TAITTIRĪYA UPANIṢAD

Translation By Dr. Radhakrishnan

Prepared by Veeraswamy Krishnaraj

TAITTIRĪYA UPANIṢAD

The Taittirīya Upaniad belongs to the Taittiya school of the Yajur Veda. It is divided into three sections called vallis. The first is the Śikṣā Valli. Śikṣā is the first of the six Vedāṅgas (limbs or auxiliaries of the Veda); it is the science of phonetics and pronunciation. The second is the Brahmānanda Valli and the third is the Bhṛgu Valli. These two deal with the knowledge of the Supreme Self, paramātmā-jńāna.

ŚIKṢᾹ VALLI  CHAPTER 1 Section I   INVOCATION

1.1. Aum, May Mitra (the sun] be propitious to us; may Varuṇa (be) propitious (to us). May Aryamān (a form of the

sun) be propitious to us; May Indra and Bhaspati be propitious to us; May Viṇu, of wide strides, be propitious to us.

l Salutation to Brahmā. Salutation to thee, O Vāyu. Thou, indeed, art the visible (perceptible) Brahman. Of thee, indeed,

the perceptible Brahman, will I speak. I will speak of the right. I will speak of the true; may that protect me; may that protect the speaker. Let that protect me; let that protect the speaker. Aum, peace, peace, peace. (aum śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.)

 

This is the first section. It is an invocation to God to remove the obstacles in the way of attaining spiritual wisdom.

See R.V. 1. 90. 9.

uru-kramah:of wide strides. vistīrṇa-kramaḥ. Ś. It is a reference to Viṣṇu's incarnation as Trivikrama or Vāmana whose strides were wide.

Śānti or peace is repeated thrice, with reference to ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika and ādhidaivika aspects. Ś.

Section 2 

LESSON ON PRONUNCIATION

1. We will expound pronunciation, letters or sounds, pitch, quantity, force or stress, articulation, combination. Thus has been declared the lesson on pronunciation.

One must learn to recite the text of the Upaniṣads carefully and so a lesson in pronunciation is given. We must learn the text before we can ascertain its meaning.

Section 3  

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COMBINATIONS

3.1. May glory be with us both, may the splendor of Brahma­ knowledge be with us both.

Now next we will expound the sacred teaching of combination under five heads, with regard to the world, with regard to the luminaries, with regard to knowledge, with regard to progeny, with regard to oneself. These are great combinations, they say.

Now with regard to the world: the earth is the prior form, the heaven the latter form, the ether is their junction, the air is the connection. Thus with regard to the world.

brahma-varcasam: the splendor of brahma-knowledge. In Lalita­vistara we are told that when the Buddha was in samādhi, a ray called the ornament of the light of gnosis moved above his head.

Saṁhitā: a conjunction of two words or letters of the text. The mind of the pupil is directed to the symbolic significance.

Master and disciple pray that the light of sacred knowledge may illumine them both, that they both may attain the glory of wisdom.

3.2. Now as to the luminaries; fire is the prior form, sun the latter form. Water is their junction, lightning is the connection. Thus with regard to the luminaries.

3.3. Now as to knowledge: the teacher is the prior form; the pupil is the latter form, knowledge is their junction; instruction is the connection. Thus with regard to knowledge.

Patańjali in his Mahābhāṣya~~ (Kielhorn's ed., p. 6) says there are four steps or stages through which knowledge becomes fruitful. The first is when we acquire it from the teacher, the second when we study it, the third when we teach it to others and the fourth when we apply it. Real knowledge arises only when these four stages are fulfilled.

3.4. Now with regard to progeny: the mother is the prior form, the father is the latter form: progeny is their junction, procreation is  the connection. Thus with regard to progeny.

3.5. Now with regard to the self: the lower jaw is the prior form, the upper jaw is the latter form, speech is the junction, the tongue is the connection. Thus with regard to the self.

3.6. These are the great combinations. He who knows these great combinations thus expounded becomes endowed with offspring, cattle, with the splendor of Brahma-knowledge, with food to eat, and with the heavenly world.

He will prosper here and hereafter.

Section 4 

A TEACHER'S PRAYER

4.1. May that Indra who is the greatest in the Vedic hymns, who is of all forms, who has sprung into being from immortal hymns, may he cheer me with intelligence, O God, may I be the possessor of immortality.

May my body be very vigorous; may my tongue be exceeding sweet; may I hear abundantly with my ears. Thou art the sheath of Brahman, veiled by intelligence. Guard for me what I have heard.

This is a prayer for acquiring retentiveness and for physical and moral health.

The syllable aum is pre-eminent among the Vedic hymns, it is 'of all forms' as the whole universe is its manifestation. 'Of Brahman, of the Paramatman or the Highest Self, Thou art the sheath, as of a sword, being the seat of His manifestation.' --Śaṁkara.

4.2. Bringing to me and increasing always clothes and cattle, food and drink, doing this long, do thou, then, bring to me prosperity in wool along with cattle. May students of sacred knowledge come to me from every side. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me variously. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me well-equipped. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me self-controlled. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me peaceful. Hail.

acīram: soon, presently.

To the undisciplined, wealth is a source of evil.  Not so to the disciplined. What matters is not the possession or non-possession of wealth but the attitude to it. We may possess wealth and be indifferent to it; we may possess no wealth and yet be concerned with securing it by any means. There is no worship of poverty.

Vasiṇṣha tells Rāma:

Acquire wealth. This world has for its root wealth. I do not see the difference between a poor man and a dead one.

4.3. May I become famous among men. Hail.

May I be more renowned than the very rich. Hail.

Into thee thyself, O Gracious Lord, may I enter. Hail,

Do thou thyself, O Gracious Lord, enter into me. Hail.

In that self of thine, of a thousand branches, O Gracious

Lord, am I cleansed. Hail.

As waters run downward, as months into the year, so

into me, may students of sacred knowledge come,

O Disposer of all, come from every side. Hail.

Thou art a refuge, to me do thou shine forth; unto me

do thou come.

of a thousand branches: the different hymns and the gods meant by them are varied expressions of the Divine One.

praviśāmi: I enter. The knowledge of God is said to be a penetration of God into the inmost substance of the soul. When God is conceived as external to the individual, in heaven or in Olympus, when our feeling towards Him is one of love and respect, inspired by His majesty and power, our religion of fear, obedience and even love is external. When, on the other hand, we are driven by an inner lack or insufficiency, when we cry for the highest reality or God which or who comes into us, enters us, removes our dross, when we unite ourselves to Him, our religion becomes inward, mystical. The mystic longs for inner completion by participation which is the real meaning of imitation. This is not always accompanied by ecstatic rapture. It may be a quiet sense of union which may have a few high points of emotion. Cp. John Ruysbroeck: 'In this storm of love two spirits strive together; the spirit of God and our own spirit. God, through the Holy Ghost, inclines Himself towards us; and thereby we are touched in love. And our spirit, by God's working and by the power of love, presses and inclines itself into God; and thereby God is touched. These two spirits, that is, our own spirit and the spirit of God, sparkle and shine one into the other, and each shows to the other its face.... Each demands of the other all that it is; and each offers to the other all that it is, and invites it to all that it is. This makes the lovers melt into each other .... Thereby the spirit is

burned up in the fire of love, and enters so deeply into the touch of God, that it is overcome in all its cravings, and turned to nought

in all its works, and empties itself.' Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage. II. 54.

Section 5

THE FOURFOLD MYSTIC UTTERANCES

5.1. Bhūḥ Bhuva, Svaḥ, verily these are the three utterances of them; verily, that one, the fourth, maha, did the son of

Mahācamasa make known. That is Brahman, that is the self, its limbs (are) the other gods.

Bhūḥ = is this world; Bhuvaḥ = the atmosphere: Svaḥ is the yonder world: mahaḥ is the sun; by the sun indeed do all worlds become

great.

Vyāhṛtis are so called because they are uttered in various rituals.

Its limbs the other gods: mahaḥ  is Brahman, the Absolute; it is the self; all other gods are subordinate to the Absolute.

5.2. Bhūḥ verily, is fire; Bhuvaḥ. is the air; Sva is the sun; maha. is the moon; by the moon, indeed, do all the luminaries become great.

5.3. Bhūḥ, verily, is the Ṛg verses; Bhuva is the Sāman chants, Svais the Yajus formulas. Maha is Brahman. By Brahman indeed, do all the Vedas become great.

5.4. Bhūḥ is the inbreath; Bhuvaḥ is the outbreath; Svais the diffused breath, Maha is the food. By food, indeed, do all the vital breaths become great.

5.5· Verily, these four are fourfold. The utterances are four and four. He who knows these knows Brahman. To him all the gods offer tribute.

Section 6

CONTEMPLATION OF BRAHMA

6.1. This space that is within the heart-therein is the Person consisting of mind, immortal and resplendent. That which hangs down between the palates like a nipple, that is the birthplace of Indra; where is the edge of the hair splitting up the skull of the head. In fire, as Bhūḥ, he rests, in air as Bhuvaḥ.

See M.U. II. 2.6; Maitrī VI. 30; VII. II.

kiraṇmayaḥ: resplendent.

Brahman who is said to be remote is here envisaged as close to us. Though the Supreme is present everywhere, here we are taught to look upon Him as abiding in one's own heart. Ś. says that the Supreme IS said to be in the heart as a help to meditation even as an image is used for deity.  Here we find a transition from the view that the heart is the seat of the soul to the other view that the brain is the seat of the soul. While the soul is an unextended entity which cannot have a spatial locus, psychologists discuss the nature of the part or parts of the body with which the soul is closely associated. For Aristotle, the seat of the soul was in the heart.1

1 Cp, Hammond: 'The diseases of the heart are the most rapidly and certainly fatal; (2) psychical affections such as fear, sorrow, and

joy cause an immediate disturbance of the heart; (3) the heart is the part which is the first to be formed in the embryo.' Aristotle's Psychology quoted in Ranade: A Constructive Survey of the Upaniṣadic Philosophy (1926), p. 131: 'If by the seat of the mind is meant not being more than the locality With which it stands In immediate dynamic relations, we are certain to be right in saying that its seat is somewhere in the cortex of the brain.' William James: Principles of Psychology, Vol. I, p. 214.

The reference here is to the Suṣumnā nāḍī of the Yoga system which is said to pass upward from the heart, through the mid region of the throat up to the skull where the roots of the hair lie apart. When it reaches this spot, the nāḍī passes up, breaking up the two regions of the head. That is the birthplace of Indra. R. It is the path by which we attain our true nature. See Maitrī. VI. 21; B. U. IV. 4. 2.

6.2. In the sun as Svaḥ, in Brahman as Mahaḥ. He attains self-rule. He attains to the lord of manas, the lord of speech, the lord of sight, the lord of hearing, the lord of intelligence­ this and more he becomes, even Brahman whose body is space, whose self is the real, whose delight is life, whose mind is bliss, who abounds in tranquillity, who is immortal. Thus do thou contemplate, O Prācīnayogya.

He who contemplates in this matter becomes the lord of all organs, the soul of all things and filled with peace and perfection. This passage brings out that the end is greater existence, not death; we should not sterilize our roots and dry up the wells of life. We have to seize and transmute the gifts we possess.

Section 7

THE FIVEFOLD NATURE OF THE WORLD AND THE INDIVIDUAL

7.I. Earth, atmosphere, heaven, the (main) quarters and the intermediate quarters. Fire, air, Sun, moon and stars.

Water, plants, trees, ether and the body.

Thus with regard to material existence

Now with regard to the self. .

prāṇa, vyāna, apāna, udāna and samāna

sight, hearing, mind, speech, touch

skin, flesh, muscle, bone, marrow.

Having ordained in this manner, the sage said: Fivefold  verily, is this all. With the fivefold, indeed does one win the fivefold. '

See B.D. 1. 4. 17·

Section 8

CONTEMPLATION OF AUM

8.I. Aum is Brahma. Aum is this all. Aum, this, verily, is compliance. On uttering, 'recite,' they recite. With aum, they sing the sāman chants. With aum, Śom, they recite the prayers With aum the Adhvaryu priest utters the response. With aum does the Brahma (priest) utter the introductory eulogy. With aum, one assents to the offering to fire. With aum, a Brahmaa begins to recite, may I obtain Brahman; thus wishing Brahman verily, does he obtain.

 'The praava which is a mere sound, is, no doubt, insentient in Itself and cannot therefore be conscious of the worship offered to it: still, as in the case of the worship offered to an image, it is the Supreme (Īśvara) who, in all cases, takes note of the act and dispenses the fruits thereof.' Ᾱnandagiri.

Aum is the symbol of both Brahman and Īśvara.[VK1] [VK2] 

Section 9

STUDY AND TEACHING OF THE SACRED SYLLABLE THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL DUTIES

9.1. The right and also study and teaching; the true and also study and teaching; austerity and also study and teaching; self-control and also study and teaching; tranquillity and also study and teaching; the (sacrificial)fires and also study and teaching; the agni-hotra (sacrifice) and also study and teaching; guests and also study and teaching; humanity and also study and teaching; offspring and also study and teaching: begetting and also study and teaching; propagation of the race and also study and teaching. .'

The true, says Satyavacas (the Truthful) the son of Rathītara: austerity says Taponitya (ever devoted to austerity), the son of Pauruśiti, study and teaching alone, says Nāka (painless), the son of Mudgala. That, verily, is austerity, aye, that is austerity.

svādhyāya: adhyayanam, study.

pravacana: adhyāpanam, teaching.

dama: self-control.

śama: (inner) tranquillity.

Knowledge is not sufficient by itself. We must perform study and also practice the Vedic teaching.

Section 10

A MEDITATION ON VEDA KNOWLEDGE

10.1. I am the mover of the tree; my fame is like a mountain's peak. The exalted one making (me) pure, as the sun, I am the immortal one. I am a shining treasure, wise, immortal, indestructible. Such is Triśaṅku's recitation on the Veda-knowledge.

This statement is an expression of self-realization when the self, feeling its identity with the Supreme, says that he is the mover the impeller of this world-tree of saṁsāra, Triśaṅku, who realized Brahman, said this, in the same spirit in which the sage Vāmadeva said Saṁkara.

The world is said to be the eternal Brahma tree, brahmavkas sanātana.M.B. XIV. 47. 14·

Section 11

EXHORTATION TO THE DEPARTING STUDENTS

11.1. Having taught the Veda, the teacher instructs the pupil. Speak the truth.' Practice Virtue. Let there be no neglect of

your (daily) reading. Having brought to the teacher the wealth that is pleasing (to him), do not cut off the thread of the off­ spring. Let there be no neglect of truth. Let there be no neglect of virtue. Let there be no neglect of welfare. Let there be no neglect of prosperity. Let there be no neglect of study and teaching. Let there be no neglect of the duties to the gods and the fathers.

antevāsin: the pupil, he who dwells near.

1. II. I  Cp, speak the truth.

Satyapūtam vaded manaḥ pūtaṁ samāsaret. VI. 46.

Speak that which has been purified by truth and behave in the way in which your mind considers to be pure.

dharmaṁ cara:-practice virtue: dharma means essential nature or intrinsic law of being; it also means the law of righteousness. The suggestion here is the that one ought to live according to the law of one's being.

11.2. 'Be one to whom the mother is a god. Be one to 'whom the father is a god. Be one to whom the teacher is a god. Be one to whom the guest is a god.

Whatever deeds are blameless, they are to be practiced, not others. Whatever good practices there are among us, they are to be adopted by you, not others.

Even with regard to the life of the teacher, we should be dis­ criminating. We must not do the things which are open to blame, even if they are done by the wise.

11.3. Whatever Brāhmaṇas there are (who are) superior to us, they should be comforted by you with a seat. (what is to be given) is to be given with faith, should not be given without faith, should be given in plenty, should be given with modesty, should be given with fear, should be given with sympathy.

praśvasitavyam: The good Brahmanas are to be provided with seats

and refreshed after their fatigue. praśvasanam, praśvāsaḥ śramāpanayaḥ. S. Or in the presence of such Brāhmaṇas, not a word should be breathed. We have merely to grasp the essence of what they say.

We should not unnecessarily engage in discussions with them.

11.4. Then, if there is in you any doubt regarding any deeds, any doubt regarding conduct, you should behave yourself in such matters, as the Brāhmaṇas there (who are) competent to judge, devoted (to good deeds), not led by others, not harsh, lovers of virtue would behave in such cases.

The Brāhmaṇas have a spontaneity of consciousness which expresses itself in love for all beings. Their tenderness of sentiment and enlightened conscience should be our standards.

11.5. Then, as to the persons who are spoken against, you should behave yourself in such a way, as the Brāhmaṇas there, (who are} competent to judge, devoted (to good deeds) not led by others, not harsh, lovers of virtue, would behave in regard to such persons.

who are spoken against: who are accused of sin.

11.6. This is the command. This is the teaching. This is the secret doctrine of the Veda. This is the instruction. Thus should one worship. Thus indeed should one worship.

Cp, with this the Buddha's exhortation where the Pāli word upanisā for the Sanskrit upaniṣad is used:

etad althā kathā, etad atthā mantanā, etad atthā

upanisā, etad attha sotāvadhānam. Vinaya. V.

In the Banaras Hindu University this passage is read by the Vice­ Chancellor on the Convocation day as an exhortation to the students who are leaving the University. They are advised, not to give up the world but to lead virtuous lives as householders and promote the welfare of the community.

Section 12

CONCLUSIONS

12.1. Aum, may Mitra (the sun) be propitious to us; may Varuṇa (be) propitious (to us); may Aryaman (a form of the sun) be propitious to us. May Indra and Bṛhaspati be propitious to us. May Viṇu of wide strides be propitious to us.

Salutation to Brahman. Salutation to Vāyu; Thou indeed art the perceptible Brahman. Of thee, indeed, perceptible Brahman have I spoken. I have spoken of the right. I have spoken of the true. That hast protected me; That has protected the speaker. Aye, that has protected me. That has protected the speaker. Aum, peace, peace, peace.

CHAPTER II

BRAHMᾹNANDA (BLISS OF BRAHMAN) VALLI

Section I

INVOCATION

May He protect us both. May He be pleased with us both. May we work together with vigour; may our study make us illumined. May there be no dislike between us. Aum, peace. peace, peace.

may Our study make us illumined:

There is not a necessary connection between learning and wisdom. To be unlettered is not necessarily to be uncultured. Our modern world is maintaining the cleavage between learning and wisdom. Cp. 'Perhaps at no other time have men been so knowing and yet SO unaware, so burdened with purposes and yet so purposeless, so disillusioned and so completely the victims of illusion. This strange contradiction pervades our entire modem culture, our science and our philosophy, our literature and our art.' W. M. Urban: The Intelligible World (1929), p. 172.

BRAHMAN AND THE COURSE OF EVOLUTION

II.1.1. Aum. The knower of Brahman reaches the Supreme. As to this the following has been said: He who knows Brahman

as the real, as knowledge and as the infinite, placed in the secret place of the heart and in the highest heaven realizes all

desires along with Brahman, the intelligent.

From this Self, verily, ether arose; from ether air; from air fire; from fire water; from water the earth; from the earth herbs; from herbs food; from food the person.

This, verily, is the person that consists of the essence of food. This, indeed, is his head; this the right side, this the left side;

this the body; this the lower part, the foundation.

As to that, there is also this verse.

the real, knowledge and infinite: the opposite of unreal, mithiyātva, of the unconscious,jaḍatva and of the limited, paricchinnatva.

ākāśa: ether is the ether or the common substratum from which other forces proceed.

sambhūta = arose, emanated, not created.

The five different elements arc clearly defined and described as having proceeded one after another from the Self.

Sometimes from food, semen, and from semen the person. Cp. 5 annād reto-rūpeṇa pariṇatāt puruṇaḥ.

Creation starts from the principle of the universal consciousness. From it first arises space and the primary matter or ether whose

quality is sound. From this etheric state successively arise grosser elements of air,fire, water and earth. See Introduction.

param: the supreme. that beyond which there is nothing else, i.e, Brahman.

guhā: the secret place, the unmanifested principle in human nature.

It is normally a symbol for an inward retreat.

There are five kas or sheaths in which the Self is manifested as the ego or the jīvātman. The first of them consists of food. Other

sheaths consist of prāṇa or life, manas or instinctive and perceptual consciousness, vijńāna or intelligence and ānanda or bliss. These five principles of matter, life, consciousness, thought and bliss are found in the world of non-ego. Anna or food is the radiant, the virāj, that which is perceptible by the senses, the physical. According to Sureśvara, life, consciousness and intelligence constitute the subtle self, the sūtrātman and bliss is the causal sheath, the kāraa kośa.

B.U. 1. I. 2 mentions five sheaths under the names, anna or matter, prāṇa or life, manas or consciousness, c or speech

(corresponding to vijńāna or intelligence) and avyākṛta, the undifferentiated. The last is the kāraṇa or the ultimate cause of all.

Atman becomes the knower or the subject when associated With antaḥkaraṇa.

The bodily sheath is conceived in the form of a bird. Sureśvara says: 'The sacrificial fire arranged in the form of a hawk or a heron

or some other bird, has a head, two wings, a trunk and a tail. So also here every sheath is represented as having five parts.'

It is an axiom of mystic religion that there is a correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm. Man is an image of

the created universe. The individual soul as the microcosm has affinities with every rung of the ladder which reaches from earth to

heaven.

Section 2

MATTER AND LIFE

II.2.I. From food, verily, are produced whatsoever creatures dwell on the earth. Moreover, by food alone they live. And

then also into it they pass at the end. Food, verily, is the eldest born of beings. Therefore is it called the healing herb of all. Verily, those who worship Brahman as food obtain all food. For food, verily, is the eldest born of beings. Therefore is it called the healing herb for all. From food are beings born. When born they grow up by food. It is eaten and' eats things Therefore is it called food.

Verily, different from and within that which consists of the essence of food is the self that consists of life. By that this is filled. This verily, has the form of a person. According to that one’s personal form is this one with the form of a person; the inbreath is its head; the diffused breath the right side; the outbreath the left side; ether the body, the earth the lower part, the foundation.

As to that, there is also this verse.

See Maitrī. VI. 12.

The physical body is sustained by life.

Section 3

LIFE AND MIND

II.3.1. The gods breathe along with life breath, as also men and beasts: the breath is the life of beings. Therefore, it is called the life of all. They who worship Brahman as life attain to a full life for the breath is the life of beings. Therefore is it called the life of all. This (life) is indeed the embodied soul of the former (physical sheath). Verily, different from and within that which consists of life is the self consisting of mind. By that this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a person; according to that one's personal form is this one with the form of a person. The Yajur Veda is its head; the Ṛg Veda the right side; the ma Veda the left side; teaching the body; the hymns of the Atharvaṇs and the Aṅgirasas, the lower part, the foundation. As to that, there is also this verse.

Life is the spirit of the body.

Prāṇa originally meant breath and as breath seemed to be the life of man, prāṇa became the life principle. On analogy, it was said to be the life of the universe.

manas: the inner organ. samkalpa-vikalpātmakam antaḥ-karaṇam tan-mayo mano-mayaḥ Ś.

Section 4

MIND AND UNDERSTANDING

II.4.I. Whence words return along with the mind, not attaining it, he who knows that bliss of Brahman fears not at any time.

This is, indeed, the embodied soul of the former (life). Verily, different from and within that which consists of mind is the self

consisting of understanding. By that this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a person. According to that one's personal

form is this one with the form of a person. Faith is its head; the right the right side; the true the left side; contemplation

the body; the great one the lower part, the foundation. As to that there is also this verse.

Manas is the faculty of perception. At the stage of manas we accept authority which is external; at the stage of vijńāna internal

growth is effected. The Vedas are our guide at the former level; at the intellectual we must develop faith, order, truthfulness and

union with the Supreme. At the level of intellectuality or vijńāna, we ask for proofs. When we rise higher, the truths are not inferred

but become self-evident and cannot be invalidated by reason.

mahaḥ = the great one. It is the principle of Mahat, the first thing evolved out of the unmanifested (avyākṛta) which is described as

lying beyond the mahat.

ānandam: bliss. See RV. IX. II3. 6, II. It gives to apparently abstract being an inner content of feeling.

Section 5

UNDERSTANDING AND BLISS

II.5.I. Understanding directs the sacrifice and it directs the deeds also. All the gods worship as the eldest the Brahman which is understanding.

If one knows Brahman as understanding and one does not swerve from it, he leaves his sins in the body and attains all desires. This (life) is, indeed, the embodied soul of the former (the mental).

Verily, different from and within that which consists of. understanding is the self consisting of bliss. By that this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a person. According to that one's personal form is this one with the form of a person. Pleasure is its head; delight the right side; great delight the left side; bliss the body, Brahman the lower part, the foundation. As to that, there is also this verse.

These verses indicate the five bodies or sheaths (pańca-kośas) material, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual. Manas deals with the objects perceived and vijńāna with concepts. In later Vedanta, the distinction between the two diminishes. Pańcadaśī ascribes deliberation to manas and decision to buddhi which is the vijńāna.

In every order of things the lower is strengthened by its union with the higher. When our knowledge is submissive to things, we

get the hierarchical levels of being, matter, life, animal mind, human intelligence and divine bliss. They represent different degrees of

abstraction and the sciences which deal with them, employ different principles and methods. In ānanda, the attempt to connaturalise

man with the supreme object succeeds. Intelligence is successful in controlling the tangible world. As a rational instrument in the

sphere of positive sciences, its validity is justified. This attempt of the intellect to unify is not due to intellect alone. It is derived from

its higher, from the breath of the divine. In ānanda earth touches heaven and is sanctified.

connatural

connaturally, adv. connaturality, connaturalness, n.

adj.

      1.           belonging to a person or thing by nature or from birth or origin; inborn.

      2.           of the same or a similar nature.

 

S thinks hat our real self is beyond the beatific consciousness, though in his commentary on III.6 he argues that Bhṛgu identifies

the ultimate reality With the spirit of ānanda.

The author of the Brahma Sūtra in I. I. I:2-19 identifies ānanda­maya with the absolute Brahman and not a relative manifestation.

The objection that the suffix mayat is generally used for modification is set aside on the ground that it is also used for abundance.

prācuryāt. S.B. I. I. 13-14.

In this beatific consciousness man participates in the life of the gods. Aristotle places the idea of a higher contemplation above metaphysical knowledge.

Section 6

BRAHMAN, THE ONE BEING AND THE SOURCE OF ALL

II.6.I. Non-existent, verily does one become, if he knows Brahman as non-being, if one knows that Brahman is, such a one people know as existent. This is, indeed, the embodied soul of the former.

Now then the following questions. Does anyone who knows not, when departing from this life, go to the yonder world? Or is

it that anyone who knows, on departing from this life, attains that world?

He (the supreme soul) desired. Let me become many, let me be born. He performed austerity. Having performed austerity he created all this, whatever is here. Having created it, into it, indeed he entered. Having entered it, he became both the actual and the beyond, the defined and the undefined, both the founded and the non-founded, the intelligent and the non-intelligent, the true and the untrue. As the real, he became whatever there is here. That is what they call the real.

As to that, there is also this verse.

tapas: austerity. Ś. means by it knowledge. The Supreme reflected on the form of the world to be created. S.

He willed, he thought and he created. Tapas is the creative molding power, concentrated thinking. See B.U. I.4. 10-11,

Maitrī. VI. 17 which assume that consciousness is at the source of manifestation. As we bend nature to our will by thought or tapas,

tapas becomes mixed with magical control.

He desired: See C.U. VI. 2. 1. It is kāma or desire that brings forth objects from primal being.

the actual and the beyond: Brahman has two aspects, the actual and the transcendental, the sat and the tyat.

Section 7

BRAHMAN IS BLISS

II.7.1.Non-existent, verily, was this (world) in the beginning. Therefrom, verily, was existence produced. That made itself a soul. Therefore is it called the well-made.

Verily, what that well-made is-that, verily, is the essence of existence. For, truly, on getting the essence, one becomes blissful. For who, indeed, could live, who breathe, if there were not this bliss in space? This, verily, is it that bestows bliss. For truly, when one finds fearlessness as support in Him who is invisible, bodiless, undefined, without support, then has he reached fearlessness. When, however, this (soul) makes in this One the smallest interval, then, for him, there is fear. That, verily, is the fear of the knower, who does not reflect. As to that, there is also this verse.

asat: non-existent. The manifested universe is called sat and its unmanifested condition is said to be asat. From the unmanifested

(asat) the world of names and forms (sat) is said to arise. The possible is prior to the actual. See S.B. II. I. 17. Cp, R.V. X. 129 which tells

us that, at the beginning of all things, there was neither being nor non-being and what existed was an impenetrable darkness. For

the Greek Epimenides, the beginning of things was a primary void or night. 'Existence is born of non-existence.' Lao Tzu (Ch. 40). The

Way of Life.

Brahman is invisible etc., because it is the source of all these distinctions. S.

sukṛtam: the well-made. See A.U. I. 2, 3. S means by it the self­ caused. Brahman is the independent cause for He is the cause of all.

raso vai saḥ: Bliss, verily, is the essence of existence. Brahman is bliss. It is the source of things. See K.U. I. 5.

who indeed could live…? The passage affirms that no one can live or breathe if there were not this bliss of existence as the very ether

in which we dwell. We have a feeble analogue of spiritual bliss in aesthetic satisfaction. It is said to be akin to the bliss of the realisa­

tion of Brahman. brahmānanda-sahodaraḥ. It lifts out of the ordinary ruts of conventional life and cleanses our minds and hearts. By the imaginative realization of feelings, tanmayatvam raśeṣu (Kālidāsa) it melts one's heart.

bhaya: fear. We have fear when we have a feeling of otherness. See B.U. I. 4. 2. where the primeval self became fearless when

he found that there was no other person whom he should fear.

ananvānasya: who does not reflect. He is not a true sage but thinks himself to be so.

Section 8

INQUIRY INTO FORMS OF BLISS

II.8.1. l From fear of Him does the wind blow; from fear of Him does the Sun rise; from fear of Him do Agni and Indra (act)

and death, the fifth doth run.

l This is the inquiry concerning bliss.

l Let there be a youth, a good youth, well read, prompt in action, steady in mind and strong in body. Let this whole

earth be full of wealth for him. That is one human bliss. What is a hundred times the human bliss, that is one bliss

of human fairies-also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.

l What is a hundred times the bliss of the human fairies, that is one bliss of divine fairies―also of a man who is well versed

in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire. What is a hundred times the bliss of the divine fairies, that is one bliss of

the Fathers in their long enduring world-also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.

What is a hundred times the bliss of the fathers in their long enduring world. that is one bliss of the gods who are born

so by birth, also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.

l What is a hundred times the bliss of the gods who are born so by birth, that is one bliss of the gods by work, who go to

the gods by work, also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.

l What is a hundred times the bliss of the gods by work, that is one bliss of the gods, also of a man who is well versed in the

Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.

l What is a hundred times the bliss of the gods, that is one bliss of Indraalso of a man who is well versed in the Vedas

and who is not smitten with desire.

l What is a hundred times the bliss of Indra, that is the one bliss of Bṛhaspati also of a man who is well versed in the

Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.

l What is a hundred times the bliss of Bṛhaspati, that is one bliss of Prajā-pati, also of a man who is well versed in the

Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.

l What is a hundred times the bliss of Prajā-pati, that is one bliss of Brahma―also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas

and who is not smitten with desire.

l He who is here in the person and he who is yonder in the Sun―he is one. He who knows this, on departing from this

world, reaches to the self which consists of food, reaches the self which consists of life, reaches the self which consists of mind,

reaches the self which consists of understanding, reaches the self which consists of bliss.

l As to that, there is also this verse.

*For fear of Him does the wind blow: the writer sees the proof of *God in the laws of the universe. The regularity expresses an intelli­

gence and presupposes a guide. S. See Katha VI. 3.

*Those who attain to the status of gods by their own work are called Karma-devas.

*The bliss of delight which knowledge of Brahman occasions baffles all description. It is sometime completely incomprehensible.

Brahman thus is blissful being and so is of the highest value. In reaching the richness of being of Brahman we reach our highest fulfilment. In describing the various degrees of happiness, the author of the UPaniṣad gives us an idea of the classes of human and divine beings recognized that period men, fathers, fairies, gods by merit and gods by birth, Prajā-pati, and Brahma or Hiraṇya-garbha.

Section 9

THE KNOWER OF THE BLISS OF BRAHMAN IS SAVED FROM ALL FEAR

II.9.1. Whence words return along with the mind, not attaining. it, he who knows that bliss of Brahman fears not from anything at all.

Such a one, verily, the thought does not torment, Why have I not done the right? Why have I done the sinful? He who knows this, saves himself from these (thoughts). For, truly, from both of these he saves himselfhe who knows this. Such is the secret doctrine.

The enlightened one is not afflicted by anxiety about right and wrong. The truth makes us free from all restrictions. The Apostle

proclaims that we are delivered from the law, 'Virtues, I take leave of you for evermore, your service is too travaillous (?). Once I was

your servant, in all things to you obedient, but now I am delivered from your thralldom.' Mirror of Simple Soules, quoted in Evelyn

Underhill: Mysticism, p.263.

upaniṣat: the great mystery, parama~rahasyam. Ś.

CHAPTER III

BHṚGU VALLI

Section 1

BHṚGU UNDERTAKES INVESTIGATION OF BRAHMAN

III.1.1. Bhgu, the son of Varuṇa, approached his father Varua and said, 'Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.'

He explained to him thus: matter, life, sight, hearing, mind, To him, he said further: 'That, verily, from which these beings are born, that, by which, when born they live, that into which, when departing, they enter. That, seek to know. That is Brahman.

He performed austerity (of thought). Having performed austerity, (Continued)

The father Varuṇa teaches his son Bhṛgu, the sacred wisdom. This fundamental definition of Brahman as that from which the

origin, continuance and dissolution of the world comes is of Īśvara who is the world-creating, world-sustaining, and world-dissolving

God.

Cp. 'I am the first and the last and the living one.' Revelation XIII. 8.

Brahman is the cause of the world as the substratum (adhiṣṭhāna)(Ś), as the material cause (upādāna) of the world, as gold is the

material cause of gold ornaments, as the instrumental cause (nimitta) of the world. Madhva.

Austerity is the means to the perception of Brahman. tapas is

spiritual travail. Brahma-vijńāna-sādhana. S. Cp. Aeschylus, 'Knowledge comes through sacrifice: Agamemnon, 250.

Section 2

MATTER IS BRAHMAN

III.2.I. He knew that matter is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from matter, when born, they live by matter and into

matter, when departing they enter.

Having known that, he again approached his father Varuṇa and said, 'Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.'

To him he said, 'Through austerity, seek to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.'

He performed austerity; having performed austerity, (Continued)

The first suggested explanation of the universe is that every thing can be explained from matter and motion. On second thoughts.

we realize that there are phenomena of life and reproduction which require another principle than matter and mechanism. The investi­ gator proceeds from the obvious and outer to the deeper and the inward. The pupil approaches the teacher because he feels that the first finding of matter as the ultimate reality is not satisfactory.

Section 3

LIFE IS BRAHMAN

II.3.I. He knew that life is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from life, when born they live by life, and into life, when

departing they enter.

Having known that, he again approached his father Varuṇa, and said: 'Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.'

To him he said. 'Through austerity, seek to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.'

He performed austerity; having performed austerity. (continued)

See C.U. I. H. 5; VII. 15. I; K.U. III. 2-9; B.U. IV. I. 3.

While the material objects of the world are explicable in terms of matter, plants take us to a higher level and demand a different

principle. From materialism we pass to vitalism. But the principle of life cannot account for conscious objects. So the pupil, dissatisfied with the solution of life, approaches the father, who advises the son to reflect more deeply.

Matter is the context of the principle of life.

Section 4

MIND IS BRAHMAN

III.4.I. He knew that mind is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from mind, when born, they live by mind and into

mind, when departing, they enter.

Having known that, he again approached his father Varuṇa and said: 'Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.'

To him, he said. 'Through austerity seek" to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.'

He performed austerity; having performed austerity. (continued)

When we look at animals, with their perceptual and instinctive consciousness we notice the inadequacy of the principle of life. As

life outreaches matter, so does mind outreach life. There are forms of life without consciousness but there can be no consciousness

without life. Mind in the animals is of a rudimentary character. See Aitareya Āraṇyaka II. 3. 2. 1-5. Cp. Milindapańha where

manasikāra, rudimentary mind is distinguished from pańńa or reason. Animals possess the former and not the latter. Even mind

cannot account for all aspects of the universe. In the world of man, we have the play of intelligence. Intelligence frames concepts and

ideals and plans means for their realization. So the pupil finds the inadequacy of the principle of mind and again approaches his

father, who advises him to reflect further.

Section 5

INTELLIGENCE IS BRAHMAN

III.5.I. He knew that intelligence is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from intelligence, when born, they live by intelligence and into intelligence, when departing, they enter.

Having known that, he again approached his father Varuṇa, and said, 'Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.'

To him, he said, 'Through austerity, seek to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.'

He performed austerity; having performed austerity, (continued)

Intelligence again is not the ultimate principle. The categories of matter, life, mind and intelligence take us higher and higher

and each is more comprehensive than the preceding. Men with their conflicting desires, divided minds, oppressed by dualities are not

the final products of evolution. They have to be transcended. In the intellectual life there is only a seeking. Until we transcend it, there

can be no ultimate finding. Intellectual man, who uses mind, life and body is greater than mind, life and body but he is not the end

of the cosmic evolution as he has still a secret aspiration. Even as matter contained life as its secret destiny and had to be delivered of

it, life contained mind and mind contained intelligence and intelli­ gence contains spirit as its secret destiny and presses to be delivered of it. Intelligence does not exhaust the possibilities of consciousness and cannot be its highest expression. Man's awareness is to be enlarged into a superconsciousness with illumination, joy and power. The crown of evolution is this deified consciousness.

Section 6

BLISS IS BRAHMAN

III.6.I. He knew that Brahman is bliss. For truly, beings here are born from bliss, when born; they live by bliss and into bliss, when departing, they enter .

'This wisdom of Bhṛgu and Varuṇa, established in the highest heaven, he who knows this becomes established. He becomes possessor of food and eater of food. He becomes great in offspring and cattle and in the splendor of sacred wisdom; great in fame.

 

l The higher includes the lower and goes beyond it. Brahman is the deep delight of freedom.

The Upaniṣad suggests an analogy between the macrocosm, nature and the microcosm, man, an equation between intelligibility

and being. The ascent of reality from matter to God as one of in­ creasing likeness to God is brought out. While man has all these

five elements in his being, he may stress one or the other, the material or the vital or the mental or the intellectual or the spiritual. He who harmonizes all these is the complete man. For Aristotle the human soul is, in a certain sense, everything. This analysis is accepted by the Buddha who speaks of five kinds of food for the physical, vital, psychological, logical and spiritual elements. The enjoyment of nirvāṇa is the food for spirit. nibbutiṁ bhuńjamānā. Ratana Sutta. Cp. Augustine: 'Step by step was I led upwards, from bodies (anna) to the soul which perceives by means of the bodily senses (praa); and thence to the soul's inward faculty which is the limit of the intelligence of animals (manas); and thence again to the reasoning faculty to whose judgment is referred the knowledge received by the bodily senses (vijńāna). And when this power also within me found itself changeable it lifted itself up to its own intelligence. and withdrew its thoughts from experience, abstracting itself from the contradictory throng of sense-images that it might find what that light was wherein it was bathed when it cried out that beyond all doubt the unchangeable is to be preferred to the changeable; whence also it knew that unchangeable; and thus with the flash of one trembling glance it arrived at That which is' (ānanda).ConfessionsVII, 23.

l Augustine describes the highest state as one of joy: The highest spiritual state of the soul in this life consists in the vision and contemplation of truth, wherein are joys, and the full enjoyment of the highest and truest good, and a breath of serenity and eternity.1  (1Dom Cuthbert Butler: Western Mysticism (1922), p. 59.)

l The grades of existence and of value correspond so that the class which has the lowest degree of reality in the existential sense has

the lowest degree of value.

l Behind all our growth is the perfection of ourselves which animates it; we are constantly becoming until we possess our being. The

changing consciousness goes on until it is able to transcend change. The Beyond is the absolute fulfilment of our self-existence. It is

ānanda, the troth behind matter, life, mind, intelligence, that controls them all by exceeding them.

The Upaniṣad suggests an epic of the universe. From out of utter nothingness, asat, arises, the stellar dance of teeming suns and

planets whirling through vast etheric fie1ds. In this immensity of space emerges the mystery of life, vegetations, forests; soon living

creatures, crawling, jumping animals, the predecessors of human beings. Human intelligence with its striving for ideals has in it the

secret of sciences and philosophies, cultures and civilizations. We can make the world wonderful and beautiful or tragic and evil.

Section 7

THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOD

III.7.1. Do not speak ill of food. That shall be the rule. Life, verily, is food. The body is the eater of food. In life is the body established; life is established in the body. So is food established in food. He who knows that food is established in food, becomes established. He becomes an eater of food, possessing food. He becomes great in offspring and cattle and in the splendor of sacred wisdom; great in fame.

The world owes its being to the interaction of an enjoyer and an object enjoyed. i.e. subject and object. This distinction is superseded in the Absolute Brahman.

Section 8

FOOD AND LIGHT AND WATER

III.8.1. Do not despise food. That shall be the rule. Water, verily, is food. Light is the eater of food. Light is established in water; water is established in light. Thus food is established in food.

He who knows that food is established in food, becomes established. He becomes an eater of food, possessing food.

He becomes great in offspring and cattle, and in the splendor of sacred wisdom, great in fame.

Section 9

FOOD AND EARTH AND ETHER

III.9.I. Make for oneself much food. That shall be the rule. The earth, verily, is food; ether the eater of food. In the earth is ether established, in ether is the earth established. Thus food is established in food. He who knows that food is established in food, becomes established. He becomes an eater of food, possessing food. He becomes great in offspring and cattle, and in the splendor of sacred wisdom, great in fame.

Section 10

MEDITATION IN DIFFERENT FORMS

III.10.I. Do not deny residence to anybody. That shall be the rule. Therefore, in any way whatsoever one should acquire

much food. Food is prepared for him, they say. If this food is given first. food is given to the giver first. If this food is given in the middle, food is given to the giver in the middle. If this food is given last, food is given to the giver last.

III.10.2. For him who knows this, as preservation in speech, as acquisition and preservation in the inbreath and the outbreath, as work in the hands, as movement in the feet, as evacuation in the anus, these are the human recognitions.

Next, with reference to the deities, as satisfaction in rain, as strength in the lightning.

yoga-ksema: see B.G. II. 45; IX. 22.

III.10.3. As fame in cattle, as light in the stars, as procreation, immortality and bliss in the generative organ, as the all in space.

Let one contemplate That as the support, one becomes the possessor of support; let one contemplate That as great,

one becomes great. Let one contemplate That as mind; one becomes possessed of mindfulness.

III.10.4. Let one contemplate That as adoration; desires pay adoration to him. Let one contemplate That as the Supreme, he becomes possessed of the Supreme. Let one contemplate

That as Brahman's destructive agent, one's hateful rivals perish as also those rivals whom he does not like.

He who is here in the person and he who is yonder in the Sun, See Aitreya brāhmaṇa. VIII. 28; T.U. II. 8.

Brahma: the Supreme. Sāyaṇa interprets Brahma as Veda and brahmavān as one who has a perfect command over the Veda.

bhrātvyāḥ: rivals: literally it means cousins (father's brother's sons), who are generally supposed to be unfriendly.

III.10.5. He who knows this, on departing from this world, reaching on to that self which consists of food, reaching on to that self which consists of life, reaching on to that self which consists of mind, reaching on to that self which consists of understanding, reaching on to that self which consists of bliss, goes up and down these worlds, eating the food he desires, assuming the form he desires. He sits singing this chant: Oh Wonderful, Oh Wonderful, Oh Wonderful.

The enlightened one attains unity with the All. He expresses wonder that the individual with all limitations has been able to shake them off and become one with the All. To get at the Real, we must get behind the forms of matter, the forms of life, the forms of mind, the forms of intellect. By removing the sheaths, by shaking off the bodies, we realize the Highest. This is the meaning of vastrā­paharaṇa.  'Across my threshold naked all must pass.'

When we realize the truth we can assume any form we choose.

A MYSTICAL CHANT  III.10.5

III.10.5. I am food, I am food, I am food. I am the food-eater. I am the foodeater. I am the foodeater. I am the combining

agent. I am the combining agent. I am the combining agent. I am the first born of the world-order, earlier than the gods,

in the center of immortality. Whoso gives me, he surely does save thus. I, who am food, eat the eater of food.

I have overcome the whole world. I am brilliant like the sun. He who knows this. Such is the secret doctrine.

 

prathamajā: Hiraṇya-garbhopy aham. Ᾱ.

the eater of food: anna-śabditam a-cetanam, tad-bhoktāraṁ cetanaṁ ca admi vyapnomi. R.

This is a song of joy. The manifold diversity of life is attuned to a single harmony, A lyrical and rapturous embrace of the universe is the result. The liberated soul filled with delight recognizes its oneness with the subject and the object, the foodeater and food and the principle which unites them. He feels in different poises that he is one with Brahman, with Īśvara and with Hiraṇya-garbha. The chant proclaims that the enlightened one has become one with all.1 The liberated soul passes beyond all limitations and attains to the dignity of God Himself. He is one with God in all His fullness and unity. It is not a mere fellowship with the chasm between the Creator and the created. Here is the exalted experience of one who not merely believes in God, or who is merely convinced of His existence by logical arguments or one who regards Him as an object to be adored and worshipped in thought and feeling but of one for whom God is no more object but personal life. He lives God or rather is lived by Him. He is borne up and impelled by the spirit of God who has become his inward power and life.

1Hallaj expressed in the most uncompromising terms this conviction of oneness with the Supreme. Ana'l haqq, "I am the real.' The Sufi theory is that man becomes one with God when he transcends his phenomenal self (fanā). Ghazālī believes that Hallāj's statement is nothing more than the conviction belonging to the highest stage of unitarianism. In order to attain to the immediate vision of the Divine, the human soul must be lifted altogether above the natural order and made to partake of the divine nature. 2 Peter I. 4. Cp, 'Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is' (1 John IIl.2). 'God made all things through me when I had my existence in the unfathomable ground of God: Eckhart, E. T. G. Evans, Vol. I, P·589.

All distinctions of food and foodeater, object and subject are transcended. He goes up and down the worlds as he chooses, eating what food he likes, putting on what form he likes.

Sureśvara says: 'All this is divided twofold, food and foodeater. The enlightened one says, "I who am the Ᾱtman, the Real and

the Infinite, am myself this twofold world." '

The Supreme is 'the subject and the object as well as the link

between them.

I have overcome the whole world.

Cp, this with the Buddha's declaration, after attaining abhisambodhi:

'Subdued have I all, all-knowing am I now.

Unattached to all things, and abandoning all,

Finally freed on the destruction of all craving,

Knowing it myself, whom else should I credit?

There is no teacher of mine, nor is one like me;

There is none to rival me in the world of men and gods;

Truly entitled to honour am I, a teacher unexcelled.

Alone am I a Supreme Buddha, placid and tranquil,

To found the kingdom of righteousness, I proceed to Kāsī's capital,

Beating the drum of immortality in the world enveloped by darkness.                                                                                              Ariyaparyesana Sutta. Majjhima Nikāya.

Cp. Richard of St. Victor: 'The third grade of love is when the mind of man is rapt into the abyss of the divine light, so that,

utterly oblivious of all exterior things, it knows not itself and passes wholly into its God. In this state, while the mind is alienated from

itself, while it is rapt unto the secret closet of the divine privacy, while it is on all sides encircled by the conflagration of divine love

and is intimately penetrated and set on fire through and through, it strips off self and puts on a certain divine condition, and being

configured to the beauty gazed upon, it passes into a new kind of glory: Dom Cuthbert Butler: Western Mysticism (1922), p. 7.

 


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