HINDUISMFIFTH PRAPATHAKA
FIRST KHANDA
1. He who knows the oldest and the best becomes himself the oldest and the best. Breath indeed is the oldest and the best.
2. He who knows the richest, becomes himself the richest. Speech indeed is the richest.
3. He who knows the firm rest, becomes himself firm in this world and in the next. The eye indeed is the firm rest.
4. He who knows success, his wishes succeed, both his divine and human wishes. The ear indeed is success.
5. He who knows the home, becomes a home of his people. The mind indeed is the home.
6. The five senses quarrelled together, who was the best, saying, I am better, I am better.
7. They went to their father Pragapati and said: ‘Sir, who is the best of us?’ He replied: ‘ He by
whose departure the body seems worse than worst, he is the best of you.’
8. The tongue (speech) departed, and having been absent for a year, it came round and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They replied: ‘Like mute people, not speaking, but breathing with the breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. ‘thus we lived.’ Then speech went back.
9. The eye (sight) departed, and having been absent for a year, it came round and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They replied: ‘Like blind people, not seeing, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.’ Then the eye went back.
10. The ear (hearing) departed, and having been absent for a year, it came round and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They replied: ‘Like deaf people, not hearing, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.’ Then the ear went back.
11. The mind departed, and having been absent for a year, it came round and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They replied: ‘Like children whose mind is not yet formed, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear. Thus we lived.’ Then the mind went back.
12. The breath, when on the point of departing, tore up the other senses, as a horse, going to start, might tear up the pegs to which he is tethered’. They came to him and said: ‘Sir, be thou (our lord); thou art the best among us. Do not depart from us!’
13. Then the tongue said to him: ‘If I am the richest, thou art the richest.’ The eye said to him If I am the firm rest, thou art the firm rest.’
14. The ear said to him: ‘If I am success, thou art success.’ The mind said to him: ‘If I am the home, thou art the home.’
15. And people do not call them, the tongues, the eyes, the ears, the minds, but the breaths (prana, the senses). For breath are all these.
SECOND KHANDA
1. Breath said: ‘What shall be my food?.’ They answered: ‘Whatever there is, even unto dogs and birds.’ Therefore this is food for Ana (the breather). His name is clearly Ana. To him who knows this there is nothing that is not (proper) food.
2. He said: ‘What shall be my dress?’ They answered: ‘Water.’ Therefore wise people, when they are going to eat food, surround their food before and after with water.’ He (prana) thus gains a dress, and is no longer naked.
3. Satyakama Gabala, after he had communicated this to Gosruti Vaiyaghrapadya, said to him: ‘If you were to tell this to a dry stick, branches would grow, and leaves spring from it.’
4. If a man wishes to reach greatness, let him perform the Diksha (a preparatory rite) on the day of the new moon, and then, on the night of the full moon, let him stir a mash of all kinds of herbs with curds and honey, and let him pour ghee on the fire (avasathya laukika), saying; ‘Svaha to the oldest and the best.’ After that let him throw all that remains (of the ghee) into the mash.
5. In the same manner let him pour ghee on. the fire, saying, ‘Svaha to the richest.’ After that let him throw all that remains together into the mash.
In the same manner let him pour ghee on the fire, saying, ‘Svaha to the firm rest.’ After that let him throw all that remains together into the mash.
In the same manner let him pour ghee on the fire, saying, ‘Svaha to success.’ After that let him throw all that remains together into the mash.
6. Then going forward and placing the mash in his hands, he recites: ‘Thou (Prana) art Ama by name, for all this together exists in thee. He is the oldest and best, the king, the sovereign. May he make me the oldest, the best, the king, the sovereign. May I be all this.’
7. Then he eats with the following Rik verse at every foot: ‘We choose that food’– here he swallows — ‘Of the divine Savitri (prana)’ — here he swallows — ‘The best and all-supporting food’ — here he swallows — ‘We meditate on the speed of Bhaga (Savitri, prana)’-here he drinks all.
8. Having cleansed the vessel, whether it be a kamsa or a kamasa, he sits down behind the fire on a skin or on the bare ground, without speaking or making any other effort. If in his dream he sees a woman, let him know this to be a sign that his sacrifice has succeeded.
9. On this there is a Sloka: ‘If during sacrifices which are to fulfil certain wishes he sees in his dreams a woman, let him know success from this vision in a dream, yea, from this vision in a dream.’
THIRD KHANDA
1. Svetaketu Aruneya went to an assembly of the Pankalas. Pravahana Gaivali said to him: ‘Boy, has your father instructed you?’ Yes, Sir,’ he replied.
2. ‘Do you know to what place men go from here?’ ‘No Sir’ he replied.
‘Do you know how they return again? No Sir,’ he replied.
‘Do you know where the path of Devas and the path of the fathers diverge? No, Sir,’ he replied.
3. ‘Do you know why that world’ never becomes full?’ ‘No, Sir,’ he replied.
‘Do you know why in the fifth libation water is called Man?’ ‘No, Sir,’ he replied.
4. ‘Then why did you say (you had been) instructed? How could anybody who did not know these things say that he had been instructed?’ Then the boy went back sorrowful to the place of his father, and said: ‘Though you had not instructed me, Sir, you said you had instructed me.
5. ‘That fellow of a Raganya asked me five questions, and I could not answer one of them.’ The father said: ‘As you have told me these questions of his, I do not know any one of them. If I knew these questions, how should I not have told you?.
6. Then Gautama went to the king’s place, and when he had come to him, the king offered him proper respect. In the morning the king went out on his way to the assembly. The king said to him:
‘Sir, Gautama, ask a boon of such things as men possess.’ He replied: ‘Such things as men possess may remain with you. Tell me the speech which you addressed to the boy.’
7. The king was perplexed, and commanded him, saying: ‘Stay with me some time.’ Then he said: ‘As (to what) you have said to me, Gautama, this knowledge did not go to any Brahmana before you, and therefore this teaching belonged in all the worlds to the Kshatra class alone. Then he began:
FOURTH KHANDA
1. ‘The altar (on which the sacrifice is supposed to be offered) is that world (heaven), O Gautama; its fuel is the sun itself, the smoke his rays, the light the day, the coals the moon, the sparks the stars.
2. ‘On that altar the Devas (or pranas, represented by Agni, &c.) offer the sraddhi libation (consisting of water). From that oblation rises Soma, the king (the moon).
FIFTH KHANDA
1. ‘The altar is Parganya (the god of rain), O Gautama; its fuel is the air itself, the smoke the cloud, the light the lightning, the coals. the thunderbolt, the sparks the thunderings.
2. ‘On that altar the Devas offer Soma, the king (the moon). From that oblation rises rain.
SIXTH KHANDA
1. ‘The altar is the earth, O Gautama; its fuel is the year itself, the smoke the ether, the light the night, the coals the quarters, the sparks the intermediate quarters.
2. ‘On that altar the Devas (pranas) offer rain. From that oblation rises food (corn, &c.)
SEVENTH KHANDA
1. ‘The altar is man, O Gautama; its fuel speech itself, the smoke the breath, the light the tongue, the coals the eye, the sparks the ear.
2. ‘On that altar the Devas (pranas) offer food. From that oblation rises seed.
EIGHTH KHANDA
1. ‘The altar is woman, O Gautama.
2. ‘On that altar the Devas (pranas) offer seed. From that oblation rises the germ.
NINTH KHANDA
1. ‘For this reason is water in the fifth oblation called Man. This germ, covered in the womb, having dwelt there ten months, or more or less, is born.
2. ‘When born, he lives whatever the length of his life may be. When he has departed, his friends carry him, as appointed, to the fire (of the funeral pile) from whence he came, from whence he sprang.
TENTH KHANDA
1. ‘Those who know this (even though they still be grihasthas, householders) and those who in the forest follow faith and austerities (the vanaprasthas, and of the parivragakas those who do not yet know the Highest Brahman) go to light (arkis), from light to day, from day to the light half of the moon, from the light half of the moon to the six months when the sun goes to the north, from the six months when the sun goes to the north to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, from the moon to the lightning. There is a person not human, —
2. ‘He leads them to Brahman (the conditioned Brahman). This is the path of the Devas.
3. ‘But they who living in a village practice (a life of) sacrifices, works of public utility, and alms, they go to the smoke, from smoke to night, from night to the dark half of the moon, from the dark half of the moon to the six months when the sun goes to the south. But they do not reach the year.
4. ‘From the months they go to the world of the fathers, from the world of the fathers to the ether, from the ether to the moon. That is Soma, the king. Here they are loved (eaten) by the Devas, yes, the Devas love (eat) them.
5. ‘Having dwelt there, till their (good) works are consumed, they return again that way as they came’, to the ether, from the ether to the air. Then the sacrificer, having become air, becomes smoke, having become smoke, he becomes mist,
6. ‘Having become mist, he becomes a cloud, having become a cloud, he rains down. Then he is born as rice and corn, herbs and trees, sesamum and beans. From thence the escape is beset with most difficulties. For whoever the persons may be that eat the food, and beget offspring, he henceforth becomes like unto them.
7. ‘Those whose conduct has been good, will quickly attain some good birth, the birth of a Brahmana, or a Kshatriya, or a Vaisya. But those whose conduct has been evil, will quickly attain an evil birth, the birth of a dog, or a hog, or a Kandala.
8. ‘On neither of these two ways those small creatures (flies, worms, &c.) are continually returning of whom it may be said, Live and die. Theirs is a third place.
‘Therefore that world never becomes full’ (cf.V, 3, 2). ‘Hence let a man take care to himself! And thus it is said in the following Sloka:-
9. ‘A man who steals gold, who drinks spirits, who dishonours his Guru’s bed, who kills a Brahman, these four fall, and as a fifth he who associates with them.
10. ‘But he who thus knows the five fires is not defiled by sin even though he associates with them. He who knows this, is pure, clean, and obtains the world of the blessed, yea, he obtains the world of the blessed.’
ELEVENTH KHANDA
1. Pranasala Aupamanyava, Satyayagna Paulushi, Indradyumna Bhallaveya, Gana Sarkarakshya, and Budila Asvatarasvi, these five great householders and great theologians came once together and held a discussion as to What is our Self, and what is Brahman.
2. They reflected and said: ‘Sirs, there is that Uddalaka Aruni, who knows at present that Self, called Vaisvanara. Well, let us go to him.’ They went to him.
3. But he reflected: ‘Those great householders and great theologians will examine me, and I shall not be able to tell them all; therefore I shall recommend another teacher to them.’
4. He said to them: ‘Sirs, Asvapati Kaikeya knows at present that Self, called Vaisvanara. Well, let us go to him.’ They went to him.
5. When they arrived (the king) ordered proper presents to be made separately to each of them. And rising the next morning’ he said: ‘In my kingdom there is no thief, no miser, no drunkard, no man without an altar in his house, no ignorant person, no adulterer, much less an adulteress. I am going to perform a sacrifice, Sirs, and as much wealth as I give to each Ritvig priest, I shall give to you, Sirs. Please to stay here.’
6. They replied: ‘Every man ought to say for what purpose he comes. You know at present that Vaisvanara Self, tell us that.’
7. He said: ‘To-morrow I shall give you an answer.’ Therefore on the next morning they approached him, carrying fuel in their hands (like students), and he, without first demanding any preparatory rites, said to them:
TWELFTH KHANDA
1. ‘Aupamanyava, whom do you meditate on as the Self?’ He replied: ‘Heaven only, venerable king.’ He said: ‘The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara Self, called Sutegas (having good light). Therefore every kind of Soma libation is seen in your house’.
2. ‘You eat food, and see your desire (a son, &c.), and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvanara Self, eats food, sees his desire, and has Vedic glory (arising from study and sacrifice) in his house. That, however, is but the head of the Self, and thus your head would have fallen (in a discussion), if you had not come to me.’
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Satyayagna Paulushi: ‘O Prakinayogya, whom do you meditate on as the Self?’ He replied: ‘The sun only, venerable king.’ He said: ‘The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara Self, called Visvartupa (multiform). Therefore much and manifold wealth is seen in your house.
2. ‘There is a car with mules, full of slaves and jewels. You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvanara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
‘That, however, is but the eye of the Self, and you would have become blind, if you had not come to me.’
FOURTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Indradyumna Bhallaveya: ‘O Vaiyaghrapadya, whom do you meditate on as the Self?’ He replied: ‘Air only, venerable king.’ He said: ‘The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvinara Self, called Prithagvartman (having various courses). Therefore offerings come to you in various ways, and rows of cars follow you in various ways.
2. ‘You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvanara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
‘That, however, is but the breath of the Self, and your breath would have left you, if you had not come to me.’
FIFTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Gana Sarkarakshya: ‘Whom do you meditate on as the Self?’ He replied: ‘Ether only, venerable king.’ He said: ‘The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara Self, called Bahula (full). Therefore you are full of offspring and wealth.
2. ‘You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvanara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
‘That, however, is but the trunk of the Self, and your trunk would have perished, if you had not come to me.’
SIXTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Budila Asvatarasvi, ‘O Vaiyaghrapadya, whom do you meditate on as the Self?’ He replied: ‘Water only, venerable king.’ He said;
‘The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara Self, called Rayi (wealth). Therefore are you wealthy and flourishing.
2. ‘You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvanara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
‘That, however, is but the bladder of the Self, and your bladder would have burst, if you had not come to me.’
SEVENTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Auddalaka Aruni: O Gautama, whom do you meditate on as the Self?’ He replied: ‘The earth only, venerable king.’ He said: ‘The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara Self, called Pratishtha. (firm rest). Therefore you stand firm with offspring and cattle.
2. ‘You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvgnara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
‘That, however, are but the feet of the Self, and your feet would have given way, if you had not come to me.’
EIGHTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to them all: ‘You eat your food, knowing that Vaisvanara Self as if it were many. But he who worships the Vaisvanara Self as a span long, and as’ identical with himself, he eats food in all worlds, in all beings, in all Selfs.
2. ‘Of that Vaisvanara Self the head is Sutegas (having good light), the eye Visvariupa (multiform), the breath Prithagvartman (having various courses), the trunk Bahula (full), the bladder Rayi (wealth), the feet the earth, the chest the altar, the hairs the grass on the altar, the heart the Garhapatya fire, the mind the Anvaharya fire, the mouth the Ahavaniya fire.
NINETEENTH KHANDA
1. ‘Therefore the first food which a man may take, is in the place of Homa. And he who offers that first oblation, should offer it to Prana (up-breathing), saying Svaha,. Then Prana (up-breathing) is satisfied,
2. ‘If Prana is satisfied, the eye is satisfied, if the eye is satisfied, the sun is satisfied, if the sun is satisfied, heaven is satisfied, if heaven is satisfied, whatever is under heaven and under the sun is satisfied.. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
TWENTIETH KHANDA
1. ‘And he who offers the second oblation, should offer it to Vyana (back-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Vyana is satisfied,
2. ‘If Vyana is satisfied, the ear is satisfied, if the ear is satisfied, the moon is satisfied, if the moon is satisfied, the quarters are satisfied, if the quarters are satisfied, whatever is under the quarters and under the moon is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring,. cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
TWENTY-FIRST KHANDA
1. ‘And he who offers the third oblation, should offer it to Apana (down-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Apana is satisfied. If Apana is satisfied, the tongue is satisfied, if the tongue is satisfied, Agni (fire) is satisfied, if Agni is satisfied, the earth is satisfied, if the earth is satisfied, whatever is under the earth and under fire is satisfied.
2. ‘And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
TWENTY-SECOND KHANDA
1. ‘And he who offers the fourth oblation, should offer it to Samana (on-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Samana is satisfied,
2. ‘If Samana is satisfied, the mind is satisfied, if the mind is satisfied, Parganya (god of rain) is satisfied, if Parganya is satisfied, lightning is satisfied, if lightning is satisfied, whatever is under Parganya and under lightning is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
TWENTY-THIRD KHANDA
1. ‘And he who offers the fifth oblation, should offer it to Udana (out-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Udana is satisfied,
2. ‘If Udana is satisfied, Vayu (air) is satisfied, if Vayu is satisfied, ether is satisfied, if ether is satisfied, whatever is under Vayu and under the ether is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
TWENTY-FOURTH KHANDA
1. ‘If, without knowing this, one offers an Agnihotra, it would be as if a man were to remove the live coals and pour his libation on dead ashes.
2. ‘But he who offers this Agnihotra with a full knowledge of its true purport, he offers it (i.e. he eats food)’ in all worlds, in all beings, in all Selfs.
3. ‘As the soft fibres of the Ishika. reed, when thrown into the fire, are burnt, thus all his sins are burnt whoever offers this Agnihotra with a full knowledge of its true purport.
4. ‘Even if he gives what is left of his food to a Kandala, it would be offered in his (the Kandala’s) Vaisvanara Self. And so it is said in this Sloka: —
‘As hungry children here on earth sit (expectantly) round their mother, so. do all beings sit round the Agnihotra, yea, round the Agnihotra.’
SIXTH PRAPATHAKA
FIRST KHANDA
1. Harih, Om. There lived once Svetaketu Aruneya (the grandson of Aruna). To him his father (Uddilaka, the son of Aruna) said: ‘Svetaketu, go to school; for there is none belonging to our race, darling, who, not having studied (the Veda), is, as it were, a Brahmana by birth only.’
2. Having begun his apprenticeship (with a teacher) when he was twelve years of age, Svetaketu returned to his father, when he was twenty-four, having then studied all the Vedas, — conceited, considering himself well-read, and stern.
3. His father said to him: ‘Svetaketu, as you are so conceited, considering yourself so well-read, and so stern, my dear, have you ever asked for that instruction by which we hear what cannot be heard, by which we perceive what cannot be perceived, by which we know what cannot be known?’
4. ‘What is that instruction, Sir?’ he asked. The father replied: ‘My dear, as by one clod of clay all that is made of clay is known, the difference being only a name, arising from speech, but the truth being that all is clay;
5. ‘And as, my dear, by one nugget of gold all that is made of gold is known, the difference being only a name, arising from speech, but the truth being that all is gold?
6. ‘And as, my dear, by one pair of nail-scissors all that is made of iron (karshnayasam) is known, the difference being only a name, arising from speech, but the truth being that all is iron,-thus, my dear, is that instruction.’
7. The son said: ‘Surely those venerable men (my teachers) did not know that. For if they had known it, why should they not have told it me? Do you, Sir, therefore tell me that.’ ‘Be it so,’ said the father.
SECOND KHAVDA
1. ‘In the beginning,’ my dear, ‘there was that only which is, one only, without a second. Others say, in the beginning there was that only which is not, one only, without a second; and from that which is not, that which is was born.
2. ‘But how could it be thus, my dear?’ the father continued. ‘How could that which is, be born of that which is not? No, my dear, only that which is, was in the beginning, one only, without a second.
3. ‘It thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth fire.
‘That fire thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth water.
‘And therefore whenever anybody anywhere is hot and perspires, water is produced on him from fire alone.
4. ‘Water thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth earth (food).
‘Therefore whenever it rains anywhere, most food is then produced. From water alone is eatable food produced.
THIRD KHANDA
1. ‘Of all living things there are indeed three origins only, that which springs from an egg (oviparous), that which springs from a living being (viviparous), and that which springs from a germ.
2. ‘That Being, (i. e. that which had produced fire, water, and earth) thought, let me now enter those three beings, (fire, water, earth) with this living Self (giva atma)’, and let me then reveal (develop) names and forms.
3. ‘Then that Being having said, Let me make each of these three tripartite (so that fire, water, and earth should each have itself for its principal ingredient, besides an admixture of the other two) entered into those three beings (devata) with this living self only, and revealed names and forms.
4. ‘He made each of these tripartite; and how these three beings become each of them tripartite, that learn from me now, my friend!
FOURTH KHANDA
1. ‘The red colour of burning fire (agni) is the colour of fire, the white colour of fire is the colour of water, the black colour of fire the colour of earth. Thus vanishes what we call fire, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true (satya) are the three colours (or forms).
2. ‘The red colour of the sun (aditya) is the colour of fire, the white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the sun, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three colours.
3. ‘The red colour of the moon is the colour of fire, the white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the moon, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three colours.
4. ‘The red colour of the lightning is the colour of fire, the white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the lightning, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three colours.
5. ‘Great householders and great theologians of olden times who knew this, have declared the same, saying, ” No one can henceforth mention to us anything which we have not heard, perceived, or known’.” Out of these (three colours or forms) they knew all.
6. ‘Whatever they thought looked red, they knew was the colour of fire. Whatever they thought looked white, they knew was the colour of water. Whatever they thought looked black, they knew was the colour of earth.
7. ‘Whatever they thought was altogether unknown, they knew was some combination of those three beings (devata).
‘Now learn from me, my friend, how those three beings, when they reach man, become each of them tripartite.
FIFTH KHANDA
1. ‘The earth (food) when eaten becomes threefold; its grossest portion becomes feces, its middle portion flesh, its subtilest portion mind.
2. ‘Water when drunk becomes threefold; its grossest portion becomes water, its middle portion blood, its subtilest portion breath.
3. ‘Fire (i.e. in oil, butter, &c.) when eaten becomes threefold; its grossest portion becomes bone, its middle portion marrow, its subtilest portion speech.
4. ‘For truly, my child, mind comes of earth, breath of water, speech of fire.’
‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
SIXTH KHANDA
1. ‘That which is the subtile portion of curds, when churned, rises upwards, and becomes butter.
2. ‘In the same manner, my child, the subtile portion of earth (food), when eaten, rises upwards, and becomes mind.
3. ‘That which is the subtile portion of water, when drunk, rises upwards, and becomes breath.
4. ‘That which is the subtile portion of fire, when consumed, rises upwards, and becomes speech. 5. ‘For mind, my child, comes of earth, breath of water, speech of fire.’
‘ Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
SEVENTH KHANDA
1. ‘Man (purusha), my son, consists of sixteen parts. Abstain from food for fifteen days, but drink as much water as you like, for breath comes from water, and will not be cut off, if you drink water.’
2. Svetaketu abstained from food for fifteen days. Then he came to his father and said: ‘What shall I say?’ The father said: ‘Repeat the Rik, Yagus, and Saman verses.’ He replied: ‘They do not occur to me, Sir.’
3. The father said to him: ‘As of a great lighted fire one coal only of the size of a firefly may be left, which would not burn much more than this (i. e. very little), thus, my dear son, one part only of the sixteen parts (of you) is left, and therefore with that one part you do not remember the Vedas. Go and eat!
4. ‘Then wilt thou understand me.’ Then Svetaketu ate, and afterwards approached his father. And whatever his father asked him, he knew it all by heart. Then his father said to him:
5. ‘As of a great lighted fire one coal of the size of a firefly, if left, may be made to blaze up again by putting grass upon it, and will thus burn more than this,
6. ‘Thus, my dear son, there was one part of the sixteen parts left to you, and that, lighted up with food, burnt up, and by it you remember now the Vedas.’ After that, he understood what his father meant when he said: ‘Mind, my son, comes from food, breath from water, speech from fire.’ He understood what he said, yea, he understood it’.
EIGHTH KHANDA
1. Uddalaka Aruni said to his son Svetaketu: ‘Learn from me the true nature of sleep (svapna).
When a man sleeps here, then, my dear son, he becomes united with the True, he is gone to his own (Self). Therefore they say, svapiti, he sleeps, because he is gone (apita) to his own (sva).
2. ‘As a bird when tied by a string flies first in every direction, and finding no rest anywhere, settles down at last on the very place where it is fastened, exactly in the same manner, my son, that mind (the giva, or living Self in the mind, see VI, 3, 2), after flying in every direction, and finding- no rest anywhere, settles down on breath; for indeed, my son, mind is fastened to breath.
3. ‘Learn from me, my son, what are hunger and thirst. When a man is thus said to be hungry, water is carrying away (digests) what has been eaten by him. Therefore as they speak of a cow-leader (go-naya), a horse-leader (asva-naya), a man-leader (purusha-naya), so they call water (which digests food and causes hunger) food-leader (asa-naya). Thus (by food digested &c.), my son, know this offshoot (the body) to be brought forth, for this (body) could not be without a root (cause).
4. ‘And where could its root be except in food (earth)? And in the same manner, my son, as food (earth) too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. water. And as water too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. fire. And as fire too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. the True. Yes, all these creatures, my son, have their root in the True, they dwell in the True, they rest in the True.
5. ‘When a man is thus said to be thirsty, fire carries away what has been drunk by him. Therefore as they speak of a cow-leader (go-naya), of a horse-leader (asva-naya), of a man-leader (purusha-naya), so they call fire udanyi, thirst, i. e. water-leader. Thus (by water digested &c.), my son, know this offshoot (the.body) to be brought forth: this (body) could not be without a root (cause).
6. ‘And where could its root be except in water? As water is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. fire. As fire is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. the True. Yes, all these creatures, O son, have their root in the True, they dwell in the True, they rest in the True.
‘And how these three beings (devata), fire, water, earth, O son, when they reach man, become each of them tripartite, has been said before (VI, 4, 7). When a man departs from hence, his speech is merged in his mind, his mind in his breath, his breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being.
7. ‘Now that which is that subtile essence (the root of all), in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’ ‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
NINTH KHANDA
1. ‘As the bees, my son, make honey by collecting the juices of distant trees, and reduce the juice into one form,
2. ‘And as these juices have no discrimination, so that they might say, I am the juice of this tree or that, in the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they have become merged in the True (either in deep sleep or in death), know not that they are merged in the True.
3. ‘Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a worm, or a midge, or a gnat, or a mosquito, that they become again and again.
4. ‘Now ‘ that which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’
‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
‘ Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
TENTH KHANDA
1. ‘These rivers, my son, run, the eastern (like the Ganga) toward the east, the western (like the Sindhu) toward the west. They go from sea to sea (i. e. the clouds lift up the water from the sea to the sky, and send it back as rain to the sea). They become indeed sea. And as those rivers, when they are in the sea, do not know, I am this or that river,
2. In the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they have come back from the True, know not that they have come back from the True. Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a worm, or a mid-e, or a gnat, or a mosquito, that they become again and again.
3. ‘That which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’
‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
ELEVENTH KHANDA
1. ‘If some one were to strike at the root of this large tree here, it would bleed, but live. If he were to strike at its stem, it would bleed, but live. If he were to strike at its top, it would bleed, but live. Pervaded by the living Self that tree stands firm, drinking in its nourishment and rejoicing;
2. ‘But if the life (the living Self) leaves one of its branches, that branch withers; if it leaves a second, that branch withers; if it leaves a third, that branch withers. If it leaves the whole tree, the whole tree withers. In exactly the same manner, my son, know this.’ Thus he spoke:
3- ‘This (body) indeed withers and dies when the living Self has left it; the living Self dies not.
‘That which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, Svetaketu, art it.’
‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
TWELFTH KHANDA
1. ‘Fetch me from thence a fruit of the Nyagrodha tree.’
Here is one, Sir.’
Break it.’
‘It is broken, Sir.’
‘What do you see there?’
‘These seeds, almost infinitesimal.’
‘Break one of them.’
‘It is broken, Sir.’
‘What do you see there?’
‘Not anything, Sir.’
2. The father said: ‘My son, that subtile essence which you do not perceive there, of that very essence this great Nyagrodha tree exists.
3. ‘Believe it, my son. That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’
‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
1. ‘Place this salt in water, and then wait on me in the morning.’
The son did as he was commanded.
The father said to him: ‘Bring me the salt, which you placed in the water last night.’
The son having looked for it, found it not, for, of course, it was melted.
2. The father said: ‘Taste it from the surface of the water. How is it?’
The son replied: ‘It is salt.’
‘Taste it from the middle. How is it?’
The son replied: ‘ It is salt.’
‘Taste it from the bottom. How is it?’
The son replied: ‘It is salt.’
The father said: ‘Throw it away’ and then wait on me.
He did so; but salt exists for ever.
Then the father said: ‘Here also, in this body, forsooth, you do not perceive the True (Sat), my son; but there indeed it is.
3- ‘That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’
‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
FOURTEENTH KHANDA
1. ‘As one might lead a person with his eyes covered away from the Gandharas, and leave him then in a place where there are no human beings; and as that person would turn towards the east, or the north, or the west, and shout, “I have been brought here with my eyes covered, I have been left here with my eyes covered,”
2. ‘And as thereupon some one might loose his bandage and say to him, “Go in that direction, it is Gandhara, go in that direction;” and as thereupon, having been informed and being able to judge for himself, he would by asking his way from village to village arrive at last at Gandhara, — in exactly the same manner does a man, who meets with a teacher to inform him, obtain the true knowlede. For him there is only delay so long as he is not delivered (from the body); then he will be perfect.
3. ‘That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’
‘ Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
FIFTEENTH KHANDA
1. ‘If a man is ill, his relatives assemble round him and ask: ” Dost thou know me? Dost thou know me?” Now as long as his speech is not merged in his mind, his mind in breath, breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being (devati), he knows them.
2. ‘But when his speech is merged in his mind, his mind in breath, breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being, then he knows them not.
‘That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’
‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.
‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.
SIXTEENTH KHANDA
1. ‘My child, they bring a man hither whom they have taken by the hand, and they say: “He has taken something, he has committed a theft.” (When he denies, they say), “Heat the hatchet for him.” If he committed the theft, then he makes himself to be what he is not. Then the false-minded, having covered his true Self by a falsehood, grasps the heated hatchet-he is burnt, and he is killed.
2. ‘But if he did not commit the theft, then he makes himself to be what he is. Then the true minded, having covered his true Self by truth, grasps the heated hatchet-he is not burnt, and he is delivered.
‘As that (truthful) man is not burnt, thus has all that exists its self in That. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’ He understood what he said, yea, he understood it.
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