THE UPANISHADS (Vehicles of Inner Knowledge) Gems of Wisdom
The Isha Upanishad
(Ishopanishad)
"If all the Upanishads and
all 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 forever" -- Mahatma
Gandhi
Eknath Easwaran
Translation
("The Inner Ruler")
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
1. 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.
3. 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.
9-11. 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
Of action, the second to a life of meditation.
But those who combine action with meditation
Cross the sea of death through action
And enter into immortality
Through the practice of meditation.
So have we heard from the wise.
12-14. In dark night live those for whom the Lord
Is transcendent only; in 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 16. The glory of truth. 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
R. C. Zaehner Translation
("The Lord - Transcendent Without, Immanent Within")
"None hath attained to
thy sovereignty and power, None to thine undaunted spirit,--none."
1. This whole universe must be pervaded by a Lord
--Whatever moves in this moving world.
Abandon it, and then enjoy:
Covet not the goods of anyone at all.
2. Performing ritual works on earth a man
May wish to live a hundred years:
This, not otherwise, is true for thee;
A man is not defiled by works.
3. Some worlds there are called "devilish"
In blind darkness swathed:
To these at death such folk pass on
As seek to slay the (Higher) Self.
4. Unmoving--One--swifter than thought (manas),--
The gods could not seize hold of It as it sped before (them):
Standing, It overtakes (all) others as they run;
In It the wind incites activity.
5. It moves. It moves not.
It is far, yet It is near:
It is within this whole universe,
And yet It is without it.
6. Those who see all beings in the Self,
And the Self in all beings
Will never shrink from It.
7. When once one understands that in oneself (Of) the greater Self become all beings,
When once one has seen the unity,
What room is there for sorrow?
What room for perplexity?
8. He, the wise Sage, all-conquering, self-existent,
Encompassed that which is resplendent,
Incorporeal, invulnerable,
Devoid of sinews, pure, unpierced by evil: (All) things He ordered each according to its nature
For years unending.
9. Blind darkness enter they
Who revere only the transcendent (or unrevealed):
Into a darkness blinder yet (Go they) who delight only in the immanent (or revealed).
10. Other, they say, than what becomes,
Other, they say, than what does not become:
So from wise men have we heard
Who instructed us therein.
11. Coming to be and perishing,--
Who knows these both together,
By "perishing" surpasses death,
By "coming to be" wins deathlessness.
12. Blind darkness enter they
Who reverence unwisdom:
Into a darkness blinder yet (Go they) who delight in wisdom.
13. Other, they say, than wisdom,
Other than unwisdom (too), they say:
So from wise men have we heard
Who instructed us therein.
14. Wisdom and unwisdom--
Who knows these both together,
By "unwisdom" surpasses death,
By "wisdom" reaches deathlessness.
15. Wind and immortal breath,
And then this body whose end is in ashes:
Om, O mind remember; what's done remember;
O mind remember; what's done remember.
16. Lead us, O god of fire, along fair paths to riches,
Thou who knowest every way;
Repel from us the fault that leads astray.
May we compile for thee a most fulsome hymn of homage.
17. The face of truth is hidden
By the golden vessel (of the sun):
That person yonder (hidden) in the sun,
I in truth am He.
18. O Lord of the Path, single seer, O god of death, O sun, born
of the Lord of Creations,
Display thy rays, diffuse thy light;
That form of thine which is most fair I see:
That Person yonder, (hidden), I am He.
The
Kena Upanishad (Kenopanishad)
Sri Aurobindo
Translation ("By Whom or by What?")
First Part
1. By whom commissioned falls the (arrow of the) mind shot to
its mark? By whom yoked moves the first life-breath forward on its paths?
By whom impelled is this word that men speak? What god set eye and ear to
their workings?
2. THAT which is hearing of our hearing, mind of our mind, speech
of our speech, THAT too is life of our lifebreath and sight of our sight.
The wise are released beyond and they pass from this world and become immortal.
3. There sight travels not, nor speech, nor the mind. We know It
not nor can distinguish how one should teach of It: for It is other than
the known; It is there above the unknown. It is as we have heard from men
of old who declared THAT to our understanding.
4. THAT which is unexpressed by the word, THAT by which the word
is expressed, know THAT to be the Brahman--the great Ultimate Reality--and
not this which men follow after here.
5. THAT which thinks not by the mind, THAT by which the mind is thought,
know THAT to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after here.
6. THAT which sees not with the eye, THAT by which one sees the eye's
seeings, know THAT to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after
here.
7. THAT which hears not with the ear, THAT by which the ear's hearing
is heard, know THAT to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after
here.
8. THAT which breaths not with the breath, THAT by which the life-breath
is led forward in its paths, know THAT to be the Brahman and not this which
men follow after here.
Second Part
1. If thou thinkest that thou knowest It well, little indeed dost
thou know the form of the Brahman. That of It which is thou, that of It
which is in the gods, this thou hast to think out. I think It known.
2. I think not that I know It well and yet I know that It is not
unknown to me. He is of us who knows It, knows THAT; he knows that It is
not unknown to him.
3. He by whom It is not thought out, has the thought of It; he by
whom It is thought out, knows it not. It is unknown to the discernment of
those who discern of It; by those who seek not to discern of It, It is discerned.
4. When It is known by perception that reflects It, then one has
the thought of It, for one finds immortality; by the self one finds the
force to attain and by the knowledge one finds immortality.
5. If here one comes to that knowledge, then one truly is; if here
one comes not to the knowledge, then great is the perdition. The wise distinguish
THAT in all kinds of becomings and they pass forward from this world and
become immortal.
Third Part
1. The Eternal conquered for the gods and in the victory of the
Eternal the gods grew to greatness. (This is what they saw--in their
illusion of self-sufficiency): "Ours the victory, ours the greatness."
2. The Eternal knew their thought and appeared before them; and they
knew not what was this mighty Daemon.
3. They said to Agni--the god of material fire and
knower of form, "O thou that knowest all things born, learn of this
thing, what may be this mighty Daemon," and he said, "So
be it."
4. He rushed toward the Eternal and It said to him, "Who art
thou?" "I am Agni," he said, "I am he that knows all
things born."
5. "Since such thou art, what is the force in thee?" (He
replied), "Even all this I could burn, all that is upon the earth."
6. The Eternal set before him a blade of grass, "This burn."
And he made toward it with all his speed, but he could not burn it. There
he ceased, and turned back, (saying): "I could not know of It,
what might be this mighty Daemon."
7. Then they said to Vayu, the god of the life-breath
and the knower of growth and vitality, "O Vayu, this discern, what
is this mighty Daemon." He said, "So be it."
8. He rushed upon THAT; It said to him, "Who art thou?"
"I am Vayu," he said, "and I am he that expands in the Mother
of things."
9. "Since such thou art, what is the force in thee?" And he
replied: "Even all this I can take for myself, all this that is upon
the earth."
10. THAT set before him a blade of grass, "This take."
He went toward it with all his speed and he could not take it. Even there
he ceased, even thence he returned, (saying): "l could not discern
of THAT, this mighty Daemon."
11. Then they said to Indra, the god of divine mind
and the knower of thought forms, "Master of plenitudes, get thou the
knowledge, what is this mighty Daemon." He said, "So be
it." He rushed upon THAT. THAT vanished from before him.
12. He, (Indra), in the same ether came upon the Woman--the
Mother Space, the Celestial Virgin--even upon Her who shines out in many
forms, Uma daughter of the snowy summits. To Her he said, "What
was this mighty Daemon?"
Fourth Part
1. She said to him, "It is the Eternal. Of the Eternal
is this victory in which you shall grow to greatness." Then alone
he came to know that this was the Brahman, the Ultimate Reality.
2. Therefore are these gods, as it were, beyond all the other gods,
even Agni and Vayu and Indra, because they came nearest to the touch of
THAT . . .
3. Therefore is Indra, as it were, beyond all the other gods because
he came nearest to the touch of THAT, because he first knew that It was
the Brahman.
4. Now this is the indication of THAT,--as is this flash of lightning
upon us or as is this falling of the eyelid, so in that which is of the
gods.
5. Then in that which is of the Self,--as the motion of this mind
seems to attain to THAT and by it afterward the will in the thought continually
remembers It.
6. The name of THAT is "That Delight"; as That Delight,
one should follow after It. He who so knows THAT, toward him verily all
existences yearn.
7. Thou hast said, "Speak to me Upanishad--the Inner Knowledge."
Spoken to thee is Inner Knowledge. Of the Eternal verily is the
Upanishad that we have spoken.
8. Of this knowledge austerity and self-conquest and works are the
foundation, the Vedas--the books of knowledge--are all its limbs, truth
is its dwelling place.
9. He who knows this knowledge smites evil away from him, and in
that vaster world and infinite heaven finds his foundation, yea, he
finds his foundation.
Eknath Easwaran Translation ("Who Moves the World?")
[I]
1.The student inquires:
"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?"
2.The teacher replies:
"The Self is the ear of the ear,
The eye of the eye, the mind of the mind,
The word of words, and the life of life.
Rising above the senses and the mind
And renouncing separate existence,
The wise realize the deathless Self.
3. "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.
5. "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."
[II]
THE TEACHER
1. If you think, "I know the Self," you know not.
All you can see is his external form.
Continue, therefore, your meditation.
THE STUDENT
2. I do not think I know the Self, nor can
I say I know him not.
THE TEACHER
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
Of 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.
[III]
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. 3. 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 of 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 being.
"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 of 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?"
[IV]
1. Uma replied, "That was Brahman, from whom
Comes all your power and glory." The gods
Realized at last (that) 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 innermost Self of everyone;
He alone is worthy of all our love.
Meditate upon him in all. Those who
Meditate upon him are dear to all.
THE STUDENT
7. Teach me more of this spiritual wisdom.
THE TEACHER
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
R. C. Zaehner Translation ("By Whom Sent Forth, By Whom Impelled?")
I
1. By whom sent forth, [by whom] impelled soars forth
the mind? By whom enjoined does the breath go forth, the first?
By whom impelled do men make loud this utterance?
Eye--ear: what god enjoins them?
2. Ear of the ear, mind of the mind,
Voice of the voice, He too is the breath of breath,
Eye of the eye: transcending [all] the wise,
Departing from this world, become immortal.
3. There no eye can penetrate,
No voice, no mind can penetrate:
We do not know, we do not understand
How one should teach it.
Other it is, for sure, than what is known,
Beyond [the scope of] the unknown too.
So have we heard from men of old who instructed us therein.
4. That which cannot be expressed by speech,
By which speech [itself] is uttered,
That is Brahman--know thou [this]--
Not that which is honored here as such.
5. That which thinks not by the mind,
By which, they say, the mind is thought,
That is Brahman--know thou [this]--
Not that which is honored here as such.
6. That which sees not by the eye,
By which the eyes have sight,
That is Brahman--know thou [this]--
Not that which is honored here as such.
7. That which hears not by the ear,
By which this ear is heard,
That is Brahman--know thou [this]--
Not that which is honored here as such.
8. That which breathes not by the breath,
By which breath is drawn in,
That is Brahman--know thou [this]--
Not that which is honored here as such.
II
[The teacher speaks:] 1. Shouldst thou think, "I know [It] well,"
now little indeed
thou knowest,--a form of Brahman,--what of It is thou, what
of It is among the gods. Think then upon It seriously.
[The pupil:]
I think I know It.
[The teacher:] 2. I do not think, "I know It well,"
I do not know, "I do not know";
He of us who knows It, knows It,
He does not know, "I know It not."
3. Who thinks not on It, by him It's thought:
Who thinks upon It, does not know,--
Un-understood by those who understand,
By those who understand not understood.
4. Known by an awakening It is seized upon by thought,
And so a man finds immortality:
By the Self one valor wins,
By wisdom immortality.
5. If one has known [It] here, then is there truth;
If one has here not known [It], great is the destruction:
Discerning It in each contingent being,
Wise men, departing from this world, become immortal.
III
1. Now Brahman won a victory for the gods, and the gods
were exulting in the victory of that Brahman. They thought:
"This victory belongs to us, this majesty belongs to us." 2. Brahman was well aware of what they [were thinking],
and so he made himself visible to them. They did not recognize
Him. "What is this strange creature (yaksha)?" they said. 3. They said to Agni, [the fire god]: "Jatavedas['all-knowing'
or 'all-possessing'], look into this right away [and find out]
what this strange creature is."
"All right," said [Agni]. 4. He ran off to Him, and He said to him, "Who are you?"
"I am Agni," he replied; "I am Jatavedas." 5. "Well, if that is so, what powers have you?"
"I could burn up everything here in this [whole wide] world!" 6.[Brahman] put a straw down in front of him and said,
"Burn that." He rushed at it at full speed, but could not burn
it.
So he returned and said, "I could not find out what this strange creature
was." 7. Then they said to Vayu, [the wind-god]:
"Vayu, look into this right away [and find out] what this strange creature is." "All right,"
said [Vayu].
8. He ran up to Him, and He said to him, "Who are you?"
"I am Vayu," he replied, "I am Matarishvan"
['He who extends himself
in the Mother or the Container,' Master of life]." 9. "Well, if that is so, what powers have you?"
"I could carry off everything here in this [whole wide] world." 10.[Brahman] put a straw down in front of him and said,
"Carry it off." He rushed at it at full speed but could not carry
it off.
So he returned and said, "I could not find out what this strange creature
was." 11. Then they said to Indra: "Naghavan['bountiful'],
look into this right away [and find out] what this strange creature
is. "
"All right," said [Indra].
He ran up to Him, but He disappeared from his sight. 12. In that very place he happened to meet a woman of great beauty,-- Uma[Shiva's consort in later tradition], Himavat's
[Himalaya's] daughter;
and he asked her what that strange creature might be.
IV
1. She said: "It is Brahman, and it is in Brahman's victory
that you have been exulting." And straightway [Indra] understood
that it was Brahman. 2. That is why these [three] gods, Agni, Vayu and Indra,
rank rather higher than the other gods, for they came nearest
to touching Him, and it was they [and especially Indra] who
first understood that it was Brahman. 3. That is why Indra ranks rather higher than the other
gods, for he came nearest to touching Him and was the first
to understand that it was Brahman.
4. Now there is this description of Him: "Ah!"--[what people
say]
when the lightning flashes,--"Ah!" as they blink their eyes.
So much for the sphere of the gods. 5. Now for the sphere of the [individual] self.
When [a thought] occurs to the mind and the mind recollects
repeatedly,--[this is] conceptual thought (Samkalpa). 6.[Brahman] is called tadvanam["one who
desires it"],
and as such should He be revered. All beings pine for the man
who has this knowledge.
7.[The pupil :]"Sir,
tell me the secret doctrine (Upanishad)."
[The teacher:] "You have
been told the secret doctrine.
We ourselves have told you the secret doctrine concerning Brahman. 8. "Its basis is ascetic practice, self-restraint, and works
(karma),
the Vedas and all the treatises that depend on them (vedanga, or,
'the Vedas are all its limbs'). Truth is [its] dwelling place." 9. Whoever knows this [doctrine] in this way will vanquish
evil
and find his home in the infinite, unconquerable (alveye)
world of heaven--[there] will he find his home.
The
Katha Upanishad (Kathopanishad - Part I, Chapter 3) The Path to Knowledge of the REAL
(1) There are two that partake of the Cosmic Order in the World
of good deeds. Both have entered into the secret Cave (of the heart)
in the superior, the upper worlds of being. Those who know the Secret
Teachings (Brahmavidah--those who know the one ultimate Reakity) and
those Five-Fired ones (the Good Householders who work in the five levels
or with the five principles of the manifest reality) who have kindled
the triple Nachiketas Fire (the Kundalini creative serpent-fire),
know them as Light (Mahat--the projection of the Shanta Atman--the Silent
Witness) and Shade (Buddhi--the intuitive Inner Knower or Jnana Atman).
[In the terminology of mystic masonry, these are the Sons of Seth and
the Sons of Cain.] (2) We are able to master that Nachaketas Fire which is the Bridge
of those who sacrifice, and which (leads to) the highest imperishable
Brahman, the fearless Other Shore for those who wish to cross. (3) Know the innermost Spiritual Self (Atman)--the ONE LIFE--as
Lord of the Chariot, the physical body as the Chariot itself;
know the Inner Intuitive knower (Buddhi) to be the Charioteer
and the concrete mind (Manas) as the Reins. (4) The senses and emotions, they say, are the Horses, the
inner and outer sense-objects the Path on which they run. The innermost
Spiritual Self (Atman)--the ONE LIFE--united to senses and mind is
said by the wise to be the Experiencer(bhokta) (the master
or Passenger). (5) He who is without intuitive judgment and whose mind (Manas)
is not constantly controlled, his senses and emotions become unmanageable
like the vicious horses of a charioteer. (6) But he who has intuitive judgment, whose mind is ever held firm,
his senses and emotions are controllable like the good horses of a charioteer. (7) He who is without intuitive judgment and is of uncontrolled mind,
ever impure, he does not reach the ultimate goal but wanders in the Ocean
of the World. (8) But he who has intuitive judgment and is of controlled mind,
ever pure, he attains that goal (padam)(of Conscious Immortality)
whence he is born no more. (9) The man (or woman) who has intuitive judgment as his or
her Charioteer, and the mind as Reins, gains the End of the Road. That is
the Supreme Abode of the All-Pervading Spirit (Vishnu--the ONE LIFE--the
Fire of the Father).
(10) (Higher than inertial matter and form are the active
working senses;)
Higher than these senses are the (subtle) objects of sense (the
thought-forms projected by the imagination onto the desire nature);
Higher than those objects is the (concrete) mind (Manas) (which
projected them);
Higher than Manas (the concrete mind) is the Buddhi(Intuition--the
Inner Knower--Root Earth);
Higher than Buddhi (the Intuition) is the Great Self (Mahat Atman)
(the Great World Soul--Hiranyagarbha--the Divine Cosmic Pattern or World
Order--the Divine Spirit--Son/Daughter--Root Air); (11) Higher than the Mahat (this "Great Self") is
the Unmanifest (Chaos--the First Matter of the Absolute--the Divine Mother
or Celestial Virgin--the Matrix or Mother-Space of the Objective World--Root
Water);
Higher than the Unmanifest (Chaos) is the Purusha(the
ONE LIFE--the pure Spirit of the innermost SELF--Shanta Atman--the Peaceful
I AM, the Silent Witness--the Divine Father-Root Fire),
Than the Purusha (this ONE LIFE) there is nothing higher.
He is the End (the Pillar marking the boundary of the Great Void of the
Absolute), He the ultimate (Reality) (and Supreme) Goal.
(12) Hidden in all things, this Atman (the ONE LIFE) is yet
not visible. He is to be seen, however, by the keen and subtle Buddhi
(inner vision) of those who are seers of the subtle (the REAL).
(13) The wise should dissolve Speech (and all of the senses
with their inner and outer objects) in the Manas (concrete mind),
and that (Manas or mind)(then dissolved) in the Knowledge-Self
(Jnana Atman, Buddhi or intuitive Inner Knower). That (intuitional)
"Knowledge Self" he should dissolve in the Great Self (Mahat
Atman, Divine Cosmic Pattern or Hiranyagarbha) and that (dissolved)
in the Shanta Atman (Silent Witness or innermost Spirit) or Peaceful
Self (the ONE LIFE).
The Kathopanishad (Complete)
Death as the Teacher
(Eknath Easwaran
Translation)
PART
I
[1]
1. Once, long ago, Vajasravasa gave away his possessions to
gain religious merit.
2. He had a son named Nachiketa who, though only a boy, was
full of faith in the scriptures. Nachiketa thought when the offerings were
made:
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.
5. The son thought: "I go, the first of 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,
8. With water to wash his feet. 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."
YAMA
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.
NACHIKETA
10. O king of death, as the first of these boons
Grant that my father's anger be appeased,
So he may recognize me when I return
And receive me with love.
YAMA
11. I 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 of death, he will sleep
Again with a mind at peace.
NACHIKETA
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.
13. 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.
YAMA
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.
THE NARRATOR
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:
YAMA
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
Of 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.
NACHIKETA
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.
YAMA
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.
NACHIKETA
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.
YAMA
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
25. The pleasures of life. 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.
NACHIKETA
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
27. And music, for yourself. 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.
[2]
Having tested young Nachiketa and found him fit to receive spiritual
instruction, Yama, king of death, said:
YAMA
1. The joy of the Atman ever abides,
But not what seems pleasant to the senses.
Both these, differing in their purpose, prompt
Man to action. All is well for those who choose
The joy of the Atman, 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.
The wise recognize these two, 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
Which 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 his real Self. I regard you,
Nachiketa, worthy of instruction,
For passing pleasures tempt you not at all.
5. Ignorant of their ignorance, yet wise
In their own esteem, these deluded men
Proud of their vain learning go round and round
6. Like the blind led by the blind. 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. They 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!
NACHIKETA
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.
YAMA
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
Of all joy and live in joy abiding.
I see the gates of joy are opening
For you, Nachiketa.
NACHIKETA
14. Teach me of That you see as beyond right
And wrong, cause and effect, past and future.
YAMA
15. I 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 one's longings.
17. It is of the greatest support to all seekers.
Those in whose hearts O M reverberates
Unceasingly are 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 slay
Or the slain believes that he can be slain,
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
Sorrow who extinguish their self-will
And behold the glory of the Self
Through the grace of the Lord of 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 learned discourses.
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 his senses, stills not his mind,
And practices not meditation.
25. None else can know the omnipresent Self,
Whose glory sweeps away the rituals
Of 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 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.
5. When one 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. Those who lack
Discrimination, with little control
Over their thoughts and far from pure,
Reach not the pure state of immortality
8. But wander from death to death; but those
Who have discrimination, with a still mind
And a pure heart, reach journey's 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 mind 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 of 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.
PART
II
[1]
1. The self-existent Lord pierced the senses
To turn outward. Thus we look to the world
Outside 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
Of 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 of 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 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!
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
Of the illumined man or woman, Nachiketa,
Verily become one with the Godhead.
[2]
1. There is a city with eleven gates
Of 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
7. What befalls the Self after death. Of 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
Of 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
Of 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!
NACHIKETA
14. How can I know that blissful Self, supreme,
Inexpressible, realized by the wise?
Is he the light, or does he reflect light?
YAMA
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 its 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 of 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 himself?
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!
THE NARRATOR
Nachiketa learned from the king of death
The whole discipline of meditation.
Freeing himself from all separateness,
He won immortality in Brahman
So blessed is everyone who knows the Self!
O M shanti shanti shanti
The Mundaka Upanishad (Mundakopanishad)
Two Modes of Knowing
Eknath Easwaran Translation
PART
I
[1]
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.
5. 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
Of evolution into name and form
By which the One appears to be many."
[2]
1. 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- Look at these rituals: "When the fire is lit,
5. 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."*
*The
above verses appear to be incomplete in this translation. The following
are these verses translated by R. C. Zaehner in his "The Hindu Scriptures":
1. This is
the truth:
The (ritual) acts (karma) that the seers
beheld in the sacred formulas
Were spread abroad on the threefold [fire]:
O ye who long for truth, perform them constantly,
This is for you the path of [work] well done
on earth.
2. For when
the flame shows signs of dying down,
Though [the fire] that carries off the offering
be lit,
Then should the oblations be offered up
Between the portions of the melted ghee.
3. The man
whose oblation to the fire
Is offered up with no New- or Full-Moon rites,
No four-month rites or harvest rites,
Without guests or [honor to] the universal gods,
Or offered in a manner not prescribed,
Or not offered up [at all],
Forfeits for himself worlds up to the seventh
[world].
4. Black, Gaping, Swift as thought,
Vermilion, [Brown] as smoke,
Emitting sparks, All-radiant divine,--
These are the seven tongues [of the flame] that
is dying down.
5. Whoso
performs [the rite] while these are blazing
And receives the oblations at the proper time,--
Him they lead on, [become] the sun's rays [themselves],
To where is the one Lord of the gods, [our] refuge.
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.
9. Living in darkness, immature, unaware
10. Of any higher good or goal, they fall
Again and again into the sea.
11. 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.
PART
II
[1]
1. Imperishable is the Lord of Love.
As from a blazing fire thousands of sparks
Leap forth, so millions of beings arise
From the Lord of 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.
5. 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 of 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 of 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 of 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.
PART
III
[1]
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
Of life, and you will be freed from sorrow.
3. When you realize that you are the Self,
Supreme source of 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 of 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.
5. 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 of 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
The Four Minor Upanishads
The Tejabindu Upanishad
1. Let us meditate on the shining Self,
Changeless, underlying the world of change,
And realized in the heart in samadhi (adoration or union with the inner
god).
2. Hard to reach is the supreme goal of life.
Hard to describe and hard to abide in. 3. 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 samahdi 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 (qualities) 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 (the infinite One) 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 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
The Paramahamsa Upanishad
1. Narada (Lord of Events) inquired of the Lord of Love:
"What is the state of the illumined man?"
The Lord replied: "Hard to reach is the state
Of the illumined man. Only a few
Attain to 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 or 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 pilgrim's 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 mendicant's 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.
5. 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
The Amritabindu Upanishad
1. The mind may be said to be of two kinds,
Pure and inpure; Driven by the senses
It becomes inpure; but with 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 the 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 (both) immanent and transcendent.
Realizing him, sages attain freedom 10. And declare there are no separate minds.
They have realized what they always are.
11. 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 (illusion);
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 Sriptures 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 Atma Upanishad
1. This is the teaching of (a great) sage:
Purusha (highest Spirit) manifests itself in three ways:
As outer, inner, and supreme Self.
Skin, flesh, vertebral column, hair, fingers,
Toes, nails, ankles, stomach, navel, hips, thighs,
Cheeks, eyebrows, forehead, head, eyes, 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 (akasha).
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 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 (shanta atman), 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.
Detached from the outer and the inner,
This supreme Self purifies the impure.
O M shanti shanti shanti
THE BHAGAVAD-GITA (The Lord's Song or Song Celestial)
Chapter
12 (Bhakti yoga--the path of the Devotee)
[This
has been said (by B.P. Wadia) to be the chapter of prime importance in chelaship
or discipleship--where Arjuna the warrior, who symbolizes the human Higher
Ego, is being instructed by Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu or the Love-wisdom
(form-preserving) aspect of the Solar Logos, who symbolizes the human Monad
or Divine spark, as to the best devotional path to God-consciousness or
true SELF-Realization.]
PERSONAL GOD VERSUS IMPERSONAL
GODHEAD
1.Arjuna said:
Of those who are thus ever integrated and serve You with loyal devotion,
and those who [revere] the Imperishable nmanifest, which are the most experienced
[or most perfect] in spiritual exercise.
2.The Blessed Lord said:
Those I deem to be most integrated who fix their thoughts on Me and serve
Me, ever integrated [in themselves], filled with the highest faith. 3. But those who revere the indeterminate Imperishable Unmanifest
[Parabrahman, Godhead], unthinkable though coursing everywhere, sublime,
aloof, unmoving, firm, 4. Who hold in check the complex of the senses, in all things equal-minded,
taking pleasure in the weal [or welfare] of all contingent [manifest or
conditioned] beings, these too attain to me [to My Consciousness]. 5. [But] greater is the toil of those whose thinking clings to the
Unmanifest; for difficult [indeed] it is for embodied men to reach-and-tread
the unmanifested way.
STEADFAST DEVOTION TO A
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
6. But those who cast off [or dedicate] all their works on [or to]
Me, solely intent on Me, and meditate on me in spiritual exercise, leaving
no room for others, [and so really] do Me honor, 7. These will I lift up on high out of the ocean of recurring death,
and that right soon, for their thoughts are fixed on Me. 8. On me alone let your mind dwell, stir up your soul to enter Me;
thenceforth in very truth in Me you will find your home. 9. But if you are unable in all steadfastness to concentrate your
thoughts on Me, then seek to win Me by effort unremitting. 10. And if for such effort you lack the strength, then work-and-act
for Me, make this your goal; for even if you work only for my sake, you
will receive the prize. 11. And then again if even this exceeds your powers, gird up your
loins, renounce the fruit of all your works with [personal] self restrained. 12. For better is wisdom than [mere] effort, better than wisdom
meditation; and [better] than meditation to renounce the fruits of works:
renunciation leads straightway to peace.
IDENTITY WITH SUPREME BEING
- OR WHOM GOD LOVES
13. Let a man feel hatred for no contingent being, let him be friendly,
compassionate; let him be done with thoughts of 'I' and 'mine', the same
in pleasure as in pain [viragya], long suffering. 14. Content and ever integrated, his [personal] self restrained,
his purpose firm, let his mind be steeped in Me, let him worship Me with
love: then will I love him [in return]. 15. That man I love from whom the people do not shrink and who does
not shrink from them, who is free from exaltation, fear, impatience, and
excitement. 16. I love the man who has no expectation, is pure and skilled,
indifferent, who has no worries and gives up all [selfish] enterprise,
loyal-and-devoted to me. 17. I love the man who hates not nor exults, who mourns not nor
desires, who puts away both pleasant and unpleasant things, who is loyal-devoted-and-devout. 18-19. I love the man who is the same to friend and foe, [the same]
whether he be respected or despised, the same in heat and cold, in pleasure
as in pain, who has put away attachment and remains unmoved by praise or
blame, who is taciturn, contented with whatever comes his way, having no
home, of steady mind, [but] loyal-devoted-and-devout. 20. But as for those who reverence these deathless [words] of righteousness
which I have just now spoken, putting their faith [in them], making Me
their goal, my loving-devotees,--these do I love exceedingly.
Chapter 13 (The Book of Religion by Separation
of Matter and Spirit)
The Upanishads
The
Ishopanishad
Eknath
Easwaran Translation
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