|
|
 |
 |
 |
| |
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Chapter Two
3. There is a verse about it:
There is a bowl with its rim below and its base above.
In it is placed the glory which possesses all forms.
On its edge sit the Seven Rsis,
And Vac, as the eighth, communing with brahman.
'The bowl with its rim below and its base above' is the head, for it is a bowl with its rim below and its base above. 'In it is placed the glory which possesses all forms': the breaths are the glory which possesses all forms. 'On its edge sit the Seven Rsis': the breaths are the Rsis: here he speaks of the breaths. He says, 'Vac, as the eighth, communing with brahman,' because speech, as the eighth, communes with brahman.
4. These two are Gotama and Bharadvaja: this one is Gotama, this one Bharadvaja. These two are Visvamitra and Jamadagni: this one is Visvamitra, this one Jamadagni. These two are Vasistha and Kasyapa: this one is Vasistha, this one Kasyapa. Speech is Atri, for by speech food is eaten. 'To eat' (ad-) is the same as Atri. The one who knows this becomes the eater of everything: everything becomes his food.
II.3
1.There are two forms of brahman, the shaped and the unshaped, the mortal and the immortal, the still and the moving, the present and the beyond.
2. The shaped is what is other than the wind and he middle-air: this is the mortal, the still, the present. The essence of the shaped, the mortal, the still, the present is the one who gives heat, for this is the essence of the present.
3. The unshaped is the wind and the middle-air: this is the immortal, the moving, the beyond. The essence of the unshaped, the immortal, the moving, the beyond is the person (purusa) in the circle, for this is the essence of the beyond. This in respect of deities.
4. In respect of oneself: the shaped is what is other than the breath and the space which is within the self. This is the mortal, the still, the present. The essence of the shaped, the mortal, the still, the present is the eye, for this is the essence of the present.
5. The unshaped is the breath and the space which is within the self: this is the immortal, the moving, the beyond. The essence of the unshaped, the immortal, the moving the beyond is the person who is in the right eye, for this is the essence of the beyond.
6. The form of this person is like a saffron garment, a white woolen cloth, a rain-mite, a flame of fire, a white lotus, a sudden flash of lightning. Hence the symbolic statement, 'not this', for there is nothing -'not this'-higher than this. Its name is 'the truth of the truth': the breaths are the truth, and it is the truth of them.
II.4
1. Yajnavalkya said, 'Maitreyi, I am going forth from this state. I must make a settlement on you and Katyayani.'
2. Maitreyi said, 'Blessed one, if I had this whole earth, filled with riches, would I become immoral by it?'
'No,' said Yajnavalkya. 'Your life would be as the life of the wealthy, but there is no hope of immortality through riches.'
3. Maitreyi said, 'What use to me is something by which I cannot become immortal? Blessed one, teach me what you know.'
4. Yajnavalkya said, 'Ah, you have always been dear to me, and now you speak what is dear too. Come, sit down, I will teach you: but as I explain, meditate upon it.'
5. He said, 'It is not for the love of a husband that a husband is dear: It is for the love of the self (atman) that a husband is dear. It is not for the love of a wife that a wife is dear: it is for the love of the self that a wife is dear. It is not for the love of children that children are dear: it is for the love of the self that children are dear. It is not for the love of the self that children are dear. It is not for the love of riches that riches are dear: it is for the love of the self that riches are dear. It is not for the love of priesthood (brahman) that priesthood is dear: it is for the love of the self that priesthood is dear. It is not for the love of royalty (ksatra) that royalty is dear: it is for the love of the self that royalty is dear. It is not for the love of the worlds that the worlds are dear: it is for the love of the self that the worlds are dear. It is not for the love of the gods that the gods are dear: it is for the love of the self that the gods are dear. It is not for the love of beings that beings are dear: it is for the love of the self that beings are dear. It is not for the love of the all that the all is dear: it is for the love of the self that the all is dear. It is the self that must be seen, heard, thought of and meditated upon: by seeing, hearing, thinking of and understanding the self, Maitreyi, all this is known.
6. 'Whoever understands priesthood as other than the self, priesthood has given him over. Whoever understands royalty as other than the self, royalty has given him over. Whoever understands the worlds as other than the self, the worlds have given him over. Whoever understands the gods as other than the self, the gods have given him over. Whoever understands beings as other than the self, beings have given him over. Whoever understands the all as other than the self, the all has given him over. This priesthood, this royalty, these worlds, these gods, these beings, this all are what this self is.
7. 'As, when a drum is beaten, one cannot seize the sounds as something outside it, by seizing the drum or the drummer one has seized the sound;
8. 'As, when a conch is blown, one cannot seize the sounds as something outside it, but by seizing the conch or the conch-blower one has seized the sound;
9. 'As, when a lute is played, one cannot seize the sounds as something outside it, but by seizing the lute or the lute-player one has seized the sound;
10. 'As smoke billows out in all directions from a fire that has been laid with damp fuel, just so is everything breathed out from this great being: the Rgveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, the hymns of the Atharvans and Angirases, history, legend, science, the Upanisads, verses, sutras, explanatory passages and expositions, all these are breathed out from it.
<< Back
Next
>>
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
|
