Chandogya Upanishad

1. Part 1.1

   1.1.1A person should meditate on the sacred syllable Om. It is also called the udgitha, a chant from the Sama Veda (a book of sacred hymns), because that chant begins with Om. The full explanation of Om follows.
2. 1.1.2The text traces a chain of essences, each the best part of the one before. The earth is the essence of all beings, and the chain runs through water, plants, people, speech and the sacred hymns. At the very top is Om.
3. 1.1.3Om is the best of all these essences. It is the highest and deserves the top place, as the eighth step in the chain.
4. 1.1.4The text asks a question. What really is the Rik (verse), the Saman (sung chant), and the udgitha (the chant of Om)?
5. 1.1.5The text answers its question. The verse stands for speech, the chant stands for breath, and the udgitha is Om. Speech and breath belong together as a pair.
6. 1.1.6Speech and breath are joined together in the sound Om. When two partners come together, each gives the other what they wish for.
7. 1.1.7A person who understands this and meditates on Om will have their wishes fulfilled.
8. 1.1.8Om also means "yes." We say it whenever we agree to something, and saying yes brings satisfaction. A person who knows this and meditates on Om will satisfy wishes.
9. 1.1.9All the sacred rituals of the three Vedas, the oldest holy books, move forward through Om. Each priest says Om when he gives an order, recites, or sings, to honor the syllable. The ritual draws its power from Om.
10. 1.1.10Someone might think that a person who understands Om and one who doesn't are doing the same ritual. But they are not, because knowing and not knowing are different. A ritual done with understanding and faith is more powerful.

11. Part 1.2

    1.2.1A story begins. The Devas (gods) and the Asuras (demons), both children of Prajapati the creator, were fighting. The gods took up the chant of Om, hoping it would help them defeat the demons.
12. 1.2.2First the gods meditated on Om as the sense of smell in the nose. But the demons struck it with evil. That is why we smell both pleasant and bad smells.
13. 1.2.3Next the gods meditated on Om as speech, but the demons struck it with evil too. That is why people speak both truth and lies.
14. 1.2.4Then the gods meditated on Om as the eye, but the demons struck it with evil. That is why we see both beautiful and ugly things.
15. 1.2.5Then the gods meditated on Om as the ear, but the demons struck it with evil. That is why we hear both things we should hear and things we should not, like gossip.
16. 1.2.6Then the gods meditated on Om as the mind, but the demons struck it with evil. That is why we have both good thoughts and thoughts we should not have.
17. 1.2.7Next the gods meditated on Om as the breath of life that moves through the mouth. When the Asuras (demons) attacked it, they were smashed apart, like a lump of clay thrown against a hard rock.
18. 1.2.8A person who truly understands this becomes like a solid rock. Anyone who wishes him harm or attacks him will break apart, like clay hitting stone.
19. 1.2.9This breath in the mouth does not judge smells as good or bad, because it is free from evil. The food and drink it takes in keep all the senses alive. When a person is dying and can no longer find this breath, he leaves the body, and the mouth opens as if wanting to eat.
20. 1.2.10The sage Angiras meditated on Om as this breath. People call the breath Angiras because it is the essence (rasa) of the body's limbs (anga).
21. 1.2.11The sage Brihaspati also meditated on Om as this breath. The breath is called Brihaspati because speech is called brihati, and breath is the lord (pati) of speech.
22. 1.2.12The sage Ayasya meditated on Om as this breath. The breath is called Ayasya because it comes (ayati) out of the mouth (asya).
23. 1.2.13Vaka Dalbhya understood this teaching. He was the chief singer at a great sacrifice held in the Naimisha forest, and through his singing he won for the people what they wished for.
24. 1.2.14Whoever knows this and meditates on Om as the breath of life in the mouth gets all his wishes by singing. This ends the teaching on Om in relation to the body.

25. Part 1.3

    1.3.1Now comes meditation on Om in relation to the gods of nature. One should meditate on Om as the sun. When the sun rises, it sings for all living beings and takes away the fear of darkness. Whoever knows this can remove the fear of darkness, meaning ignorance.
26. 1.3.2The breath in the mouth and the sun are really the same. Both are warm. The breath is called sound and the sun is called echoing sound. So one should meditate on Om as both the breath and the sun.
27. 1.3.3One should also meditate on Om as vyana, the held breath. Breathing out is prana and breathing in is apana; the pause between them is vyana. Speech happens in that pause, because when we talk we neither breathe in nor out.
28. 1.3.4Speech becomes a verse of the Rig Veda, the verse becomes a sacred chant, and the chant becomes Om. So when a person recites a verse, sings a chant, or sings Om, he does it while holding the breath.
29. 1.3.5Other tasks that need strength, like making fire by rubbing sticks, running a race, or bending a strong bow, are also done while holding the breath. So one should meditate on Om as this held breath.
30. 1.3.6One should meditate on the three parts of the word udgitha. 'Ut' is breath, because breath makes a person rise. 'Gi' is speech, because words are called girah. 'Tha' is food, because food keeps everything standing.
31. 1.3.7The three parts of the word also stand for heaven, sky, and earth; for the sun, air, and fire; and for the three Vedas. Whoever meditates this way receives the gifts of speech and will have plenty of food and good health to enjoy it.
32. 1.3.8Next is how to have prayers fulfilled. Before singing, the priest should quickly think about the chant he is about to sing.
33. 1.3.9He should also quickly think of the verse the chant comes from, the sage who first saw or composed it, and the god he is going to praise.
34. 1.3.10He should think of the verse's rhythm and of the tune he will sing.
35. 1.3.11He should think of the direction of the world he is praising, and finally of himself. Then, keeping his wish in mind and pronouncing every word correctly, he should sing. His wish will soon come true.

36. Part 1.4

    1.4.1One should meditate on the sacred syllable Om, because the chant always begins with Om. What follows is the full explanation of Om.
37. 1.4.2The Devas (the gods) were afraid of death, so they turned to the rituals of the three Vedas, the oldest sacred books. They wrapped themselves in the holy verses for protection, and that is why the verses are called khandas, meaning "coverings."
38. 1.4.3Death still saw the gods inside their rituals, the way a fisherman spots a fish in clear water. When the gods noticed this, they left the rituals behind and went into Om, the sacred sound, by meditating on it.
39. 1.4.4When a student finishes learning any of the Vedas, he says Om out loud. Om never decays, cannot die, and has no fear in it, and because the gods entered it, they became immortal and fearless.
40. 1.4.5Anyone who understands this and chants Om enters that same deathless, fearless sound. Having entered it, that person becomes immortal, just like the gods.

41. Part 1.5

    1.5.1The udgitha, the main chanted hymn, and the pranava, the sound Om, are the same thing. Both are like the sun, because the sun moves across the sky as if sounding Om.
42. 1.5.2The sage Kaushitaki told his son that he had worshipped only the sun itself, and that is why he had only one son. He told his son to meditate on the sun's many rays as well, so he would be blessed with many sons.
43. 1.5.3Turning to the human body, a person should meditate on the chanted hymn as the breath, because breath moves as if sounding Om.
44. 1.5.4Kaushitaki told his son that he had worshipped breath as only one thing, and so he had only one son. He told his son to honor breath in its many forms if he wanted many sons.
45. 1.5.5Whoever knows that the chanted hymn and Om are the same can fix any mistake the singing priest makes during the ritual. He can do this even from his own seat as the reciting priest.

46. Part 1.6

    1.6.1The Rig Veda's verses are like the earth and the Sama Veda's songs are like fire, and fire rests on the earth. In the same way, the song rests on the verse. The word Sama is split into Sa, the earth, and ama, fire.
47. 1.6.2Here the verse is compared to the sky and the song to the air, because the air rests in the sky. That is why the song is sung resting on the verse.
48. 1.6.3The verse is compared to heaven and the song to the sun, which shines in heaven. So the song rests on the verse, as the sun rests in the heavens.
49. 1.6.4The verse is compared to the stars and the song to the moon, which moves among the stars. So the song rests on the verse.
50. 1.6.5The verse is compared to the sun's bright white light, and the song to the deep dark blue inside the sun. The darkness rests on the brightness, just as the song rests on the verse.
51. 1.6.6Sa is the sun's white light and ama is its dark blue, and together they make Sama. Then the text begins describing a golden person seen inside the sun, golden from his beard and hair down to his fingernails.
52. 1.6.7This golden person in the sun has eyes like blue lotus flowers. His name is Ut, meaning "risen," because he has risen above all evil, and whoever knows this also rises above all evil.
53. 1.6.8The verse and the song are like the golden person's joints, so he is the sacred chant itself, and the priest who sings it is named after him. He rules the worlds above the sun and grants the wishes of the gods who live there.

54. Part 1.7

    1.7.1Now about the human body: the verse is like speech and the song is like breath, since breath rests on speech. Sa is speech and ama is breath, and together they make Sama.
55. 1.7.2The verse is like the eye and the song is like the self, the image seen in the eye. So the song rests on the verse, as the reflection rests in the eye.
56. 1.7.3The verse is like the ear and the song is like the mind, because the mind depends on what the ear hears. Sa is the ear and ama is the mind, and together they make Sama.
57. 1.7.4The passage compares the eye to the Sama chant. The bright white part of the eye stands for the Rik (a verse of the Rig Veda), and the deep dark part stands for the Saman (the sung chant). The dark rests on the bright, just as the chant is sung on top of the verse.
58. 1.7.5The person seen inside the eye is the same as the shining person in the sun. He is every part of the sacred chants and is Brahman, the ultimate reality. Inside and outside, the divine has the same form and the same name.
59. 1.7.6This person in the eye rules over the worlds below and over all human wishes. So whenever people sing to the vina (a stringed instrument), they are really singing to him, and he is the source of the wealth they gain.
60. 1.7.7A person who understands this and sings the chant is praising both at once: the divine person in the sun and the one in the eye, as one being. Through the one in the sun, he gains the higher worlds and what the gods wish for.
61. 1.7.8Through the one in the eye, he also gains this lower world and what humans wish for. So a chanting priest (Udgatri) who knows this can make an offer to the person he chants for.
62. 1.7.9The priest can ask, "What wish shall I win for you with my song?" Someone who sings the chant with this knowledge can make wishes come true through singing.

63. Part 1.8

    1.8.1Three men skilled in the udgitha (the main sacred chant) were Silaka, Dalbhya and Pravahana. They agreed to sit down and discuss it together.
64. 1.8.2They sat down. Pravahana, a king, politely asked the two priests to speak first, because he wanted to hear what they had to say.
65. 1.8.3Silaka said to Dalbhya, "Let me ask you a question." Dalbhya told him to go ahead.
66. 1.8.4Silaka asked where the chant comes from, and Dalbhya answered step by step. The chant comes from tone, tone comes from breath, breath comes from food, and food comes from water.
67. 1.8.5Dalbhya said water comes from heaven. When asked where heaven comes from, he said the questioning should stop there, because the chant belongs in heaven.
68. 1.8.6Silaka told Dalbhya that his answer had no firm ground. He warned that if someone had bet his head on it, Dalbhya would have lost it.
69. 1.8.7Dalbhya humbly asked Silaka to teach him. Silaka said heaven comes from this world, and that the chant rests on this world, so the questioning should stop there.
70. 1.8.8Then Pravahana told Silaka that his answer, the earth, also has an end, so it cannot be the final source. Silaka humbly asked Pravahana to teach him, and he agreed.

71. Part 1.9

    1.9.1Pravahana taught that this world comes from space (ether). All beings come out of space and go back into it. Space is older than everything and is where everything rests.
72. 1.9.2This space is the sacred chant and the syllable Om, which stands for Brahman, the ultimate reality. It is greater than the greatest and has no end. Whoever meditates on it with this understanding gains the highest things.
73. 1.9.3The teacher Atidhanvan taught this chant to his student Udara-sandilya. He promised that as long as his family kept this knowledge, their life in this world would be better and better.
74. 1.9.4He said the same would be true for them in the next world. Whoever knows and meditates on the chant this way will have the best life here and after death.

75. Part 1.10

    1.10.1After hailstorms ruined the land of the Kurus, a man named Ushasti lived as a beggar with his very young wife in a village.
76. 1.10.2Ushasti saw a local man eating beans and begged him for some. The man said he had no more except the beans already set out for himself.
77. 1.10.3The starving Ushasti asks the chief for some of his leftover beans, and the chief gives them. When the chief also offers him water, Ushasti refuses, because drinking someone's leftover water would make him ritually unclean.
78. 1.10.4The chief asks why the leftover beans were acceptable if the water was not. Ushasti explains that he would have died without the beans, but there was other water to drink, so taking this water would only be for comfort.
79. 1.10.5After eating, Ushasti gives the rest of the beans to his wife. She had already found food, so she keeps them safe for later.
80. 1.10.6The next morning Ushasti wishes aloud for a little food so he would have the strength to earn some money. He knows the local king is holding a big sacrifice and hopes to be hired as its priest.
81. 1.10.7His wife hands him the beans she had saved. He eats them and goes to the king's sacrifice.
82. 1.10.8At the sacrifice, Ushasti sits near the priests who are about to sing the sacred hymns. He speaks to the Prastotri, the priest who sings the opening part.
83. 1.10.9Ushasti warns the Prastotri that if he sings his part without knowing which god it belongs to, his head will fall off.
84. 1.10.10Ushasti gives the same warning to the Udgatri, the priest who sings the main chant called the udgitha.
85. 1.10.11He gives the same warning to the Pratihartri, the priest who sings the responding part. All three priests stop and sit in silence.

86. Part 1.11

    1.11.1The king who is holding the sacrifice asks who this man is. He answers that he is Ushasti Kakrayana.
87. 1.11.2The king says he had searched for Ushasti to lead the sacrifice, but could not find him, so he hired other priests.
88. 1.11.3The king asks Ushasti to take charge of everything. Ushasti agrees but lets the other priests keep singing, asking only to be paid the same as them.
89. 1.11.4The Prastotri comes to Ushasti and humbly asks which god his part of the hymn belongs to.
90. 1.11.5Ushasti says the god is breath (prana), because all living beings come from breath and return into it. Singing without knowing this, after being warned, would have cost the priest his head.
91. 1.11.6The Udgatri also comes and asks which god his main chant belongs to.
92. 1.11.7Ushasti says it is the sun, because all beings praise the sun when it is high in the sky. Knowing this is needed to sing the chant properly.
93. 1.11.8The Pratihartri comes and asks which god his responding part belongs to.
94. 1.11.9Ushasti says it is food (anna), because all beings live by eating food. Knowing this is needed to sing the hymn properly.

95. Part 1.12

    1.12.1A new story begins, called the chant of the dogs. A man named Vaka Dalbhya, also called Glava Maitreya, goes to a quiet place to recite the Veda, the sacred scripture.
96. 1.12.2A white dog appears to him. Other dogs gather around the white dog and ask him to sing a chant to get them food, because they are hungry.
97. 1.12.3The white dog told the hungry dogs to come back to him the next morning. The sage Vaka Dalbhya, also called Glava Maitreya, stayed to watch what would happen.
98. 1.12.4The dogs arrived in a line, each holding the tail of the dog in front in its mouth. This is how priests walk when they go to sing a sacred hymn. Then they sat down and began chanting the sound "Hin."
99. 1.12.5The dogs chanted a prayer only for their own food and drink. They called on the gods Varuna, Prajapati and Savitri, saying "Om, let us eat! Om, let us drink! Lord of food, bring us food!"

100. Part 1.13

     1.13.1The extra sounds sung in sacred chants each stand for something. Hau stands for the earth, Hai for the air, Atha for the moon, Iha for the self, and I for fire.
101. 1.13.2More chant sounds are matched with things. U is the sun, E is calling out to the gods, Auhoi is all the gods together, and Hin is Prajapati, the creator. The tone is breath, Ya is food, and Vag is Viraj, the cosmic whole.
102. 1.13.3The thirteenth chant sound, the unclear sound "Hun," stands for what cannot be described: Brahman, the highest reality.
103. 1.13.4Whoever knows this secret teaching about the chants gets the full reward of speech, like milk from a cow. That person has plenty of food and the health to enjoy it.

104. Part 2.1

     2.1.1It is good to meditate on the whole Saman, the sacred chant. People even use the word "Saman" to mean "good," and say something bad is "not Saman."
105. 2.1.2People also say someone came "with Saman" when they behaved properly. They say someone came "without Saman" when they behaved rudely.
106. 2.1.3When something helps us, people say "this is Saman for us." When it does not help, they say "this is not Saman for us."
107. 2.1.4Someone who understands this and meditates on the chant as goodness itself will quickly gain good qualities. Those qualities will become truly their own.

108. Part 2.2

     2.2.1A person should meditate on the five parts of the sacred chant as five worlds, going upward. The parts match the earth, fire, the sky, the sun and heaven.
109. 2.2.2The same five parts can also be matched going downward: heaven, the sun, the sky, fire and the earth.
110. 2.2.3Whoever understands this and meditates on the five-part chant as the worlds wins all the worlds, both upward and downward.

111. Part 2.3

     2.3.1A person should meditate on the five-part chant as a rainstorm. The first part is the wind before rain, then the cloud arriving, then the rain falling, then the lightning and thunder.
112. 2.3.2The last part is the rain stopping. Whoever meditates on the chant this way gets rain when they need it and can bring rain to others.

113. Part 2.4

     2.4.1A person should meditate on the five-part chant in all waters. The parts are clouds gathering, rain falling, rivers flowing east, rivers flowing west, and finally the sea.
114. 2.4.2Whoever meditates on the chant as all waters will not drown and will always have plenty of water.

115. Part 2.5

     2.5.1A person should meditate on the five-part chant as the seasons. The parts are spring, summer harvest, the rainy season, autumn and winter.
116. 2.5.2Whoever meditates on the chant as the seasons will be in step with every season. Things will go well for them at the right time.

117. Part 2.6

     2.6.1The Sâman is a sacred chant sung in five parts. Here the teacher says to think of those five parts as five kinds of animals: goats, sheep, cows, horses, and finally human beings.
118. 2.6.2A person who understands this and meditates on the chant as animals will have many animals. In old times, owning animals meant being wealthy.

119. Part 2.7

     2.7.1The five parts of the sacred chant can also be seen as the senses and powers in us: smell, speech, sight, hearing, and mind. The text calls these prânas, meaning life-powers. Each one is greater than the one before it, and the mind is the greatest.
120. 2.7.2A person who meditates on the chant as the senses gains what is greatest. He wins worlds that are greater than great.

121. Part 2.8

     2.8.1Now the teacher describes a chant with seven parts, found in speech itself. Certain sounds in words stand for the parts of the chant. 'Hun' is the first part, 'pra' the second, and 'â' is the 'first' part, which is linked to Om, the most sacred sound.
122. 2.8.2The list goes on. 'Ud' is the main sung part, 'pra' is the response, 'upa' is the closing-in part, and 'ni' is the ending.
123. 2.8.3For someone who meditates on the seven-part chant in speech, speech gives its best gifts, like a cow giving milk. That person has plenty of food and a healthy appetite to enjoy it.

124. Part 2.9

     2.9.1One can also meditate on the seven-part chant as the sun. The sun is called Sâman because it is always the same (sama). Everyone feels the sun is looking right at them.
125. 2.9.2All living beings depend on the sun. The time before sunrise is the first part of the chant, and animals belong to it. That is why animals make the sound 'hin' before dawn.
126. 2.9.3The sun just after it rises is the second part of the chant, called the prastâva, and humans belong to it. That is why people love praise and fame.
127. 2.9.4The sun in mid-morning is the 'first' part, linked to Om, and birds belong to it. That is why birds can fly in the sky with nothing holding them up.
128. 2.9.5The sun at noon is the main sung part of the chant, and the Devas, the shining gods, belong to it. That is why they are the best of all the children of Pragâpati, the creator.
129. 2.9.6The sun in early afternoon is the response part of the chant. Unborn babies and seeds in the womb depend on it. That is why, once conceived, they hold on and do not fall away.
130. 2.9.7The sun in late afternoon is the closing-in part of the chant, and wild animals belong to it. That is why they run to the forest to hide when they see a person.
131. 2.9.8The setting sun is the ending part of the chant, and the ancestors who have died belong to it. That is why people lay down offerings for them. This is how to meditate on the seven-part chant as the sun.

132. Part 2.10

     2.10.1Now the teacher describes a seven-part chant that is balanced and carries a person beyond death. He counts the syllables in the names of its parts. The first two names each have three syllables, so they are equal.
133. 2.10.2The next name has two syllables and the one after has four. If you move one syllable from the longer to the shorter, they become equal.
134. 2.10.3The name of the main sung part has three syllables and the next name has four. The extra syllable is set aside, so both count as three and are equal.
135. 2.10.4The name of the ending part has three syllables, so it is balanced too. All the names together have twenty-two syllables.
136. 2.10.5With twenty-one syllables a person reaches the sun, which is the twenty-first world from here and also stands for death. With the twenty-second syllable he goes beyond the sun, to a place of happiness with no sorrow.
137. 2.10.6A person who understands this and meditates on the seven-part chant (the Sâman, a sacred sung hymn) as one whole wins victory over death, pictured here as the sun. He also gains something even higher, a victory that carries him beyond death.

138. Part 2.11

     2.11.1The five parts of the chant are matched to parts of a person. The opening sound (hinkâra) is the mind, the introduction is speech, the main chant (udgîtha) is sight, the response is hearing, and the ending is breath. This is the Gâyatra chant found in our life-breaths (prânas).
139. 2.11.2Whoever understands the Gâyatra chant this way keeps all their senses, lives a long, full life, and is blessed with family, wealth and a good name. The rule for such a person is: do not be proud.

140. Part 2.12

     2.12.1The five parts of the chant are matched to the life of a fire. Rubbing the fire-stick is the opening, rising smoke is the introduction, burning flame is the main chant, glowing coals are the response, and the fire dying down and going out is the ending. This is the Rathantara chant found in fire.
141. 2.12.2Whoever understands the Rathantara chant in fire becomes bright and strong, lives long, and is blessed with family, wealth and fame. The rule is: do not rinse your mouth or spit in front of a fire.

142. Part 2.13

     2.13.1Next the text turns to the Vâmadevya chant, which is linked to the creation of new life.

143. Part 2.14

     2.14.1The five parts of the chant are matched to the sun's journey across the day: rising, fully risen, noon, afternoon, and setting. This is the Brihat chant found in the sun.
144. 2.14.2Whoever understands the Brihat chant in the sun becomes shining and strong, lives long, and is blessed with family, wealth and fame. The rule is: never complain about the heat of the sun.

145. Part 2.15

     2.15.1The five parts of the chant are matched to a rainstorm: mist gathering, the cloud rising, the rain falling, the lightning and thunder, and the rain stopping. This is the Vairûpa chant found in Parganya, the god of rain.
146. 2.15.2Whoever understands the Vairûpa chant in the rain gains many kinds of animals, lives long, and is blessed with family, wealth and fame. The rule is: never complain about the rain.

147. Part 2.16

     2.16.1The five parts of the chant are matched to the seasons: spring, summer, the rainy season, autumn and winter. This is the Vairâga chant found in the seasons.
148. 2.16.2Whoever understands the Vairâga chant in the seasons shines through their children, animals and a glowing face, lives long, and gains wealth and fame. The rule is: never complain about the seasons.

149. Part 2.17

     2.17.1The five parts of the chant are matched to the world: the earth, the sky, heaven, the directions, and the sea. These are the Sakvari chants found in the worlds.
150. 2.17.2Whoever understands the Sakvari chants in the worlds comes to own the worlds, lives long, and is blessed with family, wealth and fame. The rule is: never complain about the world.

151. Part 2.18

     2.18.1The five parts of the chant are matched to living beings: goats, sheep, cows, horses and humans. These are the Revati chants found in animals.
152. 2.18.2Whoever understands the Revati chants in animals becomes rich in animals, lives long, and gains family, wealth and fame. The rule is: never complain about animals.

153. Part 2.19

     2.19.1The five parts of the chant are matched to the body: hair, skin, flesh, bone and marrow. This is the Yagñâyagñîya chant found in the parts of the body.
154. 2.19.2Whoever understands this chant in the body gets strong, whole limbs, lives long, and gains family, wealth and fame. The rule is: do not eat marrow for a year, or do not eat it at all.

155. Part 2.20

     2.20.1The five parts of the chant are matched to the gods of nature: fire, air, the sun, the stars and the moon. This is the Râgana chant found in the gods.
156. 2.20.2Whoever understands the Râgana chant in the gods reaches the same world, happiness and company as the gods, and lives a long life with family, wealth and fame. The rule is: do not speak badly of the Brâhmanas, the priests and teachers.

157. Part 2.21

     2.21.1A Sāman is a chant from the Vedas, and it has five parts. Here each part is matched with something in the universe: the three Vedas (sacred books), the three worlds, the gods of fire, air and sun, the stars, birds and light rays, and the serpents, heavenly singers called Gandharvas, and the spirits of ancestors. This shows the chant as woven into everything.
158. 2.21.2A person who understands that this chant runs through everything becomes one with everything.
159. 2.21.3An old verse is quoted to support this. It says the three groups (the Vedas, the worlds and so on), each arranged in the five parts of the chant, along with the other forms of the chant, are the highest thing, and nothing is greater.
160. 2.21.4Whoever knows this knows everything, and people from every direction bring him gifts. His rule is to meditate on the chant while knowing that he himself is everything.

161. Part 2.22

     2.22.1The main part of the chant, the udgītha, can be sung in different tones, and each tone belongs to a different god. A deep tone belongs to Agni, god of fire; others belong to Prajāpati the creator, Soma, Vāyu the wind, Indra king of gods, and Brihaspati the gods' teacher. The dull tone belongs to Varuna, and a singer should use all the tones except that one.
162. 2.22.2The priest who sings should hold good wishes in mind as he sings: life without death for the gods, offerings for the ancestors, hope for people, food and water for animals, heaven for the person paying for the ritual, and food for himself. He should also sing carefully without mistakes.
163. 2.22.3The sounds of speech belong to different gods: vowels to Indra, hissing sounds like 's' to Prajāpati, and stop consonants to Mrityu, which means Death. If someone criticizes the singer's vowels, he should say he relied on Indra, and Indra will answer them.
164. 2.22.4If someone criticizes the singer's hissing sounds, he should say he relied on Prajāpati, who will crush the critic. If someone criticizes his consonants, he should say he relied on Death, who will burn the critic to ashes.
165. 2.22.5This explains how to pronounce the sounds. Vowels should be sung loud and strong to give strength to Indra. Hissing sounds should be clear and open, not swallowed or spat out. Consonants should be sung slowly, without running them together, so the singer keeps himself away from Death.

166. Part 2.23

     2.23.1There are three branches of religious duty. The first is doing sacred rituals, studying, and giving to others.
167. 2.23.2The second branch is self-discipline. The third is living as a student in a teacher's home and living strictly there. All of these lead to happy heavenly worlds, but only the person firmly rooted in Brahman, the ultimate reality, reaches a life beyond death.
168. 2.23.3Prajāpati, the creator, thought deeply about the worlds, and from them came the three Vedas. He thought deeply about the Vedas, and from them came three sacred words: Bhūh, Bhuvah and Svah, meaning earth, sky and heaven.
169. 2.23.4Then from those three words came the sound Om. Just as all leaves are held together by their stems, all words are held together by Om. Om is everything.

170. Part 2.24

     2.24.1The teachers of the Vedas say that the morning offering belongs to the Vasus, the noon offering belongs to the Rudras, and the evening offering belongs to the Ādityas and the All-Gods. These are groups of gods.
171. 2.24.2So if all three offerings belong to the gods, what world is left for the person making the offering? Someone who doesn't know the answer should not perform the ritual. Only someone who understands should do it.
172. 2.24.3Before the morning chant begins, the person making the offering sits behind the household fire altar, faces north, and sings a chant to the Vasus.
173. 2.24.4He sings: 'Open the door of this earth so we may see you and rule here on earth.'
174. 2.24.5Then he makes the offering and says: 'Praise to Agni, the fire god who lives on earth! Win this world for me! This is my world.'
175. 2.24.6He says, 'When this life is over I will go there. Take this offering! Open the door!' Then he stands up. For such a person, the Vasus complete the morning offering.
176. 2.24.7Before the noon offering begins, the person making the offering sits behind another altar, called the Āgnīdhrīya, faces north, and sings a chant to the Rudras.
177. 2.24.8This is the chant the worshipper sings before the noon offering. He asks the gods to open the door of the sky so he can see them and live freely there.
178. 2.24.9The worshipper makes his offering and bows to Vayu, the god of the air who lives in the sky. He asks Vayu to win that world for him.
179. 2.24.10The worshipper says he will go to the sky-world when this life ends. He hands over his offering, asks for the door to be unbolted, and stands up. The Rudras, a group of storm gods, then complete the noon offering for him.
180. 2.24.11Before the third and final offering of the day, the worshipper sits behind the main fire altar, faces north, and sings a chant. It is for the Adityas (sun gods) and the Visve Devas (all the gods together).
181. 2.24.12The chant to the Adityas, the sun gods, asks them to open the door of heaven. The worshipper wants to see them and rule over everything there.
182. 2.24.13Next comes the same chant sung to the Visve Devas, all the gods together. Again he asks them to open heaven's door so he may see them and rule there.
183. 2.24.14The worshipper makes his offering and bows to the Adityas and the Visve Devas, who live in heaven. He asks them to win that heavenly world for him.
184. 2.24.15The worshipper declares that heaven is his world and he will go there when this life ends. He gives his offering, asks for the door to be unbolted, and stands up.
185. 2.24.16The Adityas and the Visve Devas complete the third offering for him. Whoever understands the meaning behind these steps understands the whole sacrifice.

186. Part 3.1

     3.1.1This begins a picture of the sun as honey enjoyed by the gods (Devas). Heaven is like a beam, the sky hangs from it like a beehive, and the shining mist is like the bees' eggs.
187. 3.1.2The sun's eastern rays are like honeycomb cells. The verses of the Rig Veda, the oldest holy book, are the bees. The Rig Veda ritual is the flower, and the water poured in offering is its nectar.
188. 3.1.3The Rig Veda verses worked over the ritual the way bees work over a flower. From it came fame, a glowing face, energy, strength and good health.
189. 3.1.4This sweet essence flowed up to the sun. It is the red light we see when the sun rises.

190. Part 3.2

     3.2.1The sun's southern rays are like honeycomb cells on the right. The verses of the Yajur Veda, the book of ritual formulas, are the bees. Its ritual is the flower, and the offered water is the nectar.
191. 3.2.2The Yajur Veda verses worked over the ritual like bees over a flower. From it came fame, a glowing face, energy, strength and good health.
192. 3.2.3This sweet essence flowed up to the sun. It is the sun's white light.

193. Part 3.3

     3.3.1The sun's western rays are like honeycomb cells at the back. The verses of the Sama Veda, the book of sacred songs, are the bees. Its ritual is the flower, and the water is the nectar.
194. 3.3.2The Sama Veda songs worked over the ritual like bees over a flower. From it came fame, a glowing face, energy, strength and good health.
195. 3.3.3This sweet essence flowed up to the sun. It is the sun's dark light.

196. Part 3.4

     3.4.1The sun's northern rays are like honeycomb cells on the left. The hymns of the Atharva Veda are the bees. The old stories and legends (Itihasa-purana) are the flower, and the water is the nectar.
197. 3.4.2The hymns of the Atharva Veda are pictured as bees working over the old stories and histories. From this work came fame, a shining face, energy, strength and good health, like honey.
198. 3.4.3This honey-like essence flowed up to the sun. It became the very dark light that can be seen in the sun.

199. Part 3.5

     3.5.1The sun's rays that point upward are the honeycomb cells at the top. The secret teachings are the bees, Brahman (here meaning the sacred sound Om) is the flower, and water is the nectar.
200. 3.5.2The secret teachings worked over Om like bees over a flower. From this came fame, a shining face, brightness, energy, strength and good health.
201. 3.5.3This essence flowed up to the sun. It became the thing that seems to move and shimmer in the middle of the sun.
202. 3.5.4The colours in the sun are the best of the best. The Vedas are the finest and most lasting things in the world, and these colours, which rise from the Vedas through sacrifice, are their finest part, the nectar of the nectar.

203. Part 3.6

     3.6.1The first nectar, the red light of the sun, feeds the Vasus, a group of gods led by Agni, the god of fire. The gods do not eat or drink; they are happy just by looking at the nectar.
204. 3.6.2The Vasus go into that red colour and come out of it again.
205. 3.6.3A person who truly understands this nectar becomes one of the Vasus, led by Agni. He sees the nectar and is happy, and he too goes into that colour and rises from it.
206. 3.6.4For as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, this person shares the rule and greatness of the Vasus.

207. Part 3.7

     3.7.1The second nectar feeds the Rudras, a group of storm gods led by Indra, king of the gods. The gods do not eat or drink; they are happy just by looking at the nectar.
208. 3.7.2The Rudras go into that white colour and come out of it again.
209. 3.7.3A person who truly understands this nectar becomes one of the Rudras, led by Indra. He sees the nectar and is happy, and he too goes into that colour and rises from it.
210. 3.7.4The sun will later rise in the south and set in the north for twice as long as it now rises in the east. For that whole time, this person shares the rule of the Rudras.

211. Part 3.8

     3.8.1The third nectar feeds the Adityas, a group of gods led by Varuna, the god of the waters and cosmic order. The gods do not eat or drink; they are happy just by looking at the nectar.
212. 3.8.2The Adityas go into that dark colour and come out of it again.
213. 3.8.3A person who truly understands this nectar becomes one of the Adityas, led by Varuna. He sees the nectar and is happy, and he too goes into that colour and rises from it.
214. 3.8.4The sun will later rise in the west and set in the east for twice as long as it rose in the south. For that whole time, this person shares the rule of the Adityas.

215. Part 3.9

     3.9.1The fourth nectar feeds the Maruts, a group of wind gods led by Soma, the god of the sacred drink and the moon. The gods do not eat or drink; they are happy just by looking at the nectar.
216. 3.9.2The Maruts go into that very dark colour and come out of it again.
217. 3.9.3A person who understands this fourth nectar joins the Maruts, the storm gods led by Soma, the moon god. Like them, he enjoys the nectar just by looking at it, and he rests in its color and rises from it again.
218. 3.9.4This verse describes a huge stretch of cosmic time, told as the sun rising and setting from different directions. For that whole age, the knower shares the rule of the Maruts, the storm gods.

219. Part 3.10

     3.10.1The fifth nectar of the sun belongs to the Sadhyas, a group of heavenly beings led by Brahman, here meaning the creator. The gods do not eat or drink it; they are filled with joy just by seeing it.
220. 3.10.2The Sadhyas rest within the color of this nectar and come out from it again, as if resting and then rising to enjoy it.
221. 3.10.3A person who understands this fifth nectar becomes one of the Sadhyas, led by Brahman the creator. He sees the nectar and is happy, and he rests in its color and rises from it again.
222. 3.10.4This describes an even longer age of the universe, told as the sun rising and setting in new directions. For that whole time, the knower shares the power of the Sadhyas.

223. Part 3.11

     3.11.1After all these ages, the sun rises up and no longer rises or sets at all. It stays alone in the center, and a verse is quoted about this.
224. 3.11.2The verse says that there, the sun never rises and never sets. The speaker swears by the gods that this is true, and says he would lose Brahman, the ultimate reality, if it were not.
225. 3.11.3For the person who truly knows this secret teaching about Brahman, the ultimate reality, the sun no longer rises or sets. For him it is day forever.
226. 3.11.4This teaching was handed down from the creator god to Prajapati, then to Manu the first man, then to his descendants. Finally, a father passed it on to the sage Uddalaka Aruni.
227. 3.11.5So a father should teach this knowledge of Brahman only to his eldest son or a worthy student. He should not give it to anyone else, even for the whole treasure-filled earth, because it is worth more than all of that.

228. Part 3.12

     3.12.1The Gayatri, a famous sacred verse, is said to be everything that exists. It is also speech, because speech sings out and protects all things.
229. 3.12.2The Gayatri is also the earth, because everything that exists rests on the earth and does not go beyond it.
230. 3.12.3The earth is like the human body, because the body holds the life-breaths, called pranas, which keep us alive.
231. 3.12.4The body in turn is like the heart inside a person, because the life-breaths rest in the heart and do not go beyond it.
232. 3.12.5The Gayatri verse has four parts, or feet, and six aspects. A verse from the Rig Veda, the oldest scripture, is quoted to support this.
233. 3.12.6The quoted verse says the Person, the Supreme Being, is even greater than all this. All created things are only one quarter of him, and the other three quarters are immortal, beyond this world.
234. 3.12.7This Brahman, the ultimate reality just described, is the same as the open space all around us.
235. 3.12.8The space around us is the same as the space inside us. Outside and inside are one.
236. 3.12.9The space inside us is the space within the heart. That space is Brahman, present everywhere and never changing. Whoever knows this gains a happiness that is everywhere and never changes.

237. Part 3.13

     3.13.1The heart is pictured as having five doorways, guarded by the senses. The eastern door is the in-breath, which is linked to the eye and the sun. Whoever meditates on it this way becomes bright-faced and healthy.
238. 3.13.2The southern door of the heart is the breath that moves through the body, linked to the ear and the moon. Whoever meditates on it this way becomes happy and well known.
239. 3.13.3The western door of the heart is the downward breath, linked to speech and to Agni, the god of fire. Whoever meditates on it this way gains a glowing face and good health.
240. 3.13.4The northern door of the heart is the breath that digests and balances, linked to the mind and to Parjanya, the god of rain. Whoever meditates on it this way becomes well known and beautiful.
241. 3.13.5The upper door of the heart is the rising breath, linked to the air and to open space. Whoever meditates on it this way becomes strong and great.
242. 3.13.6These five breaths are servants of Brahman, the ultimate reality, and they guard the door to heaven. Whoever understands them will have a strong son in the family and will reach heaven himself.
243. 3.13.7The light that shines above everything, in the highest world of all, is the very same light that is inside each person. The text promises to show proof of this.
244. 3.13.8The proof is the warmth you feel when you touch your body, and the humming sound you hear when you cover your ears. Meditate on these as Brahman, the ultimate reality, that you can feel and hear. Whoever does this becomes noticed and well known.

245. Part 3.14

     3.14.1Everything is Brahman, the ultimate reality: all things come from it, end in it and live by it. A person is shaped by what they deeply want and believe. What you set your heart on in this life decides what you become after death. So set your heart on the truth described next.
246. 3.14.2This describes the one to set your heart on. He is pure awareness and light, his thoughts are always true, and like open space he is everywhere but unseen. All actions, wishes, smells and tastes come from him. He holds everything, never needs to speak, and is never caught off guard.
247. 3.14.3This Self lives inside my heart and is tinier than a grain of rice or a mustard seed. Yet this same Self is bigger than the earth, the sky, heaven and all the worlds together.
248. 3.14.4The teacher Sandilya says that this Self inside my heart, the source of everything, is Brahman itself. When I die, I will go to it. A person who truly trusts this has no doubt left.

249. Part 3.15

     3.15.1The universe is pictured as a great chest that never wears out. The earth is its floor, the four directions are its sides, and the heavens are its lid. It is a treasure box holding all things.
250. 3.15.2The four directions of this chest have special names, and the wind is called their child. Whoever knows the wind as the child of the directions will never have to weep for his sons. A father can pray: 'May I never mourn my sons.'
251. 3.15.3This is a protective prayer for one's children. The parent says he turns for safety to the everlasting chest of the universe, to Prana (life-breath), and to the three worlds named Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah, along with his children, naming each one.
252. 3.15.4The prayer is explained: when I say I turn to Prana, the life-breath, I mean I turn to everything that exists.
253. 3.15.5When I say I turn to Bhuh, I mean I turn to the earth, the sky and heaven.
254. 3.15.6When I say I turn to Bhuvah, I mean I turn to fire, wind and the sun.
255. 3.15.7When I say I turn to Svah, I mean I turn to the three sacred books, the Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas. That is the full meaning of the prayer.

256. Part 3.16

     3.16.1A person's whole life is like a sacred offering made in three parts. The first twenty-four years are the morning offering, matching the twenty-four syllables of a sacred verse. These years belong to the Vasus, gods who are really our life-breaths, because they keep us alive.
257. 3.16.2If a person falls sick in the first part of life, his first 24 years, he can pray to his life-breaths (Prânas), which are like the Vasus, gods who keep things alive. He asks them to stretch his life on into the middle years so he does not die young. By this prayer he gets well again.
258. 3.16.3The next 44 years of life are compared to the midday offering of a great ritual. The life-breaths in this stage are linked to the Rudras, storm gods, because they make people cry.
259. 3.16.4If a person falls sick in the middle years, he can ask his life-breaths, like the Rudras, to carry his life on into old age. By this prayer he gets well again.
260. 3.16.5The last 48 years of life are compared to the evening offering of the ritual. The life-breaths in this stage are linked to the Âdityas, sun gods, because they gather everything up.
261. 3.16.6If a person falls sick in old age, he can ask his life-breaths, like the Âdityas, to carry his life on to its full length. By this prayer he gets well again.
262. 3.16.7The sage Mahidâsa Aitareya knew this teaching. He told a sickness, "Why trouble me? I will not die from you." He lived 116 years, and the passage says anyone who knows this will live that long too.

263. Part 3.17

     3.17.1When a person goes hungry and thirsty and gives up pleasures, that is like the start of a sacred ritual. Everyday self-control is a holy act.
264. 3.17.2When a person eats, drinks and enjoys life, that is like the ritual days when eating is allowed. Ordinary enjoyment can also be part of a sacred life.
265. 3.17.3When a person laughs, eats and has fun, that is like singing the hymns at a ritual. Joy itself is a kind of praise.
266. 3.17.4Self-discipline, generosity, doing right, kindness and truthfulness are the true gifts a person offers. These are like the gifts given to priests at a ritual.
267. 3.17.5The ritual words "there will be a birth" and "there has been a birth" stand for a person's birth. His death is like the ritual's last step, when the vessels are taken away to be washed. A whole life is one big sacred ceremony.
268. 3.17.6The teacher Ghora Ângirasa taught this to Krishna, son of Devaki, and after that Krishna wanted no other knowledge. Ghora said that when death comes near, a person should take comfort in three thoughts: "You are the one that never perishes," "You are the one that never changes," and "You are the finest essence of life."
269. 3.17.7Two verses from the Rig-veda are quoted. They say wise people see within themselves an ancient light that is always there. Rising above darkness, they reach the highest light, the light in the sun and in the heart.

270. Part 3.18

     3.18.1A person should meditate on the mind as Brahman, the ultimate reality, when thinking about the body. He should meditate on space as Brahman when thinking about the world of the gods.
271. 3.18.2Brahman, seen as mind, has four parts like four feet. In the body they are speech, breath, sight and hearing. In the outer world they are fire, air, the sun and the directions.
272. 3.18.3Speech is one of the four feet of Brahman, and it shines with the light of fire. Whoever knows this will shine with fame and a glowing face.
273. 3.18.4Breath is one of the four feet of Brahman, and it shines with the light of the air. Whoever knows this will shine with fame and a glowing face.
274. 3.18.5The eye is one of the four feet of Brahman, and it shines with the light of the sun. Whoever knows this will shine with fame and a glowing face.
275. 3.18.6The ear is one of the four feet of Brahman, and it shines with the light of the directions of space. Whoever knows this will shine with fame and a glowing face.

276. Part 3.19

     3.19.1The sun should be worshipped as Brahman, the ultimate reality. In the beginning there was nothing; then something came to be and grew into an egg. After a year the egg broke into two halves, one silver and one gold.
277. 3.19.2The story of the cosmic egg continues. The silver half of the egg became the earth and the golden half became the sky. The egg's inner skins became the mountains and the clouds, its little veins became the rivers, and its liquid became the sea.
278. 3.19.3The sun was born from the egg. When it was born, everyone shouted with joy, and all living beings and all the things they wished for came into being. That is why people still cheer and come alive whenever the sun rises and sets.
279. 3.19.4A person who knows this story and meditates on the sun as Brahman, the highest reality, will be surrounded by happy, joyful sounds, and that joy will stay with them.

280. Part 4.1

     4.1.1Long ago there lived a king named Janashruti, the great-grandson of Janashruta. He was very generous. He gave away lots of wealth, kept his home open to guests, and built shelters everywhere so people could eat his food.
281. 4.1.2One night some swan-like birds flew over the king's house. One bird called to another, "Hey, short-sighted friend! The king's glory has spread like the sky. Don't fly too close or it will burn you."
282. 4.1.3The second bird answered, "Why do you talk about this noble king as if he were as great as Raikva, the man with the cart?"
283. 4.1.4The first bird asked who this Raikva was. The second bird explained that just as the winning throw in a dice game takes all the lower throws, all the good that other people do is included in Raikva. That is because Raikva knows the highest truth.
284. 4.1.5The king overheard the birds. In the morning he asked his servant whether people spoke of him as if he were like Raikva with the cart. The servant asked who Raikva was.
285. 4.1.6The king repeated what the bird had said: just as the winning dice throw takes all the others, all the good that others do belongs to Raikva, because he knows the highest truth.
286. 4.1.7The servant went to find Raikva but came back saying he could not find him. The king told him to look in the quiet, lonely places where a holy man would live.
287. 4.1.8The servant found a man lying under a cart and scratching his sores. He asked, "Sir, are you Raikva with the cart?" The man said, "Here I am." The servant went back and told the king he had found him.

288. Part 4.2

     4.2.1The king took six hundred cows, a necklace, and a cart pulled by mules, and went to see Raikva.
289. 4.2.2The king said, "Raikva, here are six hundred cows, a necklace, and a mule cart. Please teach me about the god you worship."
290. 4.2.3Raikva refused rudely. He called the king a Shudra, a man of low rank, and told him to keep his gifts. So the king came back with a thousand cows, a necklace, a mule cart, and his own daughter.
291. 4.2.4The king said, "Raikva, here are a thousand cows, a necklace, a mule cart, this wife, and the village where you live. Sir, please teach me!"
292. 4.2.5Raikva lifted the young woman's face and said that the king's gifts alone had not moved him; it was this that made him agree to speak. The villages he lived in, in the land of the Mahavrishas, became known as Raikva-parna. Then he began to teach the king.

293. Part 4.3

     4.3.1Raikva teaches that air is where everything ends up. When fire goes out, when the sun sets, and when the moon sets, they all go into the air.
294. 4.3.2When water dries up, it also goes into air. Air takes in all of these things. This is the teaching about the forces of nature, the Devas or gods.
295. 4.3.3In the same way, inside the body, breath (prana, the life-breath) is where everything ends up. When a person sleeps, speech, sight, hearing, and the mind all go back into the breath. Breath takes them all in.
296. 4.3.4Raikva sums up: there are two things everything goes into. Outside, among the forces of nature, it is air. Inside, among the senses, it is breath.
297. 4.3.5Two wise men, Saunaka Kapeya and Abhipratarin, were being served a meal. A young religious student came and asked them for food, but they gave him nothing.
298. 4.3.6The student answers with a riddle. He says one hidden god, the protector of the world, swallows four great things, and people cannot see him even though he lives in many places. He adds that the food really belongs to that god, yet they have not shared it with him.
299. 4.3.7Saunaka thinks about the riddle and answers the student. He says this Being is the life-force of the gods, the maker of all creatures, the great eater, who eats everything but is never eaten. He says, 'This is the One we meditate on,' and then tells the servants to give the student food.
300. 4.3.8They gave the student food. The passage explains the riddle: air eats fire, sun, moon and water, and breath eats speech, sight, hearing and mind. Together these make ten, a lucky winning number in a dice game, so whoever understands this sees everything and always has food to eat.

301. Part 4.4

     4.4.1A boy named Satyakama, son of a woman named Jabala, tells his mother he wants to become a religious student. He asks her which family he comes from.
302. 4.4.2His mother says she does not know who his father's family is. She worked as a servant moving among many guests when she was young and became pregnant then. She tells him to call himself Satyakama Jabala, using her name.
303. 4.4.3Satyakama goes to a teacher named Gautama Haridrumata. He politely asks if he may live and study with him.
304. 4.4.4The teacher asks about his family. Satyakama does not hide anything. He repeats exactly what his mother told him and says his name is Satyakama Jabala.
305. 4.4.5The teacher says only a true Brahmin (a person of real spiritual worth) would speak so honestly, and he accepts Satyakama as a student. He gives him 400 thin, weak cows to look after. Satyakama promises himself not to come back until they become a thousand, and he lives in the forest for years caring for them.

306. Part 4.5

     4.5.1When the herd reached a thousand, the bull of the herd spoke to Satyakama by name. It told him the herd was now complete and asked him to lead them back to the teacher's house.
307. 4.5.2The bull offers to teach Satyakama one part of Brahman (the ultimate reality behind everything). It says the four directions, east, west, south and north, make up this part, which is called 'Full of Splendour.'
308. 4.5.3The bull says whoever understands this and meditates on Brahman as the four directions becomes bright and admired in this life, and wins bright worlds after it.

309. Part 4.6

     4.6.1The bull says Agni, the fire, will teach him the next part. The next day Satyakama drives the cows on. In the evening he makes a fire, pens the cows, and sits by the fire facing east.
310. 4.6.2The fire calls out to Satyakama by name, and he answers respectfully, 'Sir.'
311. 4.6.3The fire teaches him another part of Brahman. It is made of four things: the earth, the sky, heaven, and the ocean. This part is called 'Endless.'
312. 4.6.4The fire says whoever understands this and meditates on Brahman as earth, sky, heaven and ocean becomes endless in this life and wins endless worlds.

313. Part 4.7

     4.7.1The fire says a swan-like bird will teach him the next part. The next day Satyakama drives the cows on, and in the evening again makes a fire, pens the cows, and sits facing east.
314. 4.7.2A swan flies close and calls Satyakama by name. He answers, 'Sir.'
315. 4.7.3The swan teaches him another part of Brahman. It is made of four lights: fire, the sun, the moon, and lightning. This part is called 'Full of Light.'
316. 4.7.4The swan says whoever understands this and meditates on Brahman as these four lights becomes full of light in this life and wins worlds full of light.

317. Part 4.8

     4.8.1The swan tells Satyakama that a diver-bird will teach him the next part about Brahman, the ultimate reality behind everything. The next day Satyakama drives his teacher's cows on, and at evening he makes a fire, pens the cows, and sits facing east.
318. 4.8.2A diver-bird flies near and calls Satyakama by name. He answers respectfully, 'Sir.'
319. 4.8.3The diver-bird teaches that breath, eye, ear and mind together make up one part of Brahman, called 'having a home.' Whoever understands and meditates on this will have a home in this world and in the worlds beyond.

320. Part 4.9

     4.9.1Satyakama finally reaches his teacher's house with the cows. The teacher calls his name and he answers, 'Sir.'
321. 4.9.2The teacher sees that Satyakama's face glows like someone who knows Brahman and asks who taught him. Satyakama says beings other than humans taught him, but he wants his teacher to be the one who teaches him.
322. 4.9.3Satyakama explains he has heard that knowledge only truly helps when learned from a teacher. So the teacher taught him the same knowledge, leaving nothing out.

323. Part 4.10

     4.10.1A young man named Upakosala lived as a student in Satyakama's house and tended his sacred fires for twelve years. Satyakama let the other students finish and go home, but he would not let Upakosala leave.
324. 4.10.2Satyakama's wife urges him to teach the worn-out student who has cared for his fires so well. But Satyakama leaves on a journey without teaching him.
325. 4.10.3Upakosala is so sad he cannot eat. When the teacher's wife asks why, he says his many wishes pull him in different directions, and he is too full of sorrow to eat.
326. 4.10.4The sacred fires that Upakosala had tended talk among themselves. They decide that because he cared for them so faithfully, they will teach him themselves.
327. 4.10.5The fires teach that Brahman is breath, joy (Ka) and open space (Kha). Upakosala understands breath but not the other two, so they explain that joy and space are one, teaching him Brahman as breath and as the space in the heart.

328. Part 4.11

     4.11.1The household fire teaches that earth, fire, food and the sun are its forms. It says it is the same as the being seen in the sun.
329. 4.11.2The fire says whoever knows this and meditates on it is freed from wrongdoing, lives a long full life, and his family line continues. The fires protect such a person in this world and the next.

330. Part 4.12

     4.12.1The southern fire teaches that water, the directions, the stars and the moon are its forms. It says it is the same as the being seen in the moon.
331. 4.12.2Whoever knows this and meditates on it is freed from wrongdoing, lives long, and his family continues. The fires protect him in this world and the next.

332. Part 4.13

     4.13.1The eastern fire teaches that breath, space, sky and lightning are its forms. It says it is the same as the being seen in the lightning.
333. 4.13.2Whoever knows this and meditates on it is freed from wrongdoing, lives long, and his family continues. The fires protect him in this world and the next.

334. Part 4.14

     4.14.1The fires together tell Upakosala they have given him their knowledge and the knowledge of the Self. But his teacher will show him the way forward.
335. 4.14.2When Satyakama returns, he sees Upakosala's face glowing like one who knows Brahman and asks who taught him. Upakosala hints shyly that the fires did, and the teacher asks what they said.
336. 4.14.3Upakosala repeats some of what the fires said. Satyakama says they only taught him about the worlds, and promises to teach something deeper: knowledge so pure that wrong deeds cannot stick to the one who knows it, like water rolls off a lotus leaf.

337. Part 4.15

     4.15.1The teacher tells Upakosala that the person seen in the eye is the true Self. It cannot die and has nothing to fear, and it is Brahman, the ultimate reality. Like an eye that stays clean when butter or water drips on it, the Self is untouched by anything.
338. 4.15.2The Self is called Samyadvama, meaning 'the one toward whom all good things come.' A person who understands this also has all good things come to them.
339. 4.15.3The Self is also called Vamani, meaning 'the one who brings all good things.' A person who knows this also brings good things to others.
340. 4.15.4The Self is also called Bhamani, meaning 'the one who shines in all worlds.' A person who knows this also shines everywhere.
341. 4.15.5When a person who knows this dies, it does not matter whether funeral rites are done for them. They travel through stages of light: day, the bright half of the month, the sun's northern half-year, the year, the sun, the moon and lightning. There a being who is not human meets them.
342. 4.15.6That being leads them to Brahman, the ultimate reality. This is called the path of the gods. Those who take it are not born again as humans.

343. Part 4.16

     4.16.1The wind moves and cleans everything, so it is called the sacrifice, the sacred fire ritual. The ritual has two parts: one done with the mind and one done with words.
344. 4.16.2One priest, called the Brahman priest, does his part silently in his mind. The other priests do their part out loud. This verse begins to describe what happens if the silent priest speaks during a certain stretch of the morning chants.
345. 4.16.3If the silent priest breaks his silence, only the spoken part of the ritual is done right and the silent part is harmed. It is like a man hopping on one foot or a cart on one wheel. The ritual is damaged, and the person paying for it ends up worse off.
346. 4.16.4But if the silent priest keeps his silence during that time, both parts of the ritual are done perfectly and neither is harmed.
347. 4.16.5Like a man walking on two legs or a cart rolling on two wheels, the ritual goes well. The person paying for it is better off afterward.

348. Part 4.17

     4.17.1Prajapati, the creator god, thought deeply about the worlds and drew out their essence. He got fire from the earth, air from the sky, and the sun from heaven.
349. 4.17.2Then Prajapati thought deeply about fire, air and sun and drew out their essence. He got the three kinds of Vedic verses: Rig verses from fire, Yajur verses from air, and Sama verses from the sun.
350. 4.17.3Then he thought deeply about the three Vedas, the holy scriptures, and drew out their essence. He got three sacred words: Bhuh from the Rig verses, Bhuvah from the Yajur verses, and Svah from the Sama verses.
351. 4.17.4If a mistake happens in the Rig Veda part of the ritual, the priest should pour an offering into the household fire, saying 'Bhuh, Svaha!' This uses the power of the Rig verses to repair the mistake.
352. 4.17.5If a mistake happens in the Yajur Veda part of the ritual, the priest should pour an offering into the southern fire, saying 'Bhuvah, Svaha!' This uses the power of the Yajur verses to repair the mistake.
353. 4.17.6If a mistake happens in the Sama Veda part of the ritual, the priest should pour an offering into the eastern offering fire, saying 'Svah, Svaha!' This uses the power of the Sama verses to repair the mistake.
354. 4.17.7People join metals using other materials. Gold is joined with borax, silver with gold, tin with silver, lead with tin, iron with lead, and wood with iron or leather.
355. 4.17.8In the same way, any break in the ritual is repaired with the three sacred words. These words hold the essence of the worlds, the gods and the Vedas. A ritual is made whole when its overseeing priest knows this.
356. 4.17.9A ritual goes the right way when it has an overseeing priest who knows this. An old verse says such a priest goes wherever the ritual slips and protects everyone, like a mare protecting the riders. So people should choose a priest who truly knows this, not one who does not.

357. Part 5.1

     5.1.1Whoever understands what is oldest and best becomes the oldest and best himself. Breath is the oldest and best of all.
358. 5.1.2Whoever understands what is richest becomes the richest. Speech is the richest.
359. 5.1.3Whoever understands what gives firm footing stands firm in this life and the next. The eye gives firm footing, because seeing lets us stand steady.
360. 5.1.4Whoever understands success has his wishes come true, both spiritual and everyday ones. The ear is success, because hearing lets us learn.
361. 5.1.5Whoever understands the home becomes a home and support for his people. The mind is the home, where all our experiences gather.
362. 5.1.6The five senses (breath, speech, sight, hearing and mind) argued about which of them was the best. Each one said, "I am better."
363. 5.1.7The senses went to their father Prajapati, the creator, and asked who was best. He told them that the best is the one whose leaving makes the body worst off.
364. 5.1.8Speech left the body for a year. When it came back, the others said they had lived like people who cannot talk, but still breathed, saw, heard and thought. So speech returned to its place.
365. 5.1.9Sight left for a year. The others lived like blind people, but still breathed, spoke, heard and thought. So the eye came back.
366. 5.1.10Hearing left for a year. The others lived like deaf people, but still breathed, spoke and thought. So the ear came back.
367. 5.1.11The mind left for a year. The others lived like small children whose minds are not yet grown, but still breathed, spoke, saw and heard. So the mind came back.
368. 5.1.12When breath began to leave, it pulled all the other senses loose, like a horse ripping up its tether pegs. They begged breath to stay and called it their lord and the best of them.
369. 5.1.13Speech told breath that its own richness really belonged to breath. The eye said the same about its firm footing.
370. 5.1.14The ear said its success really belonged to breath. The mind said its role as home really belonged to breath.
371. 5.1.15That is why people call all the senses "pranas," meaning breaths. All of them are really forms of breath, the life force.

372. Part 5.2

     5.2.1Breath asked what its food would be. The senses said everything, even what dogs and birds eat. So breath is called Ana, the breather or eater, and for someone who knows this, no food is improper.
373. 5.2.2Breath asked what its clothing would be, and they said water. That is why wise people sip water before and after eating, so that breath is clothed and not naked.
374. 5.2.3The teacher Satyakama Jabala taught this to his student Goshruti. He said this teaching is so powerful that even a dry stick would sprout branches and leaves if told it.
375. 5.2.4Someone who wants greatness should begin a preparation rite at new moon. At full moon he mixes herbs with curd and honey, pours ghee (clarified butter) into the fire saying "Svaha to the oldest and best," and adds the leftover ghee to the mixture.
376. 5.2.5He repeats the offering of ghee into the fire, saying "Svaha to the richest," then "to the firm rest," then "to success." Each time he adds the leftover ghee to the mixture.
377. 5.2.6Holding the herb-and-honey mash in his hands, the person doing the rite speaks to Prana, the life-breath. He calls it Ama, because everything lives within it, and praises it as the oldest, best and ruling power. He asks to become great like it.
378. 5.2.7He eats the mash in small swallows, one after each line of a sacred verse. The verse praises the food of the sun god Savitri, here meaning the life-breath, as the best food that supports everything. At the last line he drinks all that is left.
379. 5.2.8After washing the bowl, he sits quietly behind the fire on an animal skin or the bare ground. He does not speak or do anything else. If he dreams of a woman, that is a sign the rite has worked.
380. 5.2.9A short verse repeats the teaching. If someone doing a rite for a wish dreams of a woman, he can take it as a sign of success.

381. Part 5.3

     5.3.1A young man named Svetaketu goes to a gathering of the Panchala people. King Pravahana Jaivali asks him if his father has taught him, and he proudly says yes.
382. 5.3.2The king asks Svetaketu where people go after they die and how they come back. He also asks where the path of the gods and the path of the ancestors split apart. Svetaketu cannot answer any of these.
383. 5.3.3The king asks two more questions. Why does the world beyond never fill up with the dead? Why, in the fifth offering, is water called 'man'? Svetaketu cannot answer these either.
384. 5.3.4The king asks how Svetaketu could claim to be educated without knowing these things. Svetaketu goes home sad and complains to his father that he was never really taught.
385. 5.3.5Svetaketu says the king, a man of the warrior class, asked him five questions and he could not answer one. His father, Gautama, honestly admits that he does not know the answers either. If he had known them, he would have taught his son.
386. 5.3.6Gautama goes to the king, who welcomes him with respect. The king offers him any worldly gift, but Gautama refuses. He asks only to learn what the king told his son.
387. 5.3.7The king is troubled, and he asks Gautama to stay with him for a while. He explains that this teaching had never gone to a Brahmin, a priest, before. Until now only the warrior class knew it. Then he begins to teach.

388. Part 5.4

     5.4.1The king begins by comparing heaven to a sacrificial fire. The sun is its fuel and the sun's rays are its smoke. The day is its light, the moon its glowing coals and the stars its sparks.
389. 5.4.2Into this heavenly fire the gods (the powers of life) pour an offering of faith, in the form of water. From this offering the moon, called King Soma, is born.

390. Part 5.5

     5.5.1The second fire is Parjanya, the god of rain. The air is its fuel and the cloud its smoke. Lightning is its light, the thunderbolt its coals and the rumbling thunder its sparks.
391. 5.5.2Into the rain-fire the gods offer the moon. From that offering, rain is born.

392. Part 5.6

     5.6.1The third fire is the earth. The year is its fuel and the sky its smoke. Night is its light, the four directions its coals and the in-between directions its sparks.
393. 5.6.2Into the earth-fire the gods offer rain. From that offering, food such as grain is born.

394. Part 5.7

     5.7.1The fourth fire is a man. Speech is its fuel and breath its smoke. The tongue is its light, the eyes its coals and the ears its sparks.
395. 5.7.2Into the man-fire the gods offer food. From that offering, seed is born.

396. Part 5.8

     5.8.1The fifth fire is a woman, the king says to Gautama.
397. 5.8.2The teacher continues: in the woman, seen as a sacred fire, the life-forces offer seed, and from this offering a child begins to form.

398. Part 5.9

     5.9.1This is why water, after passing through five sacred "offerings," becomes a human being. The tiny child grows hidden in the womb for about ten months and is then born.
399. 5.9.2Once born, a person lives for however long their life lasts. When they die, friends carry them to the funeral fire, the same fire they first came from.

400. Part 5.10

     5.10.1People who understand this teaching, whether family people at home or seekers living in the forest with faith and self-discipline, travel after death along a path of brightness: light, day, the bright half of the month, the sun's northern journey, the year, the sun, the moon, and lightning. There they meet a being who is not human.
401. 5.10.2That non-human being leads them to Brahman, the highest reality in a form that can be reached. This is called the path of the gods (Devas).
402. 5.10.3But people who live in the village doing rituals, public good works, and giving charity go another way after death: through smoke, night, the dark half of the month, and the sun's southern months. They do not reach the year.
403. 5.10.4From there they go to the world of the ancestors, then to the sky, then to the moon, which is Soma, the king. There the gods enjoy them as their food.
404. 5.10.5They stay on the moon until the reward of their good deeds runs out. Then they come back the same way, through sky and air, becoming smoke and then mist.
405. 5.10.6The mist becomes a cloud and falls as rain, and they are born as rice, grain, plants, trees, sesame, and beans. Getting out of this stage is very hard, because they become part of whoever eats that food and has children.
406. 5.10.7Those who behaved well are soon born into a good life, such as a priestly, warrior, or merchant family. Those who behaved badly are soon born into a low life, such as a dog, a pig, or an outcaste.
407. 5.10.8Tiny creatures like flies and worms follow neither path; they just keep being born and dying over and over in a third place. That is why the other world never fills up. So, the teacher says, a person should take care of their own soul.
408. 5.10.9A verse says that four kinds of people fall: one who steals gold, one who drinks alcohol, one who sleeps with his teacher's wife, and one who kills a priest. A fifth is the person who keeps company with them.
409. 5.10.10But a person who truly understands this teaching of the five fires is not stained by sin, even if they mix with such people. They stay pure and reach the world of the blessed.

410. Part 5.11

     5.11.1Five respected family men and great thinkers met and talked about a big question: What is our true Self, and what is Brahman, the ultimate reality?
411. 5.11.2After thinking it over, they decided to visit Uddalaka Aruni, who was known to understand the universal Self called Vaisvanara. So they went to him.
412. 5.11.3Uddalaka worried that these great scholars would question him and he would not be able to answer everything, so he decided to send them to another teacher.
413. 5.11.4Uddalaka told them that King Asvapati Kaikeya understood the Vaisvanara Self, and suggested they all go to him together. They went.
414. 5.11.5When they arrived, King Asvapati gave each of them gifts. The next morning he told them his kingdom had no thieves, misers, drunkards, ignorant people, or adulterers, and every home kept a sacred fire. He invited them to stay for his sacrifice and promised them rich payment.
415. 5.11.6The men replied that a visitor should say why he has come. They told the king they came not for wealth but to learn about the Vaisvanara Self.
416. 5.11.7The king said he would answer the next day. In the morning they came to him humbly, carrying firewood like students, and he began teaching them without asking for the usual formal ceremonies.

417. Part 5.12

     5.12.1King Asvapati asks the scholar Aupamanyava what he worships as the Self, the deepest reality. He says heaven. The king answers that heaven is one part of Vaisvanara, the universal Self present in all things, called 'the one with good light,' and that this is why his house is full of rituals.
418. 5.12.2The king says that worshipping heaven brings food, the things one wishes for, and religious honor to one's home. But heaven is only the head of the universal Self. Seeing only one part could have led Aupamanyava to disaster, and coming to learn more saved him.

419. Part 5.13

     5.13.1The king asks Satyayajna what he worships as the Self, and he says the sun. The king says the sun is one part of the universal Self, called 'many-formed,' and that is why his house has many kinds of wealth.
420. 5.13.2The king says the sun-worshipper has carriages, servants and jewels, food and the things he wishes for. But the sun is only the eye of the universal Self. Without the fuller teaching he might have gone blind.

421. Part 5.14

     5.14.1The king asks Indradyumna what he worships as the Self, and he says the air. The king says air is one part of the universal Self, the one that 'moves in many paths.' That is why gifts reach him from many directions and many carriages follow him.
422. 5.14.2The king says the air-worshipper is blessed with food, wishes and honor. But air is only the breath of the universal Self. Without the fuller teaching his breath might have left him.

423. Part 5.15

     5.15.1The king asks Jana what he worships as the Self, and he says space, the open sky that holds everything. The king says space is one part of the universal Self, called 'the full one.' That is why Jana has many children and much wealth.
424. 5.15.2The king says space-worship brings food, wishes and honor. But space is only the body, or trunk, of the universal Self. Without the fuller teaching Jana's body might have perished.

425. Part 5.16

     5.16.1The king asks Budila what he worships as the Self, and he says water. The king says water is one part of the universal Self, called 'wealth.' That is why Budila is rich and thriving.
426. 5.16.2The king says water-worship brings food, wishes and honor. But water is only the bladder of the universal Self. Without the fuller teaching Budila's bladder might have burst.

427. Part 5.17

     5.17.1The king asks Uddalaka Aruni what he worships as the Self, and he says the earth. The king says earth is one part of the universal Self, called 'firm support.' That is why Uddalaka stands secure with children and cattle.
428. 5.17.2The king says earth-worship brings food, wishes and honor. But the earth is only the feet of the universal Self. Without the fuller teaching Uddalaka's feet might have given way.

429. Part 5.18

     5.18.1The king tells all six scholars that each of them saw the universal Self in pieces, as if it were many things. Whoever knows it as one whole, living inside himself and the same as his own self, is nourished in all worlds and in all beings.
430. 5.18.2The king describes the universal Self as one body. Heaven is its head, the sun its eye, air its breath, space its trunk, water its bladder, and earth its feet. Its chest, hair, heart, mind and mouth are the altar, the altar grass, and the three sacred fires.

431. Part 5.19

     5.19.1The king teaches that eating is itself a sacred offering. The first bite of a meal should be offered to Prana, the breath that moves upward, while saying 'Svaha,' the word spoken when making an offering. This satisfies that breath.
432. 5.19.2When this breath is satisfied, the eye, the sun, heaven and everything beneath them are satisfied too. Through this, the person eating is blessed with children, cattle, health, radiance and spiritual glory.

433. Part 5.20

     5.20.1The second bite of food should be offered to Vyana, the breath that spreads through the whole body, while saying 'Svaha.' This satisfies that breath.
434. 5.20.2When this breath is satisfied, the ear, the moon, the directions of space and everything beneath them are satisfied. Through this, the person eating is blessed with children, cattle, health, radiance and spiritual glory.

435. Part 5.21

     5.21.1The third bite should be offered to Apana, the breath that moves downward, while saying 'Svaha.' This satisfies the tongue, fire, the earth and everything beneath them.
436. 5.21.2Through all of them being satisfied, the person eating is blessed with children, cattle, health, radiance and spiritual glory.

437. Part 5.22

     5.22.1The teaching treats eating as a sacred fire offering. The fourth bite of food is offered to Samana, the breath that digests food and spreads it through the body, with the word "Svaha" (a call said when making an offering). Then that breath is satisfied.
438. 5.22.2When the digesting breath is satisfied, the mind is satisfied. Then Parjanya, the god of rain, is satisfied, and then lightning, and then everything under them. Through all of this, the one who eats is blessed with children, cattle, health, a bright glow, and the radiance of sacred learning.

439. Part 5.23

     5.23.1The fifth bite of food is offered to Udana, the upward breath, with the word "Svaha." Then that breath is satisfied.
440. 5.23.2When the upward breath is satisfied, the wind is satisfied. Then the sky or open space is satisfied, and so is everything under them. Through this, the one who eats is blessed with children, cattle, health, a bright glow, and sacred learning.

441. Part 5.24

     5.24.1If someone performs the Agnihotra, the daily fire offering, without understanding its meaning, it is useless. It is like pushing away the burning coals and pouring the offering onto cold ashes.
442. 5.24.2But someone who makes this offering while truly understanding it is feeding all worlds, all beings, and all selves when they eat.
443. 5.24.3Soft reed fibers burn up at once when thrown into a fire. In the same way, all the wrongs of a person are burned away when they make this offering with full understanding.
444. 5.24.4Such a person, even if they give leftover food to a Chandala (a person society treated as an outcast), is really making an offering to the universal Self living in that person. A verse says that all beings gather around this offering like hungry children around their mother.

445. Part 6.1

     6.1.1There once was a boy named Shvetaketu. His father, Uddalaka, told him to go and study the Vedas, the sacred texts. He said no one in their family had ever been a priest by birth alone without truly learning.
446. 6.1.2Shvetaketu began studying with a teacher at age twelve and came home at twenty-four. He had learned all the Vedas, but he came back proud, thinking he knew everything, and acting stiff and serious.
447. 6.1.3His father gently asks him: since you are so proud of your learning, did you ever ask about the one teaching that lets you hear what cannot be heard, see what cannot be seen, and know what cannot be known?
448. 6.1.4Shvetaketu asks what that teaching is. His father explains: if you know one lump of clay, you know everything made of clay. Pots and bowls have different names, but they are all really just clay.
449. 6.1.5The father gives another example. If you know one piece of gold, you know everything made of gold. Rings and necklaces are just different names. They are all really gold.
450. 6.1.6In the same way, if you know one pair of iron nail clippers, you know everything made of iron, because all of it is really iron. The father says the teaching he means works like this: knowing the one source lets you know everything.
451. 6.1.7Shvetaketu says his teachers must not have known this, or they would have taught him. He asks his father to teach him, and his father agrees.

452. Part 6.2

     6.2.1The father begins: in the beginning there was only Being, one thing with nothing else beside it. He notes that some people say there was only nothing at first, and that being came out of nothing.
453. 6.2.2The father rejects that view. How could something come out of nothing? No, he says, in the beginning there was only Being, one, with no second.
454. 6.2.3That one Being wished to become many, and it produced fire, or heat. Heat wished to become many and produced water. That is why a hot person sweats: water comes from heat.
455. 6.2.4Water wished to become many and produced earth, which means food. That is why plenty of food grows wherever it rains: food comes from water.

456. Part 6.3

     6.3.1The father says all living things come from just three kinds of birth. Some hatch from eggs, some are born from a living parent, and some sprout from a seed.
457. 6.3.2The father, Uddalaka, tells his son Svetaketu that the one Being, after making fire, water and earth, decided to enter into them as the living Self. Then it would give everything its names and shapes.
458. 6.3.3The Being mixed fire, water and earth so each one also holds a little of the other two. Then it entered them as the living Self and gave things their names and forms.
459. 6.3.4The father says the Being mixed all three elements together. He tells his son he will now explain how this mixing works.

460. Part 6.4

     6.4.1The father says a burning fire has red, white and black colors, which come from fire, water and earth. The word "fire" is only a name we speak. What is really there are those three basic parts.
461. 6.4.2The sun is also made of the red of fire, the white of water and the black of earth. "Sun" is just a name. The three basic parts are what is real.
462. 6.4.3The moon too is made of the red of fire, the white of water and the black of earth. "Moon" is just a name. The three basic parts are what is real.
463. 6.4.4Lightning too is made of the red of fire, the white of water and the black of earth. "Lightning" is just a name. The three basic parts are what is real.
464. 6.4.5Wise people of long ago, both family heads and religious scholars, knew this. They said nobody could tell them anything new, because by knowing these three basic parts they understood everything.
465. 6.4.6These wise people saw anything red as coming from fire, anything white as coming from water, and anything black as coming from earth.
466. 6.4.7Even things that seemed strange and unknown, the wise knew were some mix of the three basic parts. Then the father says he will explain how these three parts work inside a person.

467. Part 6.5

     6.5.1The father explains that food we eat splits three ways. The roughest part becomes waste, the middle part becomes flesh, and the finest part becomes the mind.
468. 6.5.2Water we drink also splits three ways. The roughest part becomes urine, the middle part becomes blood, and the finest part becomes breath.
469. 6.5.3Rich foods like oil and butter, which carry fire, split three ways. The roughest part becomes bone, the middle part becomes marrow, and the finest part becomes speech.
470. 6.5.4The father sums up: the mind comes from food, breath from water, and speech from fire. His son Svetaketu asks to learn more, and the father agrees.

471. Part 6.6

     6.6.1The father gives an example. When you churn yogurt, its finest part rises to the top and becomes butter.
472. 6.6.2In the same way, the finest part of the food we eat rises up and becomes the mind.
473. 6.6.3The finest part of the water we drink rises up and becomes breath.
474. 6.6.4The finest part of rich, fiery food rises up and becomes speech.
475. 6.6.5The father repeats that mind comes from food, breath from water, and speech from fire. His son asks to learn more, and the father agrees.

476. Part 6.7

     6.7.1The father says a person is made of sixteen parts. He tells his son to eat no food for fifteen days but drink as much water as he wants, since water keeps the breath alive.
477. 6.7.2Svetaketu goes without food for fifteen days, as his father told him. When his father asks him to recite the Vedas, the holy verses he had learned (the Rik, Yajus and Saman), he says he cannot remember them.
478. 6.7.3His father explains with a picture. When a big fire burns down, only one tiny coal, as small as a firefly, is left. In the same way, only one of Svetaketu's sixteen parts is left, so he cannot remember the Vedas. The father tells him to go and eat.
479. 6.7.4The father promises Svetaketu he will understand after he eats. Svetaketu eats, comes back, and now he can answer every question and recite everything by heart.
480. 6.7.5The father says that a tiny leftover coal can blaze up again if you put grass on it, and then it burns brightly.
481. 6.7.6The father explains that Svetaketu's one remaining part was fed by food and blazed up again, so he could remember the Vedas. Now Svetaketu truly understands his father's teaching: the mind comes from food, breath from water, and speech from fire.

482. Part 6.8

     6.8.1Uddalaka Aruni teaches his son what deep sleep really is. When a person sleeps deeply, he is joined with the True, the real Being, and goes back to his own Self. That is why the word for sleeping, svapiti, means 'gone to one's own.'
483. 6.8.2A bird tied by a string flies everywhere, finds no rest, and finally settles at the spot where it is tied. In the same way, the mind runs in every direction, finds no rest, and finally settles on the breath, because the mind is tied to the breath.
484. 6.8.3The father explains hunger: when we are hungry, it is because water has digested and carried away the food we ate. So water is called the 'leader of food.' He says the body grows from food, and the body must have a deeper cause, like a sprout has a root.
485. 6.8.4The body's root is food, food's root is water, water's root is fire, and fire's root is the True. All living beings come from the True, live in it, and rest in it.
486. 6.8.5The father explains thirst: when we are thirsty, it is because heat (fire) has used up the water we drank. So fire is called the 'leader of water.' The body also grows from water, and it must have a deeper root.
487. 6.8.6Water's root is fire, and fire's root is the True; all beings come from, live in, and rest in the True. When a person dies, his speech goes into his mind, his mind into his breath, his breath into heat, and heat into the Highest Being.
488. 6.8.7The father says there is one fine, hidden essence that is the true self of everything that exists. It is the True, it is the Self, and 'you are that, Svetaketu.' Svetaketu asks to learn more, and his father agrees.

489. Part 6.9

     6.9.1The father says that bees make honey by collecting juice from many different trees and mixing it into one thing.
490. 6.9.2In honey, the juices cannot say which tree they came from. In the same way, when living beings merge with the True, in deep sleep or in death, they do not know that they have merged with it.
491. 6.9.3Whatever creatures are here, whether a lion, a wolf, a boar, a worm, or a mosquito, they come back as that again and again.
492. 6.9.4The father repeats: one fine, hidden essence is the true self of everything. It is the True, it is the Self, and 'you are that, Svetaketu.' Svetaketu asks to learn more, and his father agrees.

493. Part 6.10

     6.10.1The father points out that rivers like the Ganga flow east and the Sindhu (Indus) flows west. Their water rises from the sea as clouds, falls as rain, and returns to the sea. In the sea, the rivers no longer know 'I am this river' or 'that river.'
494. 6.10.2In the same way, living beings come out of the True without knowing they came from it. Whatever they are, whether a lion, a wolf, a worm, or a mosquito, they become that again and again.
495. 6.10.3The father repeats: one fine, hidden essence is the true self of everything. It is the True, it is the Self, and 'you are that, Svetaketu.' Svetaketu asks to learn more, and his father agrees.

496. Part 6.11

     6.11.1The father says that if someone cuts a big tree at its root, trunk, or top, sap flows out like blood, but the tree stays alive. Because the living Self fills the tree, it stands strong, drinks in its food, and is happy.
497. 6.11.2The father, Uddalaka, continues teaching his son. When life leaves one branch of a tree, that branch dries up, and when life leaves the whole tree, the whole tree dies. He tells his son to understand people in the same way.
498. 6.11.3The body dries up and dies when the living Self leaves it, but the living Self itself never dies. This tiny hidden essence is the true self of everything, and the father tells Svetaketu, "You are that." The son asks to learn more, and the father agrees.

499. Part 6.12

     6.12.1The father asks his son to bring a fruit of the banyan tree (Nyagrodha) and break it open. Inside are tiny seeds. When the son breaks a seed, he says he sees nothing at all.
500. 6.12.2The father explains that the huge banyan tree grows out of that fine essence inside the seed, even though his son cannot see it.
501. 6.12.3The father says, "Believe it, my son." That hidden essence is the real self of everything, the True, and Svetaketu is that too. The son asks to learn more, and the father agrees.

502. Part 6.13

     6.13.1The father tells his son to put salt in water and come back in the morning. When asked to bring the salt back, the son cannot find it, because it has dissolved.
503. 6.13.2The son tastes the water from the top, the middle and the bottom, and it is salty everywhere. The father explains that the True (Sat) is in the body in the same way: you cannot see it, but it is really there everywhere.
504. 6.13.3The father repeats that this hidden essence is the real self of all things, the True, and that Svetaketu is that. The son asks to learn more, and the father agrees.

505. Part 6.14

     6.14.1The father tells a story. A man is blindfolded, led away from his home in Gandhara (a region in the northwest), and left alone in a wild place. He turns in every direction and shouts that he was brought there blindfolded and abandoned.
506. 6.14.2If someone removes the blindfold and points the way, the man can ask from village to village and finally get home. In the same way, a person who finds a teacher gains true knowledge. He only has to wait until this body ends, and then he is complete.
507. 6.14.3The father again says that this hidden essence is the real self of everything, the True, and that Svetaketu is that. The son asks to learn more, and the father agrees.

508. Part 6.15

     6.15.1When a man is dying, his family gathers and asks, "Do you know me?" He still recognizes them as long as his speech, mind, breath and body heat have not yet merged back into the Highest Being.
509. 6.15.2Once his speech, mind, breath and heat merge back into the Highest Being, he no longer knows them. That same hidden essence is the real self of all, and Svetaketu is that. The son asks to learn more, and the father agrees.

510. Part 6.16

     6.16.1The father describes an old trial by ordeal. A man accused of theft denies it and must hold a red-hot axe. If he really stole and lies, he hides his true self behind a falsehood, and he is burned and killed.
511. 6.16.2If the man did not steal, he is true to himself, holds the hot axe, is not burned, and is set free. Just as truth protects that man, everything has its true self in the True, and Svetaketu is that. This time the son truly understood.

512. Part 7.1

     7.1.1Narada, a famous sage, comes to the teacher Sanatkumara and asks to be taught. Sanatkumara asks him first to say what he already knows, so he can teach him what lies beyond it.
513. 7.1.2Narada lists everything he has studied: the four Vedas (sacred books), history and legends, grammar, rituals for ancestors, math, logic, ethics, astronomy, weapons, the arts and many other subjects. He says he knows all of it.
514. 7.1.3Narada admits that with all his learning he only knows words and books, not the Self. He has heard that knowing the Self ends sorrow, and he is full of sorrow, so he asks for help. Sanatkumara says that everything he has read is only a name.
515. 7.1.4Sanatkumara says that all of Narada's subjects, from the Vedas to the arts, are only names. He tells Narada to meditate on the name as a first step.
516. 7.1.5Sanatkumara says that whoever meditates on the name as Brahman (the ultimate reality) has power only as far as names reach. Narada asks if there is something greater than a name, and the teacher says yes.

517. Part 7.2

     7.2.1The teacher Sanatkumara tells his student Narada that speech is greater than names. Without speech we could not know the sacred books, the world around us, or the difference between right and wrong, true and false, good and bad.
518. 7.2.2Whoever honors speech as Brahman (the highest reality) has mastery as far as speech can reach. Narada asks if there is something greater than speech, and the teacher says yes.

519. Part 7.3

     7.3.1The mind is greater than speech, because it holds both speech and names, the way a closed fist holds a couple of small fruits. Whatever a person decides in their mind to read, do or wish for, they then do it.
520. 7.3.2Whoever honors the mind as Brahman has mastery as far as the mind reaches. Narada asks for something greater than the mind, and the teacher agrees to tell him.

521. Part 7.4

     7.4.1Will, meaning firm intention or resolve, is greater than the mind. First a person resolves, then thinks, then speaks, and the words come out as names, which hold the sacred hymns and rituals.
522. 7.4.2Everything from thinking to ritual rests on will. The teacher describes the whole world as a chain of intention: sky and earth lead to rain, rain to food, food to life, and so on until everything has its purpose.
523. 7.4.3Whoever honors will as Brahman becomes safe, steady and free of distress, and reaches the steady worlds they have intended. Narada asks for something greater than will.

524. Part 7.5

     7.5.1Consideration, meaning careful thoughtful attention, is greater than will. A person first considers, then resolves, then thinks, then speaks.
525. 7.5.2A thoughtless person is ignored even if they know a lot, while a thoughtful person who knows little is gladly listened to. Thoughtfulness is the center and support of everything else.
526. 7.5.3Whoever honors consideration as Brahman becomes safe, steady and free of distress and has mastery as far as it reaches. Narada asks for something still greater.

527. Part 7.6

     7.6.1Reflection, meaning quiet deep meditation, is greater than consideration. The earth, sky and mountains seem still as if meditating, and great people show the same calm, while small-minded people are always quarreling, insulting and gossiping.
528. 7.6.2Whoever honors reflection as Brahman has mastery as far as reflection reaches. Narada asks for something greater than reflection.

529. Part 7.7

     7.7.1Understanding is greater than reflection. Through understanding we grasp the sacred books, the whole natural world, right and wrong, true and false, and this world and the next.
530. 7.7.2Whoever honors understanding as Brahman reaches worlds full of knowledge and has mastery as far as understanding reaches. Narada asks for something greater.

531. Part 7.8

     7.8.1Strength is greater than understanding, since one strong person can shake a hundred clever ones. With strength a person gets up, seeks out wise people, follows them, and comes to truly see and understand; strength also holds the whole world steady.
532. 7.8.2Whoever honors strength as Brahman has mastery as far as strength reaches. Narada asks for something greater than strength.

533. Part 7.9

     7.9.1Food is greater than strength. If a person goes without food for ten days, they may live but cannot see, hear, think or act properly; once they eat, these powers return.
534. 7.9.2Whoever honors food as Brahman gains worlds rich in food and drink and has mastery as far as food reaches. Narada asks for something greater than food.

535. Part 7.10

     7.10.1Water is greater than food. When rain fails, living beings grow afraid there will be little food, and when rain is plentiful they rejoice; water takes the shape of the earth, sky, mountains and all living things.
536. 7.10.2Whoever honors water as Brahman gets all their wishes and feels satisfied, with mastery as far as water reaches. Narada asks for something greater than water.

537. Part 7.11

     7.11.1The teacher Sanatkumara tells his student Narada that fire, meaning heat and light, is greater than water, because fire makes rain. People feel the heat or see lightning and say, "It will rain." So he says to meditate on fire.
538. 7.11.2Whoever meditates on fire as Brahman (the highest reality) becomes bright and reaches bright worlds with no darkness. Narada asks if there is something greater than fire, and the teacher says yes.

539. Part 7.12

     7.12.1Space is greater than fire, because the sun, moon, stars and fire all exist in space. We call, hear and answer through space. We are happy when we are together in it and sad when apart. Everything is born in space and grows toward it.
540. 7.12.2Whoever meditates on space as Brahman reaches wide, open worlds full of light, free from pressure and pain. Narada asks if there is something greater than space, and the teacher says yes.

541. Part 7.13

     7.13.1Memory is greater than space. Without memory, a crowd of people could not hear, notice or understand anything. It is through memory that we recognize our children and our animals. So meditate on memory.
542. 7.13.2Whoever meditates on memory as Brahman has power as far as memory reaches. Narada asks if there is something greater than memory, and the teacher says yes.

543. Part 7.14

     7.14.1Hope is greater than memory. Hope is what moves memory to act. Because of hope, people study holy songs, do rituals, and wish for children, wealth, this world and the next. So meditate on hope.
544. 7.14.2Whoever meditates on hope as Brahman has his wishes fulfilled, and his prayers are not wasted. Narada asks if there is something greater than hope, and the teacher says yes.

545. Part 7.15

     7.15.1Prana, the life-breath that keeps us alive, is greater than hope. Everything mentioned so far is held by life like spokes held by the center of a wheel. Father, mother, brother, sister, teacher and priest are all this life-breath.
546. 7.15.2If someone speaks rudely to a father, mother, brother, sister, teacher or priest, people scold him and say, "Shame on you! You have insulted them."
547. 7.15.3But after the life-breath has left their bodies, if someone pushes the bodies together with a poker and burns them on the funeral fire, no one says he is insulting them. This shows that the person was really the life in the body.
548. 7.15.4Life-breath is everything. A person who sees and understands this becomes an ativadin, someone who can speak about the highest truth. If people call him that, he does not need to deny it.

549. Part 7.16

     7.16.1The teacher says the real ativadin is the one who speaks of the Highest as Truth itself. Narada says he wants that, and the teacher tells him he must first want to know the Truth. Narada says he does.

550. Part 7.17

     7.17.1Only a person who understands the Truth can speak the Truth. Without understanding, you cannot speak it. So we must want to understand. Narada says he wants to understand.

551. Part 7.18

     7.18.1Understanding comes from thinking things through. A person who does not reflect does not understand. So we must learn to reflect. Narada says he wants to learn this.

552. Part 7.19

     7.19.1A person reflects deeply only when they have faith. Without faith, a person does not reflect. So we must learn what faith is. Narada says he wants to learn it.

553. Part 7.20

     7.20.1Faith grows when a person stays close to and serves a spiritual teacher. Without this, a person does not have faith. So we must learn how to follow a teacher. Narada says he wants to learn it.

554. Part 7.21

     7.21.1A person truly follows a teacher only when they do their sacred duties. Without doing one's duties, a person does not truly follow the teacher. So we must learn about duty. Narada says he wants to learn it.

555. Part 7.22

     7.22.1A person does their duties only when they find joy within. Without that joy, a person does not act. So we must learn about this joy. Narada says he wants to learn it.

556. Part 7.23

     7.23.1The teacher says that true joy is the Infinite, called bhuman, meaning that which has no limits. There is no real joy in anything small or limited. Only the Infinite is joy. Narada says he wants to understand the Infinite.

557. Part 7.24

     7.24.1The teacher Sanatkumara tells his student Narada that the Infinite is the state where you no longer see, hear or know anything separate from yourself. Wherever there is a 'me' and a separate 'other', that is the limited world, and it dies. The Infinite does not die, and it rests on nothing but itself.
558. 7.24.2Sanatkumara explains that he does not mean greatness the way people usually mean it. Cattle, gold, servants, family, land and houses are called greatness, but then the owner depends on something outside himself. The Infinite depends on nothing else.

559. Part 7.25

     7.25.1The Infinite is everywhere: below, above, behind, in front, to the right and to the left. It is all of this. Then the teacher says the same thing using 'I': I am below, above and on every side. I am all this.
560. 7.25.2The teacher says it again using 'the Self', meaning your deepest true being: the Self is on every side and is all this. A person who truly understands this loves and delights in the Self. That person rules himself and is free everywhere. Those who think otherwise stay under the control of others and live in a world that passes away.

561. Part 7.26

     7.26.1For someone who understands this, everything comes from the Self: breath and life, hope, memory, space, fire, water, birth and death, food, strength, thinking, will, mind, speech, names, holy hymns and rituals. All of it springs from the Self.
562. 7.26.2An old verse says that whoever sees this truth does not see death, sickness or pain, and gains everything. The One becomes the many things of the world. When what we take in through our senses and mind is pure, our whole nature becomes pure, our memory of the true Self stays steady, and everything that binds us comes loose. In this way the wise Sanatkumara, also called Skanda, washed away Narada's faults and led him beyond darkness.

563. Part 8.1

     8.1.1The body is like a city where God, called Brahman, lives. Inside it is a small palace shaped like a lotus flower, which is the heart. Inside the heart is a small open space. What lives in that space is what we should look for and come to understand.
564. 8.1.2The teacher imagines students asking a question: in this body-city, with the heart and the tiny space inside it, what could be there that is worth looking for and understanding?
565. 8.1.3The answer is that the space inside the heart is as big as all of space outside. Heaven and earth, fire and air, sun and moon, lightning and stars, and everything that is, was or will be are all held within it.
566. 8.1.4Then students might ask: if everything is held inside the body, what is left when old age wears the body down or it falls apart in death?
567. 8.1.5The answer is that what lives in the heart does not grow old when the body grows old, and it is not killed when the body dies. That is the real city of Brahman, not the body. It is the true Self, free from wrongdoing, old age, death, sadness, hunger and thirst, and it wants only what is truly right. The teacher begins to compare this with people on earth, who obey orders and depend on whatever land or thing they are attached to.
568. 8.1.6Everything gained by hard work on earth eventually disappears. In the same way, rewards in the next life earned through rituals and good deeds also run out. People who die without finding the true Self and its true desires are not free anywhere. Those who find them are free in all worlds.

569. Part 8.2

     8.2.1A person who has found the true Self only has to wish to meet his ancestors, the 'fathers', and they come to welcome him. He is happy.
570. 8.2.2If such a person wishes to be with the world of mothers, the mothers come to welcome him just by his wish, and he is happy.
571. 8.2.3If such a person wishes to be with his brothers, they come to welcome him just by his wish, and he is happy.
572. 8.2.4If such a person wishes to be with his sisters, they come to welcome him just by his wish, and he is happy.
573. 8.2.5If such a person wishes to be with his friends, they come to welcome him just by his wish, and he is happy.
574. 8.2.6If such a person wishes for perfumes and flower garlands, they come to him just by his wish, and he is happy.
575. 8.2.7If such a person wishes for food and drink, they come to him just by his wish, and he is happy.
576. 8.2.8If such a person wishes for song and music, they come to him just by his wish, and he is happy.
577. 8.2.9The teacher says that a person who has found the true Self in the heart gets whatever he wishes for. If he wants loving company, it comes to him just by wishing. Whatever he truly longs for comes to him, and he is happy.

578. Part 8.3

     8.3.1Our true wishes are real, but they are covered over by false things. That is why, when someone we love dies, we feel we can never see them again.
579. 8.3.2Everything we long for, including loved ones who are alive or have died, can be found in our own heart, where Brahman (the ultimate reality) lives. People are like strangers walking over buried gold without knowing it. Every night in deep sleep we go into Brahman, but we do not notice, because false ideas pull us away.
580. 8.3.3The Self lives in the heart. Even the Sanskrit word for heart, hridayam, is explained as meaning 'He is in the heart.' A person who knows this goes into Brahman, a kind of heaven, each night in deep sleep.
581. 8.3.4The teacher says the calm being that rises from the body and shows its true form in the highest light of self-knowledge is the Self. It is deathless and without fear. It is Brahman, and its name is Satyam, which means 'the True.'
582. 8.3.5The word Satyam is split into three parts. 'Sat' means what never dies, 't' means what dies, and 'yam' ties the two together. A person who understands this goes into heaven each day.

583. Part 8.4

     8.4.1The Self is like a riverbank or a dam that keeps the worlds in order. Day and night, old age, death, sadness, and even good and bad deeds cannot cross over it. Evil cannot reach it, because the world of Brahman is free from all evil.
584. 8.4.2Once someone crosses over to the Self, the blind is no longer blind, the wounded is no longer wounded, and the suffering one no longer suffers. For that person night turns into day, because the world of Brahman is always full of light.
585. 8.4.3The world of Brahman belongs only to those who reach it through self-control, here called brahmacharya, the disciplined life of a student. Such people are free everywhere.

586. Part 8.5

     8.5.1What people call religious sacrifice is really self-discipline, or brahmacharya. Through disciplined living, a wise person reaches what others hope to gain by rituals, and finds the Self.
587. 8.5.2Long sacrifices and the vow of silence are also really self-discipline. By disciplined living a person finds safety in the True, and one who has found the Self through it truly meditates.
588. 8.5.3Fasting and living as a forest hermit are also really self-discipline, and the Self found this way never dies. The passage then describes the world of Brahman: two lakes named Ara and Nya, another lake, a tree dripping Soma (a sacred drink), a city that cannot be conquered, and a golden hall. That world belongs to those who reach it through self-discipline, and they are free everywhere.

589. Part 8.6

     8.6.1The tiny channels of the heart are filled with brown, white, blue, yellow, and red substance. The sun has these same colors.
590. 8.6.2Like a long road that reaches two towns, one at each end, the sun's rays reach both this world and the other. They go from the sun into the heart's channels and from those channels back to the sun.
591. 8.6.3When a person sleeps deeply and peacefully without dreaming, he has entered those heart channels. Then nothing bad can touch him, because he has reached the sun's light.
592. 8.6.4When a man is very ill, the people sitting around him ask, 'Do you know me? Do you know me?' As long as he has not left his body, he recognizes them.
593. 8.6.5When a person dies, he goes upward along the sun's rays, or leaves while meditating on Om and so reaches Brahman's world. The sun is the door to that world: those who know go in, and those who do not are shut out. A verse says one of the heart's 101 channels goes up to the top of the head, and leaving by it leads to immortality.

594. Part 8.7

     8.7.1Prajapati, the creator, says we must seek and understand the Self. It has no sin, no old age, no death, no sorrow, no hunger or thirst. It wants and imagines only what is right. Whoever finds and understands it gains all worlds and all wishes.
595. 8.7.2The gods and the demons both heard this and decided to look for that Self. Indra, king of the gods, and Virochana, king of the demons, each went to Prajapati separately. They carried firewood in their hands, as students did when coming to a teacher.
596. 8.7.3Indra and Virochana lived with Prajapati as students for thirty-two years. When he asked why they came, they repeated his teaching about the Self and said they wanted it. Prajapati told them that the person seen in the eye is the Self, deathless and fearless. When they asked about the person seen in water or a mirror, he said it is the same one seen in all of them.

597. Part 8.8

     8.8.1Prajapati, the creator-teacher, tells his two students, Indra (king of the gods) and Virochana (king of the demons), to look at their reflections in a pan of water. They report that they see a complete copy of themselves, down to their hair and nails.
598. 8.8.2Prajapati tells the two students to dress up in their best clothes, clean themselves, and look into the water again. Then he asks them what they see.
599. 8.8.3The students say they see themselves dressed up and clean, just as they are. Prajapati says, "That is the Self, the deathless, the fearless, Brahman (the ultimate reality)," and both leave feeling satisfied.
600. 8.8.4As they leave, Prajapati says that neither of them has truly understood the Self, and anyone who follows this idea will be ruined. Virochana goes home and teaches the demons that the body is the self, and that pampering and serving the body wins both this world and the next.
601. 8.8.5That is why people still call someone who gives no charity, has no faith, and makes no offerings a demon-like person, because this is the demons' teaching. Such people decorate dead bodies with perfume, flowers and fine clothes, thinking this will win them the next world.

602. Part 8.9

     8.9.1On his way home, Indra sees a problem. If the reflection changes with the body, then it will be blind if the body is blind, lame if the body is lame, and it will die when the body dies. So he decides this teaching is no good.
603. 8.9.2Indra goes back to Prajapati as a humble student carrying firewood, the custom for students. When asked why he returned, he explains his doubt: a self that follows the body will be hurt by its injuries and die with it.
604. 8.9.3Prajapati agrees that Indra is right and promises to explain the true Self further. He asks Indra to stay and study with him for another thirty-two years, and Indra does.

605. Part 8.10

     8.10.1Prajapati now says the Self is the one who moves about happily in dreams. Indra leaves satisfied, but then thinks: it is true that the dreaming self is not blind or lame when the body is.
606. 8.10.2Indra continues his doubt: even if the dream self is not hurt when the body is hurt, in dreams it still feels as if it is being beaten or chased. It feels pain and cries. So this answer is not good enough either.
607. 8.10.3Indra returns to Prajapati again with firewood in his hands. He explains that the dream self is indeed free from the body's defects such as blindness or lameness.
608. 8.10.4Indra says that in dreams the self still feels beaten and chased, feels pain and cries, so he sees no good in this answer. Prajapati agrees and asks him to stay another thirty-two years for further teaching, and Indra stays.

609. Part 8.11

     8.11.1Prajapati now says the Self is what remains in deep, dreamless sleep. Indra leaves satisfied but then worries: in deep sleep a person does not know "I am this," nor anything else, so it seems like being wiped out entirely.
610. 8.11.2Indra goes back to Prajapati once more and explains his doubt: in deep sleep one knows neither oneself nor anything that exists, which seems like complete nothingness. He sees no good in that.
611. 8.11.3Prajapati agrees and promises to explain the Self one last time. He asks Indra to stay five more years, making one hundred and one years of study in total.

612. Part 8.12

     8.12.1Prajapati teaches that the body is mortal and always in death's grip, but it is the home of the Self, which is deathless and has no body. As long as you think "I am this body," you are caught by pleasure and pain; when you know you are different from the body, pleasure and pain no longer touch you.
613. 8.12.2Prajapati compares the Self to wind, clouds, lightning and thunder, which have no bodies. They rise from the sky and show their true form when they reach the highest light.
614. 8.12.3In the same way, the peaceful Self rises from the body and shows its true form when it reaches the highest light, which is knowledge of the Self. Then it is the highest person, free and joyful, not caring about the body it was born in. The spirit is tied to the body like a horse to a cart.
615. 8.12.4The eye, nose, tongue and ear are only tools for seeing, smelling, speaking and hearing. The Self is the one who knows and wants to see, smell, speak or hear.
616. 8.12.5The Self is the one who thinks, and the mind is its divine eye, through which it sees and enjoys hidden joys. The gods meditate on this Self, so they have all worlds and desires, and anyone who knows and understands this Self gains the same.

617. Part 8.13

     8.13.1The seeker declares: I move from the hidden Brahman (the ultimate reality) within my heart to the bright world of Brahman. I shake off all wrongdoing like a horse shaking its hair, and like the moon coming free after an eclipse (Rahu is the demon said to swallow the moon). Leaving the body behind, I reach the world of Brahman that was never made, fulfilled and at peace.

618. Part 8.14

     8.14.1Space (akasha) is what lets all names and shapes appear. What holds all those names and shapes is Brahman, the deathless Self. The speaker prays to reach the home of Prajapati, the creator god, and to be honored among priests, rulers and all people. He asks never to be reborn into the womb, which he calls the toothless place that still devours.

619. Part 8.15

     8.15.1This teaching was handed down from the god Brahma to Prajapati, then to Manu, the first man, and then to all people. A person who learns the Vedas (sacred texts) from a teacher while serving him, then lives as a householder, keeps reciting what he learned, raises good children, turns his senses toward the Self, and harms no living being except in sacred rites, reaches the world of Brahman and is never reborn.