B. THE INTERNAL WAY
Purusho ‘ntaratma
Who am I?
AU I, 3, 11
Consciousness cannot always be ecstatic, that is, it cannot be constantly without a support, a substance, a thinking subject. It is all very well to denounce the subject-object dichotomy, to undermine the two pillars and let them both (subject and object) collapse and disappear. You may then discover pure consciousness, without an object and without a subject. But can we really cast off the ladder that has helped us to ascend to such heights? Even if it is possible, once you have climbed the highest peaks you will be obliged to descend, though probably not by the same path you took when marching toward the unknown. The valley also belongs to reality.
We descend by a sort of interior path. We discover, as we proceed, the only two possible subjects to that utterly simple consciousness which still maintains unpolluted the clarity of the One: the atman and the aham, the third person and the first. Brahman: He is--and I am saying it (inasmuch as the atman says it). This descent is the path we now follow.
Here also, as in the first section, the double title is intended to express the dynamism of this second movement. It is an internal path, a way of interiorization. The Katha Upanishad from which the Sanskrit title is taken 42 has another passage in which the antaratman is also mentioned. This passage suggests that the movement of the svayambhu or Self-existent is toward the exterior, whereas the dynamism of the seeker who desires immortality is inward. 43 This antaratman or inner soul of everything 44 is a purusha, a person. That is what we are going to see in this descent into the depths.
a) The Discovery of the Ground
Atman brahman
Speculation about the One may sound very abstract and the considerations about Brahman may seem utterly remote from life. It does not need to be that way, except when, for the sake of brevity, all is said, as it were, in code. This mahavakya does not permit us to view it from any distant or abstract vantage point, because it intimately concerns each one of us and confronts us with an inescapable existential challenge. From now on the meditation has a markedly personalistic character. Indeed, whereas the discovery of consciousness may be an impersonal truth, the following mahavakyas could be said to constitute the unfolding of the mystery of the person in all its dimensions.
We are not concerned here with studying the evolution of the concepts of brahman and atman, how the one from one end of the spectrum of Man’s experience and the other from the opposite one, after an extraordinary adventure that touches the shores of almost the whole of reality, come to a meeting point. 45 Atman alone in the Upanishads, means the body, 46 the vital divine breath, 47 awareness, 48 the subject of all sensations 49 and of everything, 50 the independent active subject, 51 the real self in and of Man, 52 the self of the world, 53 the subject of all spiritual actions as well as the subject of cosmic consciousness, 54 and finally Brahman. 55 It begins by meaning the immediate subject or self in a concrete empirical way and it ends by meaning the ultimate subject or Self of the whole of reality. Brahman, on the other hand, starts its intriguing career as a concept meaning prayer and from there goes on to mean the basic hymns of the shruti 56 as well as the shruti in its entirety, 57ritual, and thence an immanent cosmic force, 58 the all-present, 59 spiritual, 60 creator of the world, 61 the entire universe 62 and its ultimate ground, 63 until as the culmination of this whole process the atman-brahman identity is disclosed. It begins by meaning the most concrete form of sacred utterance and it ends by meaning the most general and ultimate source of everything.
To understand the equation atman-brahman we must transcend both mathematical or pure logical thinking and physical or pure empirical thinking. Logically and empirically speaking, if atman stands for something and Brahman is not just a synonym for it the two cannot be equated. But human forms of awareness are not exhausted by dialectical or empirical thinking. It has been said either that atman-brahman is a logical monstrosity only possible in an unmitigated monism or that it is a barren tautology. We would like to show that neither of these views represents the truth.
It is, in fact, a qualified tautology, as every ultimate principle is bound to be. If it were not a tautology it could not be an independent principle. It would require some other ground on which to depend. If “S is P” were not self-illuminating or self-evident it would demand another principle as its basis, and so on ad infinitum. But the tautology has to be qualified if it is to be more than a barren identity. It needs a certain dynamism, a certain tension within the principle itself, so as to make it a real principle, that is, productive, really saying something, bringing a message. It is precisely this saying, this vac, which converts the tautology into a principle, which performs the passage from myth into Logos, from something instinctively or unconsciously taken for granted to a reflective knowledge and a critical intuition. Any principle or anything that is irreducible to anything else and thus rests upon itself has to express an identity, but the very expression of it is already a breaking of that identity. The affirmation of the identity is based on the qualified identity which is such insofar as it “breaks,” thus expressing itself.
The equation atman-brahman can be understood only as a qualified identity, that is, as a qualified tautology. What is this “qualification” that allows us to intuit the identity? We may try to “qualify” it a little more, hoping for the insight to “break.” We shall limit ourselves to describing the internal dynamism that leads from the nondualistic conception of reality and the discovery that the ultimate ground of everything is consciousness to the insight that this consciousness, which is Brahman, needs an ultimate subject, which is atman.
We are already acquainted with the question concerning the desire to see the seer of seeing and to think the thinker of thinking. No weight of logic can suppress or stifle Man’s desire in this regard. You certainly cannot know the knower, but you can do more than just know the “known"; you can know along with the knower, you can become the knower, so that you no longer need to know the knower because you have become the knower himself. This movement of the human spirit leads from the impersonal to the personal, from the theological to the existential. This movement triggers off the search for the atman, for the ultimate subject. One passage we have quoted makes it quite explicit: He is never thought, but he is the thinker. He is the inner controller; he is your atman. 64
We have already indicated the thrust of the Upanishadic search. It is attracted not so much by the object as by the subject of knowledge, the knower. The knower is not my senses, or even my reason, for you also have a reason and we observe that we both seem to obey certain dialectical laws, so that neither my reason nor yours can be the ultimate subject, the real knower. This leads to the emergence of the concept of atman as the ultimate subject, as the ultimate knower.
The problem remains--and is given different answers by different philosophical system--with regard to the relation between the ultimate atman as the subject of everything and the ahamkara, the jivatman, the psychological ego, the individual soul. Indeed, several texts affirm clearly that there are, as it were, two selves. Yet both are atman. They are distinct but the separation should not be overdone if we want to remain within the domain of Upanishadic intuition.
The personal discovery of the atman requires us to follow a particular way. It is the spiritual way indicated in texts already quoted. It consists in looking beyond the nama-rupa, the name and form, which appears to constitute the core of my own self, and in being attentive to the factual material constituent of my being. 65 The salt dissolved in the pond of water 66 has not ceased to be salt because it has lost its form and perhaps also its name as a separate entity called salt. It becomes more truly itself in fulfilling its mission of making things salty than it would if it had remained as a mere lump. The salt in the ocean is, in a way, more truly salt than the isolated lump, just as money is more truly money when fruitfully circulating than when frozen in a private safe. Reality is not the universe decomposed into its elements, just as the essence of water is not its three independent elements or the essence of a molecule merely its atoms. A molecule is rather the unity of its atoms in a particular form so that, in a sense, the atoms of a molecule are more themselves, have a greater degree of reality, when they form a higher complex than when they are isolated. The whole universe is the real entity and more real than the sum of its parts. The lump of salt is only an empirical segregation, an individualization. It is the entire universe that has the whole reality.
In order to understand the true qualification of the final formula atman-brahman we may adduce another example, classical in more than one culture: the drops of water which, merging into the river as the river also merges into the ocean, are symbols of our individual destiny:
Just as rivers flowing to the ocean
merge in it, losing their name and form,
so the wise Man, freed from name and form,
attains the supreme, divine Person. 67
All things, including human beings in a specialized manner, can be said to be drops of water, participants in or reflections of the single One, beings of the Being. They are all water, but they are all separated, individualized, multiplied, dispersed into multiplicity, wrapped, so to speak, in finitude. This finitude is the superficial tension that distinguishes and separates them, forming their different individualities.
What is the drop of water? Is it the drop of the water or the water of the drop? Is it the container, the form, or the contents, the matter? Is it the surface tension, the peculiar individualized form it possesses, or is it the water that form contains? In the former instance, when the drop merges into the ocean it disappears as a drop of water. In the latter instance, it remains as the water of that particular drop and is also merged into the ocean, so that it has lost nothing except its limitations. Indeed it has fulfilled and enhanced all its potentialities as water. If we accept that the individuality is the surface tension and the personality the water of the particular drop, we may agree in saying that when the human being dies, his individuality disappears while his personality remains and is even enhanced. For what until then were only external relations across the barriers of finiteness have now become internal relationships.
Can we not have it both ways? Can the drop of water not be both the drop of the water and the water of the drop? Certainly it can be and in fact it is. But this admission does not solve the problem, because it arises again the moment we consider a second drop of water, or when an increase (in the volume) of water in the drop destroys the drop.
When in search of the objects of consciousness, we may well stop at the drops, at the forms and names of things; but when in search of the subject of consciousness, we have to look for something more permanent, more universal. What happens when change comes, when the drop dies? What remains, the “drop” (of the water) or the water (of the “drop”)? Undoubtedly, the water.
This is the direction followed by the Upanishadic trend of thought when it looks for the underlying reality that is resistant to all changes. This is what the many texts tell us.
Now, the atman-brahman equation stands for this insight into the nature of reality. It wants to make us realize that we are water and not merely separate drops. The equation says that the “substance” below equals the “being” above, that divine transcendence corresponds to divine immanence, and that the one implies the other. And yet it does not identify them in an indiscriminate manner. Atman is brahman, but it is not said that brahman is atman, if we allow the verbal form is (bhavati) to carry the dynamism of the process of identification. 68 It is saying that the realization of the atman leads us to discover its identity with brahman, that to discover its ultimate immanence leads to its recognition as the absolute transcendence. But it does not allow us to speculate on brahman with our categories, much less is it saying that brahman is my atman. This atman is the supreme Person, uttama purusha, as one of our texts affirms. 69 The (water contained in the) drop is the ocean once it has reached the ocean, but the ocean is not the drop.
When it is affirmed that atman is brahman we have to keep in mind that the primacy of the principle of identity, which governs Indian thinking, allows us to consider the atman as the essence of a being. We understand by essence that which that thing is. Now, this type of thinking understands what a thing is as that which that particular being “is,” that is, has in common with other beings. This communality is its being, because namarupa is not considered “essential” to a being. In a type of thinking governed by the principle of noncontradiction, on the other hand, what a being is, is understood as expressing what that being has--“is”--in contradistinction to other beings. What being is, is here precisely what other beings are not. We do not need here to decide which is the better way, but only to take into consideration the two different perspectives.
It is certainly true that the atman-brahman intuition represents the discovery of the equivalence between the macrocosm and the microcosm, but this mahavakya intends to do more than simply enunciate a speculative homology; it intends to convey a saving message. The atman must be realized and its identity with brahman discovered, an injunction that is repeated again and again. It means that it is not a self-evident truth placarded before our eyes; it is not given as an immediate datum within the range of our common experience. It is not a question of finding an objectified atman. The atman that has to be realized is something that emerges in the very process of discovery, in the very process of unveiling the veil of maya by recognizing it to be a veil. Indeed, once the intuition dawns upon us, we will be inclined to say that it was already there, only we did not know it. In other words, the atman is definitely not our creation. Yet even this should not be interpreted in a static way, as if we were simply to discover something that was already there, for it is precisely by this very discovery that we have come to be. We have realized ourselves by the realization of the atman. We have become the revealed reality.
The qualification required for recognizing the atman-brahman equation amounts to the discovery of the overall span under which the whole of reality is inscribed. It means realizing that transcendence has no real meaning except in relation to immanence, that the ultimate reality of everything is not different from ultimate reality as such, precisely because the arch atman-brahman overspans the whole of reality and expresses its unity.
One of the greatest obstacles to understanding this powerful intuition consists in assuming an implicit “is” and then interpreting this “is” in a merely essentialistic way: atman “is” brahman and thus all that atman “is” would also apply to brahman. Indeed, it is true that atman is brahman, but the meaning of the verb is here is built into the atman which is brahman and expresses only the ultimate identity between them.
For example, when we say “John is good,” or “water is liquid,” or “God is,” or “five is more than three,” in each instance the verbal form is depends on the subject and the predicate it unites, for each time it expresses a different relation. To consider the word is independently from the things it links would be to misunderstand it. John is not good in the same sense that five is more than three. John can cease to be good; he is good now but not necessarily always; John’s is depends on his very being. On the other hand, five would cease to be what it is if it could cease to be more than three; the five’s is also depends on the nature of the five. The is of “God is” depends on the very nature of God and thus cannot be compared with any other thing that “is.” The is of the atman that is brahman is again sui generis and depends on the specific nature of atman. It is not a logical, but an atman, identity.
The atman-brahman equation, understood in this way and realized along the interior personal path, leads toward the discovery of the underlying unity of all things without destroying their diversity. Yet there is on this path a pitfall, and history bears abundant witness that it is not always avoided. We refer to the danger of monism into which one may fall when the atman is regarded merely as substance. This mahavakya needs an urgent corrective. Within this context the Buddha offered one possible corrective: the anatmavada or doctrine of the unsubstantiality of the atman. The Upanishads offer another solution, though it is not always clearly understood: the purusha-vidya, or the intuition of the structure of reality as personhood. This is what we shall try to discover after our perusal of the texts that follow.
The Self
Atman
5 Meditation on Brahman leads to pure ecstasy, for one is lost in the groundless object of the infinite, while meditation on atman leads to pure “enstasis,” for it is the meditator this time who is lost in the ultimate ground that seems to have engulfed him. This seems to be the gist of the injunction of the Shatapatha Brahmana (i). Therefore Brahman is never an object of love. The only real object of love in all other objects is the atman, as Yajnavalkya teaches his wife Maitreyi who is about to renounce the love of her husband for love of the atman (ii). To love a person or a thing without transcending it in the very act of love, that is, without loving the atman in it, would be idolatry, and ultimately it cannot satisfy either the lover or the beloved. Only love that is transparent--to the atman--can be the means of ascent, the way to liberation and immortality. 70
The revelation of the atman as the thread holding all things together, without which they would fall apart, and as the antaryamin, the inner guide of all beings, starts from the extraordinary question of the Gandharva possessing the wife of Patancala Kapya, teacher of sacrifice. The great Yajnavalkya knows this teaching by his own experience and he expounds it (iii). Yet the atman remains ungraspable, because it is neither “this” nor “that,” na iti, na iti (iv).
The atman is that which holds the human person together in unity and guides the individual selves as their Lord (v).
The Katha Upanishad reveals the paradoxical nature of the atman (vi) 71 which cannot be grasped by an intellectual approach, but only by an act of grace, by a choice on the part of the atman. But to receive this grace requires purity of life and mind, concentration and internal peace (v. 24). Only with this grace can the seers perceive the invisible (vii). 72
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad (viii) adds that the atman is not discovered without effort but that it is the product of effort. For just as butter is not produced automatically by milk or cream, but by a definite effort on the part of someone, so also the atman has to be gained from the individual self by effort, truthfulness, and fervor. 73 The overarching nature of atman, its cosmic character and spiritual reality, are again stressed in the Mundaka Upanishad (ix).
Atman
SB X, 6, 3, 1-2
i) 1. One should meditate on Brahman, the truth. Now, man possesses insight and, on departing from this world, he will attain the world beyond in accordance with his degree of insight.
2. One should meditate on the atman which consists of spirit, whose embodiment is life, whose form is light, whose essence is space, which changes its form at will, swift as thought, of true resolve and true stability; which contains all odors, all tastes, pervades all regions and encompasses the whole world, speechless and indifferent.
Like a grain of rice or barley or millet, like a tiny grain of millet, so is the golden Person within the atman. Like smokeless flame, greater than heaven, greater than the atmosphere, greater than the earth, greater than all beings, he is the atman of life, my own atman. On departing [from this world] I shall become that atman. He who has this confidence, he shall not waver. This was spoken by Shandilya and it is truly so.
BU II, 4, 4-6
ii) 4. Yajnavalkya spoke to Maitreyi: “Being dear to me you speak dear words. Come, sit down, I will explain to you, and while I explain you should meditate on it.”
5. Yajnavalkya said: “It is not for love of a husband that a husband is loved, but rather for love of the atman.
“Nor is it for love of a wife that a wife is loved but rather for love of the atman.
“Nor is it for love of sons that sons are loved but rather for love of the atman.
“Nor is it for love of wealth that wealth is loved but rather for love of the atman.
“Nor is it for love of the priesthood that the priesthood is loved but rather for love of the atman.
“Nor is it for love of power that power is loved but rather for love of the atman.
“Nor is it for love of the worlds that the worlds are loved but rather for love of the atman.
“Nor is it for love of the Gods that the Gods are loved but rather for love of the atman.
“Nor is it for love of creatures that creatures are loved but rather for love of the atman.
“Nor is it for love of all that all is loved but rather for love of the atman.
“Then, O Maitreyi, it is the atman that should be seen, heard, thought about, and deeply pondered. It is only by seeing, hearing, thinking about, and deeply pondering the atman that all this is known.”
6. The Brahmin refuses one who knows him to be different from the atman. The warrior refuses one who knows him to be different from the atman. The worlds refuse one who knows them to be different from the atman. The Gods refuse one who knows them to be different from the atman. The beings refuse one who knows them to be different from the atman. Everything refuses one who knows it to be different from the atman. This Brahmin, this warrior, these worlds, these Gods, these beings--all these are the atman.
BU III, 7, 1-16; 18-23
iii) 1. Now Uddalaka Aruni asked him:
“Yajnavalkya,” he said, “we stayed among the Madras, in the house of Patancala Kapya, studying sacrifice. He had a wife who was possessed by a spirit. We asked the spirit, ‘Who are you?” “
He said, “I am Kabandha, descendant of Atharvan.”
He said to Patancala Kapya and to the students of sacrifice: “Do you know, O Kapya, that thread, with which this world, the world beyond, and all beings are bound together?”
And Patancala Kapya said, “No, I do not, sir.”
He said to Patancala Kapya and to the students of sacrifice: “Do you know, O Kapya, that Inner Controller, who directs this world, the world beyond, and all beings from within?”
And Patancala Kapya said: “No, I do not, sir.”
He said to Patancala Kapya and to the students of sacrifice: “He who knows that thread and that Inner Controller, he knows Brahman, he knows the world, he knows the Gods, he knows the Vedas, he knows all beings, he knows the atman, he knows all.”
Thus he explained to them, and hence I know it. “If you, Yajnavalkya, do not know that thread and that Inner Controller and yet take away the cows which belong only to the knowers of Brahman, you will lose your head.”
“But I know, O Gautama, that thread and that Inner Controller.”
“Anyone might say, ‘I know it, I know it.” If you really know it, tell us about it.”
2. He said: “The Wind, O Gautama, is that thread. For with the wind as with a thread this world, the world beyond, and all beings are bound together. Therefore, O Gautama, they say of a man who died that his limbs are unloosed, for with the wind as with a thread they are bound together.”
“Very well, O Yajnavalkya. Now tell us about the Inner Controller!”
3. “He who dwells in the earth, yet is other than the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body is the earth, who controls the earth from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
4. “He who dwells in the waters, yet is other than the waters, whom the waters do not know, whose body is the waters, who controls the waters from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
5. “He who dwells in the fire, yet is other than the fire, whom the fire does not know, whose body is the fire, who controls the fire from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
6. “He who dwells in space, yet is other than space, whom space does not know, whose body is space, who controls space from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
7. “He who dwells in the wind, yet is other than the wind, whom the wind does not know, whose body is the wind, who controls the wind from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
8. “He who dwells in the sky, yet is other than the sky, whom the sky does not know, whose body is the sky, who controls the sky from within-- he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
9. “He who dwells in the sun, yet is other than the sun, whom the sun does not know, whose body is the sun, who controls the sun from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
10. “He who dwells in the regions of space, yet is other than the regions of space, whom the regions of space do not know, whose body is the regions of space, who controls the regions of space from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
11. “He who dwells in the moon and the stars, yet is other than the moon and the stars, whom the moon and the stars do not know, whose body is the moon and stars, who controls the moon and the stars from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
12. “He who dwells in the atmosphere, yet is other than the atmosphere, whom the atmosphere does not know, whose body is the atmosphere, who controls the atmosphere from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
13. “He who dwells in the darkness, yet is other than the darkness, whom the darkness does not know, whose body is the darkness, who controls the darkness from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
14. “He who dwells in the light, yet is other than the light, whom the light does not know, whose body is the light, who controls the light from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
“So far with reference to the divinities. Now with reference to beings.
15. “He who dwells in all beings, yet is other than all beings, whom all beings do not know, whose body is all beings, who controls all beings from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
“So far with reference to beings. Now with reference to the body.
16. “He who dwells in the life breath, yet is other than the life breath, whom the life breath does not know, whose body is the life breath, who controls the life breath from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
18. “He who dwells in the eye, yet is other than the eye, whom the eye does not know, whose body is the eye, who controls the eye from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
19. “He who dwells in the ear, yet is other than the ear, whom the ear does not know, whose body is the ear, who controls the ear from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
20. “He who dwells in the mind, yet is other than the mind, whom the mind does not know, whose body is the mind, who controls the mind from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
21. “He who dwells in the skin, yet is other than the skin, whom the skin does not know, whose body is the skin, who controls the skin from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
22. “He who dwells in the understanding, yet is other than the understanding, whom the understanding does not know, whose body is the understanding, who controls the understanding from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
23. “He who dwells in semen, yet is other than semen, whom the semen does not know, whose body is semen, who controls semen from within--he is the atman within you, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
“He is the unseen seer, the unheard hearer, the unthought thinker, the unknown knower. There is no other seer than he, no other hearer than he, no other thinker than he, no other knower than he. He is your atman, the Inner Controller, the immortal.
“Anything else is the cause of suffering.”
Then Uddalaka Aruni was silent.
BU III, 9, 26
iv)On what are you and your atman established?
On the breath of life.
--And on what is breath of life established?
--On exhalation.
--And on what is exhalation established?
--On the circulating breath.
--And on what is the circulating breath established?
--On the up-breath.
--And on what is the up-breath established?
--On the central breath.
That atman, however, is not this, not this. It is ungraspable, for it cannot be grasped. It is indestructible, for it cannot be destroyed. It is untouched, for it cannot be touched. It is unfettered, it does not suffer, it does not decay.
KAUS U IV, 20
v) Now it is in this breath of life alone that he [in sleep] is integrated into one. Speech together with all names is absorbed unto it. The eye together with all forms is absorbed into it. The ear together with all sounds is absorbed into it. The mind together with all thoughts is absorbed into it.
And when he awakes, just as from a blazing fire sparks leap forth in all directions, in the same way from this atman, the sense powers leap forth to their respective stations: from the sense powers the senses and from the senses the sense objects.
This is the breath of life, the conscious atman which has entered into this physical self, even up to the hairs and the nails. Just as a blade is hidden in a sheath or fire in a brazier, in the same way this conscious atman has entered into this physical self, even up to the hairs and the nails. On this atman the other selves depend just as men depend upon their chief. Just as the chief flourishes together with his men and his men flourish together with their chief, in the same way this conscious atman flourishes together with the other selves and the other selves flourish together with the atman. As long as Indra did not know this atman, the asuras prevailed over him. But when he knew this atman, then he smote the asuras and was victorious. He attained supremacy, freedom, and lordship over all the Gods and all beings. In the same way, he who knows this will attain supremacy, freedom, and lordship over all beings--he who knows this, yes, he who knows this!
KATH U II, 21-25
vi) 21. He sits, and yet he wanders far;
he is lying, and yet goes everywhere.
Who then but me is able to know
the God who exults and does not exult?
22. Bodiless among bodies, stable among the unstable,
the great and all-pervading atman--
recognizing him thus, the wise do not grieve.
23. This atman is not attained by instruction
or by intelligence or by learning.
By him whom he chooses is the atman attained.
To him the atman reveals his own being.
24. The one who has not turned away from wickedness,
who has no peace, who is not concentrated,
whose mind is restless--he cannot realize
the atman, who is known by wisdom.
25. He for whom priest and noble are both
a mere dish of rice with death as a sauce--
that one, who knows in truth where he is?
KATH U III, 12
vii) Hidden in all beings, the atman does not shine forth,
but he can be perceived by those subtle seers
by means of their fine and subtle intelligence.
SU I, 15-16
viii) 15. As oil in sesame seed, as butter in cream,
as water in hidden springs, as fire in fire sticks,
so is the atman grasped in one’s own self
when one searches for him in truth and with fervor.
16. The atman pervades all, like butter hidden in milk;
he is the source of Self-knowledge and ascetic fervor.
This is the Brahman-teaching, the highest goal!
This is the Brahman-teaching, the highest goal!
MUND U II, 2, 5-8
5. In him are woven the sky, the earth,
airy space, mind, and all sense powers.
Dismissing all else, know him as the one
true atman, the bridge to deathlessness.
6. Where the arteries merge like spokes in the hub
of a wheel, there the atman moves within
in manifold forms. By the saying of “OM”
meditate upon the atman. May you succeed
in crossing to the farther shore of darkness!
7. All-knowing is he, all-wise; his glory
expands through all the earth. He is established
as the atman in the city divine of Brahman,
in the space of the heart.
8. He consists of spirit; he guides the life powers
and dwells within the heart, being based upon food.
Him do the wise perceive by means of wisdom,
the immortal, the radiant, whose nature is bliss.
i) 1. Insight: kratu, will.
2. Spirit: manas.
Embodiment: sharira, body.
Life: prana.
Essence: atman, soul or Self.
Thought: manas.
Stability: dhrti, firmness, resolution.
Golden Person: purusho hiranmayah. Cf. BU IV, 3, 11, etc.
Flame: lit. light.
ii) 1-3. Cf. § III 31.
4. Meditate: nididhyasasva.
5. Priesthood: brahman, Brahminhood.
Power: kshatra, state of Kshatriya or warrior.
All: sarva.
6. Brahmin: or Brahman(?) or the religious order.
Refuses: paradat, abandons, leaves, deserts.
Warrior: kshatra, the princely (“worldly”) power.
7-14. Cf. § VI 4.
iii) Another version of the same story is told in BU III, 3.
1. Spirit: Gandharva. It is not by chance that this Gandharva is related to Atharvan, for the AV is concerned with supernormal powers as well as with the knowledge of Brahman.
Thread: sutra. The verb can suggest either the image of a flower bouquet bound together, or the thread holding together the beads of a necklace (mala).
Inner Controller: antaryamin.
2. Wind: vayu.
3. Other than the earth: prthivya antarah which can also mean “who is within the earth.” And the like with all the following homologizations.
6. Space: antariksha.
12. Atmosphere: akasha.
13. Darkness: tamas.
14. Light:: tejas.
With reference to the divinities: adhidaivata.
With reference to beings: adhibhuta.
15. With reference to the body: adhyatma, with reference to the self (atman means here the undivided person, as the following terms show).
17. Cf. § I 14.
22. Understanding: vijnana.
23. Cf. BU II, 4, 14 (§ VI 4); III, 4, 1-2 (§ VI 6); III, 8, 11 (§ VI 3).
Anything else is the cause of suffering: ato ‘nyad artam; or, more freely, “all the rest is improper, inauthentic,” i.e., whatever is different from the atman is painful, evil. Arta from the verb ar- (a-r-), to insert, inflict, etc., means oppressed, disturbed, afflicted; suffering, thus evil. No idea of moral evil is here implied.
iv) 1-9. Cf. § VI 2.
10-17. Cf. § VI 7.
21. Cf. § I 37.
24-25. Cf. § I 14.
26. Breath of life: prana. The names of the other four pranas are apana, vyana, udana, samana.
Not this, not this: neti neti.
The text continues with a discussion and with the falling of the head of Vidagdha Shakalya, the questioner of Yajnavalkya.
28. Cf. § VI 3.
v) This is the last verse of this Upanishad (vv. 18-19, according to another version).
Breath of life: prana.
Integrated into one: ekadha bhavati; in sleep, cf. BU II, 1, 19 (§ VI 4).
Sense powers: pranah, the vital breaths as the dynamic powers behind the senses. Cf. BU II, 1, 20 (§ VI 4).
Senses: devah, divinities, in this context the functioning sense organs.
Sense objects: lokah, the worlds, here in relation to the senses.
Hairs and nails: cf. BU I, 4, 7.
Conscious atman: prajnatman.
Physical self: shariram atmanam.
Freedom: svarajya.
vi) 20. Cf. § V 5.
21. God: deva.
Exults and does not exult: madamada, it could be rendered as sobria ebrietas, “mad soberness” or “sober madness”: coincidentia oppositorum. It could be read also as an intensive form: ever exulting. The root mad- means to exhilarate, to be exhilarated.
23. Cf. MundU III, 2, 3 (§ VI 11).
By learning: shrutena, by what is heard, secondary knowledge, or by merely hearing the Vedas (shruti).
There is here a pun on the verbs vr-, to choose, and vi-vr-, to reveal, manifest.
Own being: tanum svam, own forms or bodies, own nature, own person.
24. Wickedness: dushcarita, evil way.
Who has no peace: ashanta.
Who is not concentrated: asamahita, not recollected (cf. samadhi, the state of concentration).
By wisdom: prajnanena.
25. Priest: brahman priesthood.
Noble: kshatram nobility, warrior caste.
vii) 10-11. Cf. § V 5.
12. Does not shine forth: na prakashate.
Intelligence: buddhi.
13. Cf. § III 28.
viii) 15. In truth and with fervor: satyena . . . tapasa.
16. Self-knowledge: atma-vidya.
Brahman-teaching: brahmopanishad.
ix) 1-2. Cf. VI 3.
3-4. Cf. VI 12.
5. Airy space: antariksha, interspace betweeen heaven and earth. Cf. BU III, 8, 7 (§ VI 3).
Sense powers: pranah, vital breaths.
Dismissing all else: anya vaco vimuncatha, lit. give up other words, any other name, “word” standing here for everything else.
For the bridge to immortality, cf. SU VI, 19 (§ I 28); CU VIII, 4, 1 (§ V 27); BU IV, 4, 22 (§ VI 6); KathU III, 2.
6. May you succeed: svasti vah, for your happiness well-being, salvation.
Farther shore of darkness: cf. CU VII, 26, 2 (§ VI 3), SU III, 8 (§ VI 7).
7. All-knowing . . . all-wise: sarvajna, sarvavid.
Space of the heart: vyoman, the inner atmosphere.
8. He consists of spirit: manomayah.
Life powers: prana-sharira, either a compound (“the body consisting of breath”) or “breath and body.”
By means of wisdom: vijnanena, by their discrimination.
9. Cf. § VI II.
10-11. Cf. § III 6.
The Absolute Self
Paramatman
6 The so-called madhu-vidya (“honey-wisdom”) of the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (i) is the doctrine of the interdependence of all things (like honey and bees). The same final refrain is constantly repeated: the purusha in the cosmos and the purusha in Man are said to be the atman, the immortal Brahman, the whole universe (idam sarvam). The list of macro-microcosmic correlations contains: earthbody, water-seed, fire-speech, wind-breath, sun-eye, regions-hearing, moon-wind, lightning-inner light, thundercloud-sound, space-space within the heart, holy order-obedience to holy order, truth-truthfulness, humanity-humanness, and finally the cosmic and personal atman. Thus Brahman and atman are included in the all-embracing power of the purusha.
Ushasta Cakrayana, one of the questioners of the sage Yajnavalkya, goes straight to the heart of the matter (ii). He is not satisfied with the common explanation of the atman as the “breath of the breath” which seems to him to be an objective description like that of a cow or a horse, but not of Brahman. When Yajnavalkya is thus pressed to speak, he can only state the unknowability of the Knower who is the very atman of the questioner. He therefore cannot but keep silent.
The third text chosen from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, part of the great dialogue between Janaka and Yajnavalkya, shows already a high development of the doctrine of atman-brahman. The one who has realized this equation is emphatically declared to be beyond good and evil, beyond--not behind or beside--the level of morality, because he has transcended all desires, finding his whole world in the atman. The atman is neither a desire nor an object of desire; it is beyond all that. Atman is Brahman--this realization frees one from all fear. The Chandogya Upanishad (iv) again stresses that the teaching concerning atman-brahman is a matter of experience. While meditating on the light of the atman one may have visions, or while listening to the inner voice one may hear some kind of sound. 74 But the ultimate experience which, as this text affirms, is happening at the time of death is beyond everything, being at the same time the most universal and the most intimate. Only the search within, the going deeper and deeper into the recesses of one’s own heart, will reveal that indestructible center which is the atman (v). It is like a hidden treasure which one passes without noticing it, though it is always present within us.
The message of the atman, proclaimed by Prajapati, reaches the Gods and demons who are eager to learn it because the effect of this knowledge is full of reward. 75 It is Indra’s dissatisfaction with any reply that is not ultimate which enables him to receive the highest instruction and to realize the atman within. This discovery reveals the freedom of the purusha, the peaceful, liberated person whose existence is described as a play (v. 12, 3).
With striking simplicity the Mandukya Upanishad sums it all up (vi). It affirms a radical apophatism, striking the Buddhist note of double negation and avoiding thus any kind of psychological or epistemological “hold” on the atman: it is neither the conscious nor the unconscious; it is simply beyond all our categories, and yet sa vijneyah, it is to be “known,” “realized,” in spite of the betrayal of all the words.
Paramatman
BU II, 5, 1-15; 19
i) 1. The earth is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for the earth. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in the earth and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person in the body, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
2. Water is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for the water. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in the water and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person consisting of seed, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
3. Fire is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for fire. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in fire and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person consisting of speech, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
4. Wind is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for the wind. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in the wind and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person consisting of breath, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
5. The sun is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for the sun. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in the sun and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person consisting of sight, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
6. The regions are the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for the regions. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in the regions and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person consisting of hearing and resounding, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
7. The moon is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for the moon. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in the moon and who, with referenoe to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person consisting of mind, he indeed is that which is the atman the immortal, Brahman, the all.
8. Lightning is the honey of all beings and all beings are honey for lightning. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in the lightning and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person consisting of light, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
9. The thundercloud is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for the thundercloud. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in the thundercloud and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person consisting of sound and tone, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
10. Space is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for space. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in space and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person within the space of the heart, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
11. Righteousness is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for righteousness. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in righteousness and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person consisting of obedience to righteousness, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
12. Truth is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for truth. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in truth and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person who is truthful, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
13. Humanity is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for humanity. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in humanity and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person who is human, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
14. The atman is the honey of all beings, and all beings are honey for the atman. He who is the resplendent, immortal Person in the atman and who, with reference to oneself, is the resplendent, immortal Person who is the atman, he indeed is that which is the atman, the immortal, Brahman, the all.
15. This atman is the Lord of all beings, the King of all beings. Just as the spokes are fixed in the hub and the rim of a chariot wheel, in the same way all these beings, all the Gods, all the worlds, all life breaths, all these selves, are fixed in the atman.
19. Brahman has not an earlier or a later, has neither inside nor outside. Brahman is the atman, the all-experiencing. This is the instruction.
BU III, 4, 1-2
ii) 1. Then Ushasta Cakrayana asked him:
“Yajnavalkya,” he said, “explain to me that Brahman which is manifest and not concealed, that which is the atman within everything.”
“That is your atman, which is within everything.”
“How is it within everything, Yajnavalkya?”
“That which breathes with your breath, that is your atman which is within everything. That which exhales with your exhalation, that is your atman which is within everything. That which breathes diffusedly with your diffused breath, that is your atman which is within everything. That which breathes up with your up-breath, that is your atman which is within everything. This, in truth, is your atman which is within everything.”
2. Then Ushasta Cakrayana said:
“You have explained this to me as if one says: ‘This is a cow, this is a horse.” Now explain to me that Brahman which is manifest and not concealed, that which is the atman within everything.”
“That is your atman which is within everything.”
“How is it within everything, Yajnavalkya?”
“You cannot see the seer of seeing, you cannot hear the hearer of hearing, you cannot know the knower of knowing. This atman which is within everything is your very own atman. Anything else is the cause of suffering.”
After this Ushasta Cakrayana was silent.
BU IV, 4, 22-25
iii) 22. In truth, this is the great, unborn atman who is the spiritual element among the life powers. He dwells in that space within the heart, the Ordainer of all, the Lord of all, the Ruler of all. He does not become greater by good works or less great by bad works. He is the Lord of all, the Ruler of all beings, the Protector of all beings. He is the bridge that holds these worlds apart. It is he whom Brahmins desire to know through study of the Veda, through sacrifice and almsgiving, through ascetic fervor and fasting.
The man who has found him becomes a silent monk. Desiring him alone as their world, ascetics leave their homes and wander about. Knowing this, the men of old did not desire progeny “What shall we do with progeny,” they thought, “we whose whole world is the atman?” Having transcended the desire for sons, the desire for wealth, the desire for worlds, they go about as mendicants. For the desire for sons is the desire for wealth, and the desire for wealth is the desire for worlds; all these are nothing but desires. He, the atman, is not this, not this. He is ungraspable for he is not grasped, he is indestructible for he is not destroyed, he is free from attachment for he does not attach himself [to anything]; he is unfettered, he does not waver, he is not injured.
The one who knows this is not assailed by these two thoughts, “In this I did wrong” and “In this I did right.” He has passed beyond such thoughts. What he has done and what he has not done do not affect him.
23. This has been said in the verse:
The eternal greatness of a knower of Brahman
is neither enhanced by works nor diminished.
All that matters is to know the nature of Brahman.
One who knows is untainted by evil action.
Therefore, he who knows this, having become peaceful, controlled, detached, patient, and concentrated, sees the atman in himself and sees all in the atman. Evil does not overcome him, but he overcomes all evil; evil does not consume him, but he consumes all evil. Free from evil, free from passion, free from doubt, he becomes a knower of Brahman. “This is the world of Brahman, your majesty, and you have attained it,” said Yajnavalkya. “I give you my people and myself, venerable sir, to serve you,” said Janaka, king of Videha.
24. This is the great, unborn atman, the eater of food, the giver of treasure, and he who knows this surely finds a treasure.
25. This is the great, unborn atman, which never ages and never dies, which is immortal and free from fear: this is Brahman. Brahman, indeed, is fearlessness, and he who knows this becomes [himself] the fearless Brahman.
CU III, 14
iv) 14, 1. Indeed, all this is Brahman. One should meditate on it in silence as “that in which everything is, breathes and dissolves.” Now man, in truth, is made of insight. According to the insight a man gains in this world, so he becomes on leaving it. Therefore, let him gain insight!
2. He who consists of mind, whose body is the breath of life, whose form is light, whose thoughts are truth, whose atman is space, who contains all works, all desires, all perfumes and all tastes, who encompasses this whole universe, beyond speech and beyond desires--
3. he is my atman within the heart, smaller than a grain of rice or a grain of barley, smaller than a grain of mustard or a grain of millet. He is my atman within the heart, greater than the earth, greater than the sky, greater than heaven itself, greater than all these worlds.
4. He contains all works, all desires, all perfumes, and all tastes. He encompasses the whole universe; he is beyond speech and beyond desires. He is my atman within my heart, he is Brahman. On departing from here I shall merge with him. He who thus says has no doubt indeed. Thus said Shandilya, Shandilya.
CU VIII, 1; 3; 7-8; 10-12
v) 1, 1. Hari OM. In this city of Brahman there is a dwelling in the form of a lotus flower, and within it there is an inner space. One should search for that which is within that inner space; it is that which should be sought, it is that which one should desire to know.
2. If anyone asks, “Please tell me concerning this dwelling within the city of Brahman and the lotus flower and the space that is within it. What is there that we should seek? What is there that we should desire to know?” Then he should say:
3. “As far, indeed, as the vast space outside extends the space within the heart. Within it, indeed, are contained both heaven and earth, fire and wind, sun and moon, lightning and the stars, both what one possesses here and what one does not possess--all is contained within it.”
4. If anyone asks, ‘If within this city of Brahman there is contained all this--all beings and all desires--then what is left of it when old age comes upon it or when it perishes?” Then he should say:
5. It does not grow old when the body grows old
or perish when the body perishes. This
is the true city of Brahman. In this
are contained all desires.
It is the atman, free from evil, free from old age and death, free from sorrow, free from hunger and thirst: this is the atman, whose desires are truth, whose purpose is truth. Just as people here on earth act in accordance with command, living in the country or on the piece of land of their choice--
6. just as here [in this life] the world earned by work fades away, likewise the world beyond earned by meritorious deeds fades away also. He who departs from this world without having found the atman and true desires will lack freedom in every world. But he who departs from this world, having found the atman and true desires, will enjoy freedom in every world.
3, 1. These real desires are veiled by the unreal. Though they are real, they are covered with the veil of the unreal. When anyone departs from this world, he can no longer be seen here.
2. But all his fellows, whether living or dead, and all his unfulfilled desires--all these he finds by going within. It is there that all these real desires exist which are veiled by the unreal. People who do not know the field in which a treasure of gold is buried pass over it many times without finding it. Likewise all beings go on day after day without finding the world of Brahman within because they are enveloped by unreality.
3. The atman dwells within the heart. Its etymology is explained in this way: “It dwells within the heart, therefore it is called heart.” He who knows this proceeds daily to the world of heaven.
4. Now that peaceful [Person], when he arises out of the body, attains the supreme light and is manifest in his own form. He is the atman, immortal and fearless; this is Brahman. The name of that Brahman is Truth.
5. The word “truth” contains three syllables: sat-ti-yam. Sat [being] is immortality, ti is the mortal, and yam is that which binds the two together, and because it binds the two together [yacchati], it is called by its root yam. He who knows this proceeds daily to the world of heaven.
7, 1. “That atman which is free from evil, free from old age and death, free from sorrow, free from hunger and thirst, whose desires are truth, whose purpose is truth--this a man should seek, this a man should desire to know. He who has found and recognized that atman, he attains all worlds and all desires.”
Thus spoke Prajapati.
2. Both the Gods and the demons learned this and said: “Let us seek that atman, by searching for which one attains all worlds and all desires.” Indra went out from among the Gods, and Virocana from among the demons. They both came without speaking to each other into the presence of Prajapati, with fuel in their hands [as a sign of discipleship].
3. For thirty-two years they both lived a life of chastity and religious study. Then Prajapati spoke to them: “Desiring what have you been living here?”
They both said: “That atman which is free from evil, free from old age and death, free from sorrow, free from hunger and thirst, whose desires are truth, whose purpose is truth--this a man should seek, this a man should desire to know. He who has found and recognized that atman, he attains all worlds and all desires.” This they proclaim as your word. “Desiring this we have been living here.”
4. Prajapati said to both of them: “ The person who is seen in the eye, he is the atman,” he said. “This is the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman.”
“But, Lord, who is the one who is perceived in water or in a mirror?”
“It is he himself who is perceived in all these,” he said.
8, 1. “Look at yourself in a jar of water, and tell me what of yourself [the atman,] you do not understand.”
They both looked in a jar of water. Prajapati asked both of them, “What do you see?”
They replied: “We both see ourselves, a complete reflection right down to the hairs and nails.”
2. Then Prajapati told them: “Array yourselves well, putting on beautiful clothes and adorning yourselves, and look into a jar of water.”
They both arrayed themselves well, putting on beautiful clothes and adorning themselves; then they looked into the jar of water.
Prajapati asked them: “What do you see?”
3. They both said: “As we are ourselves, Lord, well arrayed, with beautiful clothes and adorned, so we see [the reflections] well arrayed, with beautiful clothes and adorned.”
“That is the atman,” he said, “the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman.”
They both went away with their hearts at peace.
4. Seeing them, Prajapati said [to himself]: “They go away without having attained or known the atman. Whoever will believe such a teaching, they will be lost, whether they are Gods or demons.”
Virocana returned to the demons with his heart at peace, and he proclaimed that teaching to them: “One should make oneself happy, one should serve oneself. By making one’s own self happy and serving one’s own self, one obtains both the worlds, this world and the other world.”
5. Therefore they call him a demon who is not a giver, who has no faith, who does not offer sacrifice, because this is the teaching of the demons. They decorate the body of a deceased person with objects which they have begged, with clothes and ornaments, thinking that in this way they will win the other world.
10, 1. “The one who moves about happy in dream, this is the atman,” Prajapati said. “This is the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman.”
Indra went away with his heart at peace. But before he even reached the Gods he perceived this danger: “Though the atman [in dream] does not become blind when the body is blind, or lame when the body is lame, nor does it suffer from the defects of the body,
2. though it is not killed when the body is killed, nor does it become lame when the body is lame, yet [the self in dream] is, as it were, killed and exposed and experiences unpleasant things, as if weeping. I do not see any joy in this.”
3. He came back with fuel in his hands. Prajapati said to him: “O Maghavan, you have left with your heart at peace. Desiring what have you come back?”
“Though [the self in dream] does not become blind when the body becomes blind or lame when the body becomes lame, nor suffers from the defects of the body,
4. though it is not killed when the body is killed nor does it become lame when the body becomes lame, yet it is, as it were, killed and exposed and experiences unpleasant things, as if weeping. I do not see any joy in this.”
“So is it, O Maghavan,” Prajapati said.” This I will further explain to you. Live with me for another thirty-two years.”
Then he lived with him for another thirty-two years. Then Prajapati said to Indra:
11, 1. “When one is fast asleep, calm and serene, and not dreaming, this is the atman,” said Prajapati. “This is the immortal, fearless Brahman.”
Indra departed with his heart at peace. But before he even reached the Gods he perceived this danger: “Truly this [atman] does not know his own self. He does not know who he is, nor does he know other beings. He has, so to speak, disappeared. I do not see any joy in this.”
2. He returned with a stick of fuel in his hand. Prajapati spoke to him: “O Maghavan, you left with your heart at peace. Desiring what have you come back?”
He replied: “Sir, this [atman] does not know his own self, who he is, nor does he know other beings. He has, so to speak, disappeared. I do not see any joy in this.”
3. “So it is, O Maghavan,” said Prajapati, “but I will further explain to you, on the condition that you live with me for another five years.” He lived with him for another five years. Thus they were together for a hundred and one years. Therefore people say: Indra lived for a hundred and one years with Prajapati in chastity and religious study. Then Prajapati said to Indra:
12, 1. “O Maghavan, mortal, indeed, is this body and under the sway of death. Yet it is the seat of the deathless and incorporeal atman. But the one who is in the body is gripped by pleasure and pain. As long as one is in the body, one is gripped by pleasure and pain. Only when one is free from the body is one untouched by pleasure and pain.
2. “Bodiless is the air, bodiless are the clouds, lightning, and thunder. And as these, when they arise out of yonder atmosphere, attain the supreme light and appear in their own respective forms,
3. “so this peaceful [Person], when he arises out of the body, attains the supreme light and appears in his own form. He is the supreme Person. There he moves about, laughing, playing, taking delight with women or chariots or friends, without remembering the burden of this body. For as an animal is yoked to a cart, so is the breath of life yoked to this body.
4. “When the eye is directed to space, then it is the Person in the eye who sees; the eye serves [only] for seeing. Now when a man is aware of smelling, it is the atman who is aware of smelling; the nose serves [only] for smelling. When a man is aware of speaking, it is the atman who is aware of speaking; speech serves [only] for speaking. When a man is aware of hearing, it is the atman who is aware of hearing; the ear serves [only] for hearing.
5. “When a man is aware of thinking, it is the atman who is aware of thinking, the mind is its divine eye. Seeing these heavenly joys with his divine eye of the mind, the atman rejoices.
6. “Assuredly, the Gods in the world of Brahman meditate upon the atman. Therefore they attain all worlds and all desires. He too, who knows and who has discovered the atman, attains all worlds and all desires.” Thus spoke Prajapati, thus spoke Prajapati.
MANDU 2; 7
vi) 2. Yes, in very truth, all this is Brahman,
this atman is Brahman.
This atman has four stages.
7. That which is neither internal consciousness nor external consciousness nor both together, which does not consist solely in compact consciousness, which is neither conscious nor unconscious, which is invisible, unapproachable, impalpable, indefinable, unthinkable, unnameable, whose very essence consists of the experience of its own self, which absorbs all diversity, is tranquil and benign, without a second, which is what they call the fourth state--that is the atman. This it is which should be known.
i) Honey: madhu, regarded as the most nourishing and delicious substance and used here as a symbol for the interdependence of the cosmos and all beings. V. 16, which follows our text, quotes RV I, 116, 12 as one of the sources for the madhu-vidya, “honey-wisdom,” which seems to have more connection with the AV. Cf. also RV VI, 70, 5, etc. Honey is connected not only with anything pleasant (sweet), referring to love (cf. AV I, 34) and unity, but also with the heavenly joys. Vishnu’s “third step,” i.e., heaven, is filled with honey, and honey overflows in the heavenly world (cf. AV IV; 34, 6; § V 26). In their unique way, the U make honey the symbol of the knowledge (vidya) of the interconnection of all things, the knowledge of the immanence of the purusha and of his identity with atman-brahman.
4. Thundercloud: stanayitnu.
Consisting of sound and tone: shabdah sauvarah, derived from shabda and svara.
11. Righteousness: dharma, religiousness, holy order, justice, law.
Obedience to righteousness: dharma, consisting of dharma, penetrated by dharma.
13. Humanity: manusha.
14. Here both, the individual atman and the universal atman, are brought together.
19. Not an earlier . . .: a-purva, an-apara, an-antara, a-bahya.
All-experiencing: sarvanubhu.
ii) 1. Manifest and not concealed: sakshad aparokshat, that (Brahman) which can be apprehended only by direct and immediate vision.
The five vital breaths: prana, apana, vyana, udana, and samana (not mentioned here). Cf. BU III, 9, 26 (§ VI 5).
That is your atman . . .: esha ta atma- sarvantarah, the atman with universal interiority, within all (beings).
2. This is a cow: allusion perhaps to the meaning of atman as breath (cf. German atmen) and thus saying a mere redundance. Anything else is the cause of suffering. Cf. § VI 5 iii, note 23.
iii) Cf. § IV 21 Introduction.
15-21. Cf. § VI 11.
22. Spiritual element among the life powers: vijnanamayah praneshu, consisting of consciousness, made of intelligence, within the life breaths.
Bridge: setu, also dyke, dam. Cf. CU VIII, 4, 1-3 (§ V 27); KathU III, 2; MundU II, 2, 5 (§ VI 5). This setu unites and separates.
The man who has found him: etam eva viditva, or known him.
Silent monk: muni.
World: loka, as their proper place, as the proper locus of liberation. Cf. the improper “worlds” of liberation just below. Cf. BU IV, 3, 20 (§ VI 8).
Not this, not this: neti neti. Cf. BU IV, 5, 15 (§ III 28).
Affect: tapatah, burn, consume, also meaning that he does not repent or worry. Cf. TU II, 9 (§ VI 7).
23. Untainted: na lipyate, not stained, undefiled, untouched, Cf. KathU V, 11(§ VI 2).
Evll: papman.
“Sees all in the atman.” Cf. KaivU 10 (§ VI, 11).
24. Unborn: a-ja also without origin, beginningless, uncreated.
25. Never ages . . .: ajaro ‘maro ‘mrto ‘bhayo brahma.
iv) 14, 1. That in which everything is, breathes and dissolves: tajjalan, one of the purposely enigmatic Upanishadic expressions (cf. tadvanam, KenU IV, 6) which are understood only by the initiated. This translation conveys the traditional meaning attached to it.
Insight: kratu, will, and also ritual act; a human action including intellect and will.
14, 2. Cf. SB X, 6, 3, 2 (§ VI 5)
Beyond speech and beyond desires: avaky anadarah.
v) 1, 1. Cf. § VII lntroduction.
City of Brahman: brahmapura the body, or the heart.
1, 3. Space within the heart: antar-hrdayakashah.
Both what one possesses here and what one does not possess: yac casyehasti yac ca nasti, or its presence and absence.
1, 5. Whose desires are truth: satya-kama, of true desires.
Whose purpose is truth: satya-samkalpa, will, conception.
These lines are repeated below in CU VIII, 7, 1, in a slightly different translation. The last sentence seems to be incomplete.
1, 6. Meritorious deeds: punya.
Freedom: kamacara.
3, 1. Real desires veiled by the unreal: satyah kamah anrtapidhanah. Cf. satyanrta in RV VII, 49, 3 (§ I 16) etc.
3, 2. People who do not know the field: akshetrajnah. For kshetrajna cf. SB XIII, 2, 3, 2: cf. also RV IX, 70, 9 (kshetravid); RV X, 32, 7 etc. Later the term becomes of philosophical significance (the body or nature is the field, the conscious atman or purusha is the knower of the field). Cf. SU VI, 16 (§ I 28); BG XIII, 1-2; 26; 34.
3, 3. Etymology: nirukta Cf. BU V, 3.
Pun: within the heart: hrdy ayam; heart: hrdayam.
3, 4. Cf. BU II, 1, 18-19 (§ VI 4); IV, 3, 7.
Peaceful: samprasada, calm, serene.
Truth: satya.
4, 1-3. Cf. § V 27.
5, 1-4. Cf. § III 27.
6, 5. Cf. § VI 12.
7, 1. Free from evil: apahata-papma.
7, 3. Life of chastity and religious study: brahmacarya.
7, 4. Person who is seen in the eye: akshini purushah: cf. BU II. 3, 5 (§ VI 7); V, 5, 2; CU I, 7, 5; IV, 15, 1. Prajapati’s teaching is truly Upanishadic; it becomes misleading only because of the low level of understanding of his two disciples.
8, 1. What of yourself you do not understand: yad atmano na vijanithas . . . ; it could also be rendered: whether you do not recognize yourself (or: the atman). As atman can be used in the simple reflexive meaning, the double meaning cannot be rendered by one translation.
8, 4. Teaching: upanishad.
They will be lost: parabhavishyanti, they will perish.
Oneself: atmanam, here clearly in the simple reflexive sense.
8, 5. Demon: asura.
Teaching of the demons: asuranam hy esha upanishat.
9, 1-3. Cf. § IV 5.
11, 1. Who he is: ayam aham asmi, “ am this one.”
12, 1. Free from the body: asharira.
12, 2. Bodiless: asharira.
12, 3. Cf. MaitU II, 2.
Peaceful [Person]: samprasada [purusha].
Own form: svena rupena; cf. BU IV, 4, 4 (§ VI 11).
The Supreme freedom of the jivanmukta.
12, 4. Cf. BU I, 4, 7, etc.
Person in the eye: cakshushah purushah.
Aware of . . .: lit. when he knows I am smelling, etc.
12, 5. Heavenly joys: cf. v. 3.
12, 6. Cf. BU I, 4, 10 (§ VI 9).
13, 1. Cf. § IV 21.
vi) 1. Cf. VI 12.
2. The Upanishadic equation sarvam = brahman, atman = brahman.
Sarvam hy etad brahma, ayam atma brahma: the last three words are the traditional mahavakya.
Four stages: catush-pat, four feet, i.e., the states of the atman in waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and beyond (caturtha), Cf. BU V, 14, 3-4; 6-7 and also MaitU VI, 19; VII, 11, 7 (here called turiya).
6. Cf. § I 28.
7. Internal consciousness: antah-prajna.
External consciousness: bahih-prajna.
Consist solely in compact consciousness: prajnana-ghana, a heap of consciousness; cf. BU IV, 5, 13.
Unthinkable: a-cintya.
Whose very essence . . .: ekatmapratyayasara, the oneness of the Self.
Absorbs all diversity: prapancopashama, the quieting or extinction of the world of objects.
Tranquil and benign: shantam shivam; cf. AV XIX, 9, 1 (§ II 38).
Fourth state: caturtha, the transcendent state beyond the three “visible or audible quarters of reality."
b) The Disclosure of the Subject
Aham brahman
I am Brahman
The discovery of the atman is in the last analysis the discovery of the third person. In spite of all provisos and cautions not to reify the insight of the preceding Great Utterance, the atman appears always in front of us as substance, and as such it lacks the immediacy and the fluidity of the I; it is not yet the revelation of the first person. We can understand and even say that atman is Brahman, and yet keep a certain distance and remain detached in the saying. The discovery of the atman is the fruit of a predominantly objectified investigation, whereas the disclosure of the I is the result of a subjective introspection in which not only the object but also the subject as a substance evaporates. The passage from the atman-brahman to the aham-brahman is a capital one. The ground is Brahman, but it is the person passing from atman to aham who crosses over to the other shore. The Sanskrit saying makes the same point in a striking way: “He who knows that Brahman exists--his is an indirect knowledge; he who knows ‘I am Brahman’--this is a direct knowledge.” 76
The first question was: What is this? Our first Utterance replied: This, whether it is Being or Nonbeing, is One only without a second. The next Utterance added: This One can only be consciousness, for nothing else can fulfill the strict demands of oneness. Consciousness has to “land” somewhere. Even after the elimination of any possible object as a limitation of consciousness it still has to find a subject, a support. This was the purport of the last saying of our preceding subsection. But how are we going to realize this subject if we ourselves remain outside the picture, as it were, if we do not shift from the third person to the first? This is the purport of this present mahavakya.
We can hear a kind of crescendo in the orchestration of this insight. It all begins with the apprehension that “He is,” as one text explicitly affirms. 77 This “He” is the atman, the realization of which is the realization of the mystery of existence. This realization is not apprehended by the word or by the spirit; it dawns only as “naked” existence, as the wonder that “He is!” The word and the spirit may be his supreme manifestations, but they are not the source.
In the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad there is a passage that portrays the two states of sleep and dreamless sleep and uses them to expound the transition from the atman to the aham. The passage describes how, when we are tired and the sense of the ego fades slowly away, we tend to identify ourselves with the subject of our dreams and put ourselves forward: “I am all this.” Duality disappears and yet within the dream there is smelling, tasting, thinking, knowing. This dream state occurs only when there is no desire, when desire and the atman are undifferentiated. In this state we have achieved something that is otherwise beyond our power; we have taken a second step, we have succeeded in performing all the acts of the waking state but without duality, for smelling, tasting, knowing, and the like all happen within ourselves. In this “enlargement” or second step we have identified ourselves with the whole world; thus we are in the highest bliss. 78
All this happens in a dream, but when we awake, recognizing it as a dream, we destroy that identity and we cannot, in our right mind at least, conceive any longer that we are the whole world. Yet the way has been opened up before us. Can we in any way reasonably realize that “I am this whole world,” that I am all this of which I can conceivably be aware? 79
The third step may be discovered in another saying, repeated in different contexts, which affirms: “I am He.” Significantly enough, one text contains this insight in connection with dreams and the awakening from the dream state, 80 another text has a markedly cosmic frame of reference, 81 while a third specifically refers to the realization of the atman. 82 Considering these and similar sayings together, we may extract from them an account of the experience of identification, when the mind and heart together find reality: I am the beloved, I am the thing sought, I am the understood truth, I am He. We are close here to realizing the identification of the I with the He.
A fourth step may be found in the realization that this I is beginning to differentiate itself more and more from the ego. There now dawns the realization of the mystery character of the I, the revelation, in other words, of the Upanishadic structure of the I, that is, that it is a secret name. 83 We begin to be less sure that our individuality is identical with the I. The real personality is emerging.
We are thus prepared for the fifth step: the immediate realization, not that I am He, which always implies a third element, a spectator, and a remnant of objectification, but that “I am you,” and this can be true only in authentic dialogue, in an existential situation, when not “speaking about,” but actually “speaking to” and having the experience. “I am you” is meaningful only in the vocative, in an encounter, in prayer, in concrete situations like that described in one of the texts: “Who are you?” “I am you” is the immediate answer, and the Upanishad continues: “Then he releases him.” 84 The question about one’s own identity is here put at the most important moment in life, namely, at the moment of death, or rather at the vital moment of decision regarding one’s future destiny. 85 Without this identity no salvation is possible. Without this identity there is only excommunication, segregation, or rejection. If I cannot truthfully say “I am you,” how can I be united with you?
But we are not yet at the end of this internal journey. The “you” can be a petty “you; the identification with the beloved may be merely an act of throwing ourselves into the arms of some idol. In other words, not every “you” is a saviour. Thus there is need for a sixth step. The you cannot be conditioned by our whims; the you has to be utterly unconditioned.
At this point the transforming power of love becomes evident and the great conversion takes place. The you cannot be my projection, my creation, my creature. That would be idolatry. The relation must be reversed. The you begins to dawn as the authentic I. Whatever you are, whoever you are, and wherever you are, this also I am and there also I am. This is what another group of passages tells us. You are this world, you are all this. Whoever that person may be, that also am I. 86 When this surrender has been achieved, when the conversion is taking place, we are in a position to understand this mahavakya, which is the revelation of the I, the eternal I, the I that is Brahman: aham brahman.
The question “What is the atman?” is a predominantly intellectual question. Even assuming that one discovers oneself to be the atman, this atman will always remain the predicate of the sentence expressing it--“I am the atman” --and thus one will never be able to bridge the gulf between the subject and the predicate. The authentic and personal question about the subject has then to take the form, not of asking what, or even who, is the atman, but what or rather who am I? It is here that neti, neti enters upon the scene: not this, not that. 87 Nothing answers the question adequately. I am not my body (only), I am not my mind (alone), I am not (exclusively) what I am today or was yesterday or shall be tomorrow. We are not asking what the I is, but searching out who I am, who I am in the deepest recesses of my being, who I am in the last analysis, who I ultimately am as mover and lover and knower and being or whatever. It is obvious that this ultimate I can in no way be identified with a psychological ego.
It is here that the aham brahman dawns, when the real aham that is Brahman is able to reenact in and through me the true statement of the mahavakya. The I that can say this is in truth the real I and the only real and true I. Only the realized Man can say in truth aham-brahman. All the rest is secondhand knowledge and superimposed wisdom, mere hearsay. The intuition of the I as the I and the only unique I represents the highest wisdom. From this point of view to call God the Other or, even worse, the totally Other is perhaps sheer blasphemy and blatant anthropocentrism. He who worships the divinity as another, says one Upanishad, and thinks that he is one thing and God another, does not know. 88 God in this sense is not the Other but the I, the absolute I, the ultimate I of every act. We should not assume the role of the first person if we are not it-He: the I. This mahavakya does not tell me that my ego is Brahman. Quite the reverse. If put in nonexistential terms it says that Brahman is I, the I; put in proper experiential terms it affirms: I am Brahman. The one who is capable ot saying I, may say this. Only the I can say truly: aham brahman. This is what, in various different ways, the texts that follow tell us.
The Person
Purusha
7 We have already met the purusha, the primordial Man, 89 the cosmic Man, the supreme Person. 90 What is fascinating in the Upanishads is the bringing together of the two trends of thought: the cosmic Man and the inner Man. Both are forms of Brahman (i). The passage chosen from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (ii) gives us one of the many cosmotheandric relations that serve to foster an understanding of the whole of reality, in which the underlying unity does not disturb the manifold diversity. The purusha is based each time on a different support, has a different realm, and corresponds to a different divinity. A whole new science internally linking the three realms of reality, all centered in the purusha, is here discernible. 91 The person, for the Upanishads, is not phenomenal, but either universal Man or the interior, spiritual Man. Ultimately, it is the inner Man who is also the Lord of all (iii).
The Taittiriya Upanishad (iv) describes in a crescendo the personal structure of the ultimate experience. 92 The five layers of the person are food, breath of life, mind, consciousness, and bliss. A whole anthropology is here reflected: each of these layers has itself a personal structure, a human form, and the higher form each time “fills” the lower form, that is, completes it and sublimates it. And all these layers are integrated in the ultimate experience (v. 8), which can only be a personal experience; in it the cosmic purusha in the sun and the spirit in Man merge. The inner Man is ever wakeful, ever active, and ever pure (v).
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad (vi) succeeds in a unique way in combining intuitions about the purusha, about Brahman and atman, with its conception of God. The personal God here emerges from the Vedic purusha, assuming both his cosmic-transcendent and his hidden-immanent aspects. Similarly, the Mundaka Upanishad summarizes once more the conception of the primordial Man from whom everything originated. But unless he is realized in this “cave of the heart,” the knot of ignorance will not be cut.
Purusha
BU II, 3, 1-6
i) 1. There are two forms of Brahman: the embodied and the bodiless, the mortal and the immortal, the stable and the moving, the tangible and the intangible.
2. The embodied is different from the air and from space; it is the mortal, the stable, and the tangible. The essence of this embodied, mortal, stable, tangible one is that [sun] which gives heat, for it is the essence of the tangible.
3. The bodiless is air and space; it is the immortal, the moving, the intangible. The essence of this bodiless, immortal, moving, intangible one is the Person in the sphere of yonder sun, for he is the essence of the intangible. This is with relation to the cosmic powers.
4. Now with relation to the atman: The embodied one is what is different from the life breath and from the inner space within the heart. The mortal, the stable, the tangible one is the eye, for it is the essence of the tangible.
5. Now the bodiless is the life breath and the inner space within the heart. It is the immortal, the moving, the intangible. The essence of this bodiless, immortal, moving, intangible one is the Person in the right eye, for he is the essence of the intangible.
6. The form of this Person is like a saffron-colored robe, like white wool, like a firefly, like a white lotus, like a sudden lightning flash. He who knows this in very truth--his glory will shine like a sudden lightning flash. This, then, is the instruction: not this, not this, for there is nothing superior to this instruction, that he is not this. This is called the truth of the real. The life powers are the real, but he is their truth.
BU III, 9, 10-17
ii) 10. “He who knows that Person whose support is the earth, whose world is fire, whose light is the mind, the ultimate resort of the self of all, he is truly a knower, Yajnavalkya.”
“But I know that Person, the ultimate resort of the self of all, about whom you speak. He is this embodied person. Tell me, Shakalya, who is his God?”
“The immortal,” he said.
11. “He who knows that Person whose support is pleasure, whose world is the heart, whose light is the mind, the ultimate resort of the self of all-- he is truly a knower, Yajnavalkya.”
“But I know that Person, the ultimate resort of the self of all, about whom you speak. He is this person consisting of pleasure. Tell me, Shakalya, who is his God?”
“Women,” he said.
12. “He who knows that Person whose support are the forms, whose world is the eye, whose light is the mind, the ultimate resort of the self of all-- he is truly a knower, Yajnavalkya.”
“But I know that Person who is the ultimate resort of the self of all, about whom you speak. He is the Person in the sun. Tell me, Shakalya, who is his God?”
“Truth,” he said.
13. “He who knows that Person whose support is the atmosphere, whose world is the ear, whose light is the mind, the ultimate resort of the self of all--he is truly a knower, Yajnavalkya.”
“But I know that Person who is the ultimate resort of the self of all, about whom you speak. He is the Person in hearing and in the echo. Tell me, Shakalya, who is his God?”
“The regions of space,” he said.
14. “He who knows that Person whose support is darkness, whose world is the heart, whose light is the mind, the ultimate resort of the self of all--he is truly a knower, Yajnavalkya.”
“But I know that Person who is the ultimate resort of the self of all, about whom you speak. He is the person consisting of shadow. Tell me, Shakalya, who is his God?”
“Death,” he said.
15. “He who knows that Person whose support are the forms, whose world is the eye, whose light is the mind, the ultimate resort of the self of all--he is truly a knower, Yajnavalkya.”
“But I know that Person who is the ultimate resort of the self of all, about whom you speak. He is the person seen in the mirror. Tell me, Shakalya, who is his God?”
“Life,” he said.
16. “He who knows that Person whose support is water, whose world is the heart, whose light is the mind, the ultimate resort of the self of all--he is truly a knower, Yajnavalkya.”
“But I know that Person who is the ultimate resort of the self of all, about whom you speak. He is the person in the water. Tell me, Shakalya, who is his God?”
“Varuna,” he said.
17. “He who knows that Person whose support is in the seed, whose world is the heart, whose light is the mind, the ultimate resort of the self of all-- he is truly a knower, Yajnavalkya,
“But I know that Person who is the ultimate resort of the self of all, about whom you speak. He is that person in the form of a son. Tell me, Shakalya, who is his God?”
“Prajapati,” he said.
BU V, 6
iii) This Person consisting of spirit is of the reality of light, within the heart; [he is as small] as a grain of rice or of barley. He is the Lord of all, the controller of all, he rules over all this [world], whatever there is.
TU II, 3-5; 8-9
iv) 3. The Gods breathe with the life breath,
so, too, do men and animals.
Breath is the life of beings,
hence it is called the life of all.
Those who meditate on Brahman as life
attain a full life span,
for breath is the life of beings.
Hence it is called the life of all.
This dwells in the same corporal atman as the preceding one. Different from and interior to the atman consisting of breath is the atman consisting of mind; by that is this filled. This has the form of a person. Because of its likeness to the purusha it has also a personal form. His head consists of sacrificial formulas, his right side of hymns, his left side of songs, his self of the word of authority; his lower support consists of prayers and incantations. About this there is a verse:
4. Whence words recoil, together with the mind,
unable to reach it--whoso knows
that bliss of Brahman has no fear.
This dwells in the same corporal atman as the preceding one. Different from and interior to the atman consisting of mind is the atman consisting of consciousness; by that is this filled. This has the form of a person; the other also has the form of a person. His head consists of faith, his right side of holy order, his left side of truth, his self of union with the divine; his lower support consists of power. About this there is a verse:
5. By consciousness is spread out sacrifice;
it also spreads out the worlds.
All the Gods meditate on Brahman
as the foremost wisdom.
He who knows Brahman as wisdom
and is not neglectful, who has destroyed
sin in his body--that man attains
all his desires.
This dwells in the same corporal atman as the preceding one. Different from and interior to the atman consisting of consciousness is the atman consisting of bliss; by that is this filled. Now this has the form of a person, and because it has the form of a person, the other also has the form of a person. His head consists of love, his right side of delight, his left side of extreme delight, his self is bliss; his lower support is Brahman.
8. . . . The one who is here in the person and who is yonder in the sun--he is one. He who knows this, on leaving this world, proceeds to the atman consisting of food, the atman consisting of life breath, the atman consisting of mind, the atman consisting of consciousness, the atman consisting of bliss. About this there is a verse:
9. Whence words recoil, together with the mind,
unable to reach it--whoso knows
that bliss of Brahman has no fear.
He is not tormented at the thought: Have I done good, have I committed a sin? For he who knows is himself released from both good and evil; truly he who knows is himself released from both. This is the teaching.
KATH U V, 8
v) That person who remains awake within the sleepers
fashioning all desires;
he is called the pure, Brahman, the immortal;
on him all worlds repose. None can transcend him.
This, in truth, is that!
SU III, 7-21
vi) 7. Still higher is Brahman, the supreme, the great,
hidden in the bodies of all these beings,
the One, encompassing the All, the Lord--
having realized him, men become immortal.
8. I have come to know that mighty Person,
golden like the sun, beyond all darkness.
By knowing him a man transcends death;
there is no other path for reaching that goal.
9. Higher than him is nothing whatever;
than him nothing smaller, than him nothing greater.
He stands like a tree rooted in heaven,
the One, the Person, filling this whole world.
10. That which is exalted high above this world--
an absence of form, an absence of suffering--
those who know this become immortal.
The others merely enter upon sorrow.
11. Dwelling in the face, head, and neck of all,
hidden in the heart of every being,
all-pervading, the Lord is he.
Hence he is called the omnipresent, the Auspicious.
12. This Person indeed is the mighty Lord;
it is he who impels all that is, inspiring
to the purest attainment. He is Master
and Light unchanging.
13. A Person of a thumb’s size is the inner atman,
ever dwelling in the heart of beings.
He acts by and through the heart, mind, and spirit.
Those who know that become immortal.
14. A thousand-headed is the Man
with a thousand eyes, a thousand feet;
encompassing the earth on all sides,
he exceeded it by ten fingers” breadth.
15. The Person, in truth, is all this world,
what has been and what yet shall be.
He is the Lord of immortality, the ruler
of every creature that is nourished by food.
16. On every side are his hands and feet,
on every side his eyes, his head,
and his face, on every side his hearing.
He stands encompassing all in the world.
17. Reflecting the qualities of all the senses,
yet himself devoid of all the senses,
he is the Lord and God of all;
he is the universal refuge.
18. The soul, embodied in the nine-doored city,
playfully sports to and fro outside it.
Controller is he of all the world,
of all that moves and of all that moves not.
19. Without hands, he grasps; without feet, he runs;
without eyes, he sees; without ears, he hears.
What is knowable he knows, but none knows him!
They call him the great primeval Person.
20. Subtlest of the subtle, greatest of the great,
the atman is hidden in the cave of the heart
of all beings. He who, free from all urges,
beholds him, overcomes sorrow, seeing
by grace of the creator, the Lord and his glory.
21. Him do I know, the unaging primeval
atman who pervades all with penetrating power.
Birth, they say--it stops for the one
who knows him whom the Brahman-knowers call Eternal.
MUND U II, 1, 1-10
vii) This is the truth:
1. As a thousand sparks from a fire well blazing
spring forth, each one like the rest,
so from the Imperishable all kinds of
beings come forth, my dear, and to him return.
2. Divine and formless is the Person;
he is inside and outside, he is not begotten,
is not breath or mind; utterly pure,
farther than the farthest Imperishable.
3. From him springs forth the breath of life,
the power of thought and all the senses,
space, wind, light, and water,
and earth, the great supporter of all.
4. Fire is his head, the sun and moon
his eyes, the compass points his ears.
The revealed Vedas are his word.
The wind is his breath, his heart is the all.
From his feet proceeded the earth. In truth,
he is the inner atman of all beings.
5. From him comes fire with its fuel, the sun;
from the moon comes rain, thence plants on the earth.
The male pours seed into the female;
thus from the Person creatures are born.
6. From him come hymns, songs, and sacrificial formulas,
initiations, sacrifices, rites, and all offerings.
From him come the year, the sacrificer, and the worlds
in which the moon shines forth, and the sun.
7. From him take their origin the numerous Gods,
the heavenly beings, men, beasts, and birds,
the in-breath and the out-breath, rice and barley,
ascetic fervor, faith, truth, purity, and law.
8. From him take their origin the seven breaths,
the seven flames, their fuel, the seven oblations;
from him these seven worlds in which the breaths are moving, each time seven and hidden in secret.
9. From him come the oceans, from him the mountains, from him come all plants together with their juices--
with all beings he abides as their inmost atman.
10. The Person is all this--work, ascetic fervor,
Brahman, supreme immortality. Who knows
that which is hidden in the [heart’s] secret cave,
he cuts here and now, my dear, the knot of ignorance.
i) 1. Cf. MaitU VI, 3 (§ III A a Introduction).
Embodied: murta, formed, shaped.
Bodiless: amurta, unformed.
Tangible and intangible: pun with sat and tyam. which form satyam, truth, reality. Sat can also be translated as the existent, as being, tyam as the transcendent.
2. Essence of the tangible: sato hy esha rasah.
3. Person: purusha.
With relation to the cosmic powers: adhidaivata or adhi-devata.
4. The two aspects of the person (atman) are shown: the embodied one whose essence is the eye, and the spiritual one in v. 5. The embodied person is “stable” (sthita), whereas the spiritual person is “moving,” (yat).
5. Inner space within the heart: antar-atmann-akashah. Here atman refers to the heart.
Person in the right eye: the microcosmic correspondence to the cosmic purusha who is located in the sun.
6. All the metaphors stress the surprising and shining form of the “inner man.”
Not this: na iti, or no, no.
Truth of the real: satyasya satyam.
Life powers pranah.
ii) The Madhyandina recension of the BU has certain differences (e.g., the “Gods” in vv. 10-15 are striyah, cakshu, prana, manas, vac, mrtyu), which shows that various versions of these correspondences existed.
The Kanva recension (our text) has the following system of correlations: in most of the examples the “support’; (ayatana) is an element and, with the exception of kama, pleasure or love (v. 11), the cosmological aspect of the purusha. The world or realm (loka) is the organ or center in the person (with the exception of fire in v. 10 which has to be understood as the metabolic fire in man). The heart is the dominating realm of the person. The only invariable factor in all the aspects of the purusha is the mind as his light or, one might say, the spirit as the illuminating principle.
Then follow the designations of the different types of “person,” or rather, different manifestations of the same purusha from the cosmic purusha in the sun down to the child (v. 17). The “god” (devata) of each of these purushas can be understood as their goal (e.g., v. 10), their object (v. 11), their ultimate principle (v. 12), or their supervising deity (vv. 16-17).
1-9. Cf. § VI 2.
10. Ultimate resort: parayana, highest goal (throughout).
12. About the relation of the purusha in the sun and truth (satya). cf. also IsU 15 (§ VII 31).
13. About the correspondence between the ear and regions of space, cf. RV X, 90, 14 (§ 15); MundU II, 1, 4 (vii).
14. Darkness: tamas, the element of death.
15. Life: asu.
17. Seed: retas, semen.
Prajapati is the lord of procreation.
For other ref. to BU III, 9 cf. § VI 5 (iv notes).
iii) Cf. SB X, 6, 3, 2 (§ VI 5).
Consisting of spirit: manomaya. Cf. TU II, 3 (iv).
Reality of light: bhah satyah.
Lord of all: sarvasyeshanah.
7. Cf. § IV 21.
iv) 1. Cf. § VI 3.
2. Cf. § II 11.
3. Life: ayu.
Atman consisting of breath: pranamaya, cf. v. 2.
Atman consisting of mind: manomaya.
Sacrificial formulas: yajus (Veda).
Hymns: rc (Veda).
Songs: saman (Veda).
Word of authority: adesha, the guidance of the master by which the disciple finds the truth; or it means the U.
Prayers and incantations: atharvangirasah, the AV.
The “body” of the spiritual person consists of the scriptures (the Veda), while his soul is constituted by the personal word of the guru. Or else, the four Vedas are the parts of the body, the U the atman.
4. Whence words recoil: yato vaco nivartante, i.e., speech returns without having attained the goal; cf. v. 9
R. Tagore translated: “From Him come back baffled both words and mind. But he who realizes the joy of Brahma is free from fear.”
Here atman refers to the body. The five layers of the subtle body consist of food (annamaya, cf. TU II, 2; § II 11), breath (pranamaya), mind (manomaya), consciousness (vijnanamaya), and bliss (anandamaya). Cf. also the conception of the kosha. All the inner layers of man are personal (purushavidha).
Faith: shraddha.
Holy order: rita.
Truth: satya.
Union with the divine: yoga atma, his soul is yoga.
5. By consciousness is spread out sacrifice: vijnanam yajnam tanute, lit. wisdom extends the sacrifice.
Love: priya.
Delight: moda.
Bliss: ananda.
We have translated in a slightly different way the same obscure sentence in the middle of anuvakas 3, 4, and 5.
This paragraph ends by saying: “about this there is a verse,” which introduces the following stanzas. 6-7 Cf. § I 7.
8. The omitted passage contains a long dissertation on bliss (anandasya mimamsa). Cf. also BU IV, 3, 33.
9. Teaching: upanishad. Cf. BU IV, 4, 22 (§ VI 6).
v) 6-7. Cf. § V 5.
8. Fashioning all desires: kamam kamam (desire after desire) . . . nirmimanah, i.e., he is the origin and end of all desires of the heart. Cf. BU IV, 3, 9 sq. (§ V B Antiphon).
9-13. Cf. § VI 2.
vi) 7. Lord: isha.
8. Cf. YV XXXI, 18 (§ VI 11).
No other path . . .: nanyah pantha vidyate ‘yanaya, no other way leads to salvation.
9. Tree rooted in heaven: cf. TA X, 10, 3; KathU VI, 1 (§ V 5).
10. Cf. BU IV, 4, 14 (§ IV 6).
Sorrow: duhkha.
11. Cf. RV X, 81, 3 (§ VII 7); X, 90, 1 (§ I 5).
Auspicious: shiva.
12. Mighty Lord: mahan prabhuh.
All that there is: sattva, or the pure aspect of being which he promotes (pravartaka). Cf. KathU VI, 7 (§ VI 11).
Attainment. prapti, happening, event.
13. Person of a thumb’s size: angushthamatrah purushah, cf. KathU IV, 12-13 (§ VII 52). Cf. also KathU VI, 9; 17 (§§ VI 11; V 5).
14. Verse identical with RV X, 90, 1 (§ I 5).
15. Cf. RV X, 90, 2 (§ I 5); AV XIX, 6, 4 (§ I D Antiphon).
16. Cf. BG XIII, 13.
17. Cf. BG XIII, 14.
Universal refuge: sarvasya sharanam brhat.
18. Soul: hamsa, swan.
Nine-doored city: the body with the senses.
Playfully sports: lilayati (or lelayati) the freedom of a bird.
20. By grace of the creator: dhatu-prasadat. Cf. KathU II, 20 (§ V 5).
Lord: isha, where KathU has atman.
21. Birth . . . it stops: janma-nirodham, cessation, stoppage, elimination of, exemption from birth.
Eternal: nitya.
vii) 1. Cf. also § V 18. Cf. BU II, 1, 20 (§ VI 4); MaitU VI, 26; 31; MundU I, 1, 7 (§ I 7)
All kinds: bhavah, types, modes of being.
2. Cf. BU II, 3, 5 (§ VI 7), III, 8, 8 (§ VI 3) etc., for the traditional epithets.
Formless: amurta also bodiless, incorporeal.
Imperishable: akshara.
3. Power of thought: manas.
4. The revealed Vedas are his word: vag-vivrtash ca vedah, from the verb vi-vr-, to uncover, to open up; to manifest, to illumine, etc.
His heart is the all: hrdayam vishvam, his heart is all-pervading, the whole universe, the world.
5. Cf. CU V, 4, 1; V, 5, 2; V, 8, 2.
6. Hymns, songs, and sacrificial formulas: rcah sama yajumsi; cf. RV X, 90, 9 (§ I 5).
Initiations: dikshah.
Moon shines forth: somo . . . pavate, with the double meaning of Soma (the root pu- is always used in this connection) and the moon. The whole stanza uses sacrificial terms.
7. Purity, and law: brahmacaryam vidhish ca.
8. The seven breaths (pranah) are sometimes related to the seven rishis; here the sense organs are meant.
Seven flames: cf. PrasnU III, 5; MundU I, 2, 4 (§ III 27).
The functions of the sense organs are compared to a sacrifice; the seven worlds are the sense objects.
9. Cf. BU III, 8, 9 (§ VI 3).
10. Cf. RV X, 90, 2 (§ I 5).
Knot of ignorance: avidya-granthi. Cf. CU VII, 26, 2 (§ VI 3).
I
Aham
8 The first awakening of consciousness finds its spontaneous expression in the words “I am” aham asmi. 93 Aham, I, is thus the first word, the first name, as the same Upanishad tells us, not only of the primordial atman but of every Man. But it is also Man’s last word. This “secret name of the purusha” (iii) is the innermost identity of the person. In one of the ceremonies of transmission from the dying father to the son, what the father passes on or transfers is his very identity (i). And the identity of his “I” is, within the Vedic universe, Brahman (the goal), sacrifice (the way), the world (this shore). The “I” is all this. Only then, having reached the I, does Man attain immortality and thus depart from this earth. It is the full consciousness of the “I” (which is the opposite of egoistic selfcenteredness) which frees a Man from all fears (ii). Only the full consciousness of the “I” is real freedom, svaraj, because one does not depend on others (iv).
If in the beginning there was the “I am,” the pure awareness of the “I,” this same “I” will also be at the end of the human pilgrimage. There is but one basic difference. It is the dying man who discovers his ultimate identity with the purusha, with the aham. 94 Making this discovery is what constitutes human life on earth, the real process of human growth. The Maitri Upanishad (v) again expands the thought that this oneness with and of the One, Brahman, is realized only by the realization of the “I.” The aham is the principle of unity even in the Absolute. 95
Aham
BU I, 5, 17
i) Now follows the transmission [from father to son]. When a man thinks that he is going to leave [this world], he speaks thus to his son:
“You are Brahman, you are sacrifice, you are the world.”
And the son replies: “I am Brahman, I am sacrifice, I am the world.” For in truth, whatever has been learned, all this is gathered up in Brahman. And whatever sacrifices have been offered, they are all gathered up in [the one] Sacrifice. And whatever worlds there are, they are all gathered up in [the one] World. So great is this all. As he is all, let him fulfill it. Therefore they call a son who is learned “experienced in the world,” and thus they instruct him. Therefore, when one who knows this departs from this world, he enters into his son with his vital breaths. Whatever wrong he has done, the son frees him from all that and therefore he is called “son.” It is by his son that the father is established in the world. Then the divine, immortal breaths enter into him.
BU IV, 3, 19-21
ii) 19. As an eagle or another bird becomes tired after flying about, closes its wings, and speeds to its nest, so is the person hastening to this state where he neither feels any desires nor sees any dream.
20. There are his arteries called hita which are as minute as a hair split in a thousand parts and filled with white, blue, yellow, green, and red [particles]. Now when [in dream] he is killed, as it were, or subdued, as it were, or persecuted by an elephant, as it were, or falls into a well, as it were--whatever fear he experiences in the waking state, he [now] imagines because of his ignorance. But when he thinks like a God or a king, “I am this, I am all!” that is his supreme state.
21. This is his manifestation which is beyond craving, beyond evil and fear. Just as a man embraced by his beloved wife does not know what is outside and what is inside, likewise the person, when he is embraced by the conscious atman, does not know what is outside and what is inside. This is his manifestation where his desires are fulfilled; his only desire is the atman and [hence] he is free from desires. There his sorrow ceases.
BU V, 5, 4
iii) Concerning this Person who is in the right eye: his head is the syllable bhuh, for his head is one and the syllable also is one. His arms are bhuvah, for he has two arms and there are two syllables. His feet are svah, for he has two feet and there are two syllables. His secret name is “I.” He who knows this destroys evil and passes beyond it.
CU VII, 25, 1-2
iv) 1. That [fullness] is below; it is above, it is behind, it is before, it is in the South, it is in the North. That indeed is all that is.
Now regarding the teaching about the I-sense: I am below, I am above, I am behind. I am before, I am in the South, I am in the North, I indeed am all that is.
2. Now the teaching concerning the atman: the atman is below, it is above, it is behind, it is before, it is in the South, it is in the North. The atman indeed is all that is. He who sees, reflects, and knows this--he has joy in the atman, he plays with the atman, he unites with the atman, his is the bliss of the atman. He becomes free and is free to move in all the worlds. But those who think otherwise are ruled by others and their worlds are perishable. They are unfree in all the worlds.
MAITU VI, 35
v)Praise to Fire who dwells on earth and protects the world, give this world to the sacrificer!
Praise to Air, who dwells in the atmosphere and protects the world, give this world to the sacrificer!
Praise to the Sun, who dwells in the sky and protects the world, give this world to the sacrificer!
Praise to Brahman who dwells in all and protects all, give all to the sacrificer!
The face of truth is covered over
by a golden vessel. Uncover it, O Pushan,
for Vishnu, whose order is truth.
He who is that Person in the sun, I am He!
He is the one whose order is truth, that which is the sunhood of the sun, which is the pure, the personal the uncharacterized. But that is only one part of the Energy which pervades the atmosphere, that which is, as it were, in the center of the sun, in the eye, and in fire, that is Brahman, that is the immortal, that is splendor, that is the one whose order is truth. That is only one part of the Energy which pervades the atmosphere, which is the immortal in the center of the sun, of which the moon and living beings are but an offshoot, that is Brahman, that is the immortal, that is splendor, that is the one whose order is truth. That is only one part of the Energy which penetrates the atmosphere, which is in the center of the sun, where the yajus shines:
It is OM,
it is the waters,
it is the essence of light, the immortal Brahman.
Bhuh bhuvah svah OM.
The eight-footed, the pure, the swan,
with three threads, the infinitesimal, immutable,
blind to good and evil, kindled with energy:
one who sees Him sees all.
That is only one part of the Energy which pervades the atmosphere, which is in the center of the sun; having risen it becomes two rays. That is the knower, the one whose order is truth, that is the yajus, that is heat, fire, wind, life, water, moon.
That is the pure, the immortal, the realm of Brahman. That is the ocean of radiance, in which the worshipers dissolve like a lump of salt. That is oneness with Brahman, in which all desires are contained. On this there is a saying:
As a lamp twinkles, stirred by a slight breeze,
so too does he who has entered within the Gods.
He who knows this, becomes a knower
of the One and of duality, he who has attained
to the oneness of the One, to the selfsame nature.
Like drops springing up perpetually,
like lightning, lights playing in the clouds
in the highest firmament--these lights
are supported by the power of Glory,
appearing like the fiery crests of flame
i) Cf the transmission ceremony in KausU II, 15 (§ V 12).
Transmission: sampratti. Whatever the father has realized in his life, he passes on to his son. Sacrifice is the link between the two spheres. Life is not complete without knowing the three.
As he is all let him fulfill it: sarvam sann ayamito bhunajad, referring probably to the father’s thought. As the son has become all (through this ceremony), he can save his father.
Experienced in the world: lokya, or possessing, obtaining the world (for his father).
Therefore he is called “son”: although the popular etymology does not actually occur here (the verb is muncati, frees, and not trayate, saves, as would be required for the explanation of pu-tra), it is referred to. Putra (son) is explained as the one who saves his father from hell (cf. GopB I, 1, 2; Manu IX, 128).
ii) 19. Person: purusha, man.
State: anta, goal, end, i.e., the state of rest, deep sleep (sushupti), which comes closest to the state of liberation.
20. There: i.e., in his heart, into which he “retreats,” so to speak, in sleep. Cf. BU IV, 2, 3; KausU IV, 19.
I am this . . .: aham evedam sarvo ‘smi.
Supreme state: paramo lokah, highest world. Cf. BU IV, 4, 2 (§ VI 6) for the use of loka.
21. Manifestation: rupa, form or state.
Embraced . . .: cf. BU I, 4, 3 (§ I 7).
Conscious atman: prajnenatmana, by the Spirit.
His desires are fulfilled . . .: the three steps are aptakama, atmakama, akama, which correspond to a transformation and gradual simplification of the desires.
22. Cf.§ IV 6.
iii) The purusha in the cosmos is sometimes conceived as inverted: his head is bhuh, the earth; his arms are bhuvah, the atmosphere; and his feet are svah heaven
His secret name is “I”: tasyopanishad aham iti. Aham is for the person what the Upanishad is for the Veda (its inner meaning).
iv) 1. Fullness: taken from CU VII, 23 1 (bhuman) (§ VI 3).
I-sense: ahamkara, here not in the later sense of egoism, but as the ultimate and therefore universal “I”
2. He has joy in the atman . . .: atma-rati, atma-krida, atma-mithuna, atmananda. The terms that refer otherwise to the erotic experience apply here to the atman. Cf. also BU II, 4, 5 (§ VI 5).
Free: svaraj, self-ruled.
Free to move: kamacara, moving at will.
v) 34. Cf. § III 28.
Fire: Agni.
Air: Vayu.
Sun: Aditya.
Protects the world: most of the readings have lokasmrte, remembers the world, but the correct version is lokasprte, bestows or protects the world.
The face of truth . . .: c f. BU V, 15, 1 and IsU 15 (§ VII 31) with the change of only one word (vishnave for drshtaye).
Whose order is truth: satyadharma, of true reality.
Personal: purusha.
Uncharacterized: alinga, or sexless. Some versions drop “personal” and “uncharacterized.”
Energy: tejas, brilliance, heat. The text here is full of repetitions and interpolations.
Splendor: bhargas.
The yajus shines: refers either to the next verse (starting with “it is OM") or to the purusha consisting of the four Vedas. Cf. TU II, 3 (§ VI 7).
Blind to good and evil: dvidharmo ‘ndham, lit. blind to the two realities (attributes).
Having risen: uditva, or ud ity eva, i.e., it is [the syllable] ud” (of Udgitha, cf. CU I, 5, 1).
Heat: tapas.
Life: pranah.
Realm of Brahman: brahma-vishaya.
Knower of the One and of duality: sa savit sa dvaitavit; sa is here understood to refer to the One.
Glory: yashas.
I Am Brahman Without a Second
Brahma advayam asmi
9 The atman is the most precious thing. But who loves it? Obviously it can only be the aham, the I. But again, whose aham? Certainly not my private petty ego. What is that I then that can love the atman? “What am I?” asks one text (iv). Only Brahman can correspond to the atman. But has Brahman an aham? Here is the new step taken by this mahavakya. An aham that is closed in itself would be a pure mental abstraction. The aham is in fact such because it is open. But only the infinity of Brahman will not close the I. Aham is radical openness.
This is what is said in our first text (i). In the beginning Brahman was alone, but the moment “He” realized his aloneness “He” opened up his own existence, as it were. “He” cried as in wonder, I am Brahman! and in this consciousness he opened up the possibility of existence for the entire universe. Communication was made possible; communion appeared; the relation was installed and with it the existence of reality. That is why the ignorant Man is he who ignores that ultimate and constitutive relation and thinks, “I am one and he is another” (i). Between brahman and aham-brahman lies the entire temporal universe.
The only possible utterance of the aham is Brahman. Any other word either is not ultimate or else is a lie. I am neither body (alone) nor mind (only) nor creature (exclusively) nor God (uniquely)--I am certainly all this as well as much more: aham brahman. For this reason the only spontaneous attitude of the Man to whom this revelation dawns is to cry mam juhomi: 96 “I offer myself in oblation” (iv).
It is the tremendous discovery both of I am He (ii) and He is (iii) which leads to the full realization of the jivanmukta or the liberated person, who can then speak the language of Brahman (iv). There is no longer a duologue but a real dialogue, a piercing through--and by--the logos into the brahma-advayam asmy aham.
Brahma advayam asmi
BU I, 4, 8-10
i) 8. Dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than all else, the innermost of all, is the atman. If one were to say about someone who considers something else dearer than the atman, “He will lose what is dear to him,” most assuredly that would happen. One should meditate only on the atman as dear. He who meditates on the atman alone as dear, what is dear to him will not perish.
9. Thus they said: men think that by knowing Brahman they will become the All. What, then, did Brahman know by means of which it became the All?
10. In truth, in the beginning this was Brahman alone. It knew itself only as I am Brahman. Hence it became the all. And as the Gods one by one awakened [to this], they too became that, and likewise the seers, and likewise men.
Realizing this, the sage Vamadeva discovered, “I was the father of humanity and I was the sun!” Even nowadays he who knows I am Brahman becomes this all. The Gods themselves are not able to prevent this, for he becomes their atman.
Now then, he who worships another God, [thinking] “He is one and I am another,” he is ignorant. In relation to the Gods he is like a [domestic] animal, for just as many animals serve men, so each man serves the Gods. If even a single animal is removed it causes displeasure. What if many are removed? Therefore the Gods are not pleased that men should know this.
BU IV, 4, 12
ii) The man who realizes the atman
knowing: “I am He”--
what craving or what urge could cause
him to cling to the body?
KATH U VI, 12-1
iii) 12. Neither by the word nor by the mind
nor by sight can he ever be reached.
How, then, can he be realized
except by exclaiming, “He is”?
13. One must realize him first as “He is”
and then also his existential nature.
When realized as the “He is,”
then he shows forth his existential nature.
MAHANAR U 157-158
iv) What am I: I am Brahman!
Yes, I am Brahman, I am!
I verily offer myself in oblation!
Svaha!
KAIV U 19
v) In me alone originates the All,
in me the All is established,
in me all things come to rest.
I am that Brahman without a second!
1-5. Cf. § I 7.
8. Cf. BU II, 4, 5 (§ VI 5).
9. By knowing Brahman: brahma-vidyaya.
10. We have the following equations: idam = aham: aham = brahman, tad = brahman; brahman = sarvam.
Hence it became: tasmat, i.e., because of its self-consciousness, not because of its simple existence. At this stage brahman, atman and aham are identical but they start to be differentiated by the very act of self-reflection.
Vamadeva is a famous Rig-Vedic rishi with a markedly philosophical outlook. Cf. the entire Book IV of the RV.
Father of humanity: Manu. Cf. RV IV, 26, 1, where this line occurs.
The Gods are jealous of the realized Man because he is no longer different from them and because by reason of his realization he gives up any worship of the Gods as “other.” To worship God as another (anya) is not different from the service of a domestic animal.
He who worships another God: atha yo ‘nyam devatam upaste, or he who worships (considers) God as another.
He is one . . .: anyo ‘sau, anyo ‘ham asmiti.
He is ignorant: na sa Veda, he does not know.
16. Cf. § III 27.
17. Cf. § I 7.
iii) 1-3. Cf. § V 5.
4-11. Cf. § VI 11.
12. Realize: upa-labh-, to apprehend, perceive, conceive, receive, attain.
13. Then also: lit. in both ways; grasping the asti as well as the tattva-bhava.
Existential nature: tattva-bhava, the “state of being of that-ness,” the state of identity.
Shows forth: prasidati, becomes clear or manifest; reveals.
14-18. Cf. § V 5.
iv) 152-156. Cf. § III 6.
157. Yo ‘ham asmi brahmaham asmi, aham asmi brahmaham asmi.
v) The last line reads: tad brahma advayam asmy aham.