Self

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 02 Nov 2011 12:55 and updated at 02 Nov 2011 12:55

BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD NOUN

BrihadArUpa1	2 The (gold) vessel called Mahiman in front of the Horse, which appeared about it (i.e. pointing it out), is the day. Its source is the eastern sea. The (silver) vessel Mahiman behind the Horse, which appeared about it, is the night. Its source is the western sea. These two vessels called Mahiman appeared on either side of the Horse. As a Haya it carried the Devas, as a Vajin the Gandharvas, as an Arvan the Asuras, and as an Asva men. The Supreme Self is its stable and the Supreme Self (or the sea) its source.
BrihadArUpa1	7 This (universe) was then undifferentiated. It differentiated only into name and form it was called such and such, and was of such and such form. So to this day it is differentiated only into name and form it is called such and such, and is of such and such form. This Self has entered into these bodies up to the tip of the nails as a razor may be put in its case, or as fire, which sustains the world, may be in its source. People do not see It, for (viewed in Its aspects) It is incomplete. When It does the function of living. It is called the vital force; when It speaks, the organ of speech; when It sees, the eye; when It hears, the ear; and when It thinks, the mind. These are merely Its names according to functions. He who meditates upon each of this totality of aspects does not know, for It is incomplete, (being divided) from this totality by possessing a single characteristic. The Self alone is to be meditated upon, for all these are unified in It. Of all these, this Self should be realised, for one knows all these through It, just as one may get (an animal) through its foot prints. He who knows It as such obtains fame and association (with his relatives).
BrihadArUpa1	8 This Self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than everything else, and is innermost. Should a person (holding the Self as dear) say to one calling anything else dearer than the Self, (what you hold) dear will die he is certainly competent (to say so) it will indeed come true. One should meditate upon the Self alone as dear. Of him who meditates upon the Self alone as dear, the dear ones are not mortal.
BrihadArUpa1	15 (So) these (four castes were projected) the Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. He became a Brahmana among the Devas as Fore, and among men as the Brahmana. (He became) a Kshatriya through the (divine) Kshatriyas, a Vaisya through the (divine) Vaisyas and a Sudra through the (divine) Sudra. Therefore people desire to attain the results of their rites among the Devas through fire, and among men as the Brahmana. For Brahman was in these two forms. If, however, anybody departs from this world without realising his own world (the Self), It, being unknown, does not protect him as the Vedas not studied, or any other work not undertaken (do not). Even if a man who does not know It as such performs a great many meritorious acts in the world, those acts of his are surely exhausted in the end. One should meditate only upon the world of the Self. He who meditates only upon the world called the Self never has his work exhausted. From this very Self he projects whatever he wants.
BrihadArUpa2	17 Ajatasatru said, When this being full of consciousness is thus asleep, it absorbs at the time the functions of the organs through its own consciousness, and lies in the Akasa (Supreme Self) that is in the heart. When this being absorbs them, it is called Svapiti. Then the nose is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed
BrihadArUpa2	20 As a spider moves along the thread (it produces), and as from a fire tiny sparks fly in all directions, so from this Self emanate all organs, all worlds, all Devas and all beings. Its secret name Upanishad() is the Truth of Truth The vital force is truth, and It is the Truth of that.
BrihadArUpa2	5 He said: It is not for the sake of the husband, my dear, that he is loved, but for one s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the Wife, my dear, that she is loved, but for one s own sake that she is loved. It is not for the sake of the sons, my dear, that they are loved, but for one s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of wealth, my dear, that it is loved, but for one s own sake that it is loved. It is not for the sake of the Brahmana, my dear, that he is loved, but for one s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the Kshatriya, my dear, that he is loved, but for one s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of worlds, my dear, that they are loved, but for one s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of the Devas, my dear, that they are loved, but for one s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of beings, my dear, that they are loved, but for one s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of all, my dear, that all is loved, but for one s own sake that it is loved. The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should be realised should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon. By the realisation of the Self, my dear, through hearing, reflection and meditation, all this is known.
BrihadArUpa2	6 The Brahmana ousts (slights) one who knows him as different from the Self. The Kshatriya ousts one who knows him as different from the Self. Worlds oust one who knows them as different from the Self. The Devas oust one who knows them as different from the Self. Beings oust one who knows them as different from the Self. All ousts one who knows it as different from the Self. This Brahmana, this Kshatriya, these worlds, these Devas, these beings, and this all are this Self.
BrihadArUpa2	10 As from a fire kindled with wet faggot diverse kinds of smoke issue, even so, my dear, the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharvangirasa, history, mythology, arts, Upanishads, pithy verses, aphorisms, elucidations and explanations are (like) the breath of this infinite Reality. They are like the breath of this (Supreme Self).
BrihadArUpa2	12 As a lump of salt dropped into water dissolves with (its component) water, and no one is able to pick it up, but from wheresoever one takes it, it tastes salt, even so, my dear, this great, endless, infinite Reality is but Pure Intelligence. (The Self) comes out (as a separate entity) from these elements, and (this separateness) is destroyed with them. After attaining (this oneness) it has no more consciousness. This is what I say, my dear. So said Yajnavalkya.
BrihadArUpa2	1 This Earth is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this Earth. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this Earth, and the shining, immortal, corporeal being in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	2 This water is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this water. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this water, and the shining, immortal being identified with the seed in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	3 This fire is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this fire. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this fire, and the shining, immortal being identified with the organ of speech in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	4 This air is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this air. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this air, and the shining, immortal being who is the vital force in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	5 This Sun is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this Sun. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this Sun, and the shining, immortal being identified with the eye in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	6 These quarters is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to these quarters. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is these quarters, and the shining, immortal being identified with the ear and with the time of hearing in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	7 This Moon is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this Moon. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this Moon, and the shining, immortal being identified with the mind in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	8 This lightning is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this lightning. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this lightning, and the shining, immortal being identified with light in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	9 This cloud is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this cloud. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this cloud, and the shining, immortal being identified with sound and voice in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	10 This ether is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this ether. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this ether, and the shining, immortal being identified with the ether in the heart, in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	11 This righteousness Dharma() is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this righteousness. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this righteousness, and the shining, immortal being identified with righteousness in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	12 This truth is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this truth. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this truth, and the shining, immortal being identified with truth in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	13 This human species is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this human species. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this human species, and the shining, immortal being identified with the human species in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	14 This (cosmic) body is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this (cosmic) body. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this (cosmic) body, and the shining, immortal being who is this (individual) self. (These four) are but this Self. This Self( knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
BrihadArUpa2	15 This Self, already mentioned, is the ruler of all beings, and the king of all beings. Just as all the spokes are fixed in the nave and the felloe of a Chariot wheel, so are all beings, all Devas, all worlds, all organs and all these (individual) selves fixed in this Self.
BrihadArUpa3	1 Then Kahola, the son of Kusitaka, asked him, Yajnavalkya said he, explain to me the Brahman that is immediate and direct the self that is within all This is your self that is within all Which is within all, Yajnavalkya That which transcends hunger and thirst, grief, delusion, decay and death. Knowing this very Self the Brahmanas renounce the desire for sons, for wealth and for the worlds, and lead a mendicant s life. That which is the desire for sons is the desire for wealth, and that which is the desire for wealth is the desire for worlds, for both these are but desires. Therefore the knower of Brahman, having known all about scholarship, should try to live upon that strength which comes of knowledge; having known all about this strength and scholarship, he becomes meditative; having known all about both meditativeness and its opposite, he becomes a knower of Brahman. How does that knower of b behave Howsoever he may behave, he is just such. Except this, everything is perishable. Thereupon Kahola, the son of Kusitaka, kept silent.
BrihadArUpa4	21 That is his form beyond desires, free from evils and fearless. As a man, fully embraced by his beloved Wife, does not know anything at all, either external or internal, so does this infinite being (self), fully embraced by the Supreme Self, not know anything at all, either external or internal. That is his form in which all objects of desire have been attained and are but the self, and which is free from desire and devoid of grief.
BrihadArUpa4	35 Just as a cart, heavily loaded, goes on rumbling, so does the self that is in the body, being presided over by the Supreme Self, go making noises, when breathing becomes difficult.
BrihadArUpa4	6 Regarding this there is the following pithy verse Being attached he, together with the work, attains that result to which his subtle body or mind is attached. Exhausting the results of whatever work he did in this life, he returns from that world to this for (fresh) work Thus does the man who desires (transmigrate). But the man who does not desire (never transmigrates). Of him who is without desires, who is free from desires, the objects of whose desire have been attained, and to whom all objects of desire are but the Self the organs do not depart. Being but Brahman, he is merged in Brahman.
BrihadArUpa4	7 Regarding this there is this pithy verse When all the desires that dwell in his heart (mind) are gone, then he, having been mortal, becomes immortal, and attains Brahman in this very body Just as the lifeless Slough of a snake is cast off and lies in the ant hill, so does this body lie. Then the self becomes disembodied and immortal, (becomes) the Prana (Supreme Self), Brahman, the Light. I give you a thousand (cows), sir said Janaka, Emperor of Videha.
BrihadArUpa4	12 If a man knows the Self as I am this then desiring what and for whose sake will he suffer in the wake of the body
BrihadArUpa4	13 He who has realised and intimately known the Self that has entered this perilous and inaccessible place (the body), is the maker of the universe, for he is the maker of all, (all is) his Self, and he again is indeed the Self (of all).
BrihadArUpa4	15 When a man after (receiving instructions from a teacher) directly realises this effulgent Self, the Lord of all that has been and will be, he no longer wishes to hide himself from it.
BrihadArUpa4	20 It should be realised in one form only, (for) It is unknowable and eternal. The Self is taintless, beyond the (subtle) ether, birthless, infinite and constant.
BrihadArUpa4	22 That great, birthless Self which is identified with the intellect and is in the midst of the organs, lies in the ether that is within the heart. It is the controller of all, the lord of all, the ruler of all. It does not grow better through good work nor worse through bad work. It is the lord of all, It is the ruler of all beings, It is the protector of all beings. It is the bank that serves as the boundary to keep the different worlds apart. The Brahmanas seek to know It through the study of the Vedas, sacrifices, charity, and austerity consisting in a dispassionate enjoyment of sense objects. Knowing It alone, one becomes a sage. Desiring this world (the Self) alone, monks renounce their homes. This is (the reason for it); The ancient sages, it is said, did not desire children (thinking), What shall we achieve through children, we who have attained this Self, this world (result). They, it is said, renounced their desire for sons, for wealth and for the worlds, and lived a mendicant s life. That which is the desire for sons is the desire for wealth, and that which is the desire for wealth is the desire for worlds, for both these are but desires. This self is That which has been described as Not this, Not this It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived; undecaying, for It never decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered It never feels pain, and never suffers injury. (it is but proper) that the sage is never overtaken by these two thoughts, I did
BrihadArUpa4	23 This has been expressed by the following hymn This is the eternal glory of a knower of Brahman it neither increases nor decreases through work. (Therefore) one should know the nature of that alone. Knowing it one is not touched by evil action. Therefore he who knows it as such becomes self controlled, calm, withdrawn into himself, enduring and concentrated, and sees the self in his own self (body); he sees all as the Self. Evil does not overtake him, but he transcends all evil. Evil does not trouble him, (but) he consumes all evil. He becomes sinless, taintless, free from doubts, and a Brahmana (knower of Brahman). This is the world of Brahman, O Emperor, and you have attained it said Yajnavalkya. I give you sir, the empire of Videha, and myself too with it, to wait upon you
BrihadArUpa4	24 That great, birthless Self is the eater of food and the giver of wealth (the fruits of one s work). He who knows It as such receives wealth (those fruits).
BrihadArUpa4	25 That great, birthless Self is undecaying, immortal, undying, fearless and Brahman (infinite). Brahman is indeed fearless. He who knows It as such certainly becomes the fearless Brahman.
BrihadArUpa4	6 He said: It is not for the sake of the husband, my dear, that he is loved, but for one s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the Wife, my dear, that she is loved, but for one s own sake that she is loved. It is not for the sake of the sons, my dear, that they are loved, but for one s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of wealth, my dear, that it is loved, but for one s own sake that it is loved. It is not for the sake of the Brahmana, my dear, that he is loved, but for one s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the Kshatriya, my dear, that he is loved, but for one s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of worlds, my dear, that they are loved, but for one s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of the Devas, my dear, that they are loved, but for one s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of beings, my dear, that they are loved, but for one s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of all, my dear, that all is loved, but for one s own sake that it is loved. The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should be realised should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon. When the Self, my dear, is realised by being heard of, reflected on and meditated upon, all this is known.
BrihadArUpa4	7 The Brahmana ousts (slights) one who knows him as different from the Self. The Kshatriya ousts one who knows him as different from the Self. Worlds oust one who knows them as different from the Self. The Devas oust one who knows them as different from the Self. The Vedas oust one who knows them as different from the Self. Beings oust one who knows them as different from the Self. All ousts one who knows it as different from the Self. This Brahmana, this Kshatriya, these worlds, these Devas, these Vedas, these beings and these all are this Self.
BrihadArUpa4	11 As from a fire kindled with wet faggot diverse kinds of smoke issue, even so, my dear, the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharvangirasa, history, mythology, arts, Upanishads, pithy verses, aphorisms, elucidations, explanations, sacrifices, oblations in the fire, food, drink, this world, the next world and all beings are (like) the breath of this infinite Reality. They are like the breath of this (Supreme Self).
BrihadArUpa4	13 As a lump of salt is without interior or exterior, entire, and purely saline in taste, even so is the Self without interior or exterior, entire, and Pure Intelligence alone. (The Self) comes out (as a separate entity) from these elements, and (this separateness) is destroyed with them. After attaining (this oneness) it has no more consciousness. This is what I say, my dear. So said Yajnavalkya.
BrihadArUpa4	15 Because when there is duality, as it were, then one sees something, one smells something, one tastes something, one speaks something, one hears something, one thinks something, one touches something, one knows something. (But) when to the knower of Brahman everything has become the Self, then what should one see and through what, what should one smell and through what, what should one taste and through what, what should one speak and through what, what should one hear and through what, what should one think and through what, what should one touch and through what, what should one know and through what Through what should one know that owing to which all this is known This self is That which has been described as Not this, Not this It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived; undecaying, for It never decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered it never feels pain, and never suffers injury. Through what, O Maitreyi, should one know the Knower So you have got the instruction, Maitreyi. This much indeed is (the means of) immortality, my dear. Saying this Yajnavalkya left.

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