharp like a razor’s edge, the sages say,

Is the path, difficult to traverse.

15 The supreme Self is beyond name and form,

Beyond the senses, inexhaustible,

Without beginning, without end, beyond

Time, space, and causality, eternal,

Immutable. Those who realize the Self

Are forever free from the jaws of death.

16 The wise, who gain experiential knowledge

Of this timeless tale of Nachiketa,

Narrated by Death, attain the glory

Of living in spiritual awareness.

Those who, full of devotion, recite this

Supreme mystery at a spiritual

Gathering are fit for eternal life.

They are indeed fit for eternal life.

P A R T I I •

[,l] 1 The self-existent Lord pierced the senses

To turn outward. Thus we look to the world

Without and see not the Self within us.

A sage withdrew his senses from the world

Of change and, seeking immortality,

Looked within and beheld the deathless Self.

2 The immature run after sense pleasures

And fall into the widespread net of death.

But the wise, knowing the Self as deathless,

Seek not the changeless in the world of change.

3 That through which one enjoys form, taste,

smell, sound,

Touch, and sexual union is the Self.

Can there be anything not known to That

Who is the One in all? Know One, know all.

4 That through which one enjoys the waking

And sleeping states is the Self. To know That

As consciousness is to go beyond sorrow.

5 Those who know the Self as enjoyer

O f the honey from the flowers of the senses,

Ever present within, ruler of time,

Go beyond fear. For this Self is supreme!

6 The god o f creation, Brahma,

Born of the Godhead through meditation

Before the waters of life were created,

Who stands in the heart of every creature,

Is the Self indeed. For this Self is supreme!

7 The goddess of energy, Aditi,

Born of the Godhead through vitality,

Mother of all the cosmic forces,

Who stands in the heart of every creature,

Is the Self indeed. For this Self is supreme!

8 The god of fire, Agni, hidden between

Two firesticks like a child well protected

In the mother s womb, whom we adore

Every day in the depths of meditation,

Is the Self indeed. For this Self is supreme!

9 That which is the source of the sun

And of every power in the cosmos, beyond which

There is neither going nor coming,

Is the Self indeed. For this Self is supreme!

10 What is here is also there; what is there,

Also here. Who sees multiplicity

But not the one indivisible Self

Must wander on and on from death to death.

11 Only the one-pointed mind attains

This state of unity. There is no one

But the Self. Who sees multiplicity

But not the one indivisible Self

Must wander on and on from death to death.

12 That thumb-sized being enshrined in the heart,

Ruler of time, past and future,

To see whom is to go beyond all fear,

Is the Self indeed. For this Self is supreme!

13 That thumb-sized being, a flame without smoke,

Ruler of time, past and future,

The same on this day as on tomorrow,

Is the Self indeed. For this Self is supreme!

14 As the rain on a mountain peak runs off

The slopes on all sides, so those who see

Only the seeming multiplicity of life

Run after things on every side.

15 As pure water poured into pure water

Becomes the very same, so does the Self

O f the illumined man or woman, Nachiketa,

Verily become one with the Godhead.

[2 ]

1 There is a city with eleven gates

O f which the ruler is the unborn Self,

Whose light forever shines. They go beyond

Sorrow who meditate on the Self and

Are freed from the cycle of birth and death.

For this Self is supreme!

2 The Self is the sun shining in the sky,

The wind blowing in space; he is the fire

At the altar and in the home the guest;

He dwells in human beings, in gods, in truth,

And in the vast firmament; he is the fish

Born in water, the plant growing in the earth,

The river flowing down from the mountain.

For this Self is supreme!

3 The adorable one who is seated

In the heart rules the breath of life.

Unto him all the senses pay their homage.

4 When the dweller in the body breaks out

In freedom from the bonds of flesh,

What remains? For this Self is supreme!

5 We live not by the breath that flows in

And flows out, but by him who causes the breath

To flow in and flow out.

6 Now, O Nachiketa, I will tell you

Of this unseen, eternal Brahman, and

What befalls the Self after death.7 O f those

Unaware of the Self, some are born as

Embodied creatures while others remain

In a lower stage of evolution,

As determined by their own need for growth.

8 That which is awake even in our sleep,

Giving form in dreams to the objects of

Sense craving, that indeed is pure light,

Brahman the immortal, who contains all

The cosmos, and beyond whom none can go.

For this Self is supreme!

9 As the same fire assumes different shapes

When it consumes objects differing in shape,

So does the one Self take the shape

O f every creature in whom he is present.

10 As the same air assumes different shapes

When it enters objects differing in shape,

So does the one Self take the shape

O f every creature in whom he is present.

11 As the sun, who is the eye of the world,

Cannot be tainted by the defects in our eyes

Or by the objects it looks on,

So the one Self, dwelling in all, cannot

Be tainted by the evils of the world.

For this Self transcends all!

12 The ruler supreme, inner Self of all,

Multiplies his oneness into many.

Eternal joy is theirs who see the Self

In their own hearts. To none else does it come!

13 Changeless amidst the things that pass away,

Pure consciousness in all who are conscious,

The One answers the prayers of many.

Eternal peace is theirs who see the Self

In their own hearts. To none else does it come!

N A C H I K E T A

14 How can I know that blissful Self, supreme,

Inexpressible, realized by the wise?

Is he the light, or does he reflect light?

Y A M A

15 There shines not the sun, neither moon nor star,

Nor flash of lightning, nor fire lit on earth.

The Self is the light reflected by all.

He shining, everything shines after him.

[ 3 ]

1 The Tree of Eternity has it.s roots above

And its branches on earth below.

Its pure root is Brahman the immortal,

From whom all the worlds draw their life, and whom

None can transcend. For this Self is supreme!

2 The cosmos comes forth from Brahman and moves

In him. With his power it reverberates,

Like thunder crashing in the sky. Those who

Realize him pass beyond the sway of death.

3 In fear of him fire burns; in fear o f him

The sun shines, the clouds rain, and the winds blow.

In fear of him death stalks about to kill.

4 If one fails to realize Brahman in this life

Before the physical sheath is shed,

He must again put on a body

In the world of embodied creatures.

5 Brahman can be seen, as in a mirror,

In a pure heart; in the world of the ancestors

As in a dream; in the gandharva world

As the reflections in trembling waters;

And clear as light in the realm of Brahma.

6 Knowing the senses to be separate

From the Self, and the sense experience

To be fleeting, the wise grieve no more.

7 Above the senses is the mind, above

The mind is the intellect, above that

Is the ego, and above the ego

Is the unmanifested Cause.

8 And beyond is Brahman, omnipresent,

Attributeless. Realizing him one is released

From the cycle of birth and death.

9 He is formless, and can never be seen

With these two eyes. But he reveals himself

In the heart made pure through meditation

And sense-restraint. Realizing him, one is

Released from the cycle of birth and death.

10 When the five senses are stilled, when the mind

Is stilled, when the intellect is stilled,

That is called the highest state by the wise.

11 They say yoga is this complete stillness

In which one enters the unitive state,

Never to become separate again.

If one is not established in this state,

The sense of unity will come and go.

12 The unitive state cannot be attained

Through words or thoughts or through the eye.

How can it be attained except through one

Who is established in this state oneself?

13 There are two selves, the separate ego

And the indivisible Atman. When

One rises above I and me and mine,

The Atman is revealed as one’s real Self.

14 When all desires that surge in the heart

Are renounced, the mortal becomes immortal.

15 When all the knots that strangle the heart

Are loosened, the mortal becomes immortal.

This sums up the teaching of the scriptures.

16 From the heart there radiate a hundred

And one vital tracks. One of them rises

To the crown of the head. This way leads

To immortality, the others to death.

17 The Lord of Love, not larger than the thumb,

Is ever enshrined in the hearts of all.

Draw him clear out of the physical sheath,

As one draws the stalk from the munja grass.

Know thyself to be pure and immortal!

Know thyself to be pure and immortal!

T H E N A R R A T O R

Nachiketa learned from the king of death

The whole discipline o f meditation.

Freeing himself from all separateness,

He won immortality in Brahman.

So blessed is everyone who knows the Self!

om shanti shanti shanti

ni The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

As a caterpillar, having come to the end of

one blade o f grass, draws itself together and

reaches out for the next, so the Self, having

come to the end o f one life and dispelled

all ignorance, gathers in his faculties and

reaches out from the old body to a new.

[ i v . 4 . 3 ]

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Di The Forest of Wisdom

B r i h a d - a r a n y a k a m e a n s “ o f t h e

great forest,” and that is an apt name for this Upanishad, which

is by far the longest and one of the most revered of these mag­

nificent documents. To read it is like walking through a great

forest with paths leading off in unpredictable but somehow

meaningful directions; we keep coming across gems of wis­

dom.

The opening selection illustrates this, being one o f the most

poignant and illuminating discussions in the wisdom of any

tradition. It is the dialogue between a great sage, Yajnavalkya,

and his wife Maitreyi. Yajnavalkya has just reached a criti­

cal juncture in his life: he is about to leave home in the pur­

suit of truth, or Self-realization. Maitreyi shares his yearning

for immortality, and so the parting dialogue between them

turns into a deep session of “spiritual instruction” - one of the

meanings of the word upanishad.

What Yajnavalkya wants to teach is the greatest discovery

of the Upanishads: the Self, which is identical in all o f us, the

Life of all that lives. Whenever we love, he tells his wife, we

are really responding to the Self within that person. There­

fore - and this is the underlying theme of all mysticism - if we

discover this Self in our own consciousness, there will be no

more parting, no more sorrow ever. Shankara once declared

that two words from the Upanishads give us the essence of

all their teachings: “meditate on the Self,” that is, become one

with - realize - this underlying Reality.

Often, it is this anguish of parting - the death of a loved

one, the breaking apart of a deep relationship, even the grow­

ing up of our children - that propels us into the search for

a reality that will never let us down; so this opening passage

illustrates, through the experience of Maitreyi, the state of

seriousness, of being shocked into alertness, that makes one

ready to absorb spiritual insight. The only real source of such

insight is almost always, in Indian tradition, a living teacher

who is equally ready to impart it; that is why almost all the

Upanishads are in the form of dialogues.

In the next two sections-we again meet Yajnavalkya, now

playing the important role of spiritual adviser to a famous

king, Janaka, who himself was destined to achieve illumina­

tion. Illustrating the wry humor of the Upanishads and the

very human way they see even the most august sages at 111.7

Yajnavalkya perks up on hearing that King Janaka will give

a thousand cows to the wisest among the gathered pundits

and casually tells his disciple, “Son, drive them home.” Then,

when the outraged brahmins ask how he dares declare him­

self the wisest among them, he disarms them by saying, “I

bow down to the wisest, but I want those cows!” Challenged

by Gargi, another of those women of spiritual authority who

appear in the Upanishads, the sage explains how all exis­

tence - everything in the phenomenal world - is “woven” in

the Imperishable. To bring across this great truth he relies on

wonderfully vivid images. The human being moves between

two main states of consciousness as a great fish, master of its

world, swims back and forth between the banks of a river; like

a tired eagle returning to its nest at last, we find our true home

in the eternal Self, the source of all awareness. Or, boldly, “as

one in the arms of his beloved is not aware o f what is without

or what is within, so one in union with the Self is not aware of

what is without or what is within,” for all desires are fulfilled.

When we encounter this daring vision of reality, we want to

know what to do. If this tremendous vision is to have any ulti­

mate meaning for us, there must be some way we can at least

partly realize it ourselves. Appropriately, then, this selection

ends with a passage that, while lightly disguised as mythol­

ogy, highlights three potent practices: damyata datta dayad-

hvam, “Be self-controlled, give, be compassionate.” This pas­

sage, boiled down as it is to three potent syllables, da - da -

da, caught the imagination of T. S. Eliot; more to the point,

it has helped countless seekers down the ages to orient their

lives to the supreme goal. - M . N .

All this is full. All that is full.

From fullness, fullness comes.

When fullness is taken from fullness,

Fullness still remains.

o m shanti shanti shanti

Bi The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

C H A P T E R I I

The Path to Immortality

41 “Maitreyi,” Yajnavalkya said to his wife one day, “the

time has come for me to go forth from the worldly life.

Come, my dear, let me divide my property between

you and Katyayani.”

M A I T R E Y I

4 2 My lord, if I could get all the wealth in the world,

would it help me to go beyond death?

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

Not at all. You would live and die like any other rich

person. No one can buy immortality with money.

M A I T R E Y I

4 3 O f what use then are money and material

possessions to me? Please tell me, my lord, of the way

that leads to immortality.

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

44 You have always been dear to me, Maitreyi, and I

love you even more now that you have asked me about

immortality. Sit here by my side and reflect deeply on

what I say.

4 5 A wife loves her husband not for his own sake, dear,

but because the Self lives in him.

A husband loves his wife not for her own sake, dear,

but because the Self lives in her.

Children are loved not for their own sake, but because

the Self lives in them.

Wealth is loved not for its own sake, but because the

Self lives in it.

Brahmins are loved not for their own sake, but

because the Self lives in them.

Kshatriyas are loved not for their own sake, but

because the Self lives in them.

The universe is loved not for its own sake, but because

the Self lives in it.

The gods are loved not for their own sake, but because

the Self lives in them.

Creatures are loved not for their own sake, but because

the Self lives in them.

Everything is loved not for its own sake, but because

the Self lives in it.

This Self has to be realized. Hear about this Self and

meditate upon him, Maitreyi. When you hear about

the Self, meditate upon the Self, and finally realize the

Self, you come to understand everything in life.

4 6 For brahmins confuse those who regard them as

separate from the Self. Kshatriyas confuse those who

regard them as separate from the Self. The universe

confuses those who regard it as separate from the Self.

Gods and creatures confuse those who regard them as

separate from the Self. Everything confuses those who

regard things as separate from the Self.

Brahmins, kshatriyas, creatures, the universe, the

gods, everything: these are the Self.

4 7 No one can understand the sounds of a drum

without understanding both drum and drummer;

4 8 nor the sounds of a conch without understanding

both the conch and its blower;49 nor the sounds of a

vina without understanding both vina and musician.

4-10 As clouds of smoke arise from a fire laid with damp

i o i SO

fuel, even so from the Supreme have issued forth all the

Vedas, history, arts, sciences, poetry, aphorisms, and

commentaries. All these are the breath of the Supreme.

411 As there can be no water without the sea, no touch

without the skin, no smell without the nose, no taste

without the tongue, no form without the eye, no

sound without the ear, no thought without the mind,

no wisdom without the heart, no work without hands,

no walking without feet, no scriptures without the

word, so there can be nothing without the Self.

412 As a lump of salt thrown in water dissolves and

cannot be taken out again, though wherever we taste

the water it is salty, even so, beloved, the separate self

dissolves in the sea of pure consciousness, infinite and

immortal. Separateness arises from identifying the

Self with the body, which is made up of the elements;

when this physical identification dissolves, there can

be no more separate self. This is what I want to tell

you, beloved.

M A I T R E Y I

4131 am bewildered, Blessed One, when you say there

is then no separate self.

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

Reflect on what I have said, beloved, and you will not

be confused.

414 As long as there is separateness, one sees another

as separate from oneself, hears another as separate

from oneself, smells another as separate from oneself,

speaks to another as separate from oneself, thinks of

another as separate from oneself, knows another as

separate from oneself. But when the Self is realized as

the indivisible unity of life, who can be seen by whom,

who can be heard by whom, who can be smelled by

whom, who can be spoken to by whom, who can be

thought of by whom, who can be known by whom?

Maitreyi, my beloved, how can the knower ever be

known?

C H A P T E R I I I

The Imperishable

[i]

1 King Janaka of Videha once performed a lavish

sacrifice and distributed many gifts. Many wise men

from Kuru and Panchala attended the ceremony, and

Janaka wanted to know who was the wisest among

them. So he drove a thousand cows into a pen, and

between the horns of each cow he fastened ten gold

coins.2 Then he said: “Venerable brahmins, these cows

are for the wisest one among you. Let him take them

away.”

None of the other brahmins dared to speak, but

Yajnavalkya said to his pupil Samashrava: “Son, you

can drive these cows home.” “Hero of seers!” his pupil

exclaimed joyfully, and he drove them home.

The other brahmins were furious. “How

presumptuous!” they shouted. And Ashvala, the royal

priest, asked: “Yajnavalkya, do you really believe you

are the wisest of those assembled here?”

Yajnavalkya replied: “I salute the wisest, but I want

those cows.”

[8]

1 Then Gargi, daughter of Vachaknu, said: “Venerable

brahmins, I shall ask Yajnavalkya only two questions.

I f he answers them well, no one here can defeat him in

a spiritual debate.”

“Ask, Gargi,” the sage replied.

G A R G I

2 Yajnavalkya, as a warrior from Kashi or Videha rises

with bow and arrow to fell his opponent, I rise to fell

you with two questions.

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

Ask them, Gargi.

G A R G I

3 That which is above heaven and below the earth,

which is also between heaven and earth, which is the

same through past, present, and future, in what is that

woven, warp and woof? Tell me, Yajnavalkya.

y a j n a v a l k y a

4 That which is above heaven and below earth, which

is also between heaven and earth, which is the same

through the past, present, and future - that is woven,

warp and woof, in space.

G A R G I

s My first question is answered well. Now for my

second question.

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

Ask, Gargi.

G A R G I

6 In what is space itself woven, warp and woof? Tell

me, Yajnavalkya.

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

7-8 The sages call it Akshara, the Imperishable. It is

neither big nor small, neither long nor short, neither

hot nor cold, neither bright nor dark, neither air nor

space. It is without attachment, without taste, smell,

or touch, without eyes, ears, tongue, mouth, breath, or

mind, without movement, without limitation, without

inside or outside. It consumes nothing, and nothing

consumes it.

9 In perfect accord with the will of the Imperishable,

sun and moon make their orbits; heaven and earth

remain in place; moments, hours, days, nights,

fortnights, months, and seasons become years; rivers

starting from the snow-clad mountains flow east and

west, north and south, to the sea.

10 Without knowing the Imperishable, Gargi, whoever

performs rites and ceremonies and undergoes

austerities, even for many years, reaps little benefit,

because rites, ceremonies, and austerities are all

perishable. Whosoever dies without knowing the

Imperishable dies in a pitiable state; but those who

know the Imperishable attain immortality when the

body is shed at death.

11 The Imperishable is the seer, Gargi, though unseen;

the hearer, though unheard; the thinker, though

unthought; the knower, though unknown. Nothing

other than the Imperishable can see, hear, think, or

know. It is in the Imperishable that space is woven,

warp and woof.

G A R G I

12 Venerable brahmins, count yourselves fortunate if

you get away with merely paying this man homage. No

one can defeat Yajnavalkya in debate about Brahman.

With these words Gargi ended her questions.

C H A P T E R I V

The States of Consciousness

1 Yajnavalkya came to Janaka, king o f Videha, saying

to himself, “I will not talk today.” But earlier, while

they were discussing the fire ceremony, Yajnavalkya

had promised him any boon he wanted. Now the king

asked the sage permission to question him.

J A N A K A

2 Yajnavalkya, what is the light of man?

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

The sun is our light, for by that light we sit, work, go

out, and come back.

J A N A K A

3 When the sun sets, what is the light of man?

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

The moon is our light, for by that light we sit, work, go

out, and come back.

J A N A K A

4 When the sun sets,Yajnavalkya, and the moon sets,

what is the light of man?

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

Fire is our light, for by that we sit, work, go out, and

come back.

J A N A K A

5 When the sun sets, Yajnavalkya, and the moon sets,

and the fire goes out, what is the light of man?

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

Then speech is our light, for by that we sit, work, go

out, and come back. Even though we cannot see our

own hand in the dark, we can hear what is said and

move toward the person speaking.

J A N A K A

6 When the sun sets,Yajnavalkya, and the moon sets,

and the fire goes out and no one speaks, what is the

light of man?

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

The Self indeed is the light of man, your majesty, for

by that we sit, work, go out, and come back.

J A N A K A

7 Who is that Self?

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

The Self, pure awareness, shines as the light within

the heart, surrounded by the senses. Only seeming

to think, seeming to move, the Self neither sleeps nor

wakes nor dreams.

8 When the Self takes on a body, he seems to assume

the body’s frailties and limitations; but when he sheds

the body at the time of death, the Self leaves all these

behind.

9 The human being has two states of consciousness:

one in this world, the other in the next. But there is

a third state between them, not unlike the world of

dreams, in which we are aware of both worlds, with

their sorrows and joys. When a person dies, it is only

the physical body that dies; that person lives on in a

nonphysical body, which carries the impressions of his

past life. It is these impressions that determine his next

life. In this intermediate state he makes and dissolves

impressions by the light of the Self.

10 In that third state of consciousness there are no

chariots, no horses drawing them or roads on which to

travel, but he makes up his own chariots, horses, and

roads. In that state there are no joys or pleasures, but

he makes up his own joys and pleasures. In that state

there are no lotus ponds, no lakes, no rivers, but he

makes up his own lotus ponds, lakes, and rivers. It is

he who makes up all these from the impressions of his

past or waking life.

" - 13 It is said of these states of consciousness that in

the dreaming state, when one is sleeping, the shining

Self, who never dreams, who is ever awake, watches

by his own light the dreams woven out of past deeds

and present desires. In the dreaming state, when one is

sleeping, the shining Self keeps the body alive with the

vital force of prana, and wanders wherever he wills. In

the dreaming state, when one is sleeping, the shining

Self assumes many forms, eats with friends, indulges

in sex, sees fearsome spectacles.

i6-’ 7 g U( he js not affected by anything because he is

detached and free; and after wandering here and there

in the state of dreaming, enjoying pleasures and seeing

good and evil, he returns to the state from which he

began.

18 As a great fish swims between the banks o f a river

as it likes, so does the shining Self move between the

states of dreaming and waking.

19 As an eagle, weary after soaring in the sky, folds its

wings and flies down to rest in its nest, so does the

shining Self enter the state of dreamless sleep, where

one is freed from all desires.

21 The Self is free from desire, free from evil, free

from fear.

As a man in the arms of his beloved is not aware of

what is without and what is within, so a person in

union with the Self is not aware of what is without and

what is within, for in that unitive state all desires find

their perfect fulfillment. There is no other desire that

needs to be fulfilled, and one goes beyond sorrow.

22 In that unitive state there is neither father nor

mother, neither worlds nor gods nor even scriptures.

In that state there is neither thief nor slayer, neither

low caste nor high, neither monk nor ascetic. The Self

is beyond good and evil, beyond all the suffering of the

human heart.

23-30 In that unitive state one sees without seeing, for

there is nothing separate from him; smells without

smelling, for there is nothing separate from him; tastes

without tasting, for there is nothing separate from

him; speaks without speaking, for there is nothing

separate from him; hears without hearing, for there is

nothing separate from him; touches without touching,

for there is nothing separate from him; thinks without

thinking, for there is nothing separate from him;

knows without knowing, for there is nothing separate

from him.

31 Where there is separateness, one sees another,

smells another, tastes another, speaks to another, hears

another, touches another, thinks of another, knows

another.

32 But where there is unity, one without a second, that

is the world of Brahman. This is the supreme goal of

life, the supreme treasure, the supreme joy. Those who

do not seek this supreme goal live on but a fraction of

this joy.

J A N A K A

331 give you another thousand cows! Please teach me

more of the way to Self-realization.

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

35 As a heavily laden cart creaks as it moves along, the

body groans under its burden when a person is about

to d ie.36 When the body grows weak through old age

or illness, the Self separates himself as a mango or fig

or banyan fruit frees itself from the stalk, and returns

the way he came to begin another life.

37 Just as when a king is expected to visit a village, the

mayor and all the other officials turn out to welcome

him with food and drink, all creation awaits the

person who sheds his body having realized Brahman.

“Here he comes!” they say. “Here comes Brahman

himself!” 38 But the senses, while that man lies dying,

gather around and mourn the Self s departure, as

courtiers mourn when their king is about to leave.

[ 4 ]

1 When body and mind grow weak, the Self gathers in

all the powers of life and descends with them into the

heart. As prana leaves the eye, it ceases to see.2 “He

is becoming one,” say the wise; “he does not see. He

is becoming one; he no longer hears. He is becoming

one; he no longer speaks, or tastes, or smells, or

thinks, or knows.” By the light of the heart the Self

leaves the body by one of its gates; and when he leaves,

prana follows, and with it all the vital powers of the

body. He who is dying merges in consciousness, and

thus consciousness accompanies him when he departs,

along with the impressions of all that he has done,

experienced, and known.

J As a caterpillar, having come to the end of one blade

of grass, draws itself together and reaches out for the

next, so the Self, having come to the end of one life

and dispelled all ignorance, gathers in his faculties and

reaches out from the old body to a new.

4 As a goldsmith fashions an old ornament into a new

and more beautiful one, so the Self, having reached the

end of the last life and dispelled all ignorance, makes

for himself a new, more beautiful shape, like that of

the devas or other celestial beings.

5 The Self is indeed Brahman, but through ignorance

people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions,

and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire.

This is why the Self is said to consist of this and that,

and appears to be everything.

As a person acts, so he becomes in life. Those who

do good become good; those who do harm become

bad. Good deeds make one pure; bad deeds make one

impure. You are what your deep, driving desire is. As

your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your

deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.

6 We live in accordance with our deep, driving desire.

It is this desire at the time of death that determines

what our next life will be. We will come back to earth

to work out the satisfaction of that desire.

But not those who are free from desire; they are free

because all their desires have found fulfillment in

the Self. They do not die like the others; but realizing

Brahman, they merge in Brahman. 7 So it is said:

When all the desires that surge in the heart

Are renounced, the mortal becomes immortal.

When all the knots that strangle the heart

Are loosened, the mortal becomes immortal,

Here in this very life.

As the skin of a snake is sloughed onto an anthill, so

does the mortal body fall; but the Self, freed from the

body, merges in Brahman, infinite life, eternal light.

J A N A K A

I give you another thousand cows! Please teach me

more o f the way to Self-realization.

Y A J N A V A L K Y A

2i Those who realize the Self enter into the peace that

brings complete self-control and perfect patience.

They see themselves in everyone and everyone in

themselves. Evil cannot overcome them because they

overcome all evil. Sin cannot consume them because

they consume all sin. Free from evil, free from sin and

doubt, they live in the kingdom of Brahman. Your

majesty, this kingdom is yours!

J A N A K A

Venerable One, I offer myself and my kingdom in your

service.

C H A P T E R V

What the Thunder Said

[ 2 ]

The children of Prajapati, the Creator - gods, human

beings, and asuras, the godless - lived with their father

as students. When they had completed the allotted

period the gods said, “Venerable One, please teach us.”

Prajapati answered with one syllable: “D a”

“Have you understood?” he asked.

“Yes,” they said. “You have told us damyata, be

self-controlled.”

“You have understood,” he said.

2 Then the human beings approached. “Venerable One,

please teach us.”

Prajapati answered with one syllable: “D a”

“Have you understood?” he asked.

“Yes,” they said. “You have told us datta, give.”

“You have understood,” he said.

Then the godless approached. “Venerable One,

please teach us.”

Prajapati answered with the same syllable: “Da!’

“Have you understood?” he asked.

“Yes,” they said. “You have told us dayadhvam,

be compassionate.”

“You have understood,” he said.

The heavenly voice of the thunder repeats this

teaching. Da-da-da! Be self-controlled! Give!

Be compassionate!

o M shanti shanti shanti

m The Chandogya Upanishad

Those who depart from this world without

knowing who they are or what they truly

desire have no freedom here or hereafter.

But those who leave here knowing who they

are and what they truly desire have freedom

everywhere, both in this world and in the

next.

[v i i i .1.6 ]

I N T R O D U C T I O N

m Sacred Song

I n T H E W I S D O M OF A N C I E N T I N D I A ,

the universe came forth from the invisible and unchang­

ing Reality like the uttering of a meaningful sound: mystical

speech (which is why the Vedas are thought of as existing long

before human beings or anything else). It was not a Big Bang

but a big Om; and it is with this image that the Upanishad

named Chandogya, “the uprising of sacred song,” begins. Just

as Western scientists seek the laws of the physical universe

in a kind of echo of that primordial explosion, the sages who

predated them by so many centuries “heard” Om, the primor­

dial sound, and discovered deep laws governing all existence.

The universe is founded on two principles, they discov­

ered. One is rita, law, order, or regularity. Without it no scien­

tific discovery would be possible; more importantly, no moral

discovery would be possible. Human experience would have

no meaning, for we would have no way to learn from our

experiences.

The second principle is yajna, sacrifice. The universe, they

tell us, runs on renunciation. The most significant human

action is the sacrifice of personal gain for the sake of some­

thing higher and holier.

If rita is the moral law, yajna is the human response to live

in accordance with that law, taking nothing from life for one­

self but everywhere seeking to give of oneself to life. Jesus was

essentially describing rita when he said, “By the same mea­

sure you mete out to others, by that measure shall it be meted

out to you,” and yajna when he said, “Lay not up for your­

selves treasures upon earth.. . . But seek first the kingdom of

God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added

unto you.” We can use things, but to be in harmony with the

underlying laws of life we should never feel that they are really

ours: as the Isha Upanishad so simply puts it, “Everything

belongs to the Lord.”

This awareness leads to a profound peace, which the Chan-

dogya conveys in one o f the Upanishads’ most poignant

images: “As a tethered bird flies this way and that, and comes

to rest at last on its own perch, so the mind, tired of wander­

ing about. . . settles down in the Self” (v i.8 .2). This Upani­

shad charts in inward course back to speech, breath, and vital

energy (prana), and ultimately to the Self, or Brahman. Prana

tends to become the focus of attention whenever it comes up,

and that is what happens in the sections that follow contain­

ing the famous stories of Satyakama (iv.4) and Shvetaketu

(vn ). These two spiritual students are a striking contrast, as

Satyakama breaks social convention: born out o f wedlock, he

has the courage to admit as much to his teacher, who honors

that courage and accepts him. This episode is one of the most

imaginative frame stories for teaching in all the Upanishads

(which is saying a lot), as various odd birds and animals teach

him “one foot of Brahman” at a time until he is illumined.

Prana also provides an explanation for the process we

call death, as prana, life-energy, is withdrawn by progressive

steps - the same kind of steps by which the universe itself was

manifested and will be withdrawn - into its ultimate source

(v i.15). This prepares us for the triumphant declaration of

Chapter v 111, the “City of Brahman,” a moving description of

Brahmaloka, the “Land of No Change” beyond all death and

suffering. While we actually visit this state without knowing

it while in deep sleep (v 1.8 .1 and v 111.3 .2 ), we can possess it

in full awareness through the heroic spiritual disciplines the

Upanishads are always leading us to. We can live in this very

world free from sorrow, ill health, perturbation, distress of

any kind; and then for us death, while it claims the body, will

never touch us because we are identified completely with the

Self, which is a “bridge” or “bulwark” (v 111.4 ) none of these

can cross.

- M . N .

Lead me from the unreal to the Real.

Lead me from darkness to light.

Lead me from death to immortality.

o m shanti shanti shanti

ni The Chandogya Upanishad

C H A P T E R I

The Word

11 Let us meditate on o m the imperishable, the

beginning of prayer.

2 For as the earth comes from the waters, plants from

earth, and man from plants, so man is speech, and

speech is o M. O f all speech the essence is the Rig Veda; but Sama is the essence of Rig, and o f Sama the

essence is o M, the Udgitha.

3 This is the essence of essences, the highest, the

eighth rung, venerated above all that human beings

hold holy, o M is the Self o f all.

4 What is rig, what is sama, at the heart of prayer?5 As

rig is speech, so sama is song, and the imperishable

OM is the Udgitha. Speech and breath, Sama and Rig,

are couples,6 and in the imperishable o M they come

together to fulfill each others desire.7 For those who,

knowing this, meditate on the imperishable o M, all

desires are fulfilled.8 With the word o M we say, “I

agree,” and fulfill desires.9 With o M we recite, we give

direction, we sing aloud the honor of that Word, the

key to the three kinds of knowledge.10 Side by side,

those who know the Self and those who know it not

do the same thing; but it is not the same: the act done

with knowledge, with inner awareness and faith, grows

in power. That, in a word, tells the significance of O M ,

the indivisible.

C H A P T E R I I I

The Wisdom ofShandilya

14-1 This universe comes forth from Brahman, exists

in Brahman, and will return to Brahman. Verily, all is

Brahman.

A person is what his deep desire is. It is our deepest

desire in this life that shapes the life to come. So let us

direct our deepest desires to realize the Self.

14 2 The Self, who can be realized by the pure in heart,

who is life, light, truth, space, who gives rise to all

works, all desires, all odors, all tastes, who is beyond

words, who is joy abiding - 14 3 this is the Self dwelling

in my heart.

Smaller than a grain of rice, smaller than a grain of

barley, smaller than a mustard seed, smaller than

a grain of millet, smaller even than the kernel of a

grain of millet is the Self. This is the Self dwelling in

my heart, greater than the earth, greater than the sky,

greater than all the worlds.

14 4 This Self who gives rise to all works, all desires, all

odors, all tastes, who pervades the universe, who is

beyond words, who is joy abiding, who is ever present

in my heart, is Brahman indeed. To him I shall attain

when my ego dies.

So said Shandilya; so said Shandilya.

C H A P T E R I V

The Story o f Satyakama

4-’ “Mother,” Satyakama said, “I feel the time has come

for me to go to the home of a spiritual teacher. From

whom does our family come, so that I may tell him

when he asks my lineage?”

4 2 “I do not know, dear,” she replied. “You were born

when I was young and going from place to place as

a servant. Your name is Satyakama and my name is

Jabala; why not call yourself Satyakama Jabala?”

4 3 Satyakama went to Haridrumata Gautama and said

to him, “Sir, I want to become your disciple.”

44 “What family are you from, bright one?”

“Sir, I don’t know. My mother says she bore me in

her youth and doesn’t know my ancestry. She says

that since my name is Satyakama and hers is Jabala I

should call myself Satyakama Jabala.”

4 S “None but a true brahmin could have said that.

Fetch the firewood, my boy; I will initiate you. You

have not flinched from the truth.”

He selected four hundred lean and sickly cows and

gave them to Satyakama to care for. “I shall not

return,” the boy said to himself, “until they become a

thousand.”

5-’ For years Satyakama dwelt in the forest, tending the

herd. Then one day the bull of the herd said to him:

“Satyakama!”

“Sir?” he replied.

“We have become a thousand. Let us now rejoin our

teachers family,52 and I will tell you one of the four

feet of Brahman.”

“Please tell me, revered sir,” the boy said.

“There are four quarters: east, west, south, and north.

This is one foot of Brahman, called the Shining.

To meditate on these four is to become full of light

and master the resplendent regions of the cosmos,

knowing this portion of the truth. 61 Agni, fire, will

tell you more.”

The next day Satyakama set out for his teacher s house

with the herd. Toward evening he made a fire, penned

the cows, and sat by the fire facing east. 6 2 The fire

spoke: “Satyakama!”

“Sir?”

6 3 “Friend, I can teach you another foot of Brahman.”

“Please do, revered sir.”

“There are four quarters: earth, sky, heaven, and

ocean. This is one foot of Brahman, called Without

End. Know this, meditate on this reality, and your life

will be without end on this earth.71 A swan will tell

you more.”

The next day Satyakama drove the cows onward.

Toward evening he lit a fire, penned the cows, and sat

by the fire facing east.7 2 Then a swan flew near and

said: “Satyakama!”

“Sir?”

7 3 “Friend, I can teach you another foot of Brahman.”

“Please do, revered sir.”

“There are four quarters: fire, the sun, the moon, and

lightning. These make one foot of Brahman, called

Full of Light.7 4 To meditate on this fourfold foot of

truth is to be filled with light in this world and master

the world of light. ®-1 A diver bird will tell you more.”

The next day Satyakama drove the cows onward.

Toward evening he lit a fire, penned the cows, and sat

by the fire facing east.8 2 Then a diver bird flew near

and spoke to him: “Satyakama!”

“Sir?”

8 3 “Friend, I can teach you another foot of Brahman.”

“Please do, revered sir.”

“There are four parts: breath, eye, ear, and mind.

This is one foot of Brahman, called Established. 8 4 To

meditate on this fourfold foot of Brahman is to be at

home in this world and master space. Whoever knows

this fourfold foot of Brahman is called established.”

91 So Satyakama returned to his teachers home.

“Satyakama,” his teacher called,92 “you glow like one

who has known the truth. Tell me, who has taught

?

»»

Satyakama replied, “No human, sir. But I wish to hear

the truth from you alone. 9 3 For I have heard that only

the teacher s wisdom comes to fruition for us.”

Then his teacher taught Satyakama that same wisdom.

Nothing was left out from it; nothing was left out.

C H A P T E R V I

The Story ofShvetaketu

11 Shvetaketu was Uddalaka’s son.

When he was twelve, his father said to him:

“It is time for you to find a teacher,

Dear one, for no one in our family

Is a stranger to the spiritual life.”

12 So Shvetaketu went to a teacher

And studied all the Vedas for twelve years.

DI S A C R E D S O N G

At the end of this time he returned home,

Proud of his intellectual knowledge.

“You seem to be proud of all this learning,”

Said Uddalaka. “But did you ask

Your teacher for that spiritual wisdom

13 Which enables you to hear the unheard,

Think the unthought, and know the unknown?”

“What is that wisdom, Father?” asked the son.

Uddalaka said to Shvetaketu:

14 “As by knowing one lump of clay, dear one,

We come to know all things made out of clay

That they differ only in name and form,

While the stuff of which all are made is clay;

15 As by knowing one gold nugget, dear one,

We come to know all things made out of gold:

That they differ only in name and form,

While the stuff of which all are made is gold;

16 As by knowing one tool of iron, dear one,

We come to know all things made out of iron:

That they differ only in name and form,

While the stuff of which all are made is iron -

So through that spiritual wisdom, dear one,

We come to know that all of life is one.”

17 “My teachers must not have known this wisdom,”

Said Shvetaketu, “for if they had known,

How could they have failed to teach it to me? Please

instruct me in this wisdom, Father.”

“Yes, dear one, I will,” replied his father.

2 2 “In the beginning was only Being,

One without a second.

2 5 Out of himself he brought forth the cosmos

And entered into everything in it.

There is nothing that does not come from him.

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.”

“Please, Father, tell me more about this Self.”

“Yes, dear one, I will,” Uddalaka said.

81 “Let us start with sleep. What happens in it?

When one is absorbed in dreamless sleep,

He is one with the Self, though he knows it not.

We say he sleeps, but he sleeps in the Self.

8 2 As a tethered bird grows tired of flying

About in vain to find a place of rest

And settles down at last on its own perch,

So the mind, tired of wandering about

Hither and thither, settles down at last

In the Self, dear one, to which it is bound.

8 4 All creatures, dear one, have their source in him.

He is their home; he is their strength.”

8 6 “When a person departs from this world, dear one,

His speech merges in mind, his mind in prana,

Prana in fire, and fire in pure Being.

8 7 There is nothing that does not come from him.

O f everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.”

“Please tell me, Father, more about this Self.”

“Yes, dear one, I will,” Uddalaka said.

91 “As bees suck nectar from many a flower

And make their honey one, 92 so that no drop

Can say, “I am from this flower or that,”

All creatures, though one, know not they are that One.

9 3 There is nothing that does not come from him.

O f everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.”

“Please, Father, tell me more about this Self.”

“Yes, dear one, I will,” Uddalaka said.

10-1 “As the rivers flowing east and west

Merge in the sea and become one with it,

Forgetting they were ever separate rivers,

10-2 So do all creatures lose their separateness

When they merge at last into pure Being.

10 3 There is nothing that does not come from him.

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.”

“Please, Father, tell me more about this Self.”

“Yes, dear one, I will,” Uddalaka said.

111 “Strike at the root of a tree; it would bleed

But still live. Strike at the trunk; it would bleed

But still live. Strike again at the top;

It would bleed but still live. The Self as life

Supports the tree, which stands firm and enjoys

The nourishment it receives.

112 If the Self leaves one branch, that branch withers.

If it leaves a second, that too withers.

If it leaves a third, that again withers.

Let it leave the whole tree, the whole tree dies.

113 Just so, dear one, when death comes and the Self

Departs from the body, the body dies.

But the Self dies not.”

“There is nothing that does not come from him.

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.”

“Please, Father, tell me more about this Self.”

“Yes, dear one, I will,” Uddalaka said.

121 “Bring me a fruit from the nyagrodha tree.”

“Here it is, sir.”

“Break it. What do you see?”

“These seeds, Father, all exceedingly small.”

“Break one. What do you see?”

“Nothing at all.”

12 2 “That hidden essence you do not see, dear one,

From that a whole nyagrodha tree will grow.

12 5 There is nothing that does not come from him.

O f everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.”

“Please, Father, tell me more about this Self.”

“Yes, dear one, I will,” Uddalaka said.

131 “Place this salt in water and bring it here

Tomorrow morning.” The boy did.

’’Where is that salt?” his father asked.

“I do not see it.”

13 2 “Sip here. How does it taste?”

“Salty, Father.”

“And here? And there?”

“I taste salt everywhere.”

“It is everywhere, though we see it not.

Just so, dear one, the Self is everywhere,

Within all things, although we see him not.

13 3 There is nothing that does not come from him.

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.”

“Please, Father, tell me more about this Self.”

“Yes, dear one, I will,” Uddalaka said.

,41 “As a man from Gandhara, blindfolded,

Led away and left in a lonely place,

Turns to the east and west and north and south

And shouts, ‘I am left here and cannot see!’

14 2 Until one removes his blindfold and says,

‘There lies Gandhara; follow that path,’

And thus informed, able to see for himself,

The man inquires from village to village

And reaches his homeland at last - just so,

My son, one who finds an illumined teacher

Attains to spiritual wisdom in the Self.

14 3 There is nothing that does not come from him.

O f everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.”

“Please, Father, tell me more about this Self.”

“Yes, dear one, I will,” Uddalaka said.

151 “When a man is dying, his family

All gather round and ask, ‘Do you know me?

Do you know me?’ And so long as his speech

Has not merged in mind, his mind in prana,

Prana in fire, and fire in pure Being,

15 2 He knows them all. But there is no more knowing

When speech merges in mind, mind in prana,

Prana in fire, and fire in pure Being,

15 3 There is nothing that does not come from him.

O f everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that.”

16 3 Then Shvetaketu understood this teaching;

Truly he understood it all.

C H A P T E R V I I

Narada’s Education

’ -1 Narada approached the sage Sanatkumara and said,

“Please teach me, Venerable One.”

“Tell me what you know,” replied the sage, “and then I

will teach you what is beyond that.”

12 “I know the four Vedas - Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva

- and the epics, called the fifth. I have studied

grammar, rituals, mathematics, astronomy, logic,

economics, physics, psychology, the fine arts, and

even snake-charming.13 But all this knowledge has

not helped me to know the Self. I have heard from

spiritual teachers like you that one who realizes the

Self goes beyond sorrow. I am lost in sorrow. Please

teach me how to go beyond.”

“Whatever you know is just words,” said Sanatkumara,

“names of finite phenomena.231 It is the Infinite that

is the source of abiding joy because it is not subject to

change. Therefore seek to know the Infinite.”

“I seek to know the Infinite, Venerable One.”

2 4 .i “w here one realizes the indivisible unity of life,

sees nothing else, hears nothing else, knows nothing

else, that is the Infinite. Where one sees separateness,

hears separateness, knows separateness, that is the

finite. The Infinite is beyond death, but the finite

cannot escape death.”

“On what does the Infinite depend, Venerable One?”

“On its own glory - no, not even on that. 24 2 In the

world people think they can attain glory by having

cows and horses, elephants and gold, family and

servants, fields and mansions. But I do not call that

glory, for here one thing depends on another. Utterly

independent is the Infinite.

251 “The Infinite is above and below, before and

behind, to the right and to the left. I am all this. The

Self is above and below, before and behind, to the right

and to the'left. I am all this. 25 2 One who meditates

upon the Self and realizes the Self sees the Self

everywhere, and rejoices in the Self. Such a one lives

in freedom and is at home wherever he goes. But those

who pursue the finite are blind to the Self and live in

bondage.

261 “One who meditates upon and realizes the Self

discovers that everything in the cosmos - energy

and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and

death, mind and will, word and deed, mantram and

meditation - all come from the Self.

26.2 “The Self is one, though it appears to be many.

Those who meditate upon the Self and realize the Self

go beyond decay and death, beyond separateness and

sorrow. They see the Self in everyone and obtain all

things.

“Control the senses and purify the mind. In a pure

mind there is constant awareness o f the Self. Where

there is constant awareness of the Self, freedom ends

bondage and joy ends sorrow.”

Thus the sage Sanatkumara taught the pure Narada to

go beyond bondage, beyond sbrrow, beyond darkness,

to the light of the Self.

C H A P T E R V I I I

The City of Brahman

11 In the city of Brahman is a secret dwelling, the

lotus of the heart. Within this dwelling is a space,

and within that space is the fulfillment of our desires.

What is within that space should be longed for and

realized.

01 S A C R E D S O N G

13 As great as the infinite space beyond is the space

within the lotus of the heart. Both heaven and earth

are contained in that inner space, both fire and air, sun

and moon, lightning and stars. Whether we know it in

this world or know it not, everything is contained in

that inner space.

15 Never fear that old age will invade that city; never

fear that this inner treasure of all reality will wither

and decay. This knows no age when the body ages;

this knows no dying when the body dies. This is the

real city of Brahman; this is the Self, free from old age,

from death and grief, hunger and thirst. In the Self all

desires are fulfilled.

The Self desires only what is real, thinks nothing

but what is true. Here people do what they are told,

becoming dependent on their country, or their piece

of land, or the desires of another,16 so their desires

are not fulfilled and their works come to nothing, both

in this world and in the next. Those who depart from

this world without knowing who they are or what they

truly desire have no freedom here or hereafter.

But those who leave here knowing who they are and

what they truly desire have freedom everywhere, both

in this world and in the next.

1 , 2 Would they see their departed mother or father?

Lo, they see them and are happy.1 3-* Would they see

their family and friends? Lo, they see them and are

happy. Would they enjoy the world of music, of spring

flowers, of elegance? Lo, by their mere will they enjoy

these things. 110 Whatever they desire, the object

of that desire arises from the power of their own

thoughts; they have it and are happy.

31 Here our selfless desires are hidden by selfish ones.

They are real, but they are covered by what is false.

Therefore whoever of our own departs from this life,

not one can ever be brought back before our eyes.

3 2 But all those we love, alive or departed, and all

things we desire but do not have, are found when we

enter that space within the heart; for there abide all

desires that are true, though covered by what is false.

Like strangers in an unfamiliar country walking over

a hidden treasure, day by day we enter the world of

Brahman while in deep sleep but never find it, carried

away by what is false.

33 The Self is hidden in the lotus of the heart.

Those who see themselves in all creatures go day

by day into the world of Brahman hidden in the

heart.4 Established in peace, they rise above body-

consciousness to the supreme light of the Self.

Immortal, free from fear, this Self is Brahman, called

the True.s Beyond the mortal and the immortal, he

binds both worlds together. Those who know this live

day after day in heaven in this very life.

“-1 The Self is a bulwark against the confounding of

these worlds and a bridge between them. Day and

night cannot cross that bridge, nor old age, nor death,

nor grief, nor evil nor good deeds. All evils turn back

there, unable to cross; evil comes not into this world of

Brahman.

4 2 One who crosses by this bridge, if blind, is blind

no more; if hurt, ceases to be hurt; i f in sorrow, ceases

sorrowing. At this boundary night itself becomes day:

night comes not into this world of Brahman.

41 Only those who are pure and self-controlled can

find this world of Brahman. That world is theirs alone.

In that world, in all the worlds, they live in perfect

freedom.

The Gods and the Godless

71 The great teacher Prajapati said: “The Self is pure,

free from decay and death, free from hunger and

thirst, and free from sorrow. The Self desires nothing

that is not good, wills nothing that is not good. Seek

and realize the Self! Those who seek and realize the

Self fulfill all their desires and attain the goal supreme.”

72 The devas and the asuras, the gods and the godless,

heard this truth and said: “Let us seek and realize the

Self so that we may fulfill all our desires.” So Indra

from among the gods and Virochana from among

the godless approached Prajapati, carrying fuel in

their hands as a sign that they wanted to become his

disciples.7 3 They dwelt with him for thirty-two years,

and at the end of that time Prajapati asked why they

had stayed with him so long.

Indra and Virochana replied, “We have heard o f your

inspiring words: ‘The Self is pure, free from decay

and death, free from hunger and thirst, and free from

sorrow. The Self desires nothing that is not good, wills

nothing that is not good. Seek and realize the Self!

Those who seek and realize the Self fulfill all their

desires and attain the goal supreme.’ We have been

living here as your disciples because we want to realize

the Self.”

7 4 Prajapati said to them: “When you look into

another’s eyes, what you see is the Self, fearless and

deathless. That is Brahman, the supreme.”

“Venerable One,” asked the two disciples, “what is it

we see reflected in the water or in a mirror?”

“It is the Self you see in all these,” he said to them.

81 "Now look at yourself in a bowl of water, and ask

me anything you want to learn about the Self.”

They looked at themselves in a bowl of water.

“What did you see in the water?”

“We have seen the Self, even the hair and the nails.”

8 2 “Put on your best clothes, adorn your body, and

look again in the water.”

They did so, and came back to Prajapati.

“What did you see in the water?” he asked.

8 3 “We have seen the Self, well dressed and well

adorned,” they replied.

“That is the Self, fearless and deathless. That is

Brahman, the supreme.”

Indra and Virochana went away satisfied.8 4 But

Prajapati said to himself: “They have seen the Self, but

they have not recognized the Self. They mistake the

Self to be the body. Those who think the Self is the

body will lose their way in life.”

Virochana, quite sure that the Self is the body, went

back to the godless and began to teach them that

the body alone is to be saved, the body alone is to

be adored. He taught them that whoever lives for

indulging the senses will find joy in this world and the

next. ® s Even today people are called godless when

they lack faith, love, and charity, because that is the

way of the godless. They dress even dead bodies in fine

clothes and adorn them with ornaments so that they

may enjoy their life in the next world.

91 But Indra, as he was on his way home to the

gathering of the gods, began to question this

knowledge. “If the Self is the same as the body, well

dressed when the body is well dressed, well adorned

when the body is well adorned, then the Self will be

blind when the body is blind, lame when the body

is lame, paralyzed when the body is paralyzed. And

when the body dies, the Self too will die. In such

knowledge I see no value.”

9 2 Again Indra went back to Prajapati with fuel in hand.

“Why have you returned, Indra?” his teacher asked.

“Did you not go away quite satisfied?”

“Venerable One,” replied Indra, “ if the Self is well

dressed when the body is well dressed, well adorned

when the body is well adorned, then the Self will be

blind when the body is blind, lame when the body

is lame, paralyzed when the body is paralyzed. And

when the body dies, the Self too will die. In such

knowledge I see no value.”

9 3 “You are thinking clearly, Indra,” said Prajapati.

“Live with me for another thirty-two years and I will

teach you more of the Self.”

So Indra lived with Prajapati for another thirty-two

years. Then Prajapati said to h im :10-1 “That which

moves about in joy in the dreaming state is the Self,

fearless and deathless. That is Brahman, the supreme.”

Indra went away satisfied, but on his way home to

the gathering of the gods he began to question this

knowledge. “In the dreaming state, it is true, the Self

is not blind when the body is blind, nor lame when

the body is lame, nor paralyzed when the body is

paralyzed,10 2 nor slain when the body is slain. Yet in

dreams the Self may appear to suffer and to be slain; it

may become conscious of pain and even weep. In such

knowledge I see no value.”

10 3 Again Indra went back to Prajapati with fuel in

hand.

“Why have you returned, Indra?” his teacher asked.

“Did you not go away quite satisfied?”

“Venerable One,” replied Indra, “in the dreaming state,

it is true, the Self is not blind when the body is blind,

nor lame when the body is lame; yet in this state the

Self may still suffer and even weep. In such knowledge

I see no value.”

10 4 “You are thinking clearly, Indra,” said Prajapati.

“Live with me for another thirty-two years and I will

teach you more of the Self.”

Indra lived with Prajapati for another thirty-two years.

Then his teacher Said:

111 “When a person is sleeping soundly, free from

dreams, with a still mind, that is the Self, fearless and

deathless. That is Brahman, the supreme.”

Indra went away satisfied, but on his way home to

the gathering of the gods he began to question this

knowledge. “In the state of dreamless sleep one is not

aware of oneself or any other. The state of dreamless

sleep is very close to extinction. In this knowledge I

see no value.”

112 Again Indra went back to Prajapati with fuel in

hand.

DI S A C R E D S O N G

“Why have you returned, Indra?” his teacher asked.

“Did you not go away quite satisfied?”

“Venerable One”, replied Indra, “ in the state of

dreamless sleep one is not aware of oneself or of any

other. The state of dreamless sleep is very close to

extinction. In this knowledge I see no value.”

113 “You are thinking clearly, Indra,” said Prajapati.

“Live with me for another five years and I will teach

you to realize the Self.”

Indra lived with Prajapati for another five years.

Altogether he lived with his teacher for one hundred

and one years, which is why people say, “Even Indra

had to live with his teacher for one hundred and one

years.” After that time, Prajapati revealed the highest

truth of the Self to Indra:

121 “It is true the body is perishable, but within it

dwells the imperishable Self. This body is subject to

pleasure and pain; no one who identifies with the body

can escape from pleasure and pain. But those who

know they are not the body pass beyond pleasure and

pain to live in abiding joy.

12 2 “Like the wind, like clouds, like thunder and

lightning, which rise from space without physical

shape and reach the transcendent light in their own

form, those who rise above body-consciousness ascend

to the transcendent light in their real form, the Self.

“In that state, free from attachment, they move at will,

laughing, playing, and rejoicing. They know the Self

is not this body, but only tied to it for a time as an ox

is tied to its cart. Whenever one sees, smells, speaks,

hears, or thinks, they know it is the Self that sees,

smells, speaks, hears, and thinks; the senses are but his

instruments.

“Worshipping this Self in the world of Brahman, the

gods obtained all worlds and all desires. Those who

know this Self and realize this Self obtain all worlds

and all desires.” So said Prajapati; so taught Prajapati.

A Paean o f Illumination

1 J 1 From the Divine Dark to the manifest

To the Divine Dark I pass again.

As a horse shakes free its mane, I have

Shaken off all evil. Freeing myself

From the bonds of birth and death as the moon

Escapes from Rahils mouth, I have attained

The pure realm of Brahman; I have attained

The pure realm of Brahman.

151 Brahman is my home. I shall not lose it.

Truly I shall not be lost again.

o m shanti shanti shanti

hi The Shvetashvatara Upanishad

The Lord dwells in the womb o f the cosmos,

The creator who is in all creatures.

He is that which is born and to be born;

His face is everywhere.

[ 1 1 . 1 6]

Di 1 5 4

I N T R O D U C T I O N

D ! The Faces of God

H O W D O E S T H E O N E C H A N G E L E S S

Reality become the myriad phenomena that make up the

observable world? This question could be asked by a contem­

porary physicist; but here it is posed by an ancient seeker after

wisdom, which gives it a slightly different “take” and a differ­

ent answer.

Like the Isha, the Shvetashvatara is unusual among Upa­

nishads in the emphasis - let us say the loving attention - it

places on a personal God. In this respect, in fact, it goes

one step further than the Isha. It begins by addressing the

Supreme Being with the Vedic terms Rudra and Isha or Ish-

vara, but soon enough introduces the actual name of Shiva,

who has been for so many centuries the focus of intense per­

sonal devotion throughout India.

The impressive fact is how little difference it makes in the

Upanishadic approach whether the emphasis falls on per­

sonal or impersonal. The personal note struck by the Shveta­

shvatara does nothing to jar the Upanishadic spirit. Sri

Ramakrishna used to say that just as water congeals into ice,

the Ocean of Reality can be frozen into a provisional form by

the devotees needs, but it is still the same substance.

This devotional character, and the fact that it is entirely a

verse Upanishad, marks the Shvetashvatara as relatively late.

Another mark is the inclusion of certain concepts and nomen­

clature that we associate with later philosophical schools like

classical Sankhya. Some see in this an attempt to reconcile

early Sankhya with other philosophical and religious ten­

dencies of the time; but it does show how the lofty vision of

the Upanishads was a kind of mother lode from which the

philosophical schools took off on their respective intellectual

adventures.

Like all the Upanishads, the Shvetashvatara is a paean

of ecstasy to the Self, the Reality “hidden behind the gunas”

but seen by sages in the depths of their meditation. To be

grounded in this experience is the only reliable ground in a

universe which is so confusing, as we can sense in the intense

opening questions - questions that have resounded through­

out human history. The Upanishads are never interested in

such matters from a merely objective standpoint. The thrust

of these questions is intensely personal: how does this world

of separateness, with its inescapable forces of pain and plea­

sure, so intricately entangle us? The Upanishads answer

is maya. The objective world is neither real nor unreal; it is

appearance - specifically, the appearance of separateness, the

illusion that happiness comes from the world outside rather

than from within us. The Shvetashvatara is an early witness

to this powerful concept (1.9). Maya was the cornerstone of

Shankara’s system, and he wrote a special commentary on

this Upanishad. It remains a concept that, when grasped, can

be liberating to the spirit and satisfying to the mind of any

earnest puzzler over reality.

- M . N .

All this is full. All that is full.

From fullness, fullness comes.

When fullness is taken from fullness,

Fullness still remains.

o m shanti shanti shanti

ni The Shvetashvatara Upanishad

1 What is the cause of the cosmos? Is it Brahman?

From where do we come? By what live?

Where shall we find peace at last?

What power governs the duality

Of pleasure and pain by which we are driven?

2 Time, nature, necessity, accident,

Elements, energy, intelligence -

None of these can be the First Cause.

They are effects, whose only purpose is

To help the self rise above pleasure and pain.

3 In the depths of meditation, sages

Saw within themselves the Lord of Love,

Who dwells in the heart of every creature.

Deep in the hearts of all he dwells, hidden

Behind the gunas of law, energy,

And inertia. He is One. He it is

Who rules over time, space, and causality.

4 The world is the wheel of God, turning round

And round with all living creatures upon its rim.

5 The world is the river of God,

Flowing from him and flowing back to him.

6 On this ever-revolving wheel of life

The individual self goes round and round

Through life after life, believing itself

To be a separate creature, until

It sees its identity with the Lord of Love

And attains immortality in the indivisible whole.

7 He is the eternal reality, sing

The scriptures, and the ground of existence.

Those who perceive him in every creature

Merge in him and are released from the wheel

O f birth and death.

8 The Lord of Love holds in his hand the world,

Composed of the changing and the changeless,

The manifest and the unmanifest.

The separate self, not yet aware of the Lord,

Goes after pleasure, only to become

Bound more and more. When it sees the Lord,

There comes an end to its bondage.

9 Conscious spirit and unconscious matter

Both have existed since the dawn of time,

With maya appearing to connect them,

Misrepresenting joy as outside us.

When all these three are seen as one, the Self

Reveals his universal form and serves

As an instrument of the divine will.

10 All is change in the world of the senses,

But changeless is the supreme Lord of Love.

Meditate on him, be absorbed in him,

Wake up from this dream of separateness.

11 Know God and all fetters will fall away.

No longer identifying yourself

With the body, go beyond birth and death.

All your desires will be fulfilled in him

Who is One without a second.

12 Know him to be enshrined in your heart always.

Truly there is nothing more in life to know.

Meditate and realize that this world

Is filled with the presence o f God.

” Fire is not seen until one firestick rubs

Against another, though the fire remains

Hidden in the firestick. So does the Lord

Remain hidden in the body until

He is revealed through the mystic mantram.

14 Let your body be the lower firestick;

Let the mantram be the upper. Rub them

Against each other in meditation

And realize the Lord.

15 Like oil in sesame seeds, like butter

In cream, like water in springs, like fire

In firesticks, so dwells the Lord of Love,

The Self, in the very depths of consciousness.

Realize him through truth and meditation.

16 The Self is hidden in the hearts of all,

As butter lies hidden in cream. Realize

The Self in the depths of meditation,

The Lord of Love, supreme reality,

Who is the goal of all knowledge.

This is the highest mystical teaching;

This is the highest mystical teaching.

[ n ]

1 May we harness body and mind to see

The Lord of Life, who dwells in everyone.

2 May we ever with a one-pointed mind

Strive for blissful union with the Lord.

3 May we train our senses to serve the Lord

Through the practice of meditation.

4 Great is the glory of the Lord o f Life,

Infinite, omnipresent, all-knowing.

He is known by the wise who meditate

And conserve their vital energy.

s Hear, O children of immortal bliss!

You are born to be united with the Lord.

Follow the path of the illumined ones

And be united with the Lord of Life.

6 Kindle the fire of kundalini deep

In meditation. Bring your mind and breath

Under control. Drink deep of divine love,

And you will attain the unitive state.

7 Dedicate yourself to the Lord o f Life,

Who is the cause of the cosmos. He will

Remove the cause of all your suffering

And free you from the bondage o f karma.

8 Be seated with spinal column erect

And turn your mind and senses deep within.

With the mantram echoing in your heart,

Cross over the dread sea of birth and death.

9 Train your senses to be obedient.

Regulate your activities to lead you

To the goal. Hold the reins of your mind

As you hold the reins of restive horses.

10 Choose a place for meditation that is

Clean, quiet, and cool, a cave with a smooth floor

Without stones and dust, protected against

Wind and rain and pleasing to the eye.

11 In deep meditation aspirants may

See forms like snow or smoke. They may feel

A strong wind blowing or a wave of heat.

They may see within them more and more light:

Fireflies, lightning, sun, or moon. These are signs

That they are well on their way to Brahman.

1213 Health, a light body, freedom from cravings,

A glowing skin, sonorous voice, fragrance

O f body: these signs indicate progress

In the practice of meditation.

14 As a dusty mirror shines bright when cleansed,

So shine those who realize the Self,

Attain life’s goal, and pass beyond all sorrow.

15 In the supreme climax of samadhi

They realize the presence o f the Lord

Within their heart. Freed from impurities,

They pass forever beyond birth and death.

16 The Lord dwells in the womb of the cosmos,

The Creator who is in all creatures.

He is that which is born and to be born;

His face is everywhere.

17 Let us adore the Lord of Life, who is

Present in fire and water, plants and trees.

Let us adore the Lord of Life!

Let us adore the Lord of Life!

[ i n ]

1 Brahman, attributeless Reality,

Becomes the Lord of Love who casts his net

Of appearance over the cosmos and rules

It from within through his divine power.

He was before creation; he will be

After dissolution. He alone is.

Those who know him become immortal.

2 The Lord of Love is one. There is indeed

No other. He is the inner ruler

In all beings. He projects the cosmos

From himself, maintains and withdraws it

Back into himself at the end of time.

3 His eyes, mouths, arms, and feet are everywhere.

Projecting the cosmos out o f himself,

He holds it all together.

4 He is the source of all the powers of life.

He is the lord of all, the great seer

Who dwells forever in the cosmic womb.

May he purify our consciousness!

5 O Lord, in whom alone we can find peace,

May we see your divine Self and be freed

From all impure thoughts and all fear.

6 O Lord, from whom we receive the mantram

As a weapon to destroy our self-will,

Reveal yourself, protector of all.

7 You are the supreme Brahman, infinite,

Yet hidden in the hearts of all creatures.

You pervade everything. Realizing you,

We attain immortality.

81 have realized the Lord of Love,

Who is the sun that dispels our darkness.

Those who realize him go beyond death;

No other way is there to immortality.

9 There is nothing higher than him, nothing other

Than him. His infinity is beyond great

And small In his own glory rooted,

He stands and fills the cosmos.

10 He fills the cosmos, yet he transcends it.

Those who know him leave all separateness,

Sorrow, and death behind. Those who know him not

Live but to suffer.

11 The Lord of Love, omnipresent, dwelling

In the heart of every living creature,

All mercy, turns every face to himself.

12 He is the supreme Lord, who through his grace

Moves us to seek him in our own hearts.

He is the light that shines forever.

13 He is the inner Self of all,

Hidden like a little flame in the heart.

Only by the stilled mind can he be known.

Those who realize him become immortal.

14 He has thousands of heads, thousands of eyes,

Thousands of feet; he surrounds the cosmos

,s On every side. This infinite being

Is ever present in the hearts of all.

He has become the cosmos. He is what was

And what will be. Yet he is unchanging,

The lord of immortality.

16 His hands and feet are everywhere; his heads

And mouths everywhere. He sees everything,

Hears everything, and pervades everything.

17 Without organs of sense, he shines through them.

He is the lord of all, inner ruler,

Protector and friend of all.

18 He resides in the city with nine gates,

Which is the body. He moves in the world

Enjoying the play of his countless forms.

He is the master of the universe,

Of animate and inanimate.

19 He runs without feet and holds without hands.

He sees without eyes and hears without ears.

He knows everyone, but no one knows him.

He is called the First, the Great, the Supreme.

20 The Lord o f Love is hidden in the heart

Of every creature, subtler than the subtlest,

Greater than the greatest. Through his grace

One sheds all selfish desires and sorrow

And becomes united with the Self.

211 know this Self, sage Shvetashvatara said,

To be immortal and infinite.

I know this Self who is the Self of all,

Whom the sages call the Eternal One.

[ i v ]

1 May the Lord o f Love, who projects himself

Into this universe of myriad forms,

From whom all beings come and to whom all

Return - may he grant us the grace of wisdom.

2 He is fire and the sun, and the moon

And the stars. He is the air and the sea,

And the Creator, Prajapati.

3 He is this boy, he is that girl, he is

This man, he is that woman, and he is

This old man, too, tottering on his staff.

His face is everywhere.

4 He is the blue bird; he is the green bird

With red eyes; he is the thundercloud,

And he is the seasons and the seas.

He has no beginning; he has no end.

He is the source from whom the worlds evolve.

s From his divine power comes forth all this

Magical show of name and form, of you

And me, which casts the spell of pain and pleasure.

Only when we pierce through this magic veil

Do we see the One who appears as many.

6 Two birds of beautiful plumage, comrades

Inseparable, live on the selfsame tree.

One bird eats the fruit o f pleasure and pain;

The other looks on without eating.

7 Forgetting our divine origin,

We become ensnared in the world o f change

And bewail our helplessness. But when

We see the Lord of Love in all his glory,

Adored by all, we go beyond sorrow.

8 What use are the scriptures to anyone

Who knows not the one source from whom they come,

In whom all gods and worlds abide?

Only those who realize him as ever present

Within the heart attain abiding joy.

9 The Lord, who is the supreme magician,

Brings forth out of himself all the scriptures,

Oblations, sacrifices, spiritual disciplines,

Past and present, and the whole universe.

Invisible through the magic of maya,

He remains hidden in the hearts of all.

10 Know him to be the supreme magician

Who has brought all the worlds out of himself.

Know that all beings in the universe

Partake of his divine splendor.

11 Know him to be the supreme magician

Who has become boy and girl, bird and beast.

He is the bestower of all blessings*

And his grace fills the heart with peace profound.

12 Know him to be the supreme source of all

The gods, sole support of the universe,

The sower of the golden seed of life.

May he grant us the grace of wisdom.

13 Know him to be the supreme God of gods

From whom all the worlds draw the breath of life.

He rules every creature from within.

May he be worshipped by everyone.

14 Know him to be the supreme pervader,

In whom the whole universe is smaller

Than the smallest atom. May he, Shiva,

Fill our hearts with infinite peace.

15 Know him to be the supreme guardian

Of the cosmos, protecting all creatures

From within. May he, Shiva, in whom all

Are one, free us from the bonds of death.

16 Know him to be the Supreme One, hidden

Within the hearts of all like cream in milk

And yet encompassing the universe.

May he, Shiva, free us from all bondage.

17 Know him to be the supreme architect

Who is enshrined within the hearts of all.

Know him in the depths of meditation.

May he grant us immortality.

18 Know him to be the supreme source of all

Religions, ruler of the world of light,

Where there is neither day nor night,

Neither what is nor what is not, but only Shiva.

19 He is far beyond the reach of the mind.

He alone is. His glory fills all worlds.

20 He is far beyond the reach of the eye.

He alone is. May he, Shiva, reveal

Himself in the depths of meditation

And grant us immortality.

21-221 live in fear of death, O Lord of Love;

I seek refuge at your feet. Protect me;

Protect us man and woman, cow and horse.

May the brave ones who seek you be released

From the bondage of death.

[v ]

1 To know the unity of all life leads

To deathlessness; to know not leads to death.

Both are hidden in the infinity

Of Brahman, who is beyond both.

2 He is the One who presides over all

And rules over everyone from within.

He sows the golden seed of life when time begins

And helps us know its unity.

3 He is the Lord who casts the net of birth

And death and withdraws it again,

The supreme Self who governs the forces o f life.

4 As the sun shines and fills all space with light,

Above, below, across, so shines the Lord

Of Love and fills the hearts of all created beings.

5 From him the cosmos comes, he who teaches

Each living creature to attain perfection

According to its own nature. He is

The Lord of Love who reigns over all life.

6 He is the supreme creator, hidden

Deep in the mystery of the scriptures.

By realizing him the gods and sages

Attained immortality.

7 Under the hypnotic spell of pleasure

And pain, we live for ourselves and are bound.

Though master of ourselves, we roam about

From birth to birth, driven by our own deeds.

8 The Self, small as the thumb, dwelling in the heart,

Is like the sun shining in the sky.

But when identified with the ego,

The Self appears other than what it is.

9 It may appear smaller than a hair’s breadth.

But know the Self to be infinite.

10 Not female, male, nor neuter is the Self.

As is the body, so is the gender.

11 The Self takes on a body with desires,

Attachments, and delusions, and is

Born again and again in new bodies

To work out the karma of former lives.

12 The embodied self assumes many forms,

Heavy or light, according to its needs

For growth and the deeds of previous lives.

This evolution is a divine law.

13 Love the Lord and be free. He is the One

Who appears as many, enveloping

The cosmos, without beginning or end.

None but the pure in heart can realize him.

14 May Lord Shiva, creator, destroyer,

The abode of all beauty and wisdom,

Free us from the cycle of birth and death.

[ v i ]

1 The learned say life is self-created;

Others say life evolved from time. In truth

The Lord brought the cosmos out of himself.

2 He is pure consciousness, omnipresent,

Omnipotent, omniscient, creator

Of time and master of the three gunas.

Evolution takes place at his command.

3 Those who act without thought of personal

Profit and lead a well-disciplined life

Discover in course of time the divine

Principle that all forms of life are one.

4 They work in the service of the Lord and

Are freed from the law of karma.

5 Know him to be the primal source of life

Whose glory permeates the universe,

Who is beyond time and space, yet can be

Seen within the heart in meditation.

6 Know him to be beyond the tree of life,

Whose power makes all the planets revolve:

Who is both law and mercy, yet can be

Seen within the heart in meditation.

7 Know him to be the supreme Lord of lords,

King o f kings, God of gods, ruler of all,

8 Without action or organs of action,

Whose power is seen in myriad ways.

9 Know him to be the cause without a cause,

Without a second, parent or master.

10 May he, Lord of Love, who hides himself

In his creatures like a spider in its web,

Grant us illumination.

11 The Lord is hidden in the hearts of all.

The eternal witness, pure consciousness,

He watches our work from within, beyond

The reach of the gunas.

12 The Lord is the operator; we are

But his innumerable instruments.

May we realize him in our consciousness

And find the bliss he alone can give us.

13 Changeless amidst the changing, consciousness

Of the conscious, he grants all our prayers.

May we realize him in our consciousness

And find the freedom he alone can give us.

14 There shines not the sun, neither moon nor star,

Nor flash of lightning, nor fire lit on earth.

Everything reflects the light of the Lord.

15 May we realize him in our consciousness;

There is no other way to conquer death.

16 He is the maker of the universe,

Self-existent, omniscient, destroyer

Of death, the source and inmost Self of all,

Ruler of the cycle of birth and death.

May we realize him in our consciousness;

There is no other way to conquer death.

17 He is the protector of the cosmos,

All glory, all-knowing, omnipresent.

How could there be any ruler but he?

May we realize him in our consciousness;

There is no other way to conquer death.

,8-19 Lord Shiva is my refuge, he who grants

Freedom from the cycle of birth and death.

Lord Shiva is my refuge, he who gave

The sacred scriptures at the dawn of time.

Lord Shiva is my refuge, he who is

The source of purity and perfection.

Lord Shiva is my refuge, he who is

The bridge from death to immortality.

Lord Shiva is my refuge, he whose grace

Has made me long for his lotus feet.

20 How can we roll up the sky like a piece

O f deerskin? How can we end our misery

Without realizing the Lord of Love who

Is enshrined in our heart of hearts?

21 Sage Shvetashvatara realized the Lord

In meditation through infinite grace

And imparted this highest wisdom

To devoted disciples.

22 This highest mystical experience,

Revealed at the dawn of time, must be shared

Only with one whose heart is pure

Or with a disciple or one’s own child.

23 If you have deep love for the Lord of Love

And for your teacher, the light of this teaching

Will shine in your heart. It will shine indeed!

O M shanti shanti shanti

ni TheMundaka Upanishad

As the web issues out o f the spider

And is withdrawn, as plants sprout

from the earth,

As hair grows from the body, even so,

The sages say, this universe springs from

The deathless Self, the source o f life.

[1-7 ]

D ! 180

I N T R O D U C T I O N

m Modes of Knowing

T h e f a i t h t h a t h a s s u s t a i n e d

Indian civilization, and that could be said to constitute the

greatest gift of that civilization to the world today, is encap­

sulated in the four words o f the Mundaka Upanishad which

furnished the motto o f the modern Indian nation: Satyam

eva jay ate, nanritam, “Truth alone prevails, not unreality”

(h i .1 .6).

What the text goes on to say is equally inspiring: that there

is a path to this Truth and it has been taken by saints and

sages who went before us. We do not have to invent it, or go

it alone.

When Gandhi took this path in modern times, he found

that it opened not only to the liberation o f India but to the lib­

eration of the modern world from the prison house of its own

violence. For that pregnant concept o f sat, or satya, means

“truth,” “the Real,” and “the Good.” In the Upanishads these

three great qualities are the same, and Gandhi verified that in

his own long experience. These are his own words, in his clas­

sic account of his discoveries in Satyagraha in South Africa:

The world rests upon the bedrock o f satya or truth. Asatya,

meaning untruth, also means non-existent, and satya or

truth also means that which is. If untruth does not so much

as exist, its victory is out o f the question. A n d truth being

that which is can never be destroyed. This is the doctrine of

Satyagraha in a nutshell.

It is hard to imagine anything the modern world more

needs to hear. We have surrounded ourselves with such a

bleak picture of who we are and what the world is that unless

we ourselves get on - or back on - this path pretty soon we

hardly stand much chance of surviving our own culture. Only

by turning away from unreality - from negativity and separ­

ateness - will we begin to see and build a world that’s not only

sustainable but nourishes and helps us realize our deepest

longings for peace.

In the Mundaka Upanishad this pregnant phrase about

truth and unreality is only one of many gems that have

become treasured images of Hindu tradition: the two birds

that represent the higher and lower selves within each of us

( m .i . i) , the river of individual existence merging into the

sea of Reality (111.2 .8), the seeker firing himself like an arrow

into the heart of God (11.2.3), and others (see 1.1.7 , 1 1 .1 .1 ,

11 .2 .10 ) . The Mundaka is in that sense a bit like the Bible or

Hamlet: in reading it you keep on running across treasures

of poetry and wisdom you’ve heard before; they have entered

public domain.

Probably this is one reason why the Mundaka has been

popular down the ages; no collection of the Upanishads fails

to include it. Another reason is its well-balanced exposition

of spiritual reality. All the major themes of the Upanishadic

vision are integrated in this text: O M , prana, creation, sage

and student, the nature of the Self and Brahman. The story that

frames all this imagery, and the leading question of Shaunaka

to the great sage Angiras that launches this Upanishad, con­

cern appropriately the fundamental topic of truth and learn­

ing. Here once again we meet the distinction between “lower”

knowledge and the “higher” knowledge that is better called

realization, which draws us out o f the world of appearance to

a realm where knowing, being, and acting are the same.

- M . N .

OM

May we hear only what is good for all.

May we see only what is good for all.

May we serve you, Lord o f Love, all our life.

May we be used to spread your peace

on earth.

o m shanti shanti shanti

ni The Mundaka Upanishad

P A R T I

[ l ]

1 From infinite Godhead came forth Brahma,

First among gods, from whom sprang the cosmos.

Brahma gave the vision of the Godhead,

The true source of wisdom that life demands,

2 To his eldest son, Atharva, who gave it

To Angi. In turn Angi gave it

To Satyavaha. In this tradition

Satyavaha gave it to Angiras.

3 A great householder named Shaunaka once came

To Angiras and reverently asked:

“What is that by knowing which all is known?”

4 He replied: “The illumined sages say

Knowledge is twofold, higher and lower.

s The study of the Vedas, linguistics,

Rituals, astronomy, and all the arts

Can be called lower knowledge. The higher

Is that which leads to Self-realization.

6 “The eye cannot see it; mind cannot grasp it.

The deathless Self has neither caste nor race,

Neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet.

Sages say this Self is infinite in the great

And in the small, everlasting and changeless,

The source of life.

7 “As the web issues out of the spider

And is withdrawn, as plants sprout from the earth,

As hair grows from the body, even so,

The sages say, this universe springs from

The deathless Self, the source of life.

8 “The deathless Self meditated upon

Himself and projected the universe

As evolutionary energy.

From this energy developed life, mind,

The elements, and the world of karma,

Which is enchained by cause and effect.

9 “The deathless Self sees all, knows all. From him

Springs Brahma, who embodies the process

O f evolution into name and form

By which the One appears to be many.”

[2 ]

I The rituals and the sacrifices described

In the Vedas deal with lower knowledge.

The sages ignored these rituals

And went in search of higher knowledge.

2-5 Look at these rituals: When the fire is lit,

Pour butter into the fire in two spots;

Then place the offering between these two.

These oblations will take the worshipper

6 On the sun’s rays to the world of Brahma,

Where he can have his fill of enjoyment.

7 Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing

The sea of samsara, of birth and death.

Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross

The sea of samsara on these poor rafts.

8 Ignorant of their ignorance, yet wise

In their own esteem, these deluded men

Proud of their vain learning go round and round

Like the blind led by the blind.

910 Living in darkness, immature, unaware

Of any higher good or goal, they fall

Again and again into the sea.

II But those who are pure in heart, who practice

Meditation and conquer their senses

And passions, shall attain the immortal Self,

Source of all light and source of all life.

12 Action prompted by pleasure or profit

Cannot help anyone to cross this sea.

Seek a teacher who has realized the Self.

13 To a student whose heart is full of love,

Who has conquered his senses and passions,

The teacher will reveal the Lord of Love.

P A R T I I

[ l ]

1 1mperishable is the Lord of Love.

As from a blazing fire thousands of sparks

Leap forth, so millions of beings arise

From the Lord o f Love and return to him.

2 The Lord of Love is above name and form.

He is present in all and transcends all.

Unborn, without body and without mind,

From him comes every body and mind.

3 He is the source of space, air, fire, water,

And the earth that holds us all.

4 Fire is his head, the sun and moon his eyes,

The heavens his ears, the scriptures his voice,

The air his breath, the universe his heart,

And the earth his footrest. The Lord of Love

Is the innermost Self of all.

s From him comes the fire that burns in the sun;

From the sky lit by sun and moon comes rain;

From rain comes food, from food the sexual seed;

All finally come from the Lord of Love.

6 From him come the scriptures, chants, and prayers,

Religious rites and sacrificial gifts;

From him come work, time, and givers of gifts,

And all things under the sun and moon.

7 From him come the gods of the natural world,

Men, beasts, and birds, and food to nourish them;

From him come all spiritual disciplines,

Meditation, truth, faith, and purity.

8 From him come the seven organs of sense,

Seven hot desires and their sevenfold objects,

And the seven levels of consciousness

In the cavern of the heart.

9 From him come all the seas and the mountains,

The rivers and the plants that support life.

As the innermost Self o f all, he dwells

Within the cavern of the heart.

10 The Lord of Love is the one Self of all.

He is detached work, spiritual wisdom,

And immortality. Realize the Self

Hidden in the heart, and cut asunder

The knot of ignorance here and now.

[ 2 ]

1 Bright but hidden, the Self dwells in the heart.

Everything that moves, breathes, opens, and closes

Lives in the Self. He is the source of love

And may be known through love but not through

thought.

He is the goal o f life. Attain this goal!

2 The shining Self dwells hidden in the heart.

Everything in the cosmos, great and small,

Lives in the Self. He is the source of life,

Truth beyond the transience of this world.

He is the goal of life. Attain this goal!

3 Take the great bow of the sacred scriptures,

Place on it the arrow of devotion;

Then draw the bowstring of meditation

And aim at the target, the Lord of Love.

4 The mantram is the bow, the aspirant

Is the arrow, and the Lord the target.

Now draw the bowstring of meditation,

And hitting the target be one with him.

5 In his robe are woven heaven and earth,

Mind and body. Realize him as the One

Behind the many and stop all vain talk.

He is the bridge from death to deathless life.

6 Where all the nerves meet like spokes in a wheel,

There he dwells, the One behind the many.

Meditate upon him in the mantram.

May he guide us from death to deathless life!

7 He knows everyone and sees everything.

It is his glory that fills the cosmos.

He resides in the city of the heart.

8 It is his power that moves body and mind.

May he guide us from death to deathless life!

9 When he is seen within us and without,

He sets right all doubts and dispels the pain

Of wrong actions committed in the past.

10 In the golden city of the heart dwells

The Lord of Love, without parts, without stain.

Know him as the radiant light of lights.

11 There shines not the sun, neither moon nor star,

Nor flash of lightning, nor fire lit on earth.

The Lord is the light reflected by all.

He shining, everything shines after him.

12 The Lord o f Love is before and behind.

He extends to the right and to the left.

He extends above; he extends below.

There is no one here but the Lord of Love.

He alone is; in truth, he alone is.

P A R T I I I

[ l ]

1 Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree,

Intimate friends, the ego and the Self

Dwell in the same body. The former eats

The sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life

While the latter looks on in detachment.

2 As long as we think we are the ego,

We feel attached and fall into sorrow.

But realize that you are the Self, the Lord

O f life, and you will be freed from sorrow.

3 When you realize that you are the Self,

Supreme source o f light, supreme source of love,

You transcend the duality of life

And enter into the unitive state.

4 The Lord of Love shines in the hearts of all.

Seeing him in all creatures, the wise

Forget themselves in the service o f all.

The Lord is their joy, the Lord is their rest;

Such as they are the lovers of the Lord.

5 By truth, meditation, and self-control

One can enter into this state of joy

And see the Self shining in a pure heart.

6 Truth is victorious, never untruth.

Truth is the way; truth is the goal of life,

Reached by sages who are free from self-will.

7 The effulgent Self, who is beyond thought,

Shines in the greatest, shines in the smallest,

Shines in the farthest, shines in the nearest,

Shines in the secret chamber of the heart.

8 Beyond the reach of the senses is he,

But not beyond the reach of a mind stilled

Through the practice of deep meditation.

9 Beyond the reach of words and works is he,

But not beyond the reach of a pure heart

Freed from the sway of the senses.

10 Sages are granted all the help they need

In everything they do to serve the Lord.

Let all those who seek their own fulfillment

Love and honor the illumined sage.

[ 2 ]

1 The wise have attained the unitive state,

And see only the resplendent Lord of Love.

Desiring nothing in the physical world,

They have become one with the Lord of Love.

2 Those who dwell on and long for sense-pleasure

Are born in a world of separateness.

But let them realize they are the Self

And all separateness will fall away.

3 Not through discourse, not through the intellect,

Not even through study of the scriptures

Can the Self be realized. The Self reveals

Himself to the one who longs for the Self.

Those who long for the Self with all their heart

Are chosen by the Self as his own.

4 Not by the weak, not by the unearnest,

Not by those who practice wrong disciplines

Can the Self be realized. The Self reveals

Himself as the Lord of Love to the one

Who practices right disciplines.

s What the sages sought they have found at last.

No more questions have they to ask of life.

With self-will extinguished, they are at peace.

Seeing the Lord of Love in all around,

Serving the Lord of Love in all around,

They are united with him forever.

6 They have attained the summit o f wisdom

By the steep path of renunciation.

They have attained to immortality

And are united with the Lord of Love.

7 When they leave the body, the vital force

Returns to the cosmic womb, but their work

Becomes a beneficial force in life

To bring others together in the Self.

8 The flowing river is lost in the sea;

The illumined sage is lost in the Self.

The flowing river has become the sea;

The illumined sage has become the Self.

9 Those who know the Self become the Self.

None in their family forgets the Self.

Freed from the fetters of separateness,

They attain to immortality.

10 Let this wisdom be taught only to those

Who obey the law of life’s unity.

Let this wisdom be taught only to those

Who offer their lives to the Lord of Love.

11 This is the great truth taught in ancient times

By the sage Angiras to Shaunaka.

Let us adore the illumined sages!

Let us adore the illumined sages!

O M shanti shanti shanti

oi The Mandukya Upanishad

a u m stands fo r the supreme Reality.

It is a symbol fo r what was, what is,

And what shall be. a u m represents also

What lies beyond past, present, and future.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

in Consciousness & Its Phases

T h e m a n d u k y a i s t h e b r i e f e s t

of the major Upanishads. Shankara declared that if one could

only study a single Upanishad it should be this one, and we can

see why: in its succinctness the Mandukya captures the essen­

tials of mystical insight. One of the four Upanishadic maha-

vakyas, “great sayings” that are packed into a brief formulaic

utterance, occurs in the second verse: ayam atma brahma,

“the Self is Brahman.” This is probably why, in a much later

text, Rama tells a devotee that “the Mandukya alone is suffi­

cient for deliverance,” though less advanced seekers will have

to read the ten principal Upanishads, or thirty-two, or all one

hundred and eight.

The twelve verses of the Mandukya revolve around a fun­

damental proposition underlying the entire Vedantic world­

view and mysticism generally: that one Reality (called Brah­

man in the Upanishads) has become the infinite variety of

shifting things that we experience around us in the universe

or within us as the various states of our own consciousness.

The latter field of investigation forms the first of two passes

through this basic idea that make up this text. In this pass

we are walked through the four states of consciousness that

we all experience: the waking state, dreaming sleep, dream­

less sleep, in which the autonomic nervous system rests, and

finally an indescribable state of consciousness the text calls

simply turiya, “the fourth.” Like many such series in the Upa­

nishads, these stages are steps from the everyday reality to the

supreme experience. In this final state the sense of "I” is tem­

porarily suspended. Surprisingly, the Upanishad tells us that

we enter this state regularly, i f we could only be aware of it:

every night we are “like someone unknowingly walking back

and forth over a buried treasure” (Chandogya v m .3 .2 ) . So

near and yet so far.

But we have already been told, in the opening verse, that

the supreme reality into which we merge in the “fourth” state

is also represented by the sacred syllable A um . So the sage

takes another pass through the stages of being where the

three “worlds” or orders of reality are seen in the sounds of

this sacred syllable - a, u, and m - as it is manifested in the

phenomenal world.

It is very common for an Upanishad to present us with

multiple passes like this through levels o f reality reminis­

cent of what in the Middle Ages was called the Great Chain

of Being. What is different here is that the Mandukya hints

that there is a way to climb that chain, a u M stands for the

mantram - a form of sacred utterance, like the repetition of

a name of God, used in every major spiritual tradition to still

the mind and become aware of the divine Reality to which it

refers. All mantrams, according to the Mandukya, go back to

A U M , and then beyond even that primordial energy to Brah­

man, the ultimate goal o f spiritual progress.

So the Upanishad first gives us an inspiring picture of

“that which is,” reassuring us that reality is not limited to the

world of changing phenomena, and then hints at an everyday,

doable way to reascend the orders o f being and regain our

spiritual home in the changeless. Shankara did well to praise

the condensed power of this Upanishad.

- M . N .

May we hear only what is good for all.

May we see only what is good for all.

May we serve you, Lord of Love, all our

May we be used to spread your peace

on earth.

o m shanti shanti shanti

Di The Mandukya Upanishad

1 A U M stands for the supreme Reality.

It is a symbol for what was, what is,

And what shall be. A U M represents also

What lies beyond past, present, and future.

2 Brahman is all, and the Self is Brahman.

This Self has four states of consciousness.

3 The first is called Vaishvanara, in which

One lives with all the senses turned outward,

Aware only of the external world.

4 Taijasa is the name of the second,

The dreaming state in which, with the senses

Turned inward, one enacts the impressions

Of past deeds and present desires.

5 The third state is called Prajna, of deep sleep,

In which one neither dreams nor desires.

There is no mind in Prajna, there is no

Separateness; but the sleeper is not

Conscious o f this. Let him become conscious

In Prajna and it will open the door

To the state of abiding joy.

* Prajna, all-powerful and all-knowing,

Dwells in the hearts of all as the ruler.

Prajna is the source and end of all.

7 The fourth is the superconscious state called

Turiya, neither inward nor outward,

Beyond the senses and the intellect,

In which there is none other than the Lord.

He is the supreme goal of life. He is

Infinite peace and love. Realize him!

8 Turiya is represented by AU M .

Though indivisible, it has three sounds.

9 A stands for Vaishvanara. Those who know this,

Through mastery of the senses, obtain

The fruit of their desires and attain greatness.

10 U indicates Taijasa. Those who know this,

By mastering even their dreams, become

Established in wisdom. In their family

Everyone leads the spiritual life.

11 M corresponds to Prajna. Those who know this,

By stilling the mind, find their true stature

And inspire everyone around to grow.

12 The mantram a u m stands for the supreme state

Of turiya, without parts, beyond birth

And death, symbol of everlasting joy.

Those who know a u m as the Self become the Self;

Truly they become the Self.

O M shanti shanti shanti

di The Kena Upanishad

The light o f Brahman flashes in lightning;

The light of Brahman flashes in our eyes.

It is the power of Brahman that makes

The mind to think, desire, and will. Therefore

Use this power to meditate on Brahman.

D i 2 0 8

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Di Who Moves the World?

A t A C O N F E R E N C E H E L D I N N E W

Orleans some years ago, physicists were challenged to

explain why there were no pioneers on the order o f Ein­

stein, Bohr, and Heisenberg any more. One young physi­

cist pointed out that the comparison was a bit unfair. Those

bold visionaries had been exploring the world outside,

while his generation was faced with the infinitely harder

task o f querying, Who is the investigator? How is the mind,

our instrument o f knowing, supposed to turn around and

know itself?

In India it seems that this point had been reached and

crossed very early. Fundamental questions about reality

are found even as early as the Rig Veda:

What was all this before creation?

Was there water?

Only God knows, or perhaps he knows n o t . . . (x.129)

By the time we reach the Upanishads this kind o f

questioning is no longer speculative but has become a

systematic and relentless pursuit o f truth, and it embraced

the realization that to know truth we have to come to

grips with the medium of knowing and the identity o f the

knower.

This is the realization that turns mere knowing into

realization, objective science into mystical awareness.

There is a Sufi story about a seeker who calls on Allah day

in and day out for years and finally throws himself down

and sobs, “How long have I been calling and you do not

answer!” Then he hears a voice: “Who do you think has

been making you call me?”

Kena, the title and opening word o f the present

Upanishad, means “by whom?” - that is, impelled by whom

do all the motions o f life stir? Or in Shankara’s brilliant

paraphrase, “By whose mere presence does that desire arise

which moves the universe?”

The text s answer is clear. The first thirteen verses declare,

“He is the ear o f the ear” : that is, that which moves the

world is consciousness, which in the human being becomes

cognition, among other vital functions. Note that among

the powers that operate our senses we meet “that which

makes the mind think.” M ind was a sense, in the Vedantic

worldview, in fact, the chief sense. This is a little easier to

understand when we take into account that the word we

translate as “sense” is actually indriya, “power, faculty.”

Then comes a parable. Am ong the gods (the faculties

of perception) only Indra has the staying power to merit

instruction from the goddess o f wisdom, Uma, the divine

consort o f Shiva. She teaches that the victory o f the Vedic

gods over their adversaries (the creative triumph o f order

over chaos) has not been theirs but that o f the supreme

power working through them. This is an allegory o f the

message which sent the Isha Upanishad so deeply into

Gandhis consciousness, about acting without attachment

to the results. The victory o f good over evil is guaranteed

- but not by the doer. We cannot win that victory, but we

can make ourselves instruments o f it, precisely by not

thinking o f ourselves as the doers but by “making ourselves

zero,” in Gandhis phrase. This is an immediate, practical

consequence o f the realization that we are not really the

ultimate doer o f any o f “our” actions, including the act

o f knowing: “It is the power o f Brahman that makes the

mind to th in k . . .Therefore, use this power to meditate on

Brahman” ( iv .5 -6 ).

W ith an assurance that this truth is all the seeker need

discover, the Kena ends.

- M . N .

Lead me from the unreal to the Real.

Lead me from darkness to light.

Lead me from death to immortality.

o m shanti shanti shanti

D! The Kena Upanishad

[i ]

T H E S T U D E N T

1 Who makes my mind think?

Who fills my body with vitality?

Who causes my tongue to speak? Who is that

Invisible one who sees through my eyes

And hears through my ears?

T H E T E A C H E R

2 The Self is the ear of the ear,

The eye of the eye, the mind of the mind,

The word o f words, and the life o f life.

Rising above the senses and the mind

And renouncing separate existence,

The wise realize the deathless Self.

1 Him our eyes cannot see, nor words express;

He cannot be grasped even by the mind.

We do not know, we cannot understand,

4 Because he is different from the known

And he is different from the unknown.

Thus have we heard from the illumined ones.

s That which makes the tongue speak but cannot be

Spoken by the tongue, know that as the Self.

This Self is not someone other than you.

6 That which makes the mind think but cannot be

Thought by the mind, that is the Self indeed.

This Self is not someone other than you.

7 That which makes the eye see but cannot be

Seen by the eye, that is the Self indeed.

This Self is not someone other than you.

8 That which makes the ear hear but cannot be

Heard by the ear, that is the Self indeed.

This Self is not someone other than you.

9 That which makes you draw breath but cannot be

Drawn by your breath, that is the Self indeed.

This Self is not someone other than you.

T H E T E A C H E R

1 If you think, “I know the Self,” you know not.

All you can see is his external form.

Continue, therefore, your meditation.

T H E S T U D E N T

21 do not think I know the Self, nor can

I say I know him not.

T H E T E A C H E R

There is only one way to know the Self,

And that is to realize him yourself.

3 The ignorant think the Self can be known

By the intellect, but the illumined

Know he is beyond the duality

O f the knower and the known.

4 The Self is realized in a higher state

Of consciousness when you have broken through

The wrong identification that you are

The body, subject to birth and death.

To be the Self is to go beyond death.

5 Realize the Self, the shining goal of life!

If you do not, there is only darkness.

See the Self in all, and go beyond death.

[ H I ]

1 Once upon a time the gods defeated

The demons; and though the victory

Was brought about through the power of Brahman,

The gods boasted, “Ours is the victory,

And ours the power and glory.”

2 Brahman saw their foolish pride and appeared

Before them. But they recognized him not.

1 They said to Agni, god of fire, “Find out

Who this mysterious being is.” “I will,”

4 Promised Agni and approached the being.

“Who are you?” asked the mysterious one.

“I am Agni, god of fire, known to all.”

5 “Are you powerful?” “I can burn all on earth.”

6 “Burn this:” and Brahman placed a straw in front.

The god o f fire attacked the straw, but failed

To burn it. Then he ran back to the gods

And confessed, “I have failed to discover

Who this mysterious being is.”

7 They said to Vayu, god of air, “Find out

Who this mysterious being is.” “I will,”

8 Promised Vayu and approached the being.

“Who are you?” asked the mysterious one.

“I am Vayu, god of air, king of space.”

9 “Are you powerful?” “I can blow all away.”

10 “Blow this away.” Brahman placed a straw in front.

The god of air attacked the straw, but failed

To move it. Then he ran back to the gods

And confessed, “I have failed to discover

Who this mysterious being is ”

11 They begged Indra, leader o f gods, “Find out

Who this mysterious being is.” “I will,”

Promised Indra and approached the being,

12 Who disappeared instantly. In his place

Appeared the lovely goddess of wisdom,

Uma, daughter of the Himalayas;

And Indra asked her, “Who was that being?”

[ i v ]

1 Uma replied, “That was Brahman, from whom

Comes all your power and glory.” The gods

Realized at last the Self is Brahman.

2 3 Agni, Vayu, Indra - these three excel

Among the gods because they realized Brahman.

4 The light of Brahman flashes in lightning;

The light of Brahman flashes in our eyes.

5 It is the power of Brahman that makes

6 The mind to think, desire, and will. Therefore

Use this power to meditate on Brahman.

He is the inmost Self o f everyone;

He alone is worthy of all our love.

Meditate upon him in all. Those who

Meditate upon him are dear to all.

T H E S T U D E N T

7 Teach me more of this spiritual wisdom.

T H E T E A C H E R

I shall share with you fully what I know.

8 Meditation, control of the senses

And passions, and selfless service of all

Are the body, the scriptures are the limbs,

And truth is the heart of this wisdom.

9 Those who realize Brahman shall conquer

All evil and attain the supreme state.

Truly they shall attain the supreme state!

o M shanti shanti shanti

Di The Prashna Upanishad

Prana burns as fire; he shines as the sun;

He rains as the cloud; he blows as the wind;

He crashes as the thunder in the sky.

He is the earth; he has form and no form;

Prana is immortality.

[ H-5 ]

D ! 2 2 0

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Di The Breath of Life

I H E S T R U C T U R E OF T H E P R A S H N A

Upanishad is quite simple: six illustrious seekers approach

the sage Pippalada in turn and ask him a basic question about

Reality. This allows the sage to begin with the process o f cre­

ation, or the emanation of the worlds innumerable forms

from the divine, as many Upanishads do. Then the questions

probe progressively deeper into the practical mysteries of

human existence.

In his first answer Pippalada invokes the law of duality

by which the One becomes many through complementary

opposites like consciousness and matter, giving rise to the

various orders of reality down to the sensible world in which

we consciously operate. Pippalada names the primary polar­

ity prana and rayi, roughly consciousness and matter, and his

answer to the second question - “What power quickens life?”

- begins with a thought-experiment on the primacy of prana

over all vital functions. This becomes a hymn to prana, the

distinctive theme of this Upanishad.

Prana is one of those precise but broad-ranging terms

in the lexicon of Vedanta which we will say more about in

the afterword. We can call it a technical term for the energy

which fuels evolution, powers the vital processes in all forms

of life, and ultimately becomes thoughts and desires in the

mind, where it becomes most readily accessible for us to con­

serve or redirect. Around the concept of prana the Upani­

shads develop a comprehensive theory of life which accounts

for everything from health to morality. Thus the questions

and answers can become more penetrating, and the sweep of

reality to be explained more ample, as this great concept is

explored.

Answer 3 begins with the striking image (partly also at

Brihadaranyaka 1 1 . 1 . 12 and 111.9 .14 ) of the Self casting prana

into the world of multiplicity as its shadow. Our real self is, of

course, closer to energy or consciousness (prana) than to a

form or name (rayi). Pippalada’s answer goes on to categorize

the five pranas known in vital functioning, with their macro-

cosmic equivalents (e.g., 3.8,4.8). The Self of the Upanishads

is both deeper and less circumscribed from the outside world

than the usual Western conception of the self (if indeed we

have one: Huston Smith has pointed out that “there is no con­

sistent view of human nature in the West today” ).

Answer 4, delving deeper into the question of human

identity, brings in another set of inner-outer equivalents dis­

cussed in the introduction to the Chandogya Upanishad, that

of the sacrifice. Answer 5 brings in the cosmic syllable o M .

And 6 closes by underscoring, if we needed further empha­

sis, that prana is prior to and has given rise to “name and

form” (nama-rupa)\ in other words, to all conditioned real­

ity. “Name and form,” roughly, is the Indian equivalent of the

Kantian categories of time and space, as the givens which

make possible but also set limits around what the mind can

grasp.

- M . N .

May we hear only what is good fo r all.

May we see only what is good fo r all.

May we serve you, Lord o f Love, all our

May we be used to spread your peace

on earth.

o M shanti shanti shanti

ni The Prashna Upanishad

Q U E S T I O N I

1 Sukesha, Satyakama, and Gargya,

Kausalya, Bhargava, and Kabandhi,

Who were all seeking Self-realization,

Approached with love sage Pippalada

For his guidance on the spiritual path.

2 The sage told them: “Live with me for one year,

Practicing sense-restraint and complete trust.

Ask me questions at the end of the year,

And I will answer them if I can.”

3 After a year Kabandhi asked the sage:

“Master, who created the universe?”

4 The sage replied:

“The Lord meditated and brought forth prana

With rayi, the giver of name and form:

Male and female, so that they would bring forth

Innumerable creatures for him.

5 “Prana is the sun; rayi is the moon.

Matter is solid, matter is subtle;

Rayi therefore is present everywhere.

6-7 “The sun gives light and life to all who live,

East and west, north and south, above, below;

It is the prana of the universe.

8 “The wise see the Lord of Love in the sun,

Rising in all its golden radiance

To give its warmth and light and life to all.

9 “The wise see the Lord of Love in the year,

Which has two paths, the northern and the southern.

Those who observe outward forms of worship

And are content with personal pleasures

Travel after death by the southern path,

The path of the ancestors and of rayi,

To the lunar world, and are born again.

10 “But those who seek the Self through meditation,

Self-discipline, wisdom, and faith in God

Travel after death by the northern path,

The path o f prana, to the solar world,

Supreme refuge, beyond the reach of fear

And free from the cycle of birth and death.

11 “Some look upon the sun as our father

Who makes life possible with heat and rain

And divides time into months and seasons.

Others have seen him riding in wisdom

On his chariot, with seven colors

As horses and six wheels to represent

The whirling spokes of time.

12 “The wise see the Lord of Love in the month;

Rayi is the dark half, prana the bright.

The wise worship in the light of wisdom,

Others in the darkness of ignorance.

1J “The wise see the Lord of Love in the day;

Rayi is the dark night, prana daylight.

Those who use their days for sexual pleasure

Consume prana, the very stuff of life;

But mastered, sex becomes a spiritual force.

14 “The wise see the Lord of Love in all food;

From food comes seed, and from seed all creatures.

15 They take the lunar path who live for sex;

But those who are self-controlled and truthful

Will go to the bright regions of the sun.

16 “The bright world of Brahman can be attained

Only by those who are pure and true,

Only by those who are pure and true.”

Q U E S T I O N I I

1 Then Bhargava approached the sage and asked:

“Master, what powers support this body?

Which of them are manifested in it?

And among them all, which is the greatest?”

2 The sage replied: “The powers are space, air, fire,

Water, earth, speech, mind, vision, and hearing.

All these boasted, ‘We support this body.’

3 But prana, vital energy, supreme

Over them all, said, ‘Don’t deceive yourselves.

It is I, dividing myself fourfold,

Who hold this body together.’

4 “But they would not believe these words of prana.

To demonstrate the truth, prana arose

And left the body, and all the powers

Knew they had to leave as well. When prana

Returned to the body, they too were back.

As when the queen bee goes out, all the bees

Go out, and when she returns all return,

So returned speech, mind, vision, and hearing.

Then the powers understood and sang this song:

s ‘Prana burns as fire; he shines as the sun;

He rains as the cloud; he blows as the wind;

He crashes as the thunder in the sky.

He is the earth; he has form and no form;

Prana is immortality.

6 ‘Everything rests in prana, as spokes rest

In the hub of the wheel: all the Vedas,

All the rituals, all the warriors and kings.

7 ‘O prana, you move in the mother s womb

As life to be manifested again.

All creatures pay their homage to you.

8 ‘You carry offerings to gods and ancestors

And help sages to master their senses,

Which depend upon you for their function.

9 ‘You are the creator and destroyer,

And our protector. You shine as the sun

In the sky; you are the source of all light.

10 ‘When you pour yourself down as rain on earth,

Every living creature is filled with joy

And knows food will be abundant for all.

11 ‘You are pure and master of everything.

As fire you receive our oblations;

It is you who gives us the breath o f life.

12 ‘Be kind to us with your invisible form,

Which dwells in the voice, the eye, and the ear,

And pervades the mind. Abandon us not.

13 ‘O prana, all the world depends on you.

As a mother looks after her children,

Look after us. Grant us wealth and wisdom.’ ”

Q U E S T I O N I I I

1 Then Kausalya approached the sage and asked:

“Master, from what source does this prana come?

How does he enter the body, how live

After dividing himself into five,

How leave the body at the time of death?

How does he support all that is without

And all that is within?”

2 The sage replied: “You ask searching questions.

Since you are a devoted aspirant

Seeking Brahman, I shall answer them.

3 “Prana is born of the Self. As a man

Casts a shadow, the Self casts prana

Into the body at the time of birth

So that the mind’s desires may be fulfilled.

4 “As a king appoints officers

To do his work in all the villages,

So prana works with four other pranas,

Each a part of himself, to carry out

Different functions in the body.

5 “The main prana dwells in eye, ear, mouth, and nose;

Apana, the downward force, in the organs

Of sex and of excretion. Samana,

The equalizing force in the middle,

Digests food and kindles the seven fires.

6 “Vyana, distributor of energy,

Moves through the myriad vital currents

Radiating from the heart, where lives the Self.

7 At the time of death, through the subtle track

That runs upward through the spinal channel,

Udana, the fifth force, leads the selfless

Up the long ladder of evolution,

And the selfish down. But those who are both

Selfless and selfish come back to this earth.

8 “The sun is the prana of the universe,

And it rises to bring light to our eyes.

The earth draws the lower fire of apana;

The space between sun and earth is samana,

And the moving air is vyana.

9 “Fire is udana. When that fire goes out,

The senses are drawn back into the mind

And the person is ready for rebirth,

10 Whatever the content of consciousness

At the time of death, that is what unites us

To prana, udana, and the Self,

To be reborn in the plane we have earned.

11 “Those who realize this go beyond death.

Their children too follow in their footsteps.

12 Those who perceive how prana rises,

Enters the body, and becomes fivefold

To serve the Self, they die not; they die not.”

Q U E S T I O N I V

1 Then Gargya approached the sage and asked him:

“Sir, when a man is sleeping, who is it

That sleeps in him? Who sees the dreams he sees?

When he wakes up, who in him is awake?

When he enjoys, who is enjoying?

In whom do all these faculties rest?”

2 The sage replied: “As the rays of the sun,

When night comes, become all one in his disk

Until they spread out again at sunrise,

Even so the senses are gathered up

In the mind, which is master of them all.

Therefore when a person neither hears, sees, smells,

Tastes, touches, speaks, nor enjoys, we say he sleeps.

3 “Only the fires of prana are burning.

Apana is like the holy hearth-fire

Ever burning in the householder s shrine;

Vyana is like the fire that faces south

For carrying offerings to our ancestors;

And prana is the fire that faces eastward.

4 Samana is the equalizing fire

That balances inward and outward breath,

The offerings made by the mind.

Udana is the fruit of dreamless sleep,

In which the mind is led close to the Self.

5 “The dreaming mind recalls past impressions.

It sees again what has been seen; it hears

Again what has been heard, enjoys again

What has been enjoyed in many places.

Seen and unseen, heard and unheard, enjoyed

And unenjoyed, the real and the unreal,

The mind sees all; the mind sees all.

6 “When the mind is stilled in dreamless sleep,

It brings rest and repose to the body.

7 Just as birds fly to the tree for rest,

All things in life find their rest in the Self.

8 Earth, water, fire, air, space, and their subtle

Elements, the eyes and what can be seen,

The ears and what can be heard, the nostrils

And what can be smelled, the palate and what

Can be tasted, the skin and what can be touched,

The tongue and what can be spoken,

The hands and what can be held, the organ

Of sex and its object of enjoyment,

The organ of excretion and what is

Excreted, the feet and what they walk on,

The mind and what it thinks, the intellect

And what it knows, the ego and what

It grasps, the heart and what it loves, the light

And what it reveals: all things in life

Find their rest in the Self in dreamless sleep.”

9 “It is the Self who sees, hears, smells, touches,

And tastes, who thinks, acts, and is pure

consciousness.

The Self is Brahman, changeless and supreme.”

10 “Those who know the supreme Self as formless,

Without shadow, without impurity,

Know all, gentle friend, and live in all.

11 Those who know the Self, the seat of consciousness,

In whom the breath and all the senses live,

Know all, gentle friend, and live in all.”

Q U E S T I O N V

1 Satyakama approached the sage and asked:

“Those who have become established in a u m ,

What happens to them after death?”

2 The sage replied: “ a u m is both immanent

And transcendent. Through it one can attain

The personal and the impersonal.”

1 “ a u M has three sounds. Those who meditate on a

Come back to earth, led by the Rig Veda,

To lead a pure life, full of faith and love.

4 Those who meditate on the first two sounds,

A and u, led by the Yajur Veda,

Go to the lunar world, full of pleasure,

From which they come back cloyed to earth again.

5 But those who meditate on a, u, and m

Are led by the Sama chants to the sun,

Where freed from sin, as a snake sheds its skin,

They see the supreme Lord, who lives in all.”

6 “These three sounds when they are separated

Cannot lead one beyond mortality;

But when the whole mantram, a, u, and m,

Indivisible, interdependent,

Goes on reverberating in the mind,

One is freed from fear, awake or asleep.

7 “The Rig Veda brings one to earth; the Yajur

Escorts one to the region of the moon;

The Sama leads one to the solar world,

To which the sage attains through the mantram.

Established in this cosmic vibration,

The sage goes beyond fear, decay, and death

To enter into infinite peace.”

Q U E S T I O N V I

1 Then Sukesha approached the sage and said:

“Master, the prince of Kosala asked me

This question once: ‘Sukesha, do you know the Self

With his sixteen forms?’ ‘I don’t,’ I replied.

‘If I did, I would certainly tell you;

For he who speaks an untruth perishes

Like a tree without roots’ The prince mounted

His chariot and went away silent.

Now may I ask you, where is that Self?”

2 The sage replied: “Within this body dwells

The Self with his sixteen forms, gentle friend.

3 The Self asked himself, ‘What is it that makes

Me go if it goes and stay if it stays?’

4 So he created prana, and from it

Desire; and from desire he made space, air,

Fire, water, the earth, the senses, the mind,

And food; from food came strength, austerity,

The scriptures, sacrifice, and all the worlds;

And everything was given name and form.

s “As rivers lose their private name and form

When they reach the sea, so that people speak

Of the sea alone, so all these sixteen

Forms disappear when the Self is realized.

Then there is no more name and form for us,

And we attain immortality.

6 “The Self is the hub of the wheel of life,

And the sixteen forms are only the spokes.

The Self is the paramount goal o f life.

Attain this goal and go beyond death!”

7 The sage concluded: “There is nothing more

To be said of the Self, nothing more.”

8 The students adored their teacher and said:

“You are our father; you have taken us

Across the sea to the other shore.”

Let us adore the illumined sages!

Let us adore the illumined sages!

o M shanti shanti shanti

d i The Taittiriya Upanishad

The Self is the source o f abiding joy.

Our hearts are filled with joy in seeing him

Enshrined in the depths o f our consciousness.

I f he were not there, who would breathe,

who live?

He it is who fills every heart with joy.

[ n . 7 . 1 ]

D i 2 4 0

I N T R O D U C T I O N

m Ascent to Joy

T h e u p a n i s h a d s m a k e a c a r e f u l

distinction between the terms pleasure and joy. Pleasure,

which mainly comes from sense experience, is transitory and

actually quite limited. Joy comes from being in harmony with

the creative forces of the universe, with one’s own destiny, and

is permanent - one of the main reasons we can tell it apart

from pleasure - and has no limits at all. This is an important

distinction in mysticism, and in a striking passage, the Tait-

tiriya Upanishad builds on this idea and tries to give us some

sense of the magnitude of the joy that is our legacy, building

up systematically, in expansions of a hundred, a comparison

with the limited experience that we have now to the inex­

pressible joy of unity with the supreme.

That alone wbuld be an outstanding contribution, but the

Taittiriya has other distinctive features. One is the model of

the human being as the Self encased in five wrappings like

a Chinese puzzle, starting from the material body (the first

self we are generally aware of) and progressing inward to the

“sheaths” of vitality (prana), mind, intuition (buddhi), and

finally joy. Along with the quantum leaps in joy are simi­

lar qualitative steps in awareness for those who push deeper

through these layers of condensation, as it were, that cover

our real Self.

How is this to be done? Here the text gives one of those

practical insights that startle us with their contemporary bear­

ing: “Respect food. . . Waste not food . . . The earth can yield

much more. . . . Refuse not food to those who are hungry.”

(i 1 1 .8 - 1 o ). Passages like these should give final proof that the

religion of the Upanishads is not world-denying. The layered

models that they develop in so many forms make us feel more

respect for the things of this world. Food, for example, is life-

energy, or prana, condensed into matter. When we respect

that energy on the physical level, we gain easier passage to the

level beyond. O f course, this is even more true of our fellow

creatures; alienation from them blocks spiritual growth. By

realizing the unity from which each created thing has come

and in which it is sustained, we can live rightly in the world of

change in order to ascend through it to the eternal.

Section 1 . 1 1 is a famous passage in this same spirit, a kind

of “convocation address” to spiritual students who have fin­

ished their course of study, the phase of life called brahma-

charya (see p. 250); it follows naturally on section 9, here tided

“To the Householder.” The Upanishads are intended not only

for renunciates in Himalayan caves or forest solitude; they are

also very much for those who wish to carry out the dharmas

of social life in the world.

Like the Kena, this Upanishad ends rather than begins with

a narrative. The story of Bhrigu addresses how we can make

our own life part of the upward drive o f spiritual evolution by

“serving the Self” in everything we do. Than that, the Upani­

shad asserts, there can be no greater joy.

- M . N .

May the Lord o f day grant us peace.

May the Lord o f night grant us peace.

May the Lord of sight grant us peace.

May the Lord o f might grant us peace.

May the Lord o f speech grant us peace.

May the Lord of space grant us peace.

I bow down to Brahman, source o f all power.

I will speak the truth and follow the law.

Guard me and my teacher against all harm.

Guard me and my teacher against all harm.

om shanti shanti shanti

ni The Taittiriya Upanishad

P A R T I

[ l ]

1 May the Lord of day grant us peace.

May the Lord of night grant us peace.

May the Lord of sight grant us peace.

May the Lord of might grant us peace.

May the Lord of speech grant us peace.

May the Lord of space grant us peace.

I bow down to Brahman, source of all power.

1 will speak the truth and follow the law.

Guard me and my teacher against all harm.

Guard me and my teacher against all harm.

[2 ] 2 Let us learn the art of recitation,

Which calls for knowledge of letters, accent,

Measure, emphasis, sequence, and rhythm.

[ 3 ]

1 May the light of wisdom illumine us.

May we become united with the Lord.

Let us contemplate five categories:

This world and luminous worlds in the sky,

Education, progeny, and speech.

What is this world? Earth below, sky above,

Air between, and space connecting them.

2 What are the luminous worlds in the sky?

Fire on one side and sun on the other,

Water between, lightning connecting them.

5 What is education? Teacher speaking

To the disciple seated by his side,

Wisdom between, discourse connecting them.

4 What is progeny? Mother on one side,

Father on the other, the child between,

The sexual organ connecting them.

5 What is speech? The lower jaw and the upper,

Words between, and the tongue connecting them.

6 Those who contemplate these categories

Will have children, cattle, food, and wisdom.

[ 4 ] 1 O Lord of Love, revealed in the scriptures,

Who have assumed the forms of all creatures,

Grant me wisdom to choose the path

That can lead me to immortality.

May my body be strong, my tongue be sweet;

May my ears hear always the sound of O M,

The supreme symbol of the Lord of Love,

And may my love for him grow more and more.

2 Lord, may I grow in spiritual wisdom,

And may I have food and clothes and cattle.

May students come to me from far and near,

Like a flowing river all the year;

May I be enabled to guide them all

To train their senses and still their minds;

J May this be my wealth, may this be my fame.

0 Lord of Love, may I enter into you,

And may you reveal yourself unto me,

The pure One masquerading as many.

You are the refuge of all devotees.

1 am your devotee. Make me your own.

[ 5 ]

1 Bhur, bhuvas, suvar are three vibrations.

Mahachamasya taught a fourth, maha,

To stand for the Self. The rest are his limbs.

When bhur is the earth, bhuvas space between,

And suvar the world above, maha is the sun

That nourishes life everywhere.

2 When bhur is fire, bhuvas air, and suvar

The sun, maha is the moon that supports

All the planets and celestial bodies.

3 When bhur is the Rig, bhuvas the Sama,

And suvar the Yajur, maha is Brahman,

Wisdom that nourishes all the four Vedas.

4 When bhur is prana upward, bhuvas

Downward, and suvar is prana widespread,

Maha is food that nourishes vital forces

In everyone.s Thus these vibrations

Are four times four. Those who understand them

Realize the Self and are loved by all.

[6 ]

1 The Lord of Love dwells in the hearts of all.

To realize him is to go beyond death.

Between the parietal bones of the skull

Swings the sagittal door, as the lobe swings

Behind the palate. Through that one goes out

Chanting bhur, to become one with fire;

Chanting bhuvas, to become one with air;

Chanting suvar, to be one with the sun;

Chanting maha, to be one with the Lord.

Thus one becomes king of his own life, ruler

O f his passions, senses, and intellect.

He is united with the Lord of Love,

Who is truth, peace, and immortality,

The source of joy, the supreme goal of life.

Meditate always on the Lord o f Love.

[ 7 ]

1 Earth, sky, worlds above, quarters and their halves;

Fire, air, sun, moon, and stars; water, herbs, trees,

Space, and entity are the elements.

Eye, ear, mind, tongue, and touch; skin, flesh, muscle,

Marrow, and skeleton; and the five

Vital forces constitute the body.

The sage, contemplating these sets of five,

Discovered that everything is holy.

Man can complete the inner with the outer.

[ 8 ]

1 o M is the supreme symbol of the Lord.

O M is the whole. O M affirms; O M signals

The chanting of the hymns from the Vedas.

The priest begins with o M; spiritual teachers

And their students commence with o M .

The student who is established in o M

Becomes united with the Lord of Love.

[ 9 ]

To the Householder

1 Practice right conduct, learning and teaching;

Be truthful always, learning and teaching;

Master the passions, learning and teaching;

Control the senses, learning and teaching;

Strive for peace always, learning and teaching;

Rouse kundalini, learning and teaching;

Serve humanity, learning and teaching;

Beget progeny, learning and teaching.

Satyavacha says: “Be truthful always.”

Taponitya says: “Master the passions.”

Naka declares: “Learning and teaching are

Necessary for spiritual progress.”

[ 1 0 ]

1 “I have become one with the tree of life.

My glory rises like the mountain peak.

I have realized the Self, who is ever

Pure, all-knowing, radiant, and immortal.”

Thus spoke sage Trishanku when he became

United with the Lord of Love.

[11] 1 Having taught the Vedas, the teacher says:

“Speak the truth. Do your duty. Neglect not

The scriptures. Give your best to your teacher.

Do not cut off the line o f progeny. Swerve not

From the truth. Swerve not from the good.

Protect your spiritual progress always.

Give your best in learning and teaching.

Never fail in respect to the sages.

2 See the divine in your mother, father,

Teacher, and guest. Never do what is wrong.

3 Honor those who are worthy of honor.

Give with faith. Give with love. Give with joy.

4 If you are in doubt about right conduct,

Follow the example of the sages,

Who know what is best for spiritual growth.

5 This is the instruction of the Vedas;

This is the secret; this is the message.”

P A R T I I

11 They have attained the goal who realize

Brahman as the supreme reality,

The source of truth, wisdom, and boundless joy.

They see the Lord in the cave o f the heart

And are granted all the blessings of life.

From Brahman came space; from space, air;

From air, fire; from fire, water; from water,

Earth; from earth, plants; from plants, food;

and from food,

The human body, head, arms, legs, and heart.

21 From food are made all bodies, which become

Food again for others after their death.

Food is the most important of all things

For the body; therefore it is the best

Medicine for all the body’s ailments.

They who look upon food as the Lord’s gift

Shall never lack life’s physical comforts.

From food are made all bodies. All bodies

Feed on food, and it feeds on all bodies.

The physical sheath is made up of food.

Within it is contained the vital sheath,

Which has the same form, with prana as head,

Vyana as right arm, apana as left,

Space as heart, and earth as foundation.

31 Man and woman, beast and bird live by breath.

Breath is therefore called the true sign of life.

It is the vital force in everyone

That determines how long we are to live.

Those who look upon breath as the Lord’s gift

Shall live to complete the full span of life.

The vital sheath is made of living breath.

Within it is contained the mental sheath,

Which has the same form, with Yajur as head,

Rig as right arm, Sama as left. The heart

Is the wisdom of the Upanishads,

And the Atharva is the foundation.

4-1 Realizing That from which all words turn back

And thoughts can never reach, one knows

The bliss of Brahman and fears no more.

Within the mental sheath, made up of waves

Of thought, there is contained the sheath of wisdom.

It has the same form, with faith as the head,

Righteousness as right arm and truth as left.

Practice of meditation is its heart,

And discrimination its foundation.

s 1 Wisdom means a life of selfless service.

Even the gods seek spiritual wisdom.

Those who attain wisdom are freed from sin,

And find all their selfless desires granted.

The wisdom sheath is made o f detachment.

Within it is contained the sheath of bliss,

Which has the same form, with joy as the head,

Contentment as right arm, and delight the left.

Bliss is the heart, and Brahman the foundation.

61 Those who deny the Lord deny themselves;

Those who affirm the Lord affirm themselves.

The wise, not the unwise, realize the Lord.

The Lord of Love willed: “Let me be many!”

And in the depths of his meditation

He created everything that exists.

Meditating, he entered into everything.

He who has no form assumed many forms;

He who is infinite appeared finite;

He who is everywhere assumed a place;

He who is.all wisdom caused ignorance;

He who is real caused unreality.

It is he who has become everything.

It is he who gives reality to all.

71 Before the universe was created,

Brahman existed as unmanifest.

Brahman brought the Lord out of himself;

Therefore he is called the Self-existent.

The Self is the source of abiding joy.

Our hearts are filled with joy in seeing him

Enshrined in the depths o f our consciousness.

If he were not there, who would breathe, who live?

He it is who fills every heart with joy.

When one realizes the Self, in whom

All life is one, changeless, nameless, formless,

Then one fears no more. Until we realize

The unity o f life, we live in fear.

For the mere scholar who knows not the Self,

His separateness becomes fear itself.

81 Through fear of Brahman the wind blows,

sun shines,

Fire burns, rain falls, and death snatches all away.

What is the joy of realizing the Self?

Take a young man, healthy, strong, good, and cultured,

Who has all the wealth that earth can offer;

Let us take this as one measure of joy.

One hundred times that joy is one measure

Of the gandharvas’ joy; but no less joy

Has one illumined, free from self-will.

One hundred times that joy is one measure

Of the joy o f pitris; but no less joy

Has one illumined, free from self-will.

One hundred times that joy is one measure

Of the joy of devas; but no less joy

Has one illumined, free from self-will.

One hundred times that joy is one measure

Of the karmadevas joy; but no less joy

Has one illumined, free from self-will.

One hundred times that joy is one measure

Of the joy of Indra; but no less joy

Has one illumined, free from self-will.

One hundred times that joy is one measure

O f Brihaspati’s joy; but no less joy

Has one illumined, free from self-will.

One hundred times that joy is one measure

O f the joy o f Virat; but no less joy

Has one illumined, free from self-will.

One hundred times that joy is one measure

O f Prajapati s joy; but no less joy

Has one illumined, free from self-will.

The Self in man and in the sun are one.

Those who understand this see through the world

And go beyond the various sheaths of being

To realize the unity of life.

91 Realizing That from which all words turn back

And thoughts can never reach, they know

The bliss o f Brahman and fear no more.

No more are they oppressed by the question,

“How did I fail to perform what is right?

And how did I perform what is not right?”

Those who realize the joy of Brahman,

Having known what is right and what is wrong,

Are delivered forever from this duality.

P A R T I I I

11 Bhrigu went to his father, Varuna,

and asked respectfully: “What is Brahman?”

Varuna replied: “First learn about food,

Breath, eye, ear, speech, and mind; then seek to know

That from which these are born, by which they live,

For which they search, and to which they return.

That is Brahman.”

21 Bhrigu meditated and found that food

Is Brahman. From food are born all creatures,

By food they grow, and to food they return.

Not fully satisfied with his knowledge,

Bhrigu went to his father, Varuna,

And appealed: “Please teach me more o f Brahman.”

“Seek it through meditation,” replied Varuna,

“For meditation is Brahman.”

31 Bhrigu meditated and found that life

Is Brahman. From life are born all creatures,

By life they grow, and to life they return.

Not fully satisfied with his knowledge,

Bhrigu went to his father, Varuna,

And appealed: “Please teach me more o f Brahman.”

“Seek it through meditation,” replied Varuna,

“For meditation is Brahman.”

41 Bhrigu meditated and found that mind

Is Brahman. From mind are born all creatures,

By mind they grow, and to mind they return.

Not fully satisfied with his knowledge,

Bhrigu went to his father, Varuna,

And appealed: “Please teach me more of Brahman.”

“Seek it through meditation,” replied Varuna,

“For meditation is Brahman.”

51 Bhrigu meditated and found that wisdom

Is Brahman. From wisdom come all creatures,

By wisdom they grow, to wisdom return.

Not fully satisfied with his knowledge,

Bhrigu went to his father, Varuna,

And appealed: “Please teach me more of Brahman.”

“Seek it through meditation,” replied Varuna,

“For meditation is Brahman.”

61 Bhrigu meditated and found that joy

Is Brahman. From joy are born all creatures,

By joy they grow, and to joy they return.

Bhrigu, Varuna’s son, realized this Self

In the very depths of meditation.

Those who realize the Self within the heart

Stand firm, grow rich, gather a family

Around them, and receive the love of all.

71 Respect food: the body is made o f food;

Food and body exist to serve the Self.

Those who realize the Self within the heart

Stand firm, grow rich, gather a family

Around them, and receive the love o f all.

*■’ Waste not food, waste not water, waste not fire;

Fire and water exist to serve the Self.

Those who realize the Self within the heart

Stand firm, grow rich, gather a family

Around them, and receive the love o f all.

91 Increase food. The earth can yield much more.

Earth and space exist to serve the Self.

Those who realize the Self within the heart

Stand firm, grow rich, gather a family

Around them, and receive the love of all.

101 Refuse not food to those who are hungry.

When you feed the hungry, you serve the Lord,

From whom is born every living creature.

Those who realize the Self within the heart

Stand firm, grow rich, gather a family

Around them, and receive the love of all.

10 2 Realizing this makes our words pleasing,

Our breathing deep, our arms ready to serve

The Lord in all around, our feet ready

To go to the help of everyone in need.

i°.3-4 Realizing this we see the Lord of Love

In beast and bird, in starlight and in joy,

In sex energy and in the grateful rain,

In everything the universe contains.

Drawing on the Lord’s resources within,

Security, wisdom, and love in action,

We conquer every enemy within

To be united with the Lord o f Love.

The Self in man and in the sun are one.

10 5 Those who understand this see through the world

And go beyond the various sheaths

O f being to realize the unity of life.

Those who realize that all life is one

Are at home everywhere and see themselves

In all beings. They sing in wonder:

“I am the food of life, I am, I am;

I eat the food of life, I eat, I eat.

I link food and water, I link, I link.

I am the first-born in the universe;

Older than the gods, I am immortal.

Who shares food with the hungry protects me;

Who shares not with them is consumed by me.

I am this world and I consume this world.

They who understand this understand life.”

This is the Upanishad, the secret teaching.

o M shanti shanti shanti

D! TheAitareya Upanishad

The Self is in all.

He is all the gods, the five elements,

Earth, air, fire, water, and space;

all creatures,

Great or small, born o f eggs, o f wombs,

o f heat,

O f shoots, horses, cows, elephants, men,

and women;

All beings that walk, all beings that fly,

And all that neither walk nor f ly . .

[ h i .1.3 ]

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Di The Unity of Life

P e r h a p s t h e g r e a t e s t c o n t r i b u -

tion of the Upanishads is to open our eyes to what it really

means to be a human being. The constant concern of the

sages is to reawaken us to the sacred nature of the environ­

ment, of living creatures, of one another, and finally o f our

own inner reality. This exalted vision of the human person has

been echoed by the anonymous monk of fourteenth-century

England who has left us one of the worlds greatest mystical

documents, the Cloud of Unknowing:

Beneath you and external to you lies the entire created uni­

verse. Yes, even the sun, the moon, and the stars. They are

fixed above you, splendid in the firmament, yet they cannot

be compared to your exalted dignity as a human being___

There is nothing above you in nature except God himself.

How can this be? How can this miniscule, fragile body

whose size in the Universe is beyond ludicrous be, or con­

tain, such importance? Because, the Upanishads and all the

world s great mystics insist, we are not that fragile body but

that which causes it to move, breathe, and be alive: conscious­

ness. In this Upanishad we have one of the four mahavakyas

or “great utterances” that later tradition teased out as the sum

and substance of their teaching: prajham brahma, “All reality

is consciousness.” And the same consciousness is the life of

all: thus we have the explanation for both the sanctity and the

unity of life.

The Aitareya lays out this explanation by telling the story of

evolution in the form of a creation myth. To us today it seems

very Lamarckian because it sees the driving force of evolution

as desire; but if we bear in mind that the sages understood

desire to be precisely that - a force, rather than simply crav­

ings or emotions - the myth is not so implausible. The titanic

energy of evolution suggests some kind of drive; when the

sages (or the early Greek thinkers) called it “desire,” they were

connecting life in the here-and-now to that awesome cosmic

process by which the One manifested itself as, and still sus­

tains, the many.

A great sage of modern India who was most Upanishadic

in his exalted vision of this process, Sri Ramana Maharshi,

replied to the urgent questions of a distinguished philosopher

in words that always haunt me:

Happiness is the very nature o f the Self; happiness and the

Self are not different. There is no happiness in any object

o f the world. W e imagine through our ignorance that we

derive happiness from objects. W hen the mind goes out, it

experiences misery. In truth, when its desires are fulfilled, it

returns to its own place and enjoys the happiness that is the

Self.

- M . N .

May my word be one with my thought,

and my thought

Be one with my word. O Lord o f Love,

Let me realize you in my consciousness.

May I realize the truth o f the scriptures

And translate it into my daily life.

May I proclaim the truth o f the scriptures.

May I speak the truth. May it protect me,

And may it protect my teacher.

o m shanti shanti shanti

ni TheAitareya Upanishad

P A R T I

[l] 1 Before the world was created, the Self

Alone existed; nothing whatever stirred.

Then the Self thought: “Let me create the world.”

2 He brought forth all the worlds out o f him self:

Am bhas, high above the sky; M arichi,

The sky; M ara, the m iddle region that is earth;

A nd Apa, the realm o f waters below.

3 The Self thought: “I have created these worlds.

Let me now create guardians for these worlds.”

From the waters he drew forth Purusha

A nd gave him a form . 4 A s the Self brooded

O ver the form , a m outh opened, as does

A n egg, giving forth speech and fire; nostrils

Opened with the power o f breathing the air;

Eyes opened, giving rise to sight and sun;

A nd ears opened to hear the sound in space.

Skin appeared and from it hair; from hair came

Plants and trees. The heart gushed forth;

from the heart

Cam e the m ind, and from the m ind came the moon.

The navel opened w ith the downward force,

Apana, w hich gave rise to death. The sex organ rose

W ith liv in g water w hich gave rise to birth.

[2]

1 Thus came these guardians into the m ighty

Ocean o f existence. The Self caused them

To hunger and thirst. They said to the Self:

“Give us a place where we can live and eat.”

2 He brought them the form o f a cow. They said:

“This is not what we desire.” H e brought them

The form o f a horse. But they said again:

3 “This is not what we desire.” He brought them

A hum an form . They said in joy: “Just right!

A hum an body is just right for us.”

The Self asked them to enter the body

A n d take up their places. 4 Fire, becom ing

Speech, entered the mouth; air, becom ing smell,

Entered the nose; the sun, becom ing sight,

Entered the eyes; sounds in space, becom ing

Hearing, entered the ears; plants, herbs, and trees,

Becom ing hair, entered the skin; the m oon,

Becom ing m ind, entered the heart. The god

O f death, becom ing downward force, entered

The navel; the god o f liv in g water,

Becom ing sperm, entered the sex organ.

5 Hunger and thirst said to the Self: “G ive us

A place.” He told them: “Enter into these

Guardians and share their life w ith them.”

Thus hunger and thirst for food, drink, and pleasure

Attend us, whatever we do in life.

[ 3 ]

1 The Self, Creator, thought: “Here are the worlds

And their guardians. Let me now bring forth food

For them .” 2 He brooded over the waters,

A nd food appeared in the form o f matter.

3 It tried to run away in fear, and man,

The first embodied being, tried to catch

It with his speech. But he could not catch it

W ith words. M erely by repeating the name

O f food one cannot satisfy hunger.

4 He tried to catch it with his breath, but he

Could not. Just by sm elling food one cannot

Satisfy hunger.s He tried to catch it

W ith his eyes, but he could not. By looking

At food one cannot satisfy hunger.

6 He tried to catch it with h is ears, but he

C o u ld not. By m erely hearing about food

One cannot satisfy hunger. 7 He tried

To catch it w ith his skin, but he could not.

B y touching food one cannot satisfy

Hunger. 8 H e tried to catch it with his m ind,

But he could not. By thinking about food

One cannot satisfy hunger. 9 He tried

To catch it w ith his genital organ,

But he could not. By sexual union

One cannot satisfy hunger. 10 He tried

To catch it w ith apana, the downward prana

O f digestion, and at last he caught it.

Thus it is apana that takes in food;

Thus it is apana that lives on food.

11 The Self thought, “How can this be without me?

I f speaking is done by speech, breathing by

Breath, seeing by eyes, hearing by ears, sm elling

By nose, and m editation by the m ind,

12 Then who am I?” Entering the body

Through the gateway at the crown o f the head,

He passed into the three states o f consciousness

In w hich the Self resides.

13 Filled with wonder, we sing: “I see the Lord.”

14 So his name is Idam dra, “He who sees.”

The name Indra stands for Idam dra.

The gods do like to sit behind a veil;

Indeed they like to sit behind a veil.

P A R T I I

[ i ]

1 Life begins in man as sexual fluid,

W hich has the strength gathered from all h is lim bs.

Man holds this quintessence in his body,

A nd it becomes child in woman. This is

The first b irth . 2 C h ild and m other are one.

She protects the child, and needs protection.

3 The m other carries the child in her womb,

A nd the father bestows his loving care

Before and after birth. The child is their

Atm an, their very Self, and continues

Their line without break as the second birth.

4 He discharges all their holy duties

A nd sheds his body, too, when it grows old,

To be born again. This is the third birth.

The sage Vamadeva declared o f old:

5 “W hile dw elling in the womb I understood

The birth o f all the gods. A hundred form s,

Strong as steel, held me prisoner. But I

Broke loose from them, like a hawk from the cage,

273 in

A nd came out swiftly.” W hile still in the womb,

Vamadeva made this declaration.

6 He emerged from his m other’s womb, fully

Illum ined, to live in abiding joy,

A n d went beyond death. Indeed

He went beyond death.

P A R T I I I

[l]

1 W ho is this Self on whom we meditate?

Is it the Self by w hich we see, hear, sm ell, and taste,

2 Through w hich we speak in words? Is Self the m ind

By w hich we perceive, direct, understand,

Know, remember, think, w ill, desire, and love?

These are but servants o f the Self, who is

Pure consciousness.

This Self is all in all.

He is all the gods, the five elements,

3 Earth, air, fire, water, and space; all creatures,

Great or sm all, born o f eggs, o f wombs, o f heat,

O f shoots; horses, cows, elephants, men, and women;

A ll beings that walk, all beings that fly,

A n d all that neither w alk nor fly. Prajna

Is pure consciousness, guiding all. The world

Rests on prajna, and prajna is Brahman.

4 Those who realize Brahman live in joy

And go beyond death. Indeed

They go beyond death.

o M shanti shanti shanti

Di Four Minor Upanishads

The supreme Self is neither born nor dies.

He cannot be burned, moved, pierced, cut,

nor dried.

Beyond all attributes, the supreme Self

Is the eternal witness, ever pure,

Indivisible, and uncompounded,

Far beyond the senses and the ego.

In him conflicts and expectations cease.

[ A T M A I I I ]

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Di Beads of Wisdom

A “ m i n o r ” u p a n i s h a d , b y D E F I N I -

tion, is one that has not been commented upon or extensively

cited by Shankara, not necessarily one that is minor in wis­

dom or expressive power. Shankaras commentaries elevated

the principal Upanishads into a kind of canon; but it should

be noted that the list is not fixed - various authorities, ancient

and modern, have reshaped it - and there may in any case

have been other commentaries of Shankara which have not

survived. Some of the so-called minor texts convey insights

of the same magnitude as those singled out by Shankara, usu­

ally in much the same style and often with the same force.

The first of the four minor Upanishads in this collection,

the Tejobindu, stresses the “beyondness” o f Reality and how

the aspirant must rise beyond ordinary experience and ordi­

nary responses to be one with it: even - for Hindu tradition

does not shrink from this - beyond the guidance o f the sacred

texts themselves. It is a testimony to the value Hindu mys­

ticism placed on independence that the Upanishads and

other texts exhort aspirants to transcend scripture itself in the

search for one’s own destiny.

The second text, Atma Upanishad, offers a very simple and

effective tripartite model of this transcendence. The human

being exists in an outer world and an inner one, that is, in the

physical body and environment and in the realms of mind;

yet there is something beyond both. In describing the world

within, the Atma does what all Upanishads do best: describe

consciousness with subtlety, profundity, and humor. The

realm beyond cannot be described at all, but the effects of

knowing it are extolled.

The next text in this selection, Amritabindu, is one of four

or five Upanishads whose names end in bindu or “drop,” indi­

cating their succinct distillation of wisdom. Amrita, “immor­

tality,” like its Greek cousin Ambrosia, was thought of in ritu­

alistic and mythic contexts as a kind of liquid. This is not the

Upanishads conception. It concentrates on the mind as the

seat of spiritual struggle. The mind is a “wondrous power,” as

Sri Ramana Maharshi said, and our destiny in life is deter­

mined by what we do with that power. The opening line of

the Dhammapada, a central text of Theravada Buddhism, is

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought” (more

literally, of mind). I f we neglect mind, the senses and lower

forces in our inherited consciousness take control of it; if we

train it carefully, we can utilize its power to liberation - to

immortality.

The Paramahamsa Upanishad, last in our selection, stresses

that the insignia of the religious pilgrim or mendicant are

symbolic. Like the rituals observed by householders, they are

at best aids to the conditions of freedom, love, and wisdom

the seeker must establish within. In this regard the Parama­

hamsa resembles descriptions of true spirituality found, for

example, in the last chapter of the Dhammapada (“ The Brah­

min”) and still later in the poems o f Kabir.

- M . N .

Lead me from the unreal to the Real.

Lead me from darkness to light.

Lead me from death to immortality.

O M shanti shanti shanti

m Four Minor Upanishads

T H E T E J O B I N D U U P A N I S H A D

1 Let us meditate on the shining Self,

Changeless, underlying the world of change,

And realized in the heart in samadhi.

2 Hard to reach is the supreme goal o f life,

Hard to describe and hard to abide in.

J They alone attain samadhi who have

Mastered their senses and are free from anger,

Free from self-will and from likes and dislikes,

Without selfish bonds to people and things.

4 They alone attain samadhi who are

Prepared to face challenge after challenge

In the three stages of meditation.

Under an illumined teacher s guidance

They become united with the Lord of Love,

5-6 Called Vishnu, who is present everywhere.

Though the three gunas emanate from him,

He is infinite and invisible.

Though all the galaxies emerge from him,

He is without form and unconditioned.

To be united with the Lord of Love

Is to be freed from all conditioning.

This is the state of Self-realization,

Far beyond the reach of words and thoughts.

To be united with the Lord of Love,

Imperishable, changeless, beyond cause

And effect, is to find infinite joy.

Brahman is beyond all duality,

Beyond the reach of thinker and of thought.

Let us meditate on the shining Self,

The ultimate reality, who is

Realized by the sages in samadhi.

Brahman cannot be realized by those

Who are subject to greed, fear, and anger.

Brahman cannot be realized by those

Who are subject to the pride of name and fame

Or to the vanity of scholarship.

Brahman cannot be realized by those

Who are enmeshed in life’s duality.

But to all those who pierce this duality,

Whose hearts are given to the Lord of Love,

He gives himself through his infinite grace;

He gives himself through his infinite grace.

o M shanti shanti shanti

A T M A U P A N I S H A D

1 This is the teaching of sage Angiras:

Purusha manifests itself three ways:

As outer, inner, and the supreme Self.

Skin, flesh, vertebral column, hair, fingers,

Toes, nails, ankles, stomach, navel, hips, thighs,

Cheeks, eyebrows, forehead, head, eyes, ears,

arms, sides,

Blood vessels, nerves: these make up the outer self,

The body, subject to birth and death.

2 The inner self perceives the outside world,

Made up of earth, water, fire, air, and space.

It is the victim of likes and dislikes,

Pleasure and pain, and delusion and doubt.

It knows all the subtleties of language,

Enjoys dance, music, and all the fine arts;

Delights in the senses, recalls the past,

Reads the scriptures, and is able to act.

This is the mind, the inner person.

3 The supreme Self, adored in the scriptures,

Can be realized through the path of yoga.

Subtler than the banyan seed, subtler

Than the tiniest grain, even subtler

Than the hundred-thousandth part of a hair,

This Self cannot be grasped, cannot be seen.

The supreme Self is neither born nor dies.

He cannot be burned, moved, pierced, cut, nor dried.

Beyond all attributes, the supreme Self

Is the eternal witness, ever pure,

Indivisible, and uncompounded,

Far beyond the senses and the ego.

In him conflicts and expectations cease.

He is omnipresent, beyond all thought,

Without action in the external world,

Without action in the internal world.

Detached from the outer and the inner,

This supreme Self purifies the impure.

o M shanti shanti shanti

A M R I T A B I N D U U P A N I S H A D

1 The mind may be said to be of two kinds,

Pure and impure. Driven by the senses

It becomes impure; but with the senses

Under control, the mind becomes pure.

2 It is the mind that frees us or enslaves.

Driven by the senses we become bound;

Master of the senses-we become free.

3 Those who seek freedom must master their senses.

4 When the mind is detached from the senses

One reaches the summit of consciousness.

5 Mastery of the mind leads to wisdom.

Practice meditation. Stop all vain talk.

6 The highest state is beyond reach of thought,

For it lies beyond all duality.

7 Keep repeating the ancient mantram o M

Until it reverberates in your heart.

8 Brahman is indivisible and pure;

Realize Brahman and go beyond all change.

9 He is immanent and transcendent.

Realizing him, sages attain freedom

10 And declare there are no separate minds.

They have but realized what they always are.

,l Waking, sleeping, dreaming, the Self is one.

Transcend these three and go beyond rebirth.

12 There is only one Self in all creatures.

The One appears many, just as the moon

Appears many, reflected in water.

13 The Self appears to change its location

But does not, just as the air in a jar

Changes not when the jar is moved about.

14 When the jar is broken, the air knows not;

But the Self knows well when the body is shed.

15 We see not the Self, concealed by maya;

When the veil falls, we see we are the Self.

16 The mantram is the symbol of Brahman;

Repeating it can bring peace to the mind.

17 Knowledge is twofold, lower and higher.

Realize the Self; for all else is lower.

18 Realization is rice; all else is chaff.

19 The milk of cows of any hue is white.

The sages say that wisdom is the milk

And the sacred scriptures are the cows.

20 As butter lies hidden within milk,

The Self is hidden in the hearts of all.

Churn the mind through meditation on it;

21 Light your fire through meditation on it:

The Self, all whole, all peace, all certitude.

22 “I have realized the Self,” declares the sage,

“Who is present in all beings.

I am united with the Lord of Love;

I am united with the Lord of Love.”

O M shanti shanti shanti

The Paramahamsa Upanishad !0

P A R A M A H A M S A U P A N I S H A D

1 Narada enquired of the Lord of Love:

“What is the state of the illumined one?”

The Lord replied: “Hard to reach is the state

Of the illumined one. Only a few

Attain it. But even one is enough.

For he is the pure Self of the scriptures;

He is truly great because he serves me,

And I reveal myself through him always.”

He has renounced all selfish attachments

And observes no rites and ceremonies.

He has only minimum possessions,

And lives his life for the welfare of all.

2 He has no staff nor tuft nor sacred thread.

He faces heat and cold, pleasure and pain,

Honor and dishonor with equal calm.

He is not affected by calumny,

Pride, jealousy, status, joy, or sorrow,

Greed, anger, or infatuation,

Excitement, egoism, or other goads;

For he knows he is neither body nor mind.

Free from the sway of doubt and false knowledge

He lives united with the Lord of Love,

Who is ever serene, immutable,

Indivisible, the source of all joy

And wisdom. The Lord is his true home,

His pilgrims tuft of hair, his sacred thread;

For he has entered the unitive state.

3 Having renounced every selfish desire,

He has found his rest in the Lord of Love.

Wisdom is the staff that supports him now.

Those who take a mendicants staff while they

Are still at the mercy of their senses

Cannot escape enormous suffering.

The illumined man knows this truth of life.

4 For him the universe is his garment

And the Lord not separate from himself.

He offers no ancestral oblations;

He praises nobody, blames nobody,

Is never dependent on anyone.

He has no need to repeat the mantram,

No more need to practice meditation.

The world of change and changeless Reality

Are one to him, for he sees all in God.

The aspirant who is seeking the Lord

Must free himself from selfish attachments

To people, money, and possessions.

When his mind sheds every selfish desire,

He becomes free from the duality

Of pleasure and pain and rules his senses.

No more is he capable of ill will;

No more is he subject to elation,

For his senses come to rest in the Self.

Entering into the unitive state,

He attains the goal of evolution.

Truly he attains the goal of evolution.

O M shanti shanti shanti

m A Religion for Modern Times B Y M I C H A E L N . N A G L E R

T h e u p a n i s h a d s h a v e o f t e n b e e n

called the purest source o f India’s spiritual tradition. If we take the

word pure to mean that they consist o f essentials and are not tan­

gled up in the changing circumstances o f the culture that produced

and recorded them, we will see w hy they are not only still revered

in India but have been discovered by individuals throughout the

world as treasures o f needed wisdom - even though they are not

particularly easy to read.

Our age seems to need this kind o f guidance more than ever. We

are passing through a spiritual crisis that has been brought about

by a wrong message about human nature and human happiness - a

message so pervasive that it makes up a global culture o f its own.

We need to turn to sources o f wisdom wherever we can find them.

Against this backdrop the wisdom tradition in general is indispens­

able, and the Upanishads in particular have some attractive features

recommending them as a w ay to mine that tradition and integrate

the best it has to offer into our modern lives.

First, the Upanishads offer a noble, exalted vision o f human

nature. To hear sages say, “Hear, O children o f immortal bliss, you

are born to be united with the Lord,” or to read the many “ladder”

images in the texts that show us that our awareness o f ourselves

as physical bodies is a mere shadow o f what we really are, brings a

shock o f recognition, a great relief.

Second, while the Upanishads are wrapped in a good bit of

m ythology and ritual, that wrapping comes off pretty easily. What

we are left with is pure mysticism: a penetrating and remarkably

comprehensive vision o f Truth that can give us inspiration and a

direction - a beckoning goal and a way to reach it.

Third, the Upanishads are scientific and experiential. They don’t

say, “believe this” ; they say, “ This we have seen: if you do x, y, and z,

you can confirm it for yourself.” They offend neither our sense o f logic

nor our sense o f responsibility for discovering truth for ourselves.

More: their outlook is nonjudgmental. They speak with fervor about

darkness and ignorance, not with indignation about sin. They give us

their glorious testimony about reality and let us decide whether we

want to realize it for ourselves. Their universe is rigorously unforgiv­

ing in the sense that ignorance is its own punishment, and rigorously

redemptive in the sense that wisdom is its own reward.

A ll this being said about the Upanishad’s universality, the fact

remains that these conversations (as they seem to have been) were

recorded very far back in time in a world that was very different

from our own. They do require some getting used to. M y familiarity

with them grew as I learned more about the world from which they

had come; and this is what I will now try to share.

I . S O N G S O F T R U T H :

W H A T I S A N U P A N I S H A D ?

A n Upanishad is an utterance o f mystical truth that

has come down to us as an attachment to the Vedas, the ancient and

extremely sacred hym n collections or Samhitas o f the In d o -A ry­

ans. These collections are four in number - Rig, Yajur, Sama, and

Atharva, in order o f their age and their predominant interest in

gods, ritual formula, chant, or magic spells. They and their adjuncts

o f almost equally ancient material form the textual basis to this day

o f India’s major religious system. To be Hindu means in some sense

to accept their authority, and since Hinduism is a decentralized sys­

tem with diffuse institutional controls, there is almost no other cri­

terion. A s one studies the Upanishads today it is useful to keep in

view this seeming paradox o f decentralized authority and unwrit­

ten stability.

Veda (etymologically “sacred knowledge,” or wisdom ) means

in the first instance these four Samhitas or collections o f inspired

hymns directed to the gods o f the Indo-Aryan pantheon and divin­

ized aspects o f the Vedic religious ideology, such as fire, as well as

some hymns so elusive we can no longer tell what exactly they are

celebrating. A second meaning of the word includes three classes of

texts which were soon attached to, and preserved with, their respec­

tive Samhitas. The first are the Brahmanas, lengthy descriptions o f

the Vedic rituals in a prose which is nearly that o f classical Sanskrit,

containing a vast amount o f lore and narrative from innumerable

family traditions. These texts were basically manuals for the priests

(also brahmanas, “brahmins” ) responsible for the increasingly com ­

plex family and com m unity rites. Second is a smaller and more in­

triguing group o f texts known as Aranyakas or “forest manuals,”

continuations o f the Brahmanas but “dealing with the speculations

and spirituality o f forest dwellers . . . , those who have renounced

the world.” 1 A n d third are the earliest Upanishads or “confiden­

tial sessions.”2 The Upanishads thus consummate a line o f develop­

ment which begins with the official hymns o f the extended family

that were recited at their public rituals and ends with utterances of

universal import that a remarkable class o f forest sages had given

to their intimate disciples. For this reason, and because they are

handed down at the end o f the Vedic collections and are meant to be

learned and recited last by Vedic students, the Upanishads are clas­

sified as vedanta, “the end o f the Vedas.”

Indian tradition makes a distinction between the Samhitas

and Brahmanas, which deal m ainly with ritual performance, and

the Aranyakas and Upanishads, especially the latter, which deal

with interpretation: what the rituals, and then what things in gen­

eral, mean. The technical terms for these two divisions were karma

kanda and jnana kanda, the portions dealing respectively with (rit­

ual) action and spiritual knowledge. In the Upanishads themselves

the former often serves as foil for the latter; that is, rituals become

symbols o f Self-realization, always an elusive state to describe in

words.

However they began, there are today about two hundred texts

which go by the name o f Upanishad - or, according to another

classification, one hundred and eight, an auspicious number in

Hinduism. Looked at as a genre, these texts vary as drastically in

content and spirituality as they do in age, ranging from the oldest

prose Upanishads to some which are obviously medieval. The tran­

scendent authority o f the older texts rises above sectarian forms o f

religion to represent the religion that Hindus originally called not

“Hinduism” but the sanatana dharma or “eternal law.”

Early in the eighth century a . d . , in a period when Hinduism

was losing its bearings, the great mystic and philosopher Shankara,

knowing that only mystical experience could reinvigorate the tra­

dition, composed remarkable commentaries on ten o f the U pa­

nishads, giving them as it were a secondary canonization by his

authority, labor, and vast intellectual achievement - and renewing

Hinduism in the process. These ten Upanishads are listed by Indian

tradition in the following order: Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, M un-

daka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka.

The Shvetashvatara is no less treasured today, and some scholars say

that Shankara wrote a com mentary on it which has not survived.

These eleven are com m only considered the principal Upanishads.

The class o f people who taught in the forest ashrams o f ancient

India were “apparently engaged,” as D. S. Sarm a points out, “ in the

mighty task o f transforming a rather low type o f sacrificial religion

prevalent at the time into a great mystical religion true for all time.” 3

It would be misleading to say there was no trace o f mysticism in the

Samhitas; wherever there is a real love o f life there is a groundwork

o f mystical devotion, and the exuberance o f the hymns, their total

faith in the order o f the universe (rita) and in man’s place in nature,

seen and unseen, their sense o f the seriousness o f human action -

all these belong to a spirit o f mysticism. Besides, the Samhitas and

especially the oldest, the Rig Veda Samhita, contain impressive pro­

fundity in speculation about the nature o f being, time, and the uni­

verse, as in the famous Nasadiya Sukta (.129.1.4), sometimes called a

“basis o f the Upanishads” :4

A t first there was neither Being nor Nonbeing.

There was not air nor yet sky beyond.

W hat was its wrapping? W here? In whose protection?

Was water there, unfathomable and deep?

In the beginning Love arose,

W hich was the primal germ cell o f the mind.

The seers, searching in their hearts with wisdom,

Discovered the connection o f Being in Nonbeing.

W ho really knows? W h o can presume to tell it?

W hence was it born? W hence issued this creation?

Even the gods came after its emergence.

Then who can tell from whence it came to be?

The Vedas give us glimpses into a mythological world which

looks like that o f Greece, Rome, and the rest o f Europe, but dif­

ferent. The Upanishadic universe also contains “three worlds,” but

these are not the underworld, “middle-earth,” and heaven as in

the West, but the visible world, heaven (or the sky), and another

plane that is far beyond phenomenal reality. The human being is

not a puny speck in this cosmos, as we m ay appear physically. By

virtue o f a power called tapas (“heat” ) generated by extreme auster­

ity (also called tapas) or in deep stages of meditation, ordinary men

or women can compel profound changes in the universe. The hard

line between mortality and immortality, between mankind and the

gods, which Greek and Roman religion hammer home, is blurred

and crossable.

When we get to the Upanishads themselves there is a new ele­

ment, something almost disconcertingly different. It can be brought

out in an image which appears in the Rig Veda (I.164.20) and is

repeated, sometimes verbatim, in several Upanishads:

Two birds of beautiful plumage, comrades

Inseparable, live on the selfsame tree.

One bird eats the fruit of pleasure and pain;

The other looks on without eating.

When this image occurs in the Vedic context it’s pretty clear that

the bird that does partake - that is, the person who enjoys the fruits

of life - is being held up for praise. In the Upanishadic contexts it is

just the other way around: he or she who is not hypnotized by the

ever-changing stream of phenomena but observes it in detachment

is heading for the supreme human destiny.

Sometimes the Upanishads draw attention to this discontinuity

with a boldness of thought few cultures - not to say religions - have

ventured, as when they openly state that the Vedas themselves are

only aids to realization which an already realized person no longer

needs (Mundaka 1.2.7). One way of looking at the decisive differ­

ence is that the religion of the Samhitas centers on the gods, and the

direct, enthusiastic invocation and worship of them at the sacrifice.

In the Brahmanas, however, the intense power o f the sacrifice itself

(the original meaning o f brahman) becomes the focus, and the sac­

rifice which moves the gods is several times said to be more power­

ful than they are. Then, finally, in the Aranyakas, power is seen to

rest in man himself. There is a ground for mysticism in the Sam-

hitas, but only the Aranyakas and then decisively the Upanishads

plant in that ground and cultivate it systematically.

It is because o f this fundamental commitment to spiritual val­

ues and the focus on human consciousness that the Upanishads

m ay be regarded as the source, insofar as texts are the source, of

India’s civilization. There is a mystical element at the heart o f all

great religious systems; but in India that mysticism has been estab­

lished and systematically developed, to become - to use a phrase of

Schopenhauer’s - “the faith o f the people.”

However this happened, mysticism and the intense devotion that

is always a part o f mysticism have become the heart o f India’s civili­

zation, and if it survives the current corrosion o f values by material­

ism the w ay it survived, in centuries past, the successive attacks of

Mongols, Muslims, and British, the spiritual culture o f India will be

a precious resource for a world reawakening to the need for spiritual

values. But for this to happen, some difficulties that lie in the path

o f our understanding this culture must be cleared. Perhaps the most

serious is simply the rarity o f the experience they are attempting to

describe. To this day, only a rare few human beings have actually

had the experience o f “seeing” reality from the perspective taken

by these remarkable documents. The Self is “hidden in the deep­

est cave o f the heart.” It cannot be perceived by the senses, like phe­

nomena we can measure or describe. W e have to build a road into

the regions o f consciousness where we can "see” what lies there; we

need an appropriate and sufficiently powerful organ o f perception,

what the Bhagavad Gita (11.8) calls the “divine eye.” It is for this rea­

son that the author o f the Kena exclaims, “W e do not know, we do

not understand.” (1.3).

I I . I N D I A N C U L T U R E & T R A D I T I O N

Rabindranath Tagore once pointed out that while

the Greeks and Romans built great cities, India’s was a “forest civ­

ilization.” 5 Not that there were no great cities in ancient India -

Harappa and Mohenjo Daro rose and fell before Mycenaean palaces

were erected on the Greek mainland - but the essential continu­

ity o f the culture was developed and preserved by families living in

small communities close to nature long after splendid palaces and

universities rose in those cities. This had profound consequences,

as Tagore explains, for the Hindu worldview. Like the Hebrews, the

ancient Indians distrusted the pace and pom p o f urbandom, and

distrusted it enough to resist central authority and conform ism for

thousands o f years. Their trust in oral creativity and preservation

paid off, for India’s is an extremely well-documented civilization.

More survives o f classical Sanskrit than o f ancient Greek and per­

haps Latin literature put together: the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the

Aeneid would fit into one vast Indian epic, the Mahabharata, with

room to spare for Lucian and some others.

These choices help to explain what meets us in the Upanishads:

their intimacy, the bewildering variety o f their outer form, the fact

that they are creative utterances o f gifted individuals, even the way

they were preserved as a precious inheritance in family traditions.

It is this closeness to the individual person that makes them, behind

an austere facade, deeply devotional.

The Upanishads are in some ways the archetype for other forms

o f Indian culture, most importantly perhaps in their grounding

in the teacher-student relationship. Not only in mysticism, but in

Indian music and other arts it is this reliance on person-to-person

communication, both for teaching the individual student and for

perpetuating the parampara or “succession” that keeps the art alive

for the whole culture.

Indian aesthetics holds that the essence o f every moment in an

artistic performance is its rasa, which corresponds to one o f nine

m oods or dispositions, such as fear, erotic love, or devotion. If the

Upanishads are an archetypal art form in that sense, what is their

rasa? That question occupied Indian aestheticians a great deal, and

their answer was skillful: the Upanishads come from the disposi­

tion o f shanta, “peace,” which is not really a disposition or mood

but what happens when all mental dispositions are brought to rest:

again the Upanishads are an “end o f the Vedas.”

The rasa theory also allowed Indian theorists to get a grip on

what an Upanishad was essentially, rather than formally: when­

ever you have a truth-utterance (a profound statement by someone

in a higher state of consciousness) you have an Upanishad. In this

sense the Bhagavad Gita is an Upanishad, and the epic in which it is

embedded, the Mahabharata, however violent on the surface, itself

teaches detachment from worldly gain and communicates the pre­

disposition of inner calm (shama) leading also to spiritual peace

(shanta).6

This attention to theory and classification bring us to the fact that

India’s was a highly scientific spirit, and this combination o f science

and devotion, o f detached observation and mystical ecstasy, is one

o f the most arresting - and useful - aspects o f the Upanishads. It did

not stop with them. W hen Gandhi told the world that he had been

instructed to undertake his “epic fast” in 1932 by “the voice o f God,”

many asked how he knew he was not having a hallucination. He

calmly told them, “ The claim that I have made is neither extraordi­

nary nor exclusive. G od will rule the lives o f all those who surrender

themselves without reservation to him.” A n d he added, “Here is no

question o f hallucination. I have stated a simple, scientific law that

can be verified by anyone who will carry out the necessary prepara­

tions. . . . ” We are used to considering religion and science at odds

- a divorce that many consider very harmful. Gandhi’s confident

claim is an arresting revelation, entirely in the spirit o f the Upani­

shads.

If we judge a theory by its explanatory power, one of the most

successful in the Upanishads is the theory of prana. The word may

come from the prefix pra- “ forth” (possibly used here as an inten-

sifier) and the important root an “to breathe.” A s generally used,

prana means “ (living) energy” : all the “vital signs” by which we try

to identify the presence o f life are tokens o f the capacity o f a body

to direct, conserve, and employ energy at a high level o f complex­

ity. The Upanishadic sages worked out the prim acy o f prana over its

various functions in the body by what we call thought-experiments.

One might imagine, for example, what would happen if the indi­

vidual faculties (in Sanskrit, indriyas) leave a person one by one: as

sight leaves, the person would go blind, and so forth, but still live.

This is exactly what we find in the Brihadaranyaka (v i.1.7 -13) and

other Upanishads. But when prana itself makes ready to leave, “like

a great stallion pulling up the stakes by which he was tethered,” all

the faculties gather round and beg it to remain, declaring they have

learned their lesson: they all derive their existence from prana. Or

one might imagine what would happen if all the faculties left and

came back to the inert body one by one: how would sight function

by itself if one were not conscious? This is the Aitareya experiment,

and there are others in the Prashna and elsewhere. The sages are

saying, as it were, “ If our theory is correct, death should only occur

when prana itself goes, and conversely life should resume when it

returns.”

The sages testify that they have confirmed all this by direct obser­

vation - but that observation requires a highly trained observer.

This is a principle known in Western medieval philosophy as adae-

quatio rei et intellectu, the “suitability o f the cognitive equipment

to its task” : the senses and the mind (which Indians considered

the chief sense) must be brought to a stillness, usually by assidu­

ous training, in order for us to become aware o f prana and what lies

beyond even that.

In giving us these thought-experiments the sages probably had

three things in mind. First and foremost, they wanted to guide the

cognitive growth o f others who could be inspired to undertake the

training required to perceive the life-process in this direct way. Sec­

ond, they simply wanted to explain life with the most powerful the­

ory, which is w hy they are so rigorously logical. A n d finally they

meant to put a science o f health on a firm basis - in other words, to

say something true and useful about the process and the systems we

call life. From this scientific basis the sages were also able to explain,

again drawing on their incredible skill at directing attention inward,

the fivefold distribution o f the body’s energy, which is elaborated,

including its relationship to other realities, in the Prashna and sev­

eral other Upanishads.

I hope I have illustrated that with a little getting used to, one can

move around handily enough in the Indian system, which was quite

scientific and rational in its own terms. Diversity is not disharmony.

Without formal rules, Hindus organized a vast collection o f texts

into categories and canonized them in a system that was authorita­

tive throughout Hindu culture. In this respect India invites com ­

parison with another ancient people with intense spiritual longings

who remained decentralized, not by choice but by the destruction

o f their political integrity: the Jews. In this description o f the M ish-

naic inheritance we might almost be reading a description o f the

, Upanishads:7

The Talmud is the repository o f thousands o f years o f Jewish

wisdom, and the oral law, which is as ancient and significant

as the written law (the Torah), finds expression therein. It

is a conglomerate o f law, legend, and philosophy, a blend

o f unique logic and shrewd pragmatism, o f history and sci­

ence, anecdotes and humor. It is a collection o f paradoxes:

its framework is orderly and logical, every word and term

subjected to meticulous editing, completed centuries after

the actual work o f composition came to an end; yet it is

still based on free association, on a harnessing together of

diverse ideas reminiscent o f the modern stream-of-con-

sciousness novel.

Even more than diaspora Jewish tradition, the survival strat­

egy o f Indian culture was cumulative. This is a particularly useful

generalization to bear in mind. India was probably the only coun­

try where three in m any ways contradictory systems o f medicine,

Indian, Arabic, and Greek, flourished side by side; a similar tolera­

tion extended to the successive stages o f evolution in religious con­

sciousness through which India passed. Outworn forms o f religious

worship were virtually never discarded - as Professor Sarma points

out, the sages did their job o f moving people beyond their “rather

low type o f sacrificial religion . . . without in any explicit manner

breaking away from the traditions o f the past.”8

The resulting accumulation can be confusing because most tra­

ditions have not been cumulative; they reject a “creed outworn”

when they move on to a new stage. The ability to accommodate

rather than reject older beliefs has a very practical outcome. India

has had its share o f religious intolerance, but thanks to its paradigm

o f unity-in-diversity and its cumulative strategy for preserving cul­

ture, those individuals and communities who respond to outward

forms o f worship have kept their place and dignity in the system,

while at the other extreme individuals who have really had mysti­

cal experience have been unusually free to transcend all religious

forms and not only follow their own path but become beacons for

the culture as a whole. “A s men approach me, so I receive them,” Sri

Krishna says in the Gita. “A ll paths, Arjuna, lead to me” (Gita 4.11).

This too helps explain the mixtures, or more properly layers, o f reli­

gious consciousness displayed in the Upanishads.

I I I . T H E L I T E R A R Y V E H I C L E

Although not many of the Upanishadic passages

dealing with ritual and sacrifice are included in this or most other

modern collections, the texts’ concern with that aspect of religion

went beyond the fact that technically the Upanishads are commen­

taries on the Vedas. Ritual stood for all human action; sacrifice,

once internalized, was the key idea of mysticism and thus became a

perfect vehicle of continuity between the Brahmanas and the texts’

own interiorizing mystical vision. In the Upanishads’ treatment of

sacrifice we can learn many things about how they work as literary,

philosophical, and religious texts.

Many Upanishadic passages have to be interpreted by two or

more “codes” (as literary critics say today), since a new set o f mean­

ings is mapped onto an older set o f symbols.9 The gods or devas of

the natural world are dramatizations o f phenomena like rain and

wind, but they also stand for parallel faculties in the human being.

W hen Krishna says in the Gita, “ Those who worship the gods go to

the gods, but m y devotees come to me” (Gita 7. 23), he means that

those who live in the sense-world end up stuck in the sense-world;

but those who try to reach awareness o f their inner Self become

completely realized.

At all stages o f Indian civilization the world-process itself was

considered a sacrifice. Even the gods carry out sacrifice, playing,

just as human beings must, their role in the continuation of the

cosmic cycle. But as we have seen, devas can stand for the sensory

and motor faculties, divine energy as experienced in the m icro­

cosm; Shankara elsewhere comments, “It is a fact established on

the strength o f the scriptures that speech and the other faculties are

conscious through being presided over by conscious deities.” 10 So

in this image o f the gods offering sacrifice for the continuity o f the

cosmic process (or as that process) we also can see the beginnings of

one o f the most important principles o f mysticism, the principle of

yajna or spiritual sacrifice: in order to reach the highest fulfillment,

the human being returns vital energy to the process rather than

clinging to it. In practical terms, he br she works for the well-being

o f the world rather than for the gratification o f personal desires, and

therefore even eating is ideally a sacrifice meant to empower a self­

less contribution to the world process. We encounter this repeat -

edly in the Upanishads; the Fourth Question o f the Prashna con­

tains just this allegory o f human life as sacrifice, and the spiritual

principle o f yajna is, as Gandhi said, the essence o f the Isha, indeed

of India’s civilization.

Likewise, when the Upanishads describe the soul as travel­

ing through various realms after death, they are really referring

to realms o f psychic experience we can have in this life. The U pa­

nishads do not suppress but reuse the complex layers o f symbolic

thought they have inherited. I f their interest in sacrifices was a debt

owed to their Vedic and Brahmanic home in the literary tradition, it

was a debt they paid cheerfully, for it gave them a perfect vehicle for

their new message.

In the Katha and some other Upanishads we come across an

expression that means literally “eating up the good works” (karma)

o f someone or other. Karma means prim arily the spiritual or ethi­

cally operational residue o f every act. Thus not only a ritual act but

every act is symbolic, in the sense that beyond its external, visible

effects are the far more important, deep-residing effects o f every

thought, word, and deed on our spiritual relationships.

These effects entangle us in further relationships, making up our

network - or net - o f karma. Yet, as the Gita so eloquently says (3 .4 -

6), it is absurd to think we have a choice not to act; even if we sit qui­

etly our thoughts and desires will go on driving through the world o f

karmic influence. H ow can we ever be free of such a tangle? Precisely

by learning more and more day by day to act in a spirit o f yajna.

It was Gandhi who really brought this abstruse doctrine back

to vibrant life: act, by all means, but make your act, in the m od­

ern sense o f the word, a sacrifice. That is, he explained, choose a

selfless goal, use right means (nonviolence), and never be pushed

into action for your own benefit - a tall order. Gandhi was not wax­

ing metaphorical when he called his programs for the deliverance of

India - and o f the individual activist - yajna. By drawing upon the

not-to-be-denied need in all o f us to work for a selfless goal he ele­

vated even his political campaigns to the level o f models for every

action we might want to take today.

W hat Professor Sarma called the sages’ “m ighty task” o f making

the Hindu system valid for all time could be expressed in a single

word: interiorization. Interiorization does not mean giving up on

external struggles and satisfactions but rather reaching the center of

the field where all satisfaction is ultimately achieved for us human

beings. It does not mean losing life; it means the sacrificer gets eter­

nal life. The Upanishads share with all sages the same high vision of

what the human being can become: without sacrifice, we stop short

o f something that is essentially human.

Several things about the Vedic sacrificial (and, more generally,

ritual) belief system made it relatively easy to develop that system

mystically - that is, to interiorize it. A t an early stage, for example,

a certain type o f priest was designated who officiated at the ritu­

als mentally, not participating in the acts or recitations but going

through them in his m ind.11 His role originally was the important

one o f protecting the performance against errors, which were felt

to be dangerous and required elaborate purification; but that prec­

edent o f an interior run-through led to the provision that one could

actually perform the rituals mentally if the necessary implements

or personnel were not available - for example, in the forest. It was a

relatively short step from this provision to the position that as far as

the true purpose o f religion goes, external rites - however suitable

for the short-term resolution o f social problems - are unnecessary,

or at best symbolic. The real sacrifice could then be done directly,

not just attempted by symbolic manipulations.

At the beginning o f the Katha Upanishad we seem to have a reca­

pitulation of this historic process. Everything it describes has more

than one meaning. Nachiketa, a forthright youth who takes life seri­

ously, is taken aback by his father s sham sacrifice, but underneath

he is actually frustrated with the unreality o f the world. His long­

ing and his sincerity bring him face to face with the power o f death.

Given three boons, he chooses first o f all to be reconciled with his

father and to escape the immediate danger o f death he is facing.

Then - his relationship to death is becom ing that o f spiritual aspi­

rant before the supreme teacher - he asks and receives the knowl­

edge o f the fire sacrifice that “leads to heaven.” Then with the third

boon comes the point: “O Death, having seen your face, how can I

enjoy anything again? Teach me the real secret: W hat are you? W hat

happens when we die, and how can we not?” He does not want to

die and come back to life; he does not want to die and be rem em ­

bered; finally he just does not want to die.

A nd he does not have to. Desire focused and unified at that

depth opens for him “the entire secret o f meditation” (Katha 11.3.18)

by which one leaves all separate individuality - and consequently

all that is created and must die - behind. These stages of the story

reflect rather well the development of India’s rich, complex, and

cumulative religious history, driven always by the quenchless desire

for life that caused it to evolve into one of the most highly developed

- and inspiring - systems of mysticism in the world.

We think o f the Upanishads first and foremost as a well o f deep

meaning - their practical use to and effect upon us. But Indian pun­

dits and scholars o f old considered them also as a source o f poetic

beauty, and this beauty is not entirely secondary. The Upanishads

inherit from the Vedas a capacity for inspired poetry. They speak,

usually, in a less lyrical voice; on the other hand, they have even

deeper access to the basic resource o f all poetry, which is vision.

Vision often produces poetry even when the Upanishads speak in

their most dogged prose; for example in highly imaginative imag­

ery that can suddenly light up an elusive concept with deceptive

simplicity (see the introduction, p. 15). These images stay in the

mind; once we hear them, we will carry them around like a torch,

throwing light on life wherever we live it. W hen we understand the

purpose o f the Upanishads and have grown used to their aesthetic,

reading them can be what it was meant to be: a deeply enjoyable,

moving, and even transformative experience.

I V . T H E P H I L O S O P H Y

To modern ears the word philosophy connotes a

kind of dry, theoretical learning which would be almost a travesty

o f the Upanishads’ passion for experiential realization. A s the sages

used the term, knowing is not a separate activity from other aspects

o f being - courage, endurance, concentration, will. There is such

a thing as mere intellectual knowing, o f course, but the Mundaka

Upanishad, for example, begins by setting aside this kind o f know ­

ing as apara, “nontranscendent” - that is, not dealing with transfor­

mative experience. The Upanishads are concerned with para, “tran­

scendent” knowledge, “by knowing which, all things are known”

(I.3) in a way that our being and our actions are transformed. For

this kind o f knowledge there were four nonintellectual prerequi­

sites: discrimination, detachment, self-control, and an “ irrepress­

ible hankering after the realization o f truth.” 12

Ordinary knowledge is either subjective or objective; transcen­

dent knowing is neither. W hen a student in the Upanishads says,

for example, “ I did not know that such-and-such is Brahman,”

he means he has not yet realized the identity o f that thing with its

source, precisely because he has been seeing it as a separate object.

But according to mysticism - and to modern physics - we cannot

know anything objectively; it does not really exist independently o f

an observer, where both observer and observed are participating in

consciousness.

On the other hand, neither can we know things subjectively as

yet, because that would only be superimposing our own precon­

ceived ideas on things. The only w ay we can truly know something

is to become identified with it. We can become what we would

know. “If [one] loves a stone, he becomes a stone; if he loves a man,

he is a man; if he loves God - I dare not say more, for if I said that

he would then be God, you might stone me.”13 This, minus the final

hesitation, is precisely the position of the sages.

The higher mode o f knowing induced by intense selfless love and

identification produces powerful changes in the knower: “Whatever

they [knowers o f Brahman] desire, the object o f that desire arises

from the power o f their own thoughts; they have it and are happy”

(Chandogya v i i i . 2 .1-10 ). If these claims overdraw on the credulity

o f the m odern reader, it is because we think naturally o f the nor­

mal mode o f knowing with which we are familiar. Earlier transla­

tors used to think the Upanishads were talking about magic, espe­

cially when the symbolic code o f the text happens to concern rit­

ual: “He who performs this rite knowing goes beyond death.” What

the sages mean is that if one sees through the symbolism of the rit­

ual to its meaning and identifies with that inner core o f meaning

through spiritual union, rites become superfluous. For that knower

they have fulfilled their purpose; they have lifted the performer’s

vision to the world beyond death. Spiritual identification is caught

from rather than taught by an illumined teacher. “Knowing” in the

Upanishads is a code for that realization.

Tradition has isolated four powerful formulaic utterances

(mahavakyas) embedded in the early Upanishads. One is sarvam

idam brahma, “All is Brahman” (Chandogya m .14.1), which states

the foundation o f mysticism: that everything is ultimately one. In

the Vedic period, that belief had taken the form o f a great myth in

which Purusha, or the prototypical “ Person,” was made into our

world by the primordial sacrifice; his head became the Brahmin

class, his arms the Kshatriyas or ruler-warriors, and so forth. We

can say two things about the purport of this myth: it affirms the

unity of life in a common source (Christian writers would make the

same point about our common ancestor, Adam), and it affirms the

order, or meaning, in the Universe: there is rita - harmony, regular­

ity - underlying all seemingly random change. And that harmony

or order prevails not only in the material order, making science pos­

sible; it is also seen in the laws that govern the conscious or moral

dimensions of existence.14

What the myth does not tell us, being a myth, is the most impor­

tant consequence of these beliefs: that a human being can reverse

the process of creation which proceeded from singularity to diver­

sity: not just retrace it, for example, in science or philosophy, but

reverse it, so that one withdraws from the world of change and fol­

lows what St. Augustine called the “hidden footprint of unity” that is

there, perhaps covered but never eradicated in our consciousness.15

The Upanishads never stray far from this purpose. Take the epi­

sode of Uddalaka and his son Shvetaketu (Chandogya vi.1-16).

The latter has come home from his traditional twelve years’ study

under a brahmin teacher “proud of his learning in the scriptures”

but unaware of the purpose of that learning. In this case the father

must be his real teacher. Uddalaka first shakes him out of his com­

placency with a spiritual version of “What did you learn at school”:

“Did they teach you That by which everything else is known?” Then,

as soon as the boy is ready to grasp that truth of truths, he has him

dissolve salt in water, dissect a mustard seed, and perform other

experiments that by analog or induction yield insights into the one

Reality underlying all phenomena. These are not chemistry or biol­

ogy lessons: each time Shvetaketu has such a flash of insight Uddal­

aka tells him, “Shvetaketu, you are That.”

This is one of the central passages in the Upanishads, and its

teaching that the supreme Reality can be found in the humblest

and most ordinary objects “as fire lies hidden in firestick, butter in

cream, water in springs” (Shvetashvatara 1.15) is fundamental in the

Upanishadic worldview. Not surprisingly, “You are That” (tat tvam

asi) is one of the mahavakyas.16

Shvetaketu s sudden awakening is uncharacteristic; in most ana-

gogic passages of the Upanishads the process is by gradual stages.

When King Janaka asks Yajnavalkya, “What is the light of man?”

(Brihadaranyaka iv.3.11 ff), the sage first cites the sources of visible

light - sun, moon, fire - in diminishing order of brightness. Then

he moves on to speech, by which we can “see” in the sense we can

orient ourselves and carry out actions even in darkness. Finally he

comes to the Self. That Self, Reality, or the divine ground of exis­

tence, does indeed exist in all things, or they would not exist; but to

discover it we must slowly learn to peel back layers of reality like an

onion.

There is an endless variety of such hierarchies in the Upanishads,

all with a common pattern. They move from the inanimate world

to some forms of consciousness (seeing, speech) to consciousness

itself, or from outer things to our awareness of things - or feelings,

or thoughts - to our Self, the ultimate witness. We are always being

led back to that center from whatever perimeter to which the end­

less outward migrations of the mind have carried us.

This can be sometimes put, at least at first, in objective terms,

because stacked up behind everything we perceive is the series of

causes that brought it into existence, beginning with the First Cause

of phenomenal existence itself (Katha 1.3.10). At the heart of any

apparently separate thing lurks its essence - its rasa, literally “sap”

- that brought that thing into being. When we see the essence, the

thing itself has served its purpose: in the earthy language of the Upa­

nishads, “the subtle eats the gross.”17 The rasa of anything is subtler

than it; it is its cause, its explanation, and the key to its significance;

it is more real - more long-lasting - and the next step closer to the

ultimate reality beyond both the knower and the known.

But it is more illuminating to look at the theory in subjective

terms. Behind the act lies the motive; the former in the world of

material interaction, the latter in the world of thought and desire. In

one sense the “cause” of the light in my study is electricity; in a more

important sense it is my wish to have it there. If I fall asleep, there

will be no “light” in the room: it’s a participatory study, in this par­

ticipatory universe.

All search for essences and for the ultimate relationship ends

with Atman, the Self. This concept is the glory of the Upanishads.

The etymology of the word is not entirely certain, but most likely it

is derived from an, “to breathe,” and thus shares an important lin­

guistic as well as philosophical connection with prana. This rich­

ness of meaning is testimony to the very simplicity of the concept.

Atman just means “self”; in Sanskrit it was used as the reflexive pro­

noun. Yet so much is contained within that simple concept: untold

energy and devotion, the explanatory power of a scientific formula,

the evocative power of poetry, and finally the sheer drama of the

tremendous discovery made by the sages over and over again - one

of the most authoritatively verified hypotheses in the universe - that

the Self is God.

This Self cannot possibly be subject to any change, not even

death. This is perhaps why belief in reincarnation died hard even

in the West. It was a cherished belief not only in pagan but in vari­

ous Jewish and Christian groups in the early centuries of our era,

but was brusquely rejected by the emerging orthodoxy and seems

an unsettling and unverifiable hypothesis to most of us today. Yet

it differs only slightly, almost by a question of semantics, from the

modern concept of evolution, which holds that the individual dies

with the death of the physical body. Indian religious systems hold

as a core belief that the individual is not that which dies: it is more

accurate to think of ourselves as the forces which brought our body

and personality into existence - forces that will continue shaping

our destiny beyond what we call death, “as the wind takes on the

fragrance from the flower” (Gita 15.8).

The ultimate Self, however, never entered into any of these pro­

cesses but somehow governs them all. It is neither that which dies

nor those shaping forces, but the Witness of all this evolution. The

Self is untouched by the turmoil of the world, “observing without

partaking” (the two birds’ image), a bulwark that sorrow cannot

broach (Chandogya vm.4.1-2). Only because we think the Self is

yoked to its temporary instruments, the body, mind, and senses, do

we think it enjoys or dislikes anything in one little corner of the cos­

mic process (Katha 1.3.4). But it is present everywhere. The Self has

“entered into everything like a razor fitted into its case” or (Augus­

tine and St. Teresa use the same image) into every creature “up to

the nails” (Brihadaranyaka 1.4.7). The Self alone has no essence, no

cause, being the cause and essence of everything and everyone.

One might expect on the basis of such a revolutionary theory

of being, or metaphysics, an equally well-developed theory of our

relationship to things and people and how, if we have happiness in

view, we ought to behave towards them. This expectation is not dis­

appointed by the Upanishads, in which metaphysics and ethics are

one.

The central value of Hinduism, declared in a formula known

mostly from later narrative literature, is ahimsd paramo dharma:

“The highest religion, the ultimate law of our being, is nonviolence.”

This value is implicit, and sometimes explicit (Chandogya iv.17.4)

in the Upanishadic teaching of unity. Before we explore it, however,

let us look at a complementary teaching which is equally surprising

and perhaps even less easily understood.

One of the critical “secrets” of the Upanishads is that renuncia­

tion is the opposite of deprivation. When the senses (indriyas) are

untrained they run wild, leading to a state of conditioning that is the

opposite of freedom (Katha 1.2.5-6). Joy comes from putting these

faculties back on track under the guidance of the Self. This is pre­

cisely why the Upanishads teach renunciation. Not only are joy and

renunciation not contradictory; they positively require each other.

Taken together they form the key value of Hinduism, as Mahatma

Gandhi taught when he took for his own mahavakya those three

opening words of the Isha Upanishad: tena tyaktena bhunjltah,

“Renounce and enjoy.”

In the Gita, desire is referred to once as the rasa of objects, i.e., the

objects of sense experience (11.59, a verse which meant a very great

deal to Gandhi). Since a thing’s essence is more permanent than its

material embodiment, it stands to reason that if we could somehow

enjoy that essence directly, our enjoyment would be more perma­

nent than sensory contact with the thing itself. A sense of joy and

happiness within is longer-lasting than the sensation of pleasure,

which is notoriously short-lived. One of the boldest treatments of

this theory of satisfaction occurs in the Katha:

That through which one enjoys form, sound, smell, taste,

touch, and sexual union is the Self. Can there be anything

not known to one who is the One in all? . . . That which

enjoys the honey [rasa] from the flowers of the senses is the

Self. (Katha 11.1.3)

We lose nothing in this process; in St. Francis de Sales’s fortu­

itous image, when the sun rises the light of a star does not go out,

but “is ravished into and absorbed in the sun’s sovereign light,

within which it is happily mingled and allied.”18 Nor do the senses

or the body generally suffer when we control them voluntarily. Free

from the popular misconception about self-tormenting “yogis,”

Upanishadic students pray, “May my senses wax clear and strong.”

That is why they trained them.

This whole question is so important that I would like to make

another pass through this logic, as the Upanishads would, from

a slightly different point of view. If we could trace where a desire

arises from - and the Upanishads do, repeatedly - we would find

that in most cases something - a thought, an external event - has

stirred up some wisp of the vague sense of incompleteness we har­

bor beneath the floor of surface consciousness as long as we are not

identified with our Self. We immediately misinterpret this stirring

as a desire for something outside us. This is maya: misinterpreting

the longing for union within as a call from something outside the

Self.

The Upanishads go a step further. When we have the sensation

“I want such-and-such,” what we really mean is that we want the

relative tranquility that follows when that desire subsides. As a great

sage of modern India, Sri Ramana Maharshi, who was very close

to the Upanishads in spirit, once declared, “There is no happiness

in any object of the world.” The Self is pure happiness, which we

mistake as coming from outside; so the closer we come to the Self

within, the more we are aware of - the more we feel already - what

•we were looking for outside us. This is what the Upanishads mean

by joy. “Renunciation” refers simply to dropping the outside reflec­

tion for the reality which is within.

Freedom is one of the most passionate concerns of the Upa-

nishads, and a name of one of the oldest, Kaivalya.19 But another

Sanskrit word for freedom, swaraj, appears in the Chandogya as well

as the Kaivalya, and this word was the rallying cry Mahatma Gandhi

used in the successful Indian struggle for independence from Brit­

ish rule. Of course, what the Upanishads meant by swaraj was inner,

personal freedom; but that is exactly what Gandhi meant by it too.

“The word swaraj is a sacred word,” he said, “a Vedic word, mean­

ing self-rule and self-restraint, and not freedom from all restraint

which ‘independence’ often means.”

It is typical of the Upanishads’ approach to life not to check or

negate passions but to channel them, reconnecting them with their

original source in deeper consciousness. In Upanishadic psychol­

ogy, the inner demand all human beings feel for freedom is ulti­

mately a drive to free ourselves from the inherited and acquired

compulsions in our own psychic makeup. The Upanishads do not

deny the need for political freedom; they simply claim that inner

freedom comes first, and is really the only reliable guarantee of all

other forms. The more freedom one wins within, through control

over one’s own thoughts and passions, the less one will be manipu­

late by others, and the more one will be able to seek political free­

dom - without going on to manipulate others oneself.

Thus we see that whereas the Upanishads were not nitishastra,

textbooks of political counsel, they contained germs of profound

richness for the alleviation of political and other relations. The

imaginative setting of the Upanishads is a stable and perhaps ideal­

ized world of kings and brahmins (and birds and beasts, and gods),

and the sages do not say much about how that world, much less one

like ours, should be organized. Yet their feelings about those aspects

of life also come through, sometimes in the most unexpected con­

texts. This passage is in the profoundly mystical eighth chapter of

the Chandogya Upanishad:

Here [in this world] people do what they are told, becoming

dependent on their country, or their piece of land, or the

desires of another, so their desires are not fulfilled and their

works come to nothing, both in this world and in the next

. . . but those who leave here knowing who they are and

what they truly desire have freedom everywhere, both in

this world and in the next. (Chandogya vm.1.5-6)

This modern-sounding scorn for “doing what you are told”

comes as a bit of a shock in this stable world presided over by reli­

gious, family, and royal authority; but a closer look reveals that while

the social structure of that world is stable, the sages don’t hesitate to

take this structure apart and show us where the underlying sources

of authority are, or should be: more than one proud brahmin has

to take lessons from a king who turns out to enjoy deeper spiritual

experience (cp. Brihadaranyaka n.1.1-15); more than one teenager

like Nachiketa pulls the wraps off a sham sacrifice or flings sham

rewards back at the delighted king of death (cp. Katha). In this view

freedom and authority come together, like renunciation and joy.

The truly free man or woman is svamin, literally “in full possession

of self.” He or she exercises a spontaneous authority over others: not

the authority that debases others but that ennobles them, not the

authority that distances but that draws to intimacy, not the author­

ity of birth or social advantage but of the ability to forget oneself

in the welfare of others, which anyone can learn. “Real Swaraj will

come,” Gandhi said, “not by the acquisition of authority by a few,

but by the acquisition of the capacity by all to resist authority when

it is abused.” Gandhi’s last phrase shows how he had internalized the

vision of the sages that in the ideal world, while there would have to

be authority of each over himself, there could also be structures of

authority among others, so long as these were exercised selflessly.

The issue of authority is not, as often in our polarized world, yes or

no, but what kind.

These basic principles lead naturally to two other “political” con­

siderations, one of which we have touched on. Gandhi’s “discov­

ery” of nonviolence was Upanishadic to the core. It was an innate

response to the at-homeness in the world that breathes through

every line of those texts. And we find some principles of nonvio­

lence well articulated: If one is socially or by personality weak with

regard to another (that is, not yet svamin oneself), one still need not

be exploited: “for by dharma even the weak man can hope to prevail

against a king” (Brihadaranyaka 1.4.14, with Shankara’s comment).20

This dharma is nothing other than nonviolence; as we have seen,

ahimsa paramo dharma, “There is no higher dharma than nonvio­

lence.” It is a fact not to be glossed over that Gandhi, one small man,

prevailed against the British Empire in the height of its historic maj­

esty with that secret. Can there be a secret more necessary to learn?

While various thinkers today have remarked how modern phys­

ics seems to reflect the vision of the forest sages, few have noticed

how another significant discovery of ours was long anticipated

by them: the concept of unity in diversity. Originally popular­

ized by Hegel, this mildly paradoxical theme is becoming central

in discussions of how a nation or even the world should be orga­

nized, for a very simple reason: the world needs, as Richard Falk

has put it, “the maximum degree of spontaneous solidarity.” But

what kind of solidarity? A megagovernment? If this is to be world

order, one may be excused for preferring chaos. When he begins to

specify the requirements for true solidarity Professor Falk sounds

almost Upanishadic: the goal must be “the maintenance of living

systems at all levels of complexity. . . the exploration of space and

the planetary character of economic, ecological, and cybernetic

complexity are building the foundations of an inevitable global

consciousness.”21 We want a new principle of political order which

does not depend upon or induce uniformity among peoples, but

which, tolerant of complexity, promotes the fullest unfolding of

their individual potential - which happens to be a definition of

nonviolence.22

The Upanishads of course specialize in diversity; in fact they

revel in it as the essential character of life:

He is this boy, he is that girl, he is this man, he is that

woman, and he is this old man, too, tottering on his staff.

His face is everywhere. He is the blue bird, he is the green

bird with red eyes, he is the thundercloud, and he is the

seasons and the sea. (Shvetashvatara iv.3-4)

But the forest vision of life balances this love of diversity in living

beings with an unwavering focus on the unity which is life’s center.

The concept of dharma, though not as developed in the Upa­

nishads as in the narrative and sutra texts that followed, shows the

same apparent tension between a universal Law unchanging in any

time or circumstance - the dharma, properly speaking - and the

less well known concept of svadharma, each individual’s own law or

way.23 The Gita sternly describes how each must discover and ear­

nestly follow his or her own path or perish spiritually; “competition

in another’s dharma breeds fear and insecurity” (Gita 3.35).

In the end, unity in diversity is not a paradox at all. Unity is the

center - in Upanishadic terms, “in the cave of the heart” - of con­

scious beings, while diversity flourishes on the surface of life. It is as

necessary to foster diversity there at the outside as it is to hold unity

on the inside. Gandhi made this notion of inside and outside con­

crete for us: there must be “heart unity” among all, meaning sponta­

neous concern for the welfare of others, and that very concern must

lead to complete toleration of natural differences and even differ­

ences of wealth and station (which did not please his Marxist crit­

ics) as long as they are not abused. Class, family, and regional group­

ings are a sort of bridge between the unity toward which all must

be allowed to work and the individuality from which we start. The

more the heart can be opened in spontaneous concern for the other,

the less of an obstacle and more of a vehicle for social coherence -

and in the end spiritual unity - intermediate unities become.24

Unity in diversity formed the cornerstone of India’s national

consciousness from ages past; it may yet form her contribution to

a global consciousness which, as S. Radhakrishnan has said, the

world has no choice but to develop.

V. T H E C U R V E O F H I S T O R Y

Since the discovery of the Upanishads by the West,

not a few Westerners have gone to them as a source of the “peren­

nial philosophy,” a fascinating witness to an ancient civilization and

its unique religious system; others, like Yeats, have been drawn by

their poetic beauty. But the first Western philosopher to stumble on

them, Arthur Schopenhauer, was looking for much, much more.

And they did not disappoint him. In his oft-quoted words: “They

have been the consolation of my life, and will be the consolation of

my death.”2’

It is not hard to appreciate his reaction. One of the closing state­

ments in the first book of the Chandogya reads, “Whoever med­

itates and gains this wisdom here in this life lives at his highest

and his best” (1.9.4), and Shankara comments, “People may think,

‘Though such rewards might have accrued for the blessed ancients,

they cannot be possible for people in this age.’ The text proceeds to

set aside this notion.”

We too can set aside the notion that the Upanishads are irrelevant

curiosities. Because of the intense problems of our times, problems

that seem to be created by specifically modern conditions, we natu­

rally tend to think we have broken the thread o f history: Shankara

did not have to face ecological degradation, terrorism, and nuclear

war. But these problems arise from unresolved human difficulties

that have been the same throughout recorded history. Ecologi­

cal degradation is ultimately caused by human greed, as greed and

alienation lie behind all forms o f crime; war arises, as the U N E SC O

constitution says, “ in the minds o f men,” and persists when men

and wom en shrink from the age-old task o f learning to resolve their

conflicts. W hether we live in a forest ashram or in downtown Los

Angeles, the job o f being human means learning to convert our

inherited tendencies from problems into positive forces. Ours is not

therefore a predicament on which the experience o f the past falls

silent.

Schopenhauer predicted that others would soon react to the U pa­

nishads as he had; that, in fact, the sole advantage his own enlight­

ened century could claim over the benighted seventeenth would be

its possession o f those wonderful documents, which would cause

a revolution in human civilization. In this, it would appear, the old

pessimist was wrong. The nineteenth century and the twentieth

have come and gone, and have brought neither enlightenment nor

even - unless we are beginning to see it just now - the kind o f open-

mindedness Schopenhauer could have toward the achievements of

a very different culture.

It is not that there has never been mysticism in the West. In

fact, when the Western experiment with rationalism and scien­

tific thinking began more than twenty-five hundred years ago and

Greek thinkers, mainly in Asia Minor, struggled to free themselves

from the mental universe o f myth and symbol, the paradigm or sys­

tem o f thought they came up with was very like that o f their Indian

counterparts who had laid the basis o f the Vedanta some centuries

earlier. One thinks particularly o f Heraclitus o f Ephesus (ca. 540-

475 B.C.). We remember Heraclitus for the saying “all is in flux,” but

he was much more excited about his discovery that underneath the

flux o f the phenomenal world exists aiezoon pyr, “everliving fire”

(probably a symbol o f consciousness, for which the Greeks had as

yet had no single term), which ordinary human beings do not per­

ceive but to which they owe such knowledge as they possess. This

living fire that becomes all things reminds us forcibly o f prana.

In a supremely important fragment Heraclitus declares, “You

may search the limits of the soul without ever finding them, go down

any road you will; such a profound reality it has” (Fr. 45). It would

not be unfair to suggest that we have taken the scientific worldview

he made possible to its very limits in the opposite direction: happi­

ness is caused by endorphans, mother love is programmed by genes

and triggered by chemicals; a full-page ad in my university’s maga­

zine recently boasted a picture of a chromosome with the heading,

“This is your life.” The soul has so shrunken from view that far from

standing awestruck by its infinitude we have difficulty remember­

ing that it exists: indeed, why speak of soul; mind or consciousness

play no role in the electrochemical image of the human being which

popular imagination and some scientists today present unchal­

lenged.

But the time has come to challenge them. It is curious to look

back from this vantage point and observe that the similarities

between the founders o f Western thought and the scientist-sages

o f the forest are so striking that from time to time Western schol­

ars keep trying to find out whether the latter somehow influenced

these “Ionian physicists” who awakened Western philosophy and

science in the generation before Socrates directly.26 Such an influ­

ence would not be unlikely. Yet at no time has the "Upanishadic”

vision o f a Heraclitus or an Augustine really become our own. Here

the Upanishads challenge us to put in place fundamentally different

concepts o f who we are, and to build a life o f thoughts, o f personal

habits, o f lifestyle, o f relationships, o f institutions and values, and

finally even o f foreign policy based on the unity o f consciousness

rather than on the separateness o f biochemical fragments.

Cultural and historical prejudices are loosening now, and that

m ay mean we have an unparalleled opportunity to forge the kind

o f shift in paradigm we need to survive and grow as a united world

- and perhaps Schopenhauer after all had seen this coming. In the

full text o f his oft-quoted remarks on the Upanishads we meet a bit

o f a surprise:

From every sentence deep original and sublime thoughts

arise, and the whole is pervaded by a high and holy and

earnest spirit. In the whole w o rld . . . there is no study

. . . so beneficial and so elevating as that o f the Upanishads.

They are destined sooner or later to become the faith of the

people.27

Schopenhauer foresaw not one but two major revolutions: first,

that the barrier between East and West would fall, permitting a

more helpful cross-cultural borrowing than had ever been the case

- which, as I say, we are already beginning to see happen. But sec­

ond, and even more daring, he predicted that a profound, visionary

way o f seeing, willing, and seeking fulfillment will become not just

the thought-experiment o f philosophers, as had happened at the

beginning o f Western scientific history, but “the faith o f the people.”

O f all the sources o f India’s vision, Schopenhauer was drawn

by unerring instinct to the Upanishads. He was trying to draw

our attention not to Hinduism or India, but to a habit o f looking

beneath the surface o f life to its underlying causes, to an at-home-

ness in the world with its infinite variety o f creatures and natural

beauty - our home and the only laboratory o f our destiny - to tre­

mendous insights into the nature o f power, to a plan for world unity

that seems to be embedded in every particle o f reality, to a reminder

that, as the Maitri Upanishad states, “One becomes like that which

is in one’s mind - this is the everlasting secret” ;28 and most o f all to

the courage to discover in ourselves a higher image o f the human

being. These are the gifts and the challenge o f the Upanishads.

E N D N O T E S

1 Raimundo Panikkar, The Vedic Experience: Mantramanjari (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California, 1977), p. 32 .

2 This fortuitous translation is that of Max Muller; more on the meanings of the word upanisad below.

3 The Upanishads: An Anthology (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1970), p. 2.

4 The translation is Panikkars, p. 58. It should be mentioned here both that Panikkar is one of those who tends to see mysticism in the Samhi­ tas and that book 10 of the Rig Veda, from which this hymn comes, is considered late.

5 Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana (Tucson: Omen, 1972; original ed. 1913), PP- 3- 5-

6 V. Raghavan, The Number of Rasas (Madras: Adyar Library, 1967), p. 34.

7 Adin Steinsaltz, The Essential Talmud (New York: Basic Books, 1967), p. 4. It is interesting to note that talmud means “study,” not unlike veda in the sense of “rage to know.”

8 D. S. Sarma, The Upanishads: An Anthology (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1970), p. 2.

9 E.g., Aitareya Aranyaka II.2.3.4; cp. F. Max Muller, The Upanisads (Sa­ cred Books of the East: Oxford, 1879; Dover, 1962), vol. 1, p. 219. Early Indian commentators on Vedic texts were quite well aware of this cod­ ing and spoke of three distinct frames of reference in which the same text had often to be read: adhibhautika, or cosmological; adhidaivika, or relating to the gods, religious; and adhyatmika, relating to the Self.

10 Ganganatha Jha, The Chandogyopanisad (Poona: Poona Oriental Series, Oriental Book Agency, 1942), p. 226.

11 Cp. Muller, p. 69. This priest was said to be doing japam, which means reciting the sacred formulas to oneself - the same word for repetition of a name of God, or mantram as practiced today.

12 Swami Nikhilananda, The Mandukyopanisad (Mysore: Sri Ramakrisha Ashrama, 1959),p. xxxiii.

13 R. A. Nicholson, The Mystics of Islam (New York: Schocken, 1975), p. 118.

14 “We are only geometricians in regard to matter; the Greeks were first of all geometricians in the apprenticeship of virtue.” Simone Weil, The

Iliad, A Poem of Might, in George Panichas, ed., The Simone Weil Reader (New York: McKay, 1977), p. 164.

15 “Meditate on the Self, for in it all are known, as one may track an ani­ mal by its footprint” (Brihad. I.4.7; cp. also Rawson, p. 30). As Shankara states, “the only fact intended to be conveyed [by myths of creation] is realization of Atman”: that is, as Gaudapada had said, the unity of exis­ tence ; cp. Swami Nikhilananda, Mandukyopanisad pp. xxviif.

16 The others are ayam atma brahma, “The Self is Brahman,” prajnanam brahma, “Consciousness is Brahman,” and aham brahmasmi, “I am Brahman.”

17 On this image of food and eating, which Panikkar calls the “main image of the East,” see R. Geib, “Food and Eater in Natural Philosophy of Early India,” journal of the Oriental Institute (Baroda) 25(i976):223-235, which cites numerous passages.

18 Quoted in Eknath Easwaran, Dialogue with Death: A Journey through Consciousness. (Tomales, Calif.: Nilgiri Press, 1981,1992) p.207.

19 See also the later Upanishad called Muktika, “Deliverance.”

20 Note the Gita’s personal version (7.11; Krishna speaking): “I am the strength in those strong ones who have dropped passion and selfish de­ sire”; Krishna adds, “I am desire which is not contrary to dharma.”

21 Richard Falk, “Liberation from Military Logic,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 41(7)1139 (August 1985).

22 Johan Galtung, “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research,” Journal of Peace Research 6(i969):i67-i9i.

23 The same is true diachronically: the Eternal Law or sanatana dharma, the Hindus’ original name for their own religion, is expressed through moving time as the dharma of an age, and finally as nimisha dharma, the “law of the instant.” (Cp. Plato: chronos, observed time, is the moving picture of aion, eternity.)

24 He saw the ideal world order as a structure of “ever-widening, never- ascending circles. Life will be . . . an oceanic circle whose center will be the individual always ready to perish for the village, the latter ready to perish for the circle of villages, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals, never aggressive in their arrogance, but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are inte­ gral units.” (Prabhu and Rao, op. cit., p. 252.)

25 Parerga II.185.

26 Cp. Martin West, Early Greek Philosophy and the Orient (Oxford: Clar­ endon, 1971), and Aurobindo, Heraclitus (10.5).

27 Radhakrishnan, op. cit., p. 17. (Emphasis added.)

28 Mait. VI. 34.3; the translation is Panikkar’s, p. 422. Note the striking simi­ larity to the opening verse of the Buddhas Dhammapada: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought,” which continues, “This is an eternal law.”

o! Glossary

T h i s b r i e f g l o s s a r y i s a g u i d e

o n ly to San skrit term s used in this vo lu m e. W o rd s u sed on ce

and explain ed in con text are n o t in clu d ed . A s a ro u g h guide,

Sanskrit vo w els m a y be p ro n o u n ce d as in Italian o r S p a n ­

ish. The com bin ation s kh, gh, th, dh, ph, an d bh are alw ays

p ro n ou n ced as the co n so n an t plus a slight h so u n d : th as in

hothead (not as in th ing);ph as in haphazard (n o t as in ph one).

P ron ou n ce h as in home; g as in g old;j as in ]une e xcep t in the

com bin ation jn (jn), w h ich can be p ro n o u n ce d like gn in Ital­

ian compagna. Th e oth er con so n an ts are ap p ro xim ately as in

English.

E v e ry San skrit v o w e l h as a sh o rt an d a lo n g fo rm , the lo n g

pro n ou n ced fo r tw ice as lo n g as the short. In E n g lish tran s­

literation the lo n g vo w els are m ark ed w ith a b a r (_ ). Th e d ip h ­

thongs - e, ai, o, au - are also long.

The San skrit alphabet h as 48 characters, each represen tin g

a precisely defined sound. Sch o lars represent these ch aracters

in ou r R o m an alphabet b y ad d in g m a rk s to letters as n ece s­

sary, creating a system of spelling that is precise but confus­

ing to the general reader. For simplicity, these differentiating

marks have been omitted in this book, except in the intro­

duction and the afterword when a word is used in a strictly

linguistic context or within a quoted Sanskrit phrase. In all

other settings s' and s both appear as sh, the sound ch is so

spelled, and the semivowel r is written as ri - thus, for exam­

ple, we write Shiva and Krishna instead of Siva and Krsna.

Scholarly transliterations are given in brackets after the glos­

sary entries.

Agni [Agni] G od o f fire in the Vedic pantheon, who consumes the sacrificial offering and carries it to the gods, enabling ritual

communication with the divine.

ahimsa [ahimsa, from a ‘not’ + himsa ‘violence’]: Nonviolence; doing no injury, wishing no harm in thought, word, or

deed.

akasha [dkasa] Space; the subtle substrate o f phenomenal reality. ananda [ananda] Pure joy, beyond the duality o f pleasure and pain. apana [apana] One o f the five pranas active in biologic function­

ing; controls “downward” processes such as elimination

and the expenditure o f sexual energy.

Aranyaka [aranyaka o f the forest’] Third portion o f each Veda, emphasizing spiritual interpretation o f the Vedic rituals for

those in forest retreats.

ashrama [asrama] (1) Ashram , spiritual com munity where stu­ dents live with an illumined teacher; (2) a stage o f life in

Hindu tradition.

asura [asura, taken as ‘godless’] “Demon”; member o f the low-

est class o f creatures, the others being devas and human

beings.

Atman [atman self’] Self; the innermost soul in every creature, which is divine.

a u m SeeOM

Bhagavad Gita [Bhagavat ‘Lord’, git a ‘song’] The best known o f the Hindu scriptures, preserved as part o f the Mahabharata epic. It is a spiritual dialogue between Arjuna, representing

the human soul, and Sri Krishna, the supreme Self.

Bhrigu [Bh rgu] Ancient sage whose legends and fam ily line figure prominently in the Mahabharata tradition.

Brahma [Brahma] The Creator; in the Upanishads, a secondary deity o f the Vedic pantheon. Not to be confused with Brah­

man (see below).

brahmacharya [brahmacarya conduct befitting a seeker o f Brah­ man’] Purity, complete self-control in thought, word, and

action.

Brahman [Brahman, from brh ‘ grow, expand’: that which expands, bursts into growth] The supreme Godhead, beyond all

distinctions or forms; ultimate Reality. Originally ‘sacred

utterance,’ and so sometimes ‘the Vedas.’

Brahmana [bramana] The second portion o f each Veda, largely devoted to rituals; also (in this volume always written

“brahmin,” as the word has come into English) a member

o f the highest or priestly caste, responsible for preservation

o f traditional sacred knowledge and performance o f the

accompanying rites.

brahmin See under Brahmana. chit [cit] Undifferentiated consciousness. deva [deva, from div ‘shine’] A god; one o f the powers o f nature or

life. In the Upanishads, the devas also sometimes stand for

human faculties or powers.

gandharva [gandharva] A celestial being, associated with song and marriage.

Gita See Bhagavad Gita guna [guna] Quality; specifically, the three qualities o f matter and

energy which make up the phenomenal world: sattva, law, harmony, purity, goodness; rajas, energy, passion; tamas, inertia, ignorance.

Indra [Indra] Head o f the Vedic pantheon; a sky god o f Indo-Euro­ pean origin, functionally equivalent to Zeus, lupiter, Thor.

Etym ologically indra means ‘power,’ and in the Upanishads Indra is often connected with human faculties (indriyas, the organs o f sense and action).

japa(m) [japa(m) ‘repeated or uttered half audibly’] The repetition o f a mantram or H oly Name.

karma [karma ‘something done’] Action, work, behavior; also the consequences o f action, spiritually and mentally as well as

physically.

karmadeva [karmadeva] A celestial being, said to have become a god (deva) through right actions (karma).

Krishna [Krsna ‘dark one,’ or from krs to attract’] After the Upani­ shadic ages, an incarnation o f Vishnu and partly historical

figure whose teachings are preserved in the Bhagavad Gita.

kshatriya [ksatriya, from ksatram ‘battle prowess’] Member o f the second highest o f the four castes, the warriors and rulers.

kundalini [kundalini ‘coiled’] Evolutionary energy; the potential creative power o f spiritual evolution, dormant until awak­

ened by intense spiritual disciplines.

Mahabharata [mahabharata great epic o f the Bharata clan’] Vast epic poem centered on the dynastic struggle between

two factions o f the descendants o f Bharata, a hero whose

name became that o f India. The Mahabharata contains the Bhagavad Gita, and so much else o f wisdom that it is called

the “fifth Veda.”

mahavakya [mahavakya ‘great utterance’] Four epigrams in the Upanishads considered to encapsulate their message: that

Atman and Brahman, the Self and the Godhead, are identi­

cal.

mantra(m) [mantra(m)] A quotation or verse from the Vedas, par­ ticularly from the Samhita or hymns; also (in this volume

spelled mantram) a spiritual formula consisting o f or con­ taining a name o f God.

maya [maya, from ma ‘measure’] Phenomenal reality; the appear­ ance or illusion (since Reality itself cannot be divided or

measured) o f a world o f separate entities; the divine power

which creates this world. Barely alluded to in the U pani­

shads, maya is a key idea in the philosophical system of

Vedanta, used to explain how the phenomenal world can be

identical with Brahman.

moksha [moksa] Liberation (from samsara, the cycle o f birth and rebirth), illumination, Self-realization.

nadi [nadi] A track o f prana in a living creature, o m The “unstruck sound” which can be heard in profound medita­

tion; the Holy W ord which signifies Brahman.

paramahamsa [paramahamsa ‘supreme swan’] A n illumined per­ son.

parampara [parampara] A chain o f instruction from teacher to stu­ dent.

pitri [pitr ‘father’] A departed ancestor. The pitris inhabit, or in a sense constitute, a blessed realm beyond this world but

below that o f the devas.

Prajapati [Prajapati ‘lord o f creatures’] Nam e o f the Creator. prajna [prajna, from jna ‘know’] Consciousness; transcendental

awareness or wisdom, the highest mode o f knowing. In the

Mandukya Upanishad, Prajna (‘o fprajna’, with a shift in vowel lengths) is the state o f dreamless sleep.

prana [prana] Vital energy, the power o f life; the essential sub-

strate o f all forms o f energy; also one o f five kinds o f vital

energy in living creatures: the five pranas are prana, apana, samana, vyana, and udana.

rajas [rajas] See under Guna. rayi [rayi] Wealth; matter. rita(m)[rta(m)] The unifying law, order, or harmony implicit in

creation; the underlying truth o f life.

samadhi [samadhi] A state o f intense concentration in which con­ sciousness is completely unified, bringing moksha, illumi­ nation or Self-realization.

samana [samana ‘equalizing’] One o f the five pranas, responsible for harmonizing and balancing energy in the body.

Samhita [samhita] The hym n (and most ancient) portions o f the four Vedas; by extension, other types o f scriptural text.

samsara [samsara] ‘That which is constantly changing’: the phe­ nomenal world; the cycle o f birth, death, and rebirth.

Sankhya [sankhya counting’] One o f the six systems o f Hindu philosophy built on the vision o f the Upanishads; the cor­

responding system o f practice is Yoga. Sankhya and Yoga

teach that there is an essential difference between Purusha, the Self, an&prakriti, the created world.

sannyasi [sannyasi] A holy man, one who has taken the holy vows o f sannyas or renunciation (the feminine is sannyasini).

sat [sat] Absolute being, pure reality, the ground o f existence. sattva [sattva] See under Guna. Shakta [Sakta] A worshipper o f the supreme creative power

(shakti) o f the Godhead in the Shiva tradition. Shankara [Sankara ‘giver o f peace’] A name o f Shiva; a great mystic

(ca. eighth century a . d . ) who rescued the Upanishads from

centuries o f neglect, built on them the lofty philosophical

system called Vedanta, and established the monastic tradi­

tions which have since kept Hindu mysticism alive.

shanti [santi] Perfect, transcendent peace. The Upanishads and

o t h e r s a c r e d r e c i t a t i o n s o f t e n e n d w i t h t h e b e n e d i c t i o n “ o m

shanti shanti shanti!’ Shiva [Siva ‘auspicious’] A s Rudra, one o f the most important

forms o f G od in the Vedic pantheon, later widely w or­

shipped throughout Hinduism as the supreme expression

o f the Godhead.

shraddha [sraddha] One’s central, controlling belief; usually trans­ lated “faith.”

shruti [sruti ‘heard’] Revealed wisdom, as opposed to what is “ learned” or traditional (see next entry). The Vedas, includ­

ing the Upanishads, are shruti, revelation; all the other sacred works o f Hinduism are secondary or derivative.

smriti [smrti ‘m em ory’] W isdom that is learned, or preserved by tradition. Everything in Hindu spirituality after the Vedas

falls into this category, including much that is regarded as

divinely inspired.

tamas [tamas] See under Guna. tapas [tapas] Heat; in the Vedas, creative ardor; austerity, control o f

the senses, meditation.

tejas [tejas] Brightness, brilliance; spiritual radiance or splendor. turiya [turiya ‘fourth’] Transcendent consciousness, beyond the

states o f waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep.

udana [udana, from ud ‘up’ + an ‘breathe’] One o f the five pra- nas, the five forms o f vital energy in the body; udana is the power governing the rise o f spiritual energy, or tejas.

udgitha [udgitha, from ud ‘up’ + ga ‘sing’] Important part o f the Vedic chant; by extension, in the Chandogya Upanishad,

‘that which is first uttered,’ i.e. o m , or the Self.

Upanishad [upanisad ‘sitting down near’] A mystical text given by illumined seers, attached to the end o f one o f the Vedas.

Vaishnava [ Vaisnava] Pertaining to Vishnu; belonging to his sect. Vayu [ Vayu] Vedic god o f wind and air. Veda [ Veda, from vid ‘know’] Revealed wisdom; specifically, one

o f the four collections that comprise the Hindu scriptures

(the Rig Veda is oldest, followed by the Sama, Atharva, and

Yajur Vedas). Even more specifically, Veda often refers only to the most ancient part o f each o f these collections; see

Samhita. Vedanta [vedanta, from veda ‘wisdom’ + anta ‘end’] (1) The “end of

the Vedas” : the Upanishads, both because they follow and

because they consummate the rest o f the Vedic material; (2)

a system o f philosophy based on the Upanishads, founded

by Shankara, which holds that Brahman alone is ultimately

real; separateness and change are only apparent distinc­

tions superimposed on this ultimate unity.

Vishnu [ Visnu] A deity o f the Vedic pantheon, later one o f the most widely worshiped forms o f G od in Hinduism, especially in

his major incarnations as Ram a and Krishna.

vyana [vyana] One o f the five pranas or forms o f vital energy in the body, responsible for distributing energy throughout the

limbs and organs.

Vyasa [ Vyasa] Great sage who is the traditional compiler o f the Vedas and composer o f the Mahabharata.

yajna [yajna] Sacrifice, worship; self-sacrificing action, performed in service o f G od or as a selfless offering.

yoga [yoga, from yuj ‘unite’] Union with God, Self-realization; a path or body o f disciplines leading to this state; specifically,

one o f the six systems o f Hindu philosophy, paired with the

theoretical system o f Sankhya.

Di Notes

References are to verse number

H! I S H A U P A N I S H A D N O T E S

The Isha comes from the same Samhita (namely the White Yajur Veda) as the Brihadaranyaka and is traditionally associated with its colorful hero, Yajnavalkya. It is the only Upanishad to come down to us as part of a Samhita, though it has also been handed down with minor textual differences in other ways. As part of a Samhita it is entirely in verse and is today recited in the Vedic style in brahmin communities. Normally this would argue for a high antiquity for the textual form in which we have an Upanishad, but the White Yajur Veda is relatively recent.

The name too is unusual. Isha, taken from the opening word, is a more personal name for God than usually occurs in the Upanishads; it is cognate with German eigen, “ (one’s) own,” and means the Inner Ruler.

The language of the Isha is unusually dense and suggestive, combin­ ing mythological imagery with the most advanced mystical concepts. These notes comment on only a few of the text’s suggested meanings.

1 The opening words are Isa vasyam idam sarvam, literally “all this [the universe] is filled with the Lord.” Vasyam is a gerund of the root vas, which means “enter,” “dwell with,” and perhaps “put on,” cognate with English “wear.” The trouble is that there are five roots with

this form and a gerund can have various meanings, including im­ perative, which the translation has not tried to convey. M ax Muller translates “is to be hidden.”

“All” : jagatyam jagat, literally “all that moves in that which is cease­ lessly moving”; i.e., in the phenomenal universe. Samsara means the same thing.

2 The text here uses mythological symbolism: literally “Set in this [the Self, Reality], Matarishvan distributes the functions” of life. Matar- ishvan is a little-known, somewhat Prometheus-like figure, and this

primal distribution of offices, functions, and honors is a common theme in creation mythology which recurs in v. 8.

6 “Know no fear” : vijugupsate is a strong word which also connotes re­ vulsion or disgust. The sage “shrinks from none” ; he or she is com­ pletely at home in the universe. As the Greeks said, “ To the wise, all the world is home,” and Augustine adds, “There is no saneness in those who dislike any part of creation” (Conf. v ii.14).

9-14 This section begins simply enough: “In dark night live those for

whom the world without alone is real.” Then, while the structure of the thought remains one of simple polarities, the terms become unusual and pregnant with suggestion. This translation seeks to lay bare simply and clearly the basic meaning. To know Reality we must see past its dualistic forms (as the Buddhists say, “Dharma is not to be clung to; how much the less adharma” ). “Nearly every chapter of the Upanishad [s],” Swami Vireswarananda points out, “begins with dualistic teaching . . . and ends with a grand flourish of Vedanta,” that is, of complete monism (Brahma-sutras, Mayavati: Advaita Ashrama, 1948; p. lxvii). The Isha goes on to say that in practice the higher form of a duality - e.g., wisdom as opposed to

ignorance, the world within as compared with the external world - is often harder to transcend than the lower. The point applies tell­ ingly to solipsistic forms of escape such as drugs, in which one cre­ ates a private reality even more false than the apparent multiplicity of the outside world.

14 “ Transcendent and immanent” : Sambhuti and vindsa. would seem to be the duality of becoming and passing away, or in static terms the manifest and the unmanifest. The language yields, however, an intensely suggestive paradox: “Destruction carries one free from death.” Perhaps, as the Katha expounds so dramatically, when we

see death - when we know the world of change for what it is - we get the motivation to escape from death permanently.

16 “That very Self am I” : so’ham asmi, the last line of this verse, is one of the mahavakyas. “Self” in this stanza is purusa, and the Sanskrit contains a striking pun: “ That (asau) supreme Person residing in the heart of life (asau) am I.”

0! K A T H A U P A N I S H A D N O T E S

The Katha Upanishad belongs to the Black Yajur Veda, which had its home in the heartland of Indo-Aryan civilization, the Madhyadesha or “midland” region (today around Agra and Delhi). O f the great sage Katha after whom the Upanishad is named we learn only that he was the founder of this tradition (of which we can regard this Upanishad of his as the finest product) and a student of Vaishampayana, student ofVyasa.

As early as the Rig Veda (x.135) there is a hymn to Yama, the being who was the first to die and thus became presider over death and the dead. In this hymn a youth who has died is addressed, laments a father who has gone on before him, and tries to ride some sort of chariot - all elements which will occur in the Upanishad. Then in the Taittiriya Brahmana (III.11.8) there is a brief myth about a boy called Nachiketa to whom the god Yama reveals a certain sacrifice to be named after him. It is on this brief story that our Upanishad bases its dramatic opening. Noteworthy is that in the Brahmana, Nachiketa’s third request is for the

secret ofpunar mrityu or “redeath” : apparently the ability to come back from death each time it occurs (which in a sense ordinary mortals do, according to the theory of reincarnation), not to go beyond death. The Upanishad, then, is not only an elaboration in length but a profound spiritual enlargement of the mythic material.

The Katha seems among the earliest verse Upanishads on grounds of meter, language, and style of thought; on the other hand it has several verses almost verbatim in common with the Bhagavad Gita and whole

sections that are taken up into a later Upanishad, the Maitri. At all ages, both for India’s many spiritual teachers as well as for many general readers, the Katha has been probably the most useful and popular of the Upanishads and has therefore enjoyed many translations and edi­

tions. That of Joseph Rawson (Oxford, 1934), while unfortunately out of print, is a mine of information and a very sensitive treatment (from a

philosophical rather than a spiritual viewpoint). Easwaran has devoted a book to the Katha: Dialogue With Death (Nilgiri Press, 1981).

1 . 1 2 “Full of faith” : literally “sraddha had entered him.” This crucial qual­

ity unfolds in Nachiketa in three great strides: first the seriousness with which he takes the sacrifice, next his calm response to his fa­ ther’s outburst that he now belongs to death, and finally his capacity

to absorb Yama’s great message.

7 These words may be spoken by Yami, Vedic Yama’s consort, or by one of his attendants; Vaivasvata is an epithet of Yama. Vaishvanara (lit­ erally “everyman”) is translated “like a bright flame” because it is an epithet of Agni, god of fire: Nachiketa is identified here with Agni (hence his control of the sacrifice to come) and as water placates the anger of fire, one must placate the expectation of the firelike guest

who enters one’s home. But its literal meaning suggests that a visitor comes as embodiment of the unity of life. “Bring water, Vaivasvata” may have been a traditional formula for such a guest ritual, so im­ portant in Indo-European societies.

9 Underneath the humor, Nachiketa’s control over death here is quite serious. By not eating the “fruits of death” - i.e., any material thing in Yama’s kingdom - he overcomes death. The theme has a mytho­ logical level also in that many heroes traveling to an otherworldly place like the land of death cannot return if they eat its food.

16-19 These are elements of folktale. The myth of the foundation of sac­ rifice, explaining how a present-day institution came about or got its name, is a classic example of etiology.

17-18 Yama holds out a description of what Nachiketa has won which

almost makes it sound like the supreme goal. This is profound psy­ chology, for temptations always make us feel that yielding to them will make us completely fulfilled - otherwise they would not be tempting. But Yama’s last word tips his hand: Nachiketa will enjoy all this svargaloke, “ in the world of heaven.” In Hindu or Buddhist mysticism “heaven,” the reward of the righteous (and earlier of the warrior), is a kind of cul-de-sac where we enjoy, but exhaust, the results of our religious or worthy secular acts and then must re­ turn to the world of spiritual progress. Only release (moksha), the reward of true spiritual struggle, is inexhaustible. Even Nachiketa’s

achievement as the founder of a great sacrifice should not, and will not, satisfy him.

25 More literally ima ramah, “these lovelies.” Demonstrative pronouns, like the simple term iha “here” regularly mean “this very world” (cp. sarvam idam, “all this” or “the universe”). In this particular context there is a sense that Yama is almost conjuring up in Na- chiketa’s mind the vivid experience of sensory pleasure, more im­ mediate and powerful than his merely seeing or even experiencing any external objects. That is probably what Yama means by offering pleasures more than worldly; i.e., they are of the world within.

27 Nachiketa’s singleness of purpose, his single desire, is the trait of the successful spiritual aspirant. As Ramakrishna says, if one fiber is still sticking out, the thread will not pass through the eye of the

needle. Not only to desire the right thing but to unify one’s desires on it is the key.

1.2 1 Here begins the actual teaching for which Nachiketa’s encounter

with death has prepared us. As with Angiras’s opening answer to Shaunaka (Mundaka 1.1.4), knowledge begins with discrimination, in this case between two very evocative terms: preya, what one is “fond” of (priyah), often because of conditioning, and sreya, that which conduces to real well-being (sri).

8 “Spiritual osmosis” : Beyond words, realization is not so much taught as absorbed, as the next verse says, “from close association with a realized teacher.”

1} This verse contains some allusive language that has been variously interpreted, without affecting the basic meaning. “Divine principle of existence” here is an adjectival form of dharma (it is used at the end of Gita xii as well); and the last phrase may mean “You, Nachik­ eta, I consider an open dwelling” : i.e., open to spiritual instruction and the joy of Self-realization.

18-19 Very similar to Gita 2 .19 -2 0 , this assurance is the basic promise of spiritual life.

20 The last line of this verse has one of the few troublesome variant readings in the Upanishad. Easwaran’s translation takes the text as dhatuh prasadat, “by the grace of the Creator.” Others read dhatu

prasadat, “by the stilling of the constituents,” i.e., the senses. It makes remarkably little difference, since divine grace consists of stilling the senses and mind. (See also next note.)

23 Another interpretation is, “By the act of choosing the Self does one win the Self.” This is equally suitable to Upanishadic teaching.

25 Literally, “is curry and rice to the meal o f” the Self. This is the com­ mon theme that the higher consumes the lower; as the Aitareya Aranyaka puts it, “The eater is higher than the food” (m .1.4).

1-3 1 Literally, “ Two drink rita.” This image expressing the duality of hu­

man choice as between two ways of using energy (primarily our own vital energy) as two birds in one tree goes back to Rig Veda 1.164.20 (where, however, it may have a different interpretation). It

occurs also in the Mundaka (111.1) and Shvetashvatara (iv.6) Upa­ nishads.

3 This famous model of human life as the conduct of a chariot recurs in the framework of the Gita, where Krishna himself drives as Arjuna’s charioteer: to this day the main visual image of the Gita in popular Indian devotional art. Plato also used it, less elaborated, in the Pha- edrus. “The roads they travel” is literally gocarah, the senses’ “cow pastures,” by which they roam the phenomenal world. The term became common in Indian spiritual lore and a technical term in Sankhya philosophy.

10-11 “The senses derive from objects of sense perception,” etc.: this is precisely what the text says. As in modern physics’ vision of a

“participatory universe,” the human mind in very real ways co-cre- ates the outer world. This does not deny the existence of the outer world; on the other hand, as Sri Ramana Maharshi puts it without mincing words, “The heart is the center from which everything springs” (David Godman, ed., Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi [London: Arkana, 1985], p. 18). Using the mod­ ern image of the movie screen he often said, “You are the screen, the Self has created the ego, the ego has its accretions of thoughts which

are displayed as the world___ In reality, all these are nothing but the Self. Nothing but the Self exists” (ibid., p. 27).

14 This famous climax sums up, if any verse ever does, the message

of the Upanishads. It is, of course, the verse alluded to in the title of Somerset Maughams novel The Razor’s Edge. The imperatives (“get up,” etc.) are all in the plural, and in this climactic verse the dramatic frame is allowed to slip aside, revealing that Nachiketa

has really been a listener for all of us. The word which the transla­ tion (and Shankara) interprets to mean “an illumined teacher” is varan, “those who excel,” but it also picks up varan, “boons,” from the opening drama: “Having attained those desires, now strive for the lasting fulfillment of realization.”

16-17 The concluding verses give traditional closure, usually of an en­ tire text. This happens also in the Shvetashvatara, and in the loose architecture of the Upanishads it may indicate what was at some stage of the tradition an original ending.

I I . l

3,f- The refrain beginning with this verse is literally etad vai tat, “This [very Self] is indeed That” - i.e., Brahman, the supreme, or “That which you were seeking.”

12-13 This image of the Self within as “thumb-sized” is common in the Upanishads and other mystical texts, and perhaps has some back­ ground in the Vedic description of God the Creator standing “ten fingers’ breadth” back from the heart (Rig x .9 0 .1). It is an attempt to draw attention inward; the size is not to be taken literally but helps one focus all concentration within.

I I . 2

1 Anustaya, “meditates on,” can also mean “governs,” suiting the image of the Self as Inner Ruler of the city that is the body. Here again both meanings converge, since meditation is control, mastery.

7 The two destinations at birth cited here are probably animal (“em­ bodied”) and plant (“stationary”), the two main categories of life- forms in Indian thought. The illumined person is an exception to this law of rebirth, but all proceed, as is vividly expressed in the last line, yathd karma, yatha srutam, “according to what they have done and learned.”

9-10 The fire and air images end with the same formula as verse 11: the Self pervades all these forms yet remains outside all of them too.

A more literal translation would be, “As the one fire, entering the world, takes on the shape of all created things but remains outside as well,” etc.

11 The word for “tainted” in this verse is lipyate: work done with mo­ tives of self-interest “clings to” the doer, with all the unfavorable karmic results that implies; cp. Isha i.

15 This verse appears at Mundaka 11.2.10, Gita 15.12, and elsewhere.

H -3 2 The text has “moves in prana,” but the same source, Brahman, is un­

derstood.

4 This verse again shows that the belief system of Hinduism is the op­ posite of otherworldly or fatalistic: it places the greatest emphasis on the choices to be made in this life, in what is called karmabhumi, the “land of action” or “world of karma.”

7-8 “Mind” (manas) is the seat of emotions and perception, the field of desires and other mental forces which together determine how we think and act. Its essence (here sattvam uttamam) is “intellect,” or the highly discriminating perceptive faculty. “Ego” (here mahan atma) means the principle of differentiation by which the jiva or individual personality perceives itself as separate. (Later the normal term for it will be ahamkara, “I-maker.” ) The terms used here differ somewhat from those at 1 .3 .10 -1 1 (and commentators dispute their exact meanings), but roughly the same series, from the individual’s

mind to cosmic Mind and beyond to universal Reality, is intended.

12-1J The Upanishad is returning to the theme about spiritual teach­ ing with which it began, that only one who has realized it can com­ municate it. The description of such a person here is literally astyiti bhruvan, “one who says, ‘It is!” This in turn picks up the question of Nachiketa’s which started the entire inquiry: Astyity eke; “When someone dies, some say he is; others say he is not!’ The word for athe­ ist in Sanskrit is ndstika, “naysayer.” This affirmation acknowledges that the Self or God is the ultimate entity, depending on no other: Ramana Maharshi cited the biblical phrase “I am” as the best defini­ tion of the Self in all language, and Augustine coined an expression in Christian tradition which corresponds to what Radhakrishnan

calls “rational faith in the existence of Brahman” as the first step to its realization: Credo ut intellegam, “I believe in order to perceive.”

16 “Vital tracks” : nadis. “To death” : literally “ in every direction” other than realization.

Ill B R I H A D A R A N Y A K A U P A N I S H A D N O T E S

Both branches of the White Yajur Veda contain the best known of the Brahmana texts, the Shatapatha Brahmana, and within this vast store­ house of religious lore is included the Brihadaranyaka (“Great Forest” or “Great Aranyaka”) Upanishad. It is much like India itself - or like another cumulative traditional text, the Mahabharata. We have selected passages to give a sense of its variety, and furnished notes to only some of them to keep within manageable size.

I I . 4 1 1n this episode, repeated at iv.5, Yajnavalkya makes ready to enter the

third traditional stage of life.

2 “My lord”: bhaga, a term of endearment, is a less usual form of bhagavan, which, like the English “lord”, means etymologically “sharer” or “provider.” This takes on spiritual significance in the present context: “sharer of love, divine consciousness,” which of course is just the role that Yajnavalkya is about to play.

3 Literally she says, “What my lord knows, let him tell.” Shankara ex­ plains that what she wants to learn is (kevalam amritavasadhanam), “the whole body of disciplines leading to immortality.”

5 Throughout this famous passage, “for [its] own sake” (etc.) renders kamaya, literally “for love o f” or “out of desire for.” We do not really desire anything, but long for union with the Self which is in it.

6 “Confuse” : the word is variously translated as “oust,” “slight,” or “ ig­ nore.” The point is that to be fulfilled completely we must realize that everything and everyone is our very own. Wherever we sense alienation, we will not understand the universe to that extent; the

expansion of our consciousness will be checked.

7-10 The illustration of the musical instruments shows that the Self is the single thread of meaning in the universe; the fire simile indi­

cates that the entire religious culture symbolized by the fire sacrifice points back to its source, which is that same Self.

10 The word for breath literally means “out-breathing,” implying that the mystic can retrace the course of evolution (as the universe does in pralaya, the cosmic dissolution) and be “breathed back in” to the Eternal.

12 Yajnavalkya’s final aphorism is indeed confusing, as Maitreyi will in­ dicate. He seems to mean that when the separate self which knows reality as separate and composed of perishable elements is let go of, transcended, there is no confusing knowledge (or knower) but only pure awareness. This we can never lose - it can never perish, so this is the immortality Maitreyi (who stands for every one of us) was seeking.

14 “Separateness” : literally “duality, as it were” (dvitiyam iva). Cp. Ramana Maharshi: “ There must be a duality if you are to catch hold of something else, but what is is only the one Self, not a duality. Hence, who is to catch hold of whom?” (David Goodman, ed., Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (London: Ar- kana, 1985), p. 172).

I I I .4 1 Janaka was proverbially king and sage, one who enjoyed both the

world and spiritual awareness. Videha means “without body,” which may be part of the allegory of his liberation. His daughter in the bhakti tradition is Sita, consort of Sri Rama. In the Upanishad, his

relationship with Yajnavalkya allegorizes the privileged relationship of a spiritual teacher to temporal authority, which to some extent still obtains in India. Their dialogues are among the most humor­ ous in the Upanishads, as well as the most illuminating.

h i . 8 1 The questions of the other brahmins, which concern details of the sacri­

fice, have been omitted. Yajnavalkya answers his questioners master­ fully, improving on whatever their previous teachers had taught them.

Last to come is Gargi, the daughter of Vachaknu, who now “makes her move.” “Spiritual debate” : brahmodya, literally a “Brahman-contest.”

4 “Space” : akasa sometimes translated as “ether,” is the nonmate­

rial substrate o f the universe. Note the progression from akasa to aksara, the Imperishable, in v.j.

8 At this point Yajnavalkya begins to “take o ff” and, like so many Upa­ nishadic teachers, expound upon the unspoken question o f the

questioner: the question of human choices, destiny, and the path to immortality.

10 “Attain immortality” : literally “becomes a brahmanahwhich Shan­ kara explains as “a knower of Brahman.” A commentator, Ranga- ramanuja, adds: “From this knowing comes the attainment o f im ­ mortality, while not knowing o f it leads [one back] to samsara

IV. 3 This incident is recorded in the Shatapatha Brahmana, x i.6 .2 .10 . The

passage is interesting in showing the protocol controlling the pre­ cious right to put questions to a spiritual teacher.

7 “Who is that Self?” It is difficult to convey the precise connotation of this question, katama atma? It implies that there are various selves we can identify with; which one does the sage mean? This is clearly the “takeoff point” o f the episode. The self described from here on is not quite the Self but what came to be called in later tradition the jivatman or the living individual’s self: one’s personal identity, not the absolute Self (paramatman or simply atman) but one not attached to physical and mental forms.

9 In Hindu tradition sandhya, the “juncture” o f night and day, is con­ sidered an opportune time to meditate because being between both zones it is caught in neither; similarly, the term used here for the state of consciousness that is neither in this world nor beyond it is “sandhya, the third state, the state of sleep.” Ramana Maharshi: “On whatever plane the mind happens to act, it creates a body for itself; in the physical world a physical body and in the dream world a dream body which becomes wet with dream rain and sick with dream disease” (Goodman, p. 197). The “intermediate state” can be either between waking and dreaming or between two lives.

1,-12 The refrain which describes the Self in these verses, abbreviated in the translation, is hiranmayah purusa eka hamsah, literally, “this golden Person, this solitary swan.” There is a traditional pun on hamsa (“swan”) and soham (“I am He”) and that splendid, solitary

bird symbolizes the absolute freedom of the Self. Yajnavalkya’s use o f vivid, everyday images in this section makes it one of the most effective passages in the Upanishads.

12 “Body:” literally avaram kulayam, the “nest below,” in keeping with the bird imagery throughout.

21 The rare word describing freedom from desires here is aticchanda. Shankara comments that normally one speaks o f being svacchanda, “able to act by one’s own desire,” or paracchanda, “forced to act by another’s desire” ; neither entails spiritual freedom, which is atic­ chanda, quite beyond desire altogether. The next verses repeat this logic for hearing, thinking, and so on; the translation condenses them.

52 “But a fraction of this joy” : literally matram, a “measure” or finite part, whereas our capacity for joy is infinite.

33 Omitting a calculation or scale o f joy very similar to Tait. II.8.

I V . 4 1 “Powers of life” : the pranas.

5 The pregnant, simple words about desire at the end of this part con­ tain the essential practical teaching o f the Upanishads. “A person is his desire” : I f we can control our deep desire we can control our destiny, or the state to which one “repairs” (abhisampadayate). The next mantra extends the principle to the next life, as Plato does as well; cp. Laws 904c and the myth o f Er, Republic 6i5b-end.

7 The quoted verse is also found at Katha v i.14 .

9-23 These verses are found almost word for word in other Upanishads in this volume and are omitted here for simplicity.

23 “This kingdom is yours” : literally “You have achieved this” (i.e., the world o f Brahman). To rule with detachment from selfish interest is to live in heaven on earth.

m C H A N D O G Y A U P A N I S H A D N O T E S

Chandogya comes from chandoga, the singer o f the saman part o f the Veda, and ultimately from chandas, “ (Vedic) song.” The U pani­ shad is from the Sama Veda, in which the song aspect o f the Sam ­

hita is emphasized. It is an early prose Upanishad.

I 1,2 Probably rik here stands for hymn, sama for song, and udgitha for

the impulse to sing praise. On a simpler level, most hymns o f the Sama Veda come from the Rig Veda.

110 The word for “inner awareness” is upanisad; for “faith,” sraddha.

111 141-4 This famous brief passage of the Upanishad is known as the

“Wisdom of Shandilya” (Sandilya vidya). It contains a basic exposi­ tion of spiritual reality, the core of which (about our “deep desire” ) is repeated at Brihadaranyaka iv.4.5.

“Comes forth,” etc.: all this, Shankara explains, is contained in the text’s mystical word tajjalan (see also note on Kena iv.6).

IV 4 2 “Satyakama Jabala” : as if a patronymic, lengthening the first a o f the

mother’s name to indicate “child o f” and shortening the last a to make it masculine. Satyakama means literally “lover o f truth.”

44 Saumya literally means possessing strength and health and possibly connotes one fit for initiation, i.e., the drinking of soma. In any case it is not a rare address and the combination o f affection and respect it connotes is difficult to convey in English.

A boy seeking acceptance from a teacher would offer firewood, prostrate himself, and declare his lineage. Originally, caste gave the individual a recognizable place in the human community (as we would say today, a “network”); and it was not entirely rigid: the teacher can accept Satyakama despite his uncertain lineage, and Chandogya v.3 has a kshatriya teaching a brahmin. While the caste system had become rigid and abusive by the modern era, its origi­ nal purpose was simply to recognize the differing attainments of

the individual and the family’s role in nurturing spiritual growth, as well as protecting the efficiency o f certain divisions o f labor.

V

Commentators take the bull to represent Vayu, the swan, the sun, and (more importantly) the diver bird for prana.

9.2-j “prom y0U alone” : this touch emphasizes that there is more to

spiritual instruction than mere picking up facts, however accurate; as the Katha says, truth must be caught by “spiritual osmosis” from one established in it.

V I The translation has been simplified, omitting some philosophical ar­

guments. As usual, what begins as a Vedic lesson becomes a plat­ form for practical mysticism, in this case a “hands-on” experiment with energy and life. This section, with the recurring mahavakya “You are That,” is considered one o f the most important in the Upa­ nishads.

*•’ The original works with a folk-etymological pun: svapiti, “he sleeps,” from sva “ (to him -)self” and apita “gone.”

V I I

12 The “great epic” or “traditional narrative” (itihasapuranam) is the Mahabharata, said to be a storehouse o f all traditional lore and of­ ten called the fifth Veda. Some o f the other sciences on this inter­ esting list are not entirely clear, but obviously this is meant to be a complete repertoire o f secular and religious knowledge. Compare how Augustine (Conf. 1.13) complains that he was taught to “weep for Dido’s death” and keep a dry eye for the fact that he himself was dying spiritually; or Faust’s despair with all secular knowledge at the beginning o f Goethe’s play (with its very different outcome from the story o f Narada).

1.4-22.1 Omitting a long list leading upwards from speech, mind, will, etc., to security, energetic activity, and happiness. At each step one must want to transcend the present step; in order to escape sorrow we must truly want happiness, or as the text says, want to know it.

25 2 The strong words used here are svaraj vs. anyaraj, freedom or “self- rule” vs. dependency or “rule o f another” ; see the afterword.

26.2 “purify the mind” : this could also be translated “In the purity of our nutrition (ahdra) lies the purity o f our nature (sattva); in the purity o f our nature lies firmness of our memory (smriti, meaning personal memory or tradition, i.e., culture).”

V I I I

1-1_s Omitting alternate mantras, which restate the propositions in the form o f questions the knower must be prepared to answer. Note the important statement in v. 1.3 that the world within is as vast as the external world.

21ff- In the original this catalog is much longer.

3 2 The application o f this striking image could be to our entering dreamless sleep each night or - as translated here, more universally - to our nonrecognition of the Self ever present within us.

4 ' “Bulwark” : Setur, like pons in Latin, gephyra in Greek, originally meant an earthwork across a flooded area, and so can mean “dam” or “barrier” as well as “bridge.” The text emphasizes the former meaning, but the Self or God as a bridge from our present state to infinite consciousness is also a common image (for example, Shvetashvatara v i.20 ). Note the later and still popular name for God, Setu Rama.

4 3 Brahmacharya, self-control or austerity, is the real bridge to the world of Brahman.

13-1 The demon Rahu (probably meaning “seizer” ), a kind of mytho­ logical “black hole” with a habit of swallowing the sun and moon (i.e., in eclipses), stands for asat or vinasa, the force o f nonbeing. The freedom of the illumined man or woman is gained when he or she is established in complete Being.

Di S H V E T A S H V A T A R A U P A N I S H A D N O T E S

The full name of this text is Svetasvataranam mantropanisad, “the verse Upanishad o f the descendants o f sage Shvetashvatara.” No particular information is available about this family or parampara. The tradition is in the Taittiriya school o f the Black Yajur Veda, and the Upanishad itself, despite some latish features, has always been venerated as author­

itative. Svetasvatara, literally “he who has a white horse,” has been tra­ ditionally interpreted as “he who has pure senses,” taking asva (“horse”) for a symbol of the senses as in the famous chariot image at Katha 1.3.4

I 3 “Lord o f Love” here is devatmasakti, literally “god-self-energy.” This

compound idea, characterizing the Shvetashvatara concept of Real­ ity, is usually translated “God’s own power,” but a recent commen­ tator, Swami Tyagisananda, has taken the three terms as indepen­ dently meaningful (which is just as possible from the grammatical point o f view) and rendered them felicitously as “the God of reli­ gion, the Self o f philosophy, and the energy of science.” The under­ lying Reality separately approached by these three human modes o f knowing is seen instantly and comprehensively in the climax of meditation.

The three gunas, roughly law (or balance, harmony), energy, and inertia, whose interplay constitute the basic modalities of change in the phenomenal world according to Sankhya and other philosophi­ cal systems, are widely accepted in the background philosophic outlook of India down to the present day.

6 Here, as elsewhere, the translation simplifies a complex Sankhya-like al­ legory of numbers, colors, and so on, in order to emphasize the text’s essentials. “Individual self?’ for example, is literally ha msa, “swan.”

13 At Katha 11.1.8, conversely, the birth/fire imagery (the word for the lower firestick isyoni, “womb” ) stands implicitly for spiritual “birth” or illumination. It is particularly a sacrificial fire that is thought of behind this allegory. Since it was often difficult to start the sacrifi­ cial fire with the firesticks, the priest was allowed to change places with his wife (who holds the yoni) if he got tired. This long, de­ termined effort to bring out hidden power is a perfect symbol for the arduous work of spiritual progress: the word here is abhydsa, “effort, practice,” which the Gita (6 .35 ,12 .9 ) calls the secret of all spiritual discipline.

I I

1-7 This is a modernized rendering o f this passage, a Vedic hymn to Savitri.

ill

’ At this point the Vedic name Rudra begins to be used for the Lord. By v. 5 the adjective siva, “auspicious,” modifies it, and will be used six times more. In this translation it becomes a personal name - the Lord as Shiva - by verse 11, though Deussen and others would dis­ agree.

14 This is the first verse of Rig Veda x.90, the famous creation hymn, containing the conundrum that the creative power remains “ten fingers’ breadth” outside creation: the unchanged Creator is never caught in creation; the supreme Reality is both immanent in cre­ ation and transcendent. This part o f the Upanishad similarly uses numerous Vedic mantras.

IV 5 A cryptic allegorical verse which the translation seeks to resolve and

simplify. The text uses the words aja and ajd, masculine and femi­ nine forms meaning both “goat” and “the unborn.” Compare the better-known and clearer allegory o f the two birds (iv.6, and cp. Rig Veda 1.164.20, Mundaka 111.1, Katha 1.3.1).

9 This is the verse in which maya appears as the key explanation for phenomenal reality and mayi, “wielder of the power of illusion,” as its “creator,” if creation it can be called.

V

2 This verse (like v. 1.6, below) refers to the idea that wisdom - Truth - exists before phenomena are created: the Lord “bears in his thoughts and sees the fiery sage [kapilam rsim] before creation” : some have seen here a reference to Kapila, the shadowy genius who founded Sankhya.

1J Most of the language here is identical with iv .14 and its interesting reference to the unmoved, ordering Lord in the midst o f chaos or our mixed reality. In this pair o f concluding verses the escape from all aspects o f maya just described is outlined.

V I

4 As elsewhere, the translation gives the practical interpretation o f this verse. Another interpretation takes w . 3-4 as referring to Ishvara, or God who appears to enter the world o f action as an agent but re­

mains aloof. In the Gita (3.22-23), Krishna says almost with divine tongue in cheek that while he needs absolutely nothing, he works ceaselessly to set an example to the world.

Di M U N D A K A U P A N I S H A D N O T E S

The theme with which this Upanishad begins, the theme o f higher and lower knowledge, leads to consideration o f the one Reality that has become all phenomenal existence. Munda (which the Upanishad is sometimes called) means “shaved,” and there m aybe some reference in the last two verses to a particular ascetic sect for whose members alone it was originally intended. I f that was true on one level, on another level it means that those shorn o f attachment to the non-self and externali­ ties could understand its message; in fact a less well known Upanishad was called Kshurika or “Razor,” and the text itself tells us that this means an instrument to cut illusion.

1 . 1 4 The words “higher” and “lower” are para and apara, literally “be­

yond” (or “transcendent” ) and “nontranscendent.” Apara, “lower” knowledge, consists in the skills necessary to perform all aspects o f the Vedic rites correctly. As usual, the rites stand for all human actions, arts, and skills. Para, transcendent knowing, is Self-realiza­ tion.

6 Literally “has neither gotra nor varna,” social categories by which people “know” one another, and identities to which a person clings. The words have a metaphysical sense here which applies to the Self: “source and class” ; but the social meaning is not lost either, relating to the personal self. Dhiras means both “brave, unflinching” and “wise, meditating,” from the root dhr, “meditate, be firm,” and is a common designation for the sages who are the sources of tradi­ tional authority.

8 Here and in 111.5 the word for meditation is tapas, which denotes control of the senses and mind, or “austerity,” and “heat.” Both suit. (See also note on Prashna 1.4.)

2-6 The translation of these verses is condensed, as the Upanishad goes into full ritual nomenclature here.

8 This stanza is found also at Katha 1.2.5.

11 The translation renders into universal terms a fairly technical de­ scription of the renunciate life of ancient India.

I I . 1 8 More literally, this stanza consists of a complex allegory of the sacri­

fice as the act of cognition.

I I . 2

3 Upanisad here probably stands for any text o f mystical truth; thus “sacred scriptures.”

4 The word translated here as “mantram” is, as usually in the Upani­ shads, OM.

6 “Nerves” : nadls.

9 Literally, “karma dissipates.” The idea is that to live as an individual is to live tied to actions - and their results - by selfish motivations. To transcend individuality is not to be inactive, but not to be self­ ishly active. This liberates one completely from cause and effect. The commentaries take pardvare, “high and low” (our “within and without”), as referring to cause and effect: the Self includes but is beyond both.

11 This famous stanza repeats at Katha 11.2 .15 and elsewhere. In the world o f the illumined there is no external source o f awareness, nor is any needed. Likewise in the next stanza “here” (iha) as usual means “in this world” (of our perception).

I I I . 1

6 “Unreality” : anrtam, which has the connotation of “that which is out of the rhythm” (rita) of existence.

10 Selfless desire arises as part o f the world process; it is a cosmic force and cannot but work its fulfillment.

I I I . 2 1 There is a pun on subhram, the “splendor” of the source of eternal

reality, and sukram, which means first “white, shining” and then, as here, “seed” or sperm, standing for the lure o f physical life, recur­ ring but impermanent. This is the same idea we meet in the two splendors, one a trap and one eternal, in Isha 1.6 and (with the same word, sukram) at Brihadaranyaka iv .3.11.

10 Though the text seems to be quoting from the Rig Veda here, the verse is not found elsewhere than the present passage. Wordplay combines the two levels o f sacrifice: the seeker must sacrifice him­ self to ekarsi, which is either the name o f a certain sacrificial fire or means “one seer” ; i.e., the seeker should devote himself utterly to his teacher.

D! M A N D U K Y A U P A N I S H A D N O T E S

The Mandukya is the briefest o f the surviving principal Upanishads, yet it is no less ambitious than the Brihadaranyaka in scope, seeking as it does to describe the whole o f reality. Extremely condensed, it was and is considered the most difficult o f the Upanishads to understand accurately. Although Shankara does not mention it for some reason in his commentary on the Brahma Sutras, his teachers teacher, Gauda- pada, had written a 215-verse commentary which was to become one of the most influential documents o f Indian philosophy, being the earli­ est exposition o f the Vedanta we possess (and a brilliant demonstration of its validity by intellectual methods alone, independent of scriptural authority or dogma). In other ways also the Mandukya was consid­ ered a highly influential Upanishad. Like the others which center their teaching on the symbol o m , it is part o f the Atharva Veda. The name would seem to come from manduka, “frog,” as Taittiriya from a spe­ cies of bird. A charming story was made up to explain this, but it may simply be that Mandukya was the name of the sage who composed this remarkable text.

2 “ This Self” : Sanskrit in general uses the first person demonstrative more often than English, and the Upanishads frequently say simply “this” or “that” to mean the universe or the Self. The result is an immediacy difficult to translate: “This very Self o f which the Upa­ nishads speak, this very self is speaking . . . ”

“Four states of consciousness” : literally “is four-legged,” an expres­ sion frequendy used of the macrocosm also (the universe is said to have stood soundly on the “four legs of Brahman” at the begin­ ning of the cycle of creation, and now is tottering on one). In the Chandogya Upanishad the student Satyakama is taught one after

the other the “four feet of Brahman.” But pada also means “quarter” or “region,” hence “the four states” of consciousness.

3 Vaishvanara comes from vishva “all” and nara “man”; Shankara in­ terprets this as “he who leads all men to their enjoyments” or “the Self of all embodied beings.” Literally the text refers to “the seven limbs and nineteen mouths” (one way the organs of action and per­ ception are tallied). “Aware” is sthulabhuk, “enjoying (eating) the external world.”

4 Taijasa derives from tejas, a special term connoting the splendor of awareness, though here not the awareness of absolute Reality. It can also mean “ (sex) energy.”

5 Prajna is derived from pra, an intensifying prefix, and jha, “to know”; the meaning here is “consciousness.” In dreamless sleep we are not conscious of forms or impressions; consciousness is undifferen­ tiated, and in fact the mind and body rest, as science can detect, but the individual is not aware of it. In the next verse prajna is de­ scribed as a being rather than a state: all these states are merely forms of the Self, and of the states experienced before illumination, the Self is closest to its true nature in prajna.

6 “Source” : yoni, literally “womb.” The language of these verses seems carefully balanced between inner (or microcosmic) and macrocos- mic fields of reference.

7 Turiya, referring to the superconscious state, means literally “the Fourth.” Nothing can describe it; “fourth” means only that one comes to it fourth in this anagogical order, for it is not a state of consciousness but consciousness itself, beyond the characterizable three states of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep.

8 Here the text uses an interesting expression: adhyakshaam . . . adhi- matram means “from the point o f view o f the Imperishable and the measurable,” respectively. Ihe Upanishads frequently interpret the same truth adhidaivikam and adhyatmikam, “from the divine and the individual standpoints.” The text conveys a mystical identity

between the states and the sounds, but the latter are to be taken as symbols, just as a u m is a symbol of the supreme Reality.