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The Upanishads
Sri Aurobindo
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Table of Contents
Introduction
ISHA UPANISHADIsha Upanishad
Analysis
Prefatory. Plan of the Upanishad
First Moe!ent. The Inhabitin" #odhead$ %ife And Action
Second Moe!ent. &. 'rah!an$ (neness (f #od And The
)orld
Second Moe!ent. *. Self+,ealisation
Third Moe!ent. &. The %ordThird Moe!ent. *. -noled"e And I"norance
Third Moe!ent. /. 'irth And Non+'irth
Fourth Moe!ent. &. The )orlds 0 Surya
Fourth Moe!ent. *. Action And The Diine )ill
Conclusion and Su!!ary
TH1 -1NA UPANISHAD
The -ena Upanishad
Co!!entary
The Sub2ect of the Upanishad
The 3uestion. )hat #odhead4
The Supra!ental #odhead
The 1ternal 'eyond the Mind
The Supre!e )ord
The Necessity of Super!indMind and Super!ind
The Superlife 0 %ife of (ur %ife
The #reat Transition
The Parable of the #ods
The Transfi"uration of the Self and the #ods
A %ast )ord
MUNDA-A UPANISHADFirst Munda5a
Second Munda5a
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Third Munda5a
-ATHA UPANISHAD
First Cycle. First Chapter
First Cycle. Second Chapter
First Cycle. Third ChapterSecond Cycle. First Chapter
Second Cycle. Second Chapter
Second Cycle. Third Chapter
,1ADIN#S IN TH1 TAITTI,I6A UPANISHAD
The -noled"e of 'rah!an
Truth7 -noled"e7 Infinity
Note on the Te8ts
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Publisher9s Note
The present volume comprises Sri "urobindo(s )inal translations o) and
commentaries on the *sha and +ena panishads, his )inal translations o)
the undaka and +atha panishads, and a commentary on part o) the
Taittiriya panishad. They are preceded by a chapter on the panishads
)rom A Defence of Indian Culture. These works represent Sri "urobindo(s
panishadic interpretation in its most mature and )inished )orm. "ll were
written a)ter he settled in &ondicherry in %%$. Translations and
commentaries written be)ore that year, or le)t incomplete by the author,
have not been included in this volume. They are available in other
publications.The page numbers re)er to Section /ne o) 0The panishads, Te1ts,
Translations and 2ommentaries3, Second 4dition, &ondicherry 5%6%7.
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Introduction
The panishads are the supreme work o) the *ndian mind, and that itshould be so, that the highest sel)-e1pression o) its genius, its sublimest poetry, its greatest creation o) the thought and word should be not a
literary or poetical masterpiece o) the ordinary kind, but a large )lood o)
spiritual revelation o) this direct and pro)ound character, is a signi)icant
)act, evidence o) a uni8ue mentality and unusual turn o) spirit. The
panishads are at once pro)ound religious scriptures, 9 )or they are a
record o) the deepest spiritual e1periences, 9 documents o) revelatory and
intuitive philosophy o) an ine1haustible light, power and largeness and,
whether written in verse or cadenced prose, spiritual poems o) an absolute,
an un)ailing inspiration inevitable in phrase, wonder)ul in rhythm and
e1pression. *t is the e1pression o) a mind in which philosophy and religion
and poetry are made one, because this religion does not end with a cult nor
is limited to a religio-ethical aspiration, but rises to an in)inite discovery o)
:od, o) Sel), o) our highest and whole reality o) spirit and being and
speaks out o) an ecstasy o) luminous knowledge and an ecstasy o) movedand )ul)illed e1perience, this philosophy is not an abstract intellectual
speculation about Truth or a structure o) the logical intelligence, but Truth
seen, )elt, lived, held by the inmost mind and soul in the joy o) utterance o)
an assured discovery and possession, and this poetry is the work o) the
aesthetic mind li)ted up beyond its ordinary )ield to e1press the wonder
and beauty o) the rarest spiritual sel)-vision and the pro)oundest illumined
truth o) sel) and :od and universe. ;ere the intuitive mind and intimate
psychological e1perience o) the
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appear then and still make them to those who can enter into the element in
which these utterances move, a revelation not to the intellect alone, but to
the soul and the whole being, make o) them in the old e1pressive word not
intellectual thought and phrase, but sruti, spiritual audience, an inspired
Scripture. The philosophical substance o) the panishads demands at this
day no )arther stress o) appreciation o) its value= )or even i) the amplestacknowledgement by the greatest minds were wanting, the whole history
o) philosophy would be there to o))er its evidence. The panishads have
been the acknowledged source o) numerous pro)ound philosophies and
religions that )lowed )rom it in *ndia like her great rivers )rom their
;imalayan cradle )ertilising the mind and li)e o) the people and kept its
soul alive through the long procession o) the centuries, constantly returned
to )or light, never )ailing to give )resh illumination, a )ountain o)
ine1haustible li)e-giving waters. Buddhism with all its developments was
only a restatement, although )rom a new standpoint and with )resh terms
o) intellectual de)inition and reasoning, o) one side o) its e1perience and it
carried it thus changed in )orm but hardly in substance over all "sia and
westward towards 4urope. The ideas o) the panishads can be
rediscovered in much o) the thought o) &ythagoras and &lato and )orm the
pro)oundest part o) >eo-platonism and :nosticism with all their
considerable conse8uences to the philosophical thinking o) the West, andSu)ism only repeats them in another religious language. The larger part o)
:erman metaphysics is little more in substance than an intellectual
development o) great realities more spiritually seen in this ancient
teaching, and modern thought is rapidly absorbing them with a closer,
more living and intense receptiveness which promises a revolution both in
philosophical and in religious thinking= here they are )iltering in through
many indirect in)luences, there slowly pouring through direct and open
channels. There is hardly a main philosophical idea which cannot )ind anauthority or a seed or indication in these anti8ue writings 9 the
speculations, according to a certain view, o) thinkers who had no better
past or background to their thought than a crude, barbaric, naturalistic and
animistic ignorance. "nd even the larger generalisations o) Science are
constantly )ound to apply to the truth o) physical >ature )ormulas already
discovered by the *ndian sages in their original, their largest meaning in
the deeper truth o) the spirit."nd yet these works are not philosophical speculations o) the
intellectual kind, a metaphysical analysis which labours to de)ine notions,
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to select ideas and discriminate those that are true, to logicise truth or else
to support the mind in its intellectual pre)erences by dialectical reasoning
and is content to put )orward an e1clusive solution o) e1istence in the light
o) this or that idea o) the reason and see all things )rom that viewpoint, in
that )ocus and determining perspective. The panishads could not have
had so undying a vitality, e1ercised so un)ailing an in)luence, producedsuch results or seen now their a))irmations independently justi)ied in other
spheres o) in8uiry and by 8uite opposite methods, i) they had been o) that
character. *t is because these seers saw Truth rather than merely thought it,
clothed it indeed with a strong body o) intuitive idea and disclosing image,
but a body o) ideal transparency through which we look into the
illimitable, because they )athomed things in the light o) sel)-e1istence and
saw them with the eye o) the *n)inite, that their words remain always alive
and immortal, o) an ine1haustible signi)icance, an inevitable authenticity,
a satis)ying )inality that is at the same time an in)inite commencement o)
truth, to which all our lines o) investigation when they go through to their
end arrive again and to which humanity constantly returns in its minds and
its ages o) greatest vision. The panishads are
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transcendent :odhead, the divine and universal Sel) and discoveries o) his
relation with things and creatures in this great cosmic mani)estation.
2hants o) inspired knowledge, they breathe like all hymns a tone o)
religious aspiration and ecstasy, not o) the narrowly intense kind proper to
a lesser religious )eeling, but raised beyond cult and special )orms o)
devotion to the universal "nanda o) the Divine which comes to us byapproach to and oneness with the sel)-e1istent and universal spirit. "nd
though mainly concerned with an inner vision and not directly with
outward human action, all the highest ethics o) Buddhism and later
;induism are still emergences o) the very li)e and signi)icance o) the
truths to which they give e1pressive )orm and )orce, 9 and there is
something greater than any ethical precept and mental rule o) virtue, the
supreme ideal o) a spiritual action )ounded on oneness with :od and all
living beings. There)ore even when the li)e o) the )orms o) the
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)ollow the tardy, care)ul and di))use development o) the logical
intelligence. The passage, the sentence, the couplet, the line, even the hal)
line )ollows the one that precedes with a certain interval )ull o) an
une1pressed thought, an echoing silence between them, a thought which is
carried in the total suggestion and implied in the step itsel), but which the
mind is le)t to work out )or its own pro)it, and these intervals o) pregnantsilence are large, the steps o) this thought are like the paces o) a Titan
striding )rom rock to distant rock across in)inite waters. There is a per)ect
totality, a comprehensive connection o) harmonious parts in the structure
o) each panishad= but it is done in the way o) a mind that sees masses o)
truth at a time and stops to bring only the needed word out o) a )illed
silence. The rhythm in verse or cadenced prose corresponds to the
sculpture o) the thought and the phrase. The metrical )orms o) the
panishads are made up o) )our hal) lines each clearly cut, the lines
mostly complete in themselves and integral in sense, the hal) lines
presenting two thoughts or distinct parts o) a thought that are wedded to
and complete each other, and the sound movement )ollows a
corresponding principle, each step brie) and marked o)) by the distinctness
o) its pause, )ull o) echoing cadences that remain long vibrating in the
inner hearing each is as i) a wave o) the in)inite that carries in it the whole
voice and rumour o) the ocean. *t is a kind o) poetry 9 word o) vision,rhythm o) the spirit, 9 that has not been written be)ore or a)ter.
The imagery o) the panishads is in large part developed )rom the type
o) imagery o) the
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psychical starting-point )or its own more highly evolved and more purely
spiritual philosophy. There are a number o) passages especially in the
prose panishads which are entirely o) this kind and deal, in a manner
recondite, obscure and even unintelligible to the modern understanding,
with the psychic sense o) ideas then current in the
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The )ace o) the Truth is covered with a golden lid / )ostering Sun,
that uncover )or the law o) the truth, )or sight. / )osterer, / sole ishi, /
controlling Aama, / Surya, / son o) the Cather o) creatures, marshal and
mass thy rays the ustre that is thy most blessed )orm o) all, that * see, ;e
who is this, this &urusha, ;e am *.
The kinship in di))erence o) these passages with the imagery and style
o) the
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the Aajus to the middle world, to the moon-world o) Soma. ;e in the
world o) Soma e1perienceth the majesty o) the spirit and returneth again.
"nd he who by the triple letter again, even this syllable /, shall
meditate on the highest &urusha, is per)ected in the light that is the Sun. "s
a snake putteth o)) its skin, even so is he released )rom sin and evil and is
led by the Samans to the world o) Brahman. ;e )rom this dense o) livingsouls seeth the higher than the highest &urusha who lieth in this mansion.
The three letters are a))licted by death, but now they are used undivided
and united to each other, then are the inner and the outer and the middle
action o) the spirit made whole in their per)ect using and the spirit knows
and is not shaken. This world by the iks, the middle world by the Aajus
and by the Samans that which the seers make known to us. The man o)
knowledge passeth to ;im by /, his house, even to the supreme spirit
that is calm and ageless and )earless and immortal.
The symbols here are still obscure to our intelligence, but indications
are given which show beyond doubt that they are representations o) a
psychical e1perience leading to di))erent states o) spiritual realisation and
we can see that these are three, outward, mental and supramental, and as
the result o) the last a supreme per)ection, a complete and integral action
o) the whole being in the tran8uil eternity o) the immortal Spirit. "nd later
in the andukya panishad the other symbols are cast aside and we areadmitted to the unveiled signi)icance. Then there emerges a knowledge to
which modern thought is returning through its own very di))erent
intellectual, rational and scienti)ic method, the knowledge that behind the
operations o) our outward physical consciousness are working the
operations o) another, subliminal, 9 another and yet the same, 9 o)
which our waking mind is a sur)ace action, and above 9 perhaps, we still
say 9 is a spiritual superconscience in which can be )ound, it may well be, the highest state and the whole secret o) our being. We shall see, when
we look closely at the passage o) the &rasna panishad, that this
knowledge is already there, and * think we can very rationally conclude
that these and similar utterances o) the ancient sages, however perple1ing
their )orm to the rational mind, cannot be dismissed as a childish
mysticism, but are the imaged e1pression, natural to the mentality o) the
time, o) what the reason itsel) by its own processes is now showing us to
be true and a very pro)ound truth and real reality o) knowledge.The metrical panishads continue this highly charged symbolism but
carry it more lightly and in the bulk o) their verses pass beyond this kind
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o) image to the overt e1pression. The Sel), the Spirit, the :odhead in man
and creatures and >ature and all this world and in other worlds and
beyond all cosmos, the *mmortal, the /ne, the *n)inite is hymned without
veils in the splendour o) his eternal transcendence and his mani)old sel)-
revelation. " )ew passages )rom the teachings o) Aama, lord o) the aw
and o) Death, to >achiketas, will be enough to illustrate something o) theircharacter.
/ is this syllable. This syllable is the Brahman, this syllable is the
Supreme. ;e who knoweth the imperishable /, whatso he willeth, it is
his. This support is the best, this support is the highest= and when a man
knoweth it, he is greatened in the world o) Brahman. The omniscient is not
born, nor dies, nor has he come into being )rom anywhere, nor is he
anyone. ;e is unborn, he is constant and eternal, he is the "ncient o) Dayswho is not slain in the slaying o) the body....
;e is seated and journeys )ar, and lying still he goes to every side.
Who other than * should know this ecstatic :odheadE The wise man
cometh to know the great ord and Sel) established and bodiless in these
bodies that pass and has grie) no longer. This Sel) is not to be won by
teaching nor by brain-power nor by much learning he whom the Spirit
chooses, by him alone it can be won, and to him this Spirit discloses its
own very body. /ne who has not ceased )rom ill-doing, one who is not
concentrated and calm, one whose mind is not tran8uil, shall not get him
by the brain(s wisdom. ;e o) whom warriors and sages are the )ood and
death is the spice o) his ban8uet, who knoweth where is ;eE...
The Sel)-born has cloven his doors outward, there)ore man sees
outward and not in the inner sel) only a wise man here and there turns his
eyes inward, desiring immortality, and looks on the Sel) )ace to )ace. The
child minds )ollow a)ter sur)ace desires and )all into the net o) death whichis spread wide )or us= but the wise know o) immortality and ask not )rom
things inconstant that which is constant. /ne knoweth by this Sel) )orm
and taste and odour and touch and its pleasures and what then is here le)t
overE The wise man cometh to know the great ord and Sel) by whom one
seeth all that is in the soul that wakes and all that is in the soul that dreams
and hath grie) no longer. ;e who knoweth the Sel), the eater o) sweetness
close to the living being, the lord o) what was and what will be, shrinkstherea)ter )rom nothing that is. ;e knoweth him who is that which was
born o) old )rom Tapas and who was born o) old )rom the waters and hath
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entered in and standeth in the secret cavern o) being with all these
creatures. ;e knoweth her who is born by the li)e )orce, the in)inite
other with all the gods in her, her who hath entered in and standeth in
the secret cavern o) being with all these creatures. This is the Cire that hath
the knowledge and it is hidden in the two tinders as the embryo is borne in
pregnant women= this is the Cire that must be adored by men watchingsleeplessly and bringing to him the o))ering. ;e is that )rom which the Sun
rises and that in which it sets and in him all the gods are )ounded and
none can pass beyond him. What is here, even that is in other worlds, and
what is there, even according to that is all that is here. ;e goes )rom death
to death who sees here only di))erence. " &urusha no bigger than a thumb
stands in man(s central sel) and is the lord o) what was and what shall be,
and knowing him thence)orth one shrinks )rom nothing that is. " &urusha
no bigger than a man(s thumb and he is like a light without smoke= he is
the ord o) what was and what shall be= it is he that is today and it is he
that shall be tomorrow.
The panishads abound with passages which are at once poetry and
spiritual philosophy, o) an absolute clarity and beauty, but no translation
empty o) the suggestions and the grave and subtle and luminous sense
echoes o) the original words and rhythms can give any idea o) their power
and per)ection. There are others in which the subtlest psychological and philosophical truths are e1pressed with an entire su))iciency without
)alling short o) a per)ect beauty o) poetical e1pression and always so as to
live to the mind and soul and not merely be presented to the understanding
intelligence. There is in some o) the prose panishads another element o)
vivid narrative and tradition which restores )or us though only in brie)
glimpses the picture o) that e1traordinary stir and movement o) spiritual
en8uiry and passion )or the highest knowledge which made thepanishads possible. The scenes o) the old world live be)ore us in a )ew
pages, the sages sitting in their groves ready to test and teach the comer,
princes and learned Brahmins and great landed nobles going about in
search o) knowledge, the king(s son in his chariot and the illegitimate son
o) the servant-girl, seeking any man who might carry in himsel) the
thought o) light and the word o) revelation, the typical )igures and
personalities, ?anaka and the subtle mind o) "jatashatru, aikwa o) the
cart, Aajnavalkya militant )or truth, calm and ironic, taking to himsel) with both hands without attachment worldly possessions and spiritual riches
and casting at last all his wealth behind to wander )orth as a houseless
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ascetic, +rishna son o) Devaki who heard a single word o) the ishi :hora
and knew at once the 4ternal, the ashramas, the courts o) kings who were
also spiritual discoverers and thinkers, the great sacri)icial assemblies
where the sages met and compared their knowledge. "nd we see how the
soul o) *ndia was born and how arose this great birth-song in which it
soared )rom its earth into the supreme empyrean o) the spirit. The
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ISHA UPANISHAD
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ISHA UPANISHAD
īśā vāsyamidaḿ sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat ǀtena tyaktena !uñjīt!ā mā g"d!a# kasya svidd!anam $
%. "ll this is )or habitation% by the ord, whatsoever is individual universe
o) movement in the universal motion. By that renounced thou shouldst
enjoy= lust not a)ter any manFs possession.
kurvanneve!a karmā%i jijīvi&ecc!ataḿ samā# ǀevaṁ tvayi nānyat!eto'sti na karma li(yate nare $
#. Doing verily# works in this world one should wish to live a hundred
years. Thus it is in thee and not otherwise than this= action cleaves not
to a man. G
H%I There are three possible senses o) vasyam) Jto be clothedJ, Jto be worn as a garmentJ
and Jto be inhabitedJ. The )irst is the ordinarily accepted meaning. Shankara e1plains it in
this signi)icance, that we must lose the sense o) this unreal objective universe in the sole
perception o) the pure Brahman. So e1plained the )irst line becomes a contradiction o) the
whole thought o) the panishad which teaches the reconciliation, by the perception o)
essential nity, o) the apparently incompatible opposites. :od and the World,
enunciation and 4njoyment, "ction and internal Creedom, the /ne and the any, Being
and its Becomings, the passive divine *mpersonality and the active divine &ersonality, the
+nowledge and the *gnorance, the Becoming and the >ot-Becoming, i)e on earth and
beyond and the supreme *mmortality. The image is o) the world either as a garment or as
a dwelling-place )or the in)orming and governing Spirit. The latter signi)icance agrees better with the thought o) the panishad.
H#I *urvanneva+ The stress o) the word eva gives the )orce, Jdoing works indeed, and not
re)raining )rom themJ.
HGI Shankara reads the line, JThus in thee 9 it is not otherwise than thus 9 action
cleaves not to a man.J ;e interprets karmani in the )irst line in the sense o)
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as,ryā nāma te lokā and!ena tamasā''v"tā# ǀ
tāḿste (retyā!igacc!anti ye ke cātma!ano janā# $
G. Sunless
K
are those worlds and enveloped in blind gloom whereto all theyin their passing hence resort who are slayers o) their souls.
anejadekaṁ manaso javīyo nainaddevā ā(nuvan (,rvamar&at ǀ
tadd!āvato'nyānatyeti ti&-!at tasminna(o mātariśvā dad!āti $
K. /ne unmoving that is swi)ter than ind, That the :ods reach not, )or *t
progresses ever in )ront. That, standing, passes beyond others as theyrun. *n That the aster o) i)eL establishes the Waters. M
* give seems to me the simple and straight)orward sense o) the panishad.
HKI We have two readings, as,ryā!+ sunless, and asuryā!) Titanic or undivine. The third
verse is, in the thought structure o) the panishad, the starting-point )or the )inal
movement in the last )our verses. *ts suggestions are there taken up and worked out. The
prayer to the Sun re)ers back in thought to the sunless worlds and their blind gloom,
which are recalled in the ninth and twel)th verses. The sun and his rays are intimately
connected in other panishads also with the worlds o) ight and their natural opposite is
the dark and sunless, not the Titanic worlds.
HLI .ātariśvan seems to mean Jhe who e1tends himsel) in the other or the containerJ
whether that be the containing mother element, 4ther, or the material energy called 4arth
in the
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tadejati tannaijati tad d,re tadvantike ǀ
tadantarasya sarvasya tadu sarvasyāsya ā!yata# $
L. That moves and That moves not= That is )ar and the same is near= Thatis within all this and That also is outside all this.
yastu sarvā%i !,tāni ātmanyevānu(aśyati ǀ
sarva!,te&u cātmānaṁ tato na vijugu(sate $
M. But he who sees everywhere the Sel) in all e1istences and all e1istences
in the Sel), shrinks not therea)ter )rom aught.
yasmin sarvā%i !,tāni ātmaivā!,d vijānata# ǀ
tatra ko mo!a# ka# śoka ekatvamanu(aśyata# $
N. ;e in whom it is the Sel)-Being that has become all e1istences that are
BecomingsN )or he has the per)ect knowledge, how shall he be deluded,
whence shall he have grie) who sees everywhere onenessE
sa (aryagācc!ukramakāyamavra%amasnāviraṁ
śudd!ama(ā(avidd!am ǀ
kavirmanī&ī (ari!,# svayam!ur yāt!ātat!yato'rt!ān
vyadad!ācc!āśvatī!ya# samā!ya# $
6. *t is ;e that has gone abroad 9 That which is bright, bodiless, without
scar o) imper)ection, without sinews, pure, unpierced by evil. The Seer,
obviously, the right signi)icance o) the word in the panishad.
HNI The words /012345 789:3;5 literally, Jall things that have becomeJ, is opposed to
"tman, sel)-e1istent and immutable being. The phrase means ordinarily Jall creaturesJ,
but its literal sense is evidently insisted on in the e1pression !,tāni a!,t Jbecame theBecomingsJ. The idea is the ac8uisition in man o) the supreme consciousness by which
the one Sel) in him e1tends itsel) to embrace all creatures and realises the eternal act by
which that /ne mani)ests itsel) in the multiple )orms o) the universal motion.
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the Thinker,6 the /ne who becomes everywhere, the Sel)-e1istent has
ordered objects per)ectly according to their nature )rom years
sempiternal.
and!aṁ tama# (raviśanti ye'vidyāmu(āsate ǀtato !,ya iva te tamo ya u vidyāyāḿ ratā# $
. *nto a blind darkness they enter who )ollow a)ter the *gnorance, they as
i) into a greater darkness who devote themselves to the +nowledge
alone.
anyadevā!urvidyayā'nyadā!uravidyayā ǀiti śuśruma d!īrā%āṁ ye nastadvicacak&ire $
%$. /ther, verily, it is said, is that which comes by the +nowledge, other
that which comes by the *gnorance= this is the lore we have received
)rom the wise who revealed That to our understanding.
vidyāñcāvidyāñca yastadvedo!ayaḿ sa!a ǀ
avidyayā m"tyuṁ tīrtvā vidyayā'm"tamaśnute $
%%. ;e who knows That as both in one, the +nowledge and the *gnorance,
by the *gnorance crosses beyond death and by the +nowledge enjoys
*mmortality.
H6I There is a clear distinction in
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and!aṁ tama# (raviśanti ye'sam!,timu(āsate ǀ
tato !,ya iva te tamo ya u sam!,tyāḿ ratā# $
%#. *nto a blind darkness they enter who )ollow a)ter the >on-Birth, theyas i) into a greater darkness who devote themselves to the Birth alone.
anyadevā!u# sam!avādanyadā!urasam!avāt ǀ
iti śuśruma d!īrā%āṁ ye nastadvicacak&ire $
%G. /ther, verily, it is said, is that which comes by the Birth, other that
which comes by the >on-Birth= this is the lore we have received )romthe wise who revealed That to our understanding.
sam!,tiñca vināśañca yastadvedo!ayaḿ sa!a ǀ
vināśena m"tyuṁ tīrtvā sam!,tyā'm"tamaśnute $
%K. ;e who knows That as both in one, the Birth and the dissolution o)
Birth, by the dissolution crosses beyond death and by the Birth enjoys*mmortality.
!ira%mayena (ātre%a satyasyā(i!itaṁ muk!am ǀ
tat tvaṁ (,&anna(āv"%u satyad!armāya d"&-aye $
%L. The )ace o) Truth is covered with a brilliant golden lid= that do thou
remove, / Costerer,%$ )or the law o) the Truth, )or sight.
H%$I *n the inner sense o) the
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(,&annekar&e yama s,rya (rājā(atya vy,!a raśmīn sam,!a ǀ
tejo yat te r,(aṁ kalyā%atamaṁ tatte (aśyāmi
yo'sāvasau (uru&a# so'!amasmi $
%M. / Costerer, / sole Seer, / /rdainer, / illumining Sun, / power o) the
Cather o) creatures, marshal thy rays, draw together thy light= the
ustre which is thy most blessed )orm o) all, that in Thee * behold. The
&urusha there and there, ;e am *.
vāyuranilamam"tamat!edaṁ !asmāntaḿ śarīram ǀ
>. krato smara k"taḿ smara krato smara k"taḿ smara $
%N. The Breath o) things%% is an immortal i)e, but o) this body ashes are
the end. /P / Will,%# remember, that which was done rememberP /
Will, remember, that which was done, remember.
agne naya su(at!ā rāye asmān viśvāni deva vayunāni vidvān ǀ
yuyod!yasmajju!urā%ameno !,yi&-!āṁ te namauktiṁ vid!ema $
%6. / god "gni, knowing all things that are mani)ested, lead us by the
good path to the )elicity= remove )rom us the devious attraction o) sin.
and distorted, broken up and disordered in the re)lecting and dividing principle. ind.
They )orm there the golden lid which covers the )ace o) the Truth. The Seer prays to
Surya to cast them into right order and relation and then draw them together into the unityo) revealed truth. The result o) this inner process is the perception o) the oneness o) all
beings in the divine Soul o) the niverse.
H%%I
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%G To thee completest speech o) submission we would dispose. %K
H%GI Sin, in the conception o) the
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ANA%6SIS
&4C"T/A
Plan of the Upanishad
T;4 panishads, being vehicles o) illumination and not o) instruction,composed )or seekers who had already a general )amiliarity with the ideas
o) the
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enjoyment o) all by renunciation o) all through the e1clusion o) desire.
Ferse G) line HE
There is then declared the justi)ication o) works and o) the physical li)e
on the basis o) an inalienable )reedom o) the soul, one with the ord,
amidst all the activity o) the multiple movement. Ferse HE
Cinally, the result o) an ignorant inter)erence with the right
mani)estation o) the /ne in the multiplicity is declared to be an involution
in states o) blind obscurity a)ter death. Ferse G7
S42/>D /T
*n the second movement the ideas o) the )irst verse are resumed and
ampli)ied.The one stable ord and the multiple movement are identi)ied as one
Brahman o) whom, however, the unity and stability are the higher truth
and who contains all as well as inhabits all. Ferses )JE
The basis and )ul)ilment o) the rule o) li)e are )ound in the e1perience
o) unity by which man identi)ies himsel) with the cosmic and
transcendental Sel) and is identi)ied in the Sel), but with an entire )reedom
)rom grie) and illusion, with all its becomings. Ferses K)LE
T;*D /T
*n the third movement there is a return to the justi)ication o) li)e and
works 5the subject o) Ferse HE and an indication o) their divine )ul)ilment.
The degrees o) the ordFs sel)-mani)estation in the universe o) motion
and in the becomings o) the one Being are set )orth and the inner law o) alle1istences declared to be by ;is conception and determination. Ferse ME
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state a)ter death Ferse GME are symbolically indicated.
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C*ST /T
TH1 INHA'ITIN# #(DH1AD$
%IF1 AND ACTI(N
ature.
H%LI % "ll this is )or habitation by the ord, whatsoever is individual universe o)
movement in the universal motion. By that renounced thou shouldst enjoy= lust not a)ter
any manFs possession.
# Doing verily works in this world one should wish to live a hundred years. Thus it is in
thee and not otherwise than this= action cleaves not to a man.
G Sunless are those worlds and enveloped in blind gloom whereto all they in their passing
hence resort who are slayers o) their souls.
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S&**T
Spirit is lord o) its movement, one, immutable, )ree, stable and eternal.
The ovement with all its )ormed objects has been created in order to
provide a habitation )or the Spirit who, being /ne, yet dwells
multitudinously in the multiplicity o) ;is mansions.*t is the same ord who dwells in the sum and the part, in the 2osmos
as a whole and in each being, )orce or object in the 2osmos.
Since ;e is one and indivisible, the Spirit in all is one and their
multiplicity is a play o) ;is cosmic consciousness.
There)ore each human being is in his essence one with all others, )ree,
eternal, immutable, lord o) >ature.
T">S*T*/>" T;/:;T
"
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o) the *nhabitant. This is the illusion o) ignorance which )alsi)ies all
realities. The illusion is called a!amkāra) the separative ego-sense which
makes each being conceive o) itsel) as an independent personality.
The result o) the separation is the inability to enter into harmony and
oneness with the universe and a conse8uent in-ability to possess and enjoy
it. But the desire to possess and enjoy is the master impulse o) the 4go
which knows itsel) obscurely to be the ord, although owing to the
limitations o) its relativity, it is unable to realise its true e1istence. The
result is discord with others and onesel), mental and physical su))ering, the
sense o) weakness and inability, the sense o) obscuration, the straining o)
energy in passion and in desire towards sel)-)ul)ilment, the recoil o)
energy e1hausted or disappointed towards death and disintegration.
Desire is the badge o) subjection with its attendant discord andsu))ering. That which is )ree, one and lord, does not desire, but inalienably
contains, possesses and enjoys.
T;4 4 /C T;4 D*4 *C4
4njoyment o) the universe and all it contains is the object o) world-
e1istence, but renunciation o) all in desire is the condition o) the )ree
enjoyment o) all.
The renunciation demanded is not a moral constraint o) sel)-denial or a
physical rejection, but an entire liberation o) the spirit )rom any craving
a)ter the )orms o) things.
The terms o) this liberation are )reedom )rom egoism and,
conse8uently, )reedom )rom personal desire. &ractically, this renunciation
implies that one should not regard anything in the universe as a necessary
object o) possession, nor as possessed by another and not by onesel), nor
as an object o) greed in the heart or the senses.
This attitude is )ounded on the perception o) unity. Cor it has already
been said that all souls are one possessing Sel), the ord= and although the
ord inhabits each object as i) separately, yet all objects e1ist in that Sel)
and not outside it.
There)ore by transcending 4go and realising the one Sel), we possess
the whole universe in the one cosmic consciousness and do not need to
possess physically.
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;aving by oneness with the ord the possibility o) an in)inite )ree
delight in all things, we do not need to desire.
Being one with all beings, we possess, in their enjoyment, in ours and
in the cosmic BeingFs, delight o) universal sel)-e1pression. *t is only by
this "nanda at once transcendent and universal that man can be )ree in his
soul and yet live in the world with the )ull active i)e o) the ord in ;is
universe o) movement.
T;4 ?ST*C*2"T*/> /C W/+S
This )reedom does not depend upon inaction, nor is this possession
limited to the enjoyment o) the inactive Soul that only witnesses without
taking part in the movement. /n the contrary, the doing o) works in thismaterial world and a )ull acceptance o) the term o) physical li)e are part o)
its completeness. Cor the active Brahman )ul)ils *tsel) in the world by
works and man also is in the body )or sel)-)ul)ilment by action. ;e cannot
do otherwise, )or even his inertia acts and produces e))ects in the cosmic
movement. Being in this body or any kind o) body, it is idle to think o)
re)raining )rom action or escaping the physical li)e. The idea that this in
itsel) can be a means o) liberation, is part o) the *gnorance which supposes
the soul to be a separate entity in the Brahman.
"ction is shunned because it is thought to be inconsistent with
)reedom. The man when he acts, is supposed to be necessarily entangled in
the desire behind the action, in subjection to the )ormal energy that drives
the action and in the results o) the action. These things are true in
appearance, not in reality.
Desire is only a mode o) the emotional mind which by ignorance seeks
its delight in the object o) desire and not in the Brahman who e1presses;imsel) in the object. By destroying that ignorance one can do action
without entanglement in desire.
The 4nergy that drives is itsel) subject to the ord, who e1presses
;imsel) in it with per)ect )reedom. By getting behind >ature to the ord
o) >ature, merging the individual in the 2osmic Will, one can act with the
divine )reedom. /ur actions are given up to the ord and our personal
responsibility ceases in ;is liberty.The chain o) +arma only binds the movement o) >ature and not the
soul which, by knowing itsel), ceases even to appear to be bound by the
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result o) its works.
There)ore the way o) )reedom is not inaction, but to cease )rom
identi)ying onesel) with the movement and recover instead our true
identity in the Sel) o) things who is their ord.
T;4 /T;4 W/DS
By departing )rom the physical li)e one does not disappear out o) the
ovement, but only passes into some other general state o) consciousness
than the material universe.
These states are either obscure or illuminated, some dark or sunless.
By persisting in gross )orms o) ignorance, by coercing perversely the
soul in its sel)-)ul)ilment or by a wrong dissolution o) its becoming in theovement, one enters into states o) blind darkness, not into the worlds o)
light and o) liberated and bliss)ul being.
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S42/>D /T
&. ',AHMAN$
(N1N1SS (F #(D AND TH1 )(,%D
9 T;4 >*TA
The ord and the world, even when they seem to be distinct, are not
really di))erent )rom each other= they are one Brahman.
J/>4 >/:J
:od is the one stable and eternal eality. ;e is /ne because there is
nothing else, since all e1istence and non-e1istence are ;e. ;e is stable or
unmoving, because motion implies change in Space and change in Time,
and ;e, being beyond Time and Space, is immutable. ;e possesses
eternally in ;imsel) all that is, has been or ever can be, and ;e there)oredoes not increase or diminish. ;e is beyond causality and relativity and
there)ore there is no change o) relations in ;is being.
JSW*CT4 T;"> *>DJ
The world is a cyclic movement samsāraE o) the Divine
2onsciousness in Space and Time. *ts law and, in a sense, its object is
progression= it e1ists by movement and would be dissolved by cessation o)movement. But the basis o) this movement is not material= it is the energy
o) active consciousness which, by its motion and multiplication in
di))erent principles 5di))erent in appearance, the same in essence7, creates
oppositions o) unity and multiplicity, divisions o) Time and Space,
H%MI K /ne unmoving that is swi)ter than ind= That the :ods reach not, )or *t progresses
ever in )ront. That, standing, passes beyond others as they run. *n That the aster o) i)e
establishes the Waters.
L That moves and That moves not= That is )ar and the same is near= That is within all this
and That also is outside all this.
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relations and groupings o) circumstance and 2ausality. "ll these things are
real in consciousness, but only symbolic o) the Being, somewhat as the
imaginations o) a creative ind are true representations o) itsel), yet not
8uite real in comparison with itsel), or real with a di))erent kind o) reality.
But mental consciousness is not the &ower that creates the universe.
That is something in)initely more puissant, swi)t and un)ettered than the
mind. *t is the pure omnipotent sel)-awareness o) the "bsolute unbound by
any law o) the relativity. The laws o) the relativity, upheld by the gods, are
*ts temporary creations. Their apparent eternity is only the duration,
immeasurable to us, o) the world which they govern. They are laws
regularising motion and change, not laws binding the ord o) the
movement. The gods, there)ore, are described as continually running in
their course. But the ord is )ree and una))ected by ;is own movement.
JT;"T /S*T*/>" T;/:;T
T;4 ">A%N
*) the /ne is pre-eminently real, Jthe othersF, the any are not unreal.The world is not a )igment o) the ind.
nity is the eternal truth o) things, diversity a play o) the unity. The
H%NI The series o) ideas under this heading seem to me to be the indispensable
metaphysical basis o) the panishad. The *sha panishad does not teach a pure and
e1clusive onism= it declares the /ne without denying the any and its method is to see
the /ne in the any. *t asserts the simultaneous validity o)
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sense o) unity has there)ore been termed +nowledge, umerical oneness and multiplicity are e8ually valid terms o) its essential
unity.
These two terms, as we see them, are like all others, representations in
2hit, in the )ree and all-creative sel)-awareness o) the "bsolute regardingitsel) variously, in)initely, innumerably and )ormulating what it regards.
2hit is a power not only o) knowledge, but o) e1pressive will, not only o)
receptive vision, but o) )ormative representation= the two are indeed one
power. Cor 2hit is an action o) Being, not o) the
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di))erent )rom the "bsolute. Without this separative movement, the
individual would always tend to lose itsel) in the universal, the relative to
disappear into the "bsolute. Thus, *t supports a corresponding reaction in
the individual who regards himsel) as JotherJ than the transcendent and
universal Brahman and JotherJ than the rest o) the any. ;e puts identity
behind him and en)orces the play o) Being in the separate 4go.
The individual may regard himsel) as eternally di))erent )rom the /ne,
or as eternally one with *t, yet di))erent, or he may go back entirely in his
consciousness to the pure *dentity. %6 But he can never regard himsel) as
independent o) some kind o) nity, )or such a view would correspond to
no conceivable truth in the universe or beyond it.
These three attitudes correspond to three truths o) the Brahman which
are simultaneously valid and none o) them entirely true without the othersas its complements. Their co-e1istence, di))icult o) conception to the
logical intellect, can be e1perienced by identity in consciousness with
Brahman.
4ven in asserting /neness, we must remember that Brahman is beyond
our mental distinctions and is a )act not o) Thought that discriminates, but
o) Being which is absolute, in)inite and escapes discrimination. /ur
consciousness is representative and symbolic= it cannot conceive the thing-in-itsel), the "bsolute, e1cept by negation, in a sort o) void, by emptying it
o) all that it seems in the universe to contain. But the "bsolute is not a
void or negation. *t is all that is here in Time and beyond Time.
4ven oneness is a representation and e1ists in relation to multiplicity.
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as Brahman and the others as unreal and not Brahman. Both are real, the
one with a constituent and comprehensive, the others with a derivative or
dependent reality.
T;4 >>*>: /C T;4 :/DSBrahman representing *tsel) in the universe as the Stable. , by *ts
immutable e1istence 5Sat7, is &urusha, :od, Spirit= representing *tsel) as
the otional, by *ts power o) active 2onsciousness 52hit7, is >ature, Corce
or World-&rinciple 5&rakriti, Shakti, aya7. % The play o) these two
principles is the i)e o) the universe.
The :ods are Brahman representing *tsel) in cosmic &ersonalities
e1pressive o) the one :odhead who, in their impersonal action, appear asthe various play o) the principles o) >ature.
The JothersJ are /012345 789:3;5 o) a later verse, all becomings
Brahman representing itsel) in the separative consciousness o) the any.
4verything in the universe, even the :ods, seems to itsel) to be moving
in the general movement towards a goal outside itsel) or other than its
immediate idea o) itsel). Brahman is the goal= )or it is both the beginning
and the end, the cause and the result o) all movement.But the idea o) a )inal goal in the movement o) >ature itsel) is illusory.
Cor Brahman is "bsolute and *n)inite. The :ods, labouring to reach him,
)ind, at every goal that they realise, Brahman still moving )orward in )ront
to a )arther realisation. >othing in the appearances o) the universe can be
entirely That to the relative consciousness= all is only a symbolic
representation o) the nknowable.
"ll things are already realised in Brahman. The running o) the /thersin the course o) >ature is only a working out 5&rakriti7, by 2ausality, in
H%I &rakriti, e1ecutive >ature as opposed to &urusha, which is the Soul governing,
taking cognisance o) and enjoying the works o) &rakriti. Shakti, the sel)-e1istent, sel)-
cognitive, sel)-e))ective &ower o) the ord 5*shwara, Deva or &urusha7, which e1presses
itsel) in the workings o) &rakriti. aya, signi)ying originally in the ature, a(arā (rak"ti which has put behindit the Divine Wisdom and is absorbed in the e1periences o) the separative 4go. *t is in the
more ancient sense that the word aya is used in the panishads, where, indeed, it
occurs but rarely.
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Time and Space, o) something that Brahman already possesses.
4ven in *ts universal being Brahman e1ceeds the ovement.
41ceeding Time, *t contains in *tsel) past, present and )uture
simultaneously and has not to run to the end o) conceivable Time.
41ceeding Space, *t contains all )ormations in *tsel) coincidently and has
not to run to the end o) conceivable Space. 41ceeding 2ausality, *t
contains )reely in *tsel) all eventualities as well as all potentialities without
being bound by the apparent chain o) causality by which they are linked in
the universe. 4verything is already realised by *t as the ord be)ore it can
be accomplished by the separated &ersonalities in the movement.
T;4 &*>2*&4 /C *C4
"T"*S;W"> ">D T;4 W"T4S
What then is *ts intention in the movementE
The movement is a rhythm, a harmony which That, as the niversal
i)e, works out by )igures o) *tsel) in the terms o) conscious Being. *t is a
)ormula symbolically e1pressive o) the nknowable, 9 so arranged that
every level o) consciousness really represents something beyond itsel),
depth o) depth, continent o) continent. *t is a play#$
o) the divine2onsciousness e1isting )or its own satis)action and adding nothing to That,
which is already complete. *t is a )act o) conscious being, justi)ied by its
own e1istence, with no purpose ulterior to itsel). The idea o) purpose, o) a
goal is born o) the progressive sel)-un)olding by the world o) its own true
nature to the individual Souls inhabiting its )orms= )or the Being is
gradually sel)-revealed within its own becomings, real nity emerges out
o) the ultiplicity and changes entirely the values o) the latter to our
consciousness.
This sel)-un)olding is governed by conditions determined by the
comple1ity o) consciousness in its cosmic action.
Cor consciousness is not simple or homogeneous, it is septuple. That is
to say, it constitutes itsel) into seven )orms or grades o) conscious activity
descending )rom pure Being to physical being. Their interplay creates the
worlds, determines all activities, constitutes all becomings.
H#$I This is the
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Brahman is always the continent o) this play or this working. Brahman
sel)-e1tended in Space and Time is the universe.
*n this e1tension Brahman represents *tsel) as )ormative >ature, the
universal other o) things, who appears to us, )irst, as atter, called
("t!ivī) the 4arth-&rinciple.
Brahman in atter or physical being represents *tsel) as the universal
i)e-&ower, atarishwan, which moves there as a dynamic energy, ?1340
and presides e))ectively over all arrangement and )ormation.
niversal i)e establishes, involved in atter, the septuple
consciousness= and the action o) ?1340 the dynamic energy, on the atri1
o) things evolves out o) it its di))erent )orms and serves as a basis )or all
their evolutions.
T">S*T*/>" T;/:;T
T;4 W"T4S
There are, then, seven constituents o) 2hit active in the universe.
We are habitually aware o) three elements in our being, ind, i)e and
Body. These constitute )or us a divided and mutable e1istence which is in
a condition o) unstable harmony and works by a stri)e o) positive and
negative )orces between the two poles o) Birth and Death. Cor all li)e is a
constant birth or becoming sam!ava) sam!,ti o) Ferses GH=GE+ "ll
birth entails a constant death or dissolution o) that which becomes, in
order that it may change into a new becoming. There)ore this state o)
e1istence is called m"tyu+ Death, and described as a stage which has to be
passed through and transcended. Ferses GG=GE
Cor this is not the whole o) our being and, there)ore, not our pure being. We have, behind, a superconscious e1istence which has also three
constituents, sat) cit=ta(as and ānanda+
Sat is essence o) our being, pure in)inite and undivided, as opposed to
this divisible being which )ounds itsel) on the constant changeableness o)
physical substance. Sat is the divine counterpart o) physical substance.
2hit-Tapas is pure energy o) 2onsciousness, )ree in its rest or its
action, sovereign in its will, as opposed to the hampered dynamic energieso) &rana which, )eeding upon physical substances, are dependent on and
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limited by their sustenance. #% Tapas is the divine counterpart o) this lower
nervous or vital energy.
"nanda is Beatitude, the bliss o) pure conscious e1istence and energy,
as opposed to the li)e o) the sensations and emotions which are at the
mercy o) the outward touches o) i)e and atter and their positive and
negative reactions, joy and grie), pleasure and pain. "nanda is the divine
counterpart o) the lower emotional and sensational being.
This higher e1istence, proper to the divine Sachchidananda, is uni)ied,
sel)-e1istent, not con)used by the )igures o) Birth and Death. *t is called,
there)ore, am"tam+ *mmortality, and o))ered to us as the goal to be aimed
at and the )elicity to be enjoyed when we have transcended the state o)
death. Ferses GG) G) GL)GME
The higher divine is linked to the lower mortal e1istence by the causal
*dea## or supramental +nowledge-Will, vijñāna+ *t is the causal *dea
which, by supporting and secretly guiding the con)used activities o) the
ind, i)e and Body, ensures and compels the right arrangement o) the
universe. *t is called in the
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capable o) being involved and remani)ested in each other. They are
actually involved in physical >ature and must necessarily evolve out o) it.
They can be withdrawn into pure in)inite Being and can again be
mani)ested out o) it.
The in)olding and un)olding o) the /ne in the any and the any in
the /ne is there)ore the law o) the eternally recurrent cosmic 2ycles.
T;4 /C T;4 B";">
The panishad teaches us how to perceive Brahman in the universe
and in our sel)-e1istence.
We have to perceive Brahman comprehensively as both the Stable and
the oving. We must see *t in eternal and immutable Spirit and in all thechanging mani)estations o) universe and relativity.
We have to perceive all things in Space and Time, the )ar and the near,
the immemorial &ast, the immediate &resent, the in)inite Cuture with all
their contents and happenings as the /ne Brahman.
We have to perceive Brahman as that which e1ceeds, contains and
supports all individual things as well as all universe, transcendentally o)
Time and Space and 2ausality. We have to perceive *t also as that whichlives in and possesses the universe and all it contains.
This is the transcendental, universal and individual Brahman, ord,
2ontinent and *ndwelling Spirit, which is the object o) all knowledge. *ts
realisation is the condition o) per)ection and the way o) *mmortality.
H#GI P"dya samudra) /cean o) the ;eart. v. *
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S42/>D /T
*. S1%F+,1A%ISATI(N
Brahman is, subjectively, "tman, the Sel) or immutable e1istence o) all
that is in the universe. 4verything that changes inus, mind, li)e body,
character, temperament, action, is not our real and unchanging sel), but
becomings o) the Sel) in the movement, jagati+
*n >ature, there)ore, all things that e1ist, animate or inanimate, are
becomings o) the one Sel) o) all. "ll these di))erent creatures are one
indivisible e1istence. This is the truth each being has to realise.
When this unity has been realised by the individual in every part o) hiG
being, he becomes per)ect, pure, liberated )rom ego and the dualities,
possessed o) the entire divine )elicity.
"T">
"tman, our true sel), is Brahman= it is pure indivisible Being, sel)-
luminous, sel)-concentrated in consciousness, sel)-concentrated in )orce,
sel)-delighted. *ts e1istence is light and bliss. *t is timeless, spaceless and
)ree.
T;4 T;44C/D &S;"#L
"tman represents itsel) to the consciousness o) the creature in three
H#KI M But he who sees everywhere the Sel) in all e1istences and all e1istences in the Sel),
shrinks not therea)ter )rom aught.
N ;e in whom it is the Sel)-Being that has become all e1istences that are Becomings, )or
he has the per)ect knowledge, how shall he be deluded, whence shall he have grie) whosees everywhere onenessE
H#LI :ita Q
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states, dependent on the relations between (uru&a and (rak"ti) the Soul
and >ature. These three states are ak&ara) unmoving or immutable= k&ara)
moving or mutable= and (ara or uttama+ Supreme or ;ighest.
+shara &urusha is the Sel) re)lecting the changes and movements o)
>ature, participating in them, immersed in the consciousness o) the
movement and seeming in it to be born and die, increase and diminish,
progress and change. "tman, as the +shara, enjoys change and division
and duality= controls secretly its own changes but seems to be controlled
by them= enjoys the oppositions o) pleasure and pain, good and bad, but
appears to be their victim= possesses and upholds the action o) >ature, by
which it seems to be created. Cor, always and inalienably, the Sel) is
*shwara, the ord.
"kshara &urusha is the Sel), standing back )rom the changes andmovements o) >ature, calm, pure, impartial, indi))erent, watching them
and not participating, above them as on a summit, not immersed in these
Waters. This calm Sel) is the sky that never moves and changes looking
down upon the waters that are never at rest. The "kshara is the hidden
)reedom o) the +shara.
&ara &urusha or &urushottama is the Sel) containing and enjoying both
the stillness and the movement, but conditioned and limited by neither o)them. *t is the ord, Brahman, the "ll, the *nde)inable and nknowable.
*t is this supreme Sel) that has to be realised in both the unmoving and
the mutable.
&S;" *> &"+*T*#M
"tman, the Sel), represents itsel) di))erently in the seven)old
movement o) >ature according to the dominant principle o) the
consciousness in the individual being.
*n the physical consciousness "tman becomes the material being,
annamaya (uru&a+
*n the vital or nervous consciousness "tman becomes the vital or
dynamic being, ?1340Q0R0 ?S1S0T
*n the mental consciousness "tman becomes the mental being,manomaya (uru&a+
H#MI Uaittiriya V(anis!ad **. %-M.
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*n the supra-intellectual consciousness, dominated by the Truth or
causal *dea 5called in D"Sachchidananda is the mani)estation o) the higher &urusha= its nature
o) in)inite being, consciousness, power and bliss is the higher >ature, (arā
(rak"ti+ ind, li)e and body are the lower nature, a(arā (rak"ti+
The state o) Sachchidananda is the higher hal) o) universal e1istence,
(arārd!a) the nature o) which is *mmortality, am"tam+ The state o) mortal
e1istence in atter is the lower hal), a(arārd!a) the nature o) which is
death, m"tyu+ind and li)e in the body are in the state o) Death because by
*gnorance they )ail to realise Sachchidananda. ealising per)ectly
Sachchidananda, they can convert themselves. ind into the nature o) the
Truth, vijñāna+ i)e into the nature o) caitanya) Body into the nature o)
sat) that is, into the pure essence.
When this cannot be done per)ectly in the body, the soul realises its
true state in other )orms o) e1istence or worlds, theJsunlitJ worlds and
H#NI The ma!at ātman or
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states o) )elicity, and returns upon material e1istence to complete its
evolution in the body.
" progressively per)ect realisation in the body is the aim o) human
evolution.
*t is also possible )or the soul to withdraw )or an inde)inable periodinto the pure state o) Sachchidananda.
The realisation o) the Sel) as Sachchidananda is the aim o) human
e1istence.
T;4 2/>D*T*/> /C S4C-4"*S"T*/>#6
Sachchidananda is always the pure state o) "tman= it may either
remain sel)-contained as i) apart )rom the universe or overlook, embraceand possess it as the ord.
*n )act, it does both simultaneously. Ferse ME
The ord pervades the universe as the
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enjoyment, pleasure and pain, joy and grie).
*t is the mental ego-sense that creates this distortion by division and
limitation o) the Sel). The limitation is brought about through the +shara
&urusha identi)ying itsel) with the changeable )ormations o) >ature in the
separate body, the individual li)e and the egoistic mind, to the e1clusion o)
the sense o) unity with alle1istence and with all e1istences.
This e1clusion is a )i1ed habit o) the understanding due to our past
evolution in the movement, not an ine))ugable law o) human
consciousness. *ts diminution and )inal disappearance are the condition o)
sel)-realisation.
The beginning o) wisdom, per)ection and beatitude is the vision o) the
/ne.
T;4 ST":4S /C S4C-4"*S"T*/>
T;4 /C T;4 "
The )irst movement o) sel)-realisation is the sense o) unity with other
e1istences in the universe. *ts early or crude )orm is the attempt to
understand or sympathise with others, the tendency o) a widening love or
compassion or )ellow-)eeling )or others, the impulsion o) work )or thesake o) others.
The oneness so realised is a pluralistic unity, the drawing together o)
similar units resulting in a collectivity or solidarity rather than in real
oneness. The any remain to the consciousness as the real e1istences= the
/ne is only their result.
eal knowledge begins with the perception o) essential oneness, 9
one atter, one i)e, one ind, one Soul playing inmany )orms.
When this Soul o) things is seen to be Sachchidananda, then
knowledge is per)ected. Cor we see atter to be only a play o) i)e, i)e a
play o) ind energising itsel) in substance, ind a play o) Truth or causal
*dea representing truth o) being variously in all possible mental )orms.
Truth a play o) Sachchidananda, Sachchidananda the sel)-mani)estation o)
a supreme nknowable, &ara-Brahman or &ara-&urusha.
We perceive the soul in all bodies to be this one Sel) orSachchidananda multiplying itsel) in individual consciousness. We see
also all minds, lives, bodies to be active )ormations o) the same e1istence
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in the e1tended being o) the Sel).
This is the vision o) all e1istences in the Sel) and o) the Sel) in all
e1istences which is the )oundation o) per)ect internal liberty and per)ect
joy and peace.
Cor by this vision, in proportion as it increases in intensity andcompleteness, there disappears )rom the individual mentality all jugu(sā)
that is to say, all repulsion, shrinking, dislike, )ear, hatred and other
perversions o) )eeling which arise )rom division and personal opposition to
other beings or to the objectivities that surround us. &er)ect e8uality# o)
soul is established.
T;4 /C T;4 S4C *> *TS B42/*>:S
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Sachchidananda or *mmortality. This is the viewpoint o) the Sel) as ord
inhabiting the whole movement. The individual soul has to change the
human or egoistic )or the divine, supreme and universal view and live in
that realisation.
*t is necessary, there)ore, to have the knowledge o) the transcendent
Sel), the sole unity, in the e8uation soY!am) * am ;e, and in that
knowledge to e1tend oneFs conscious e1istence so as to embrace the whole
ultiplicity.
This is the double or synthetic ideal o) the *sha panishad= to embrace
simultaneously
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strength and bliss7 is already sei@ed, known and enjoyed by the soul thus
liberated and per)ected. Cor it possesses the eternal eality o) which they
are the appearances.
Thus it is possible, by the realisation o) the unity o) :od and the world
5īś and jagatE in the complete knowledge o) the Brahman, to renounce
desire and illusion through the ascent to the pure Sel) and the >on-
Becoming and yet to enjoy by means o) all things in the mani)estation :od
in the universe through a )ree and illuminated sel)-identi)ication with
Sachchidananda in all e1istences.
2/>2S*/>
We have, there)ore, in the second movement the e1planation o) the)irst verse o) the panishad. The )irst line, asserting that all souls are the
one ord inhabiting every object in the universe and that every object is
universe in universe, movement in the general movement, has been
e1plained in the terms o) complete oneness by the Brahman,
transcendental and universal even in the individual. /ne in the any,
any in the /ne, Stable and otional, e1ceeding and reconciling all
opposites. The second line, )i1ing as the rule o) divine li)e universal
renunciation o) desire as the condition o) universal enjoyment in the spirit,has been e1plained by the state o) sel)-realisation, the realisation o) the
)ree and transcendent Sel) as oneFs own true being, o) that Sel) as
Sachchidananda and o) the universe seen as the Becoming o)
Sachchidananda and possessed in the terms o) the right +nowledge and no
longer in the terms o) the *gnorance which is the cause o) all attraction and
repulsion, sel)-delusion and sorrow.
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T;*D /T
&. TH1 %(,D
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more objectively as the ord, the &urusha who both contains and inhabits
the universe.
*t is ;e that went abroad. This Brahman, this Sel) is identical with the
ord, the *sh, with whose name the panishad opens, the *nhabitant o) all
)orms and, as we shall )ind, identical with the universal &urusha o) the
%Mth verse, 9 JThe &urusha there and there. ;e am *.J *t is ;e who has
become all things and beings, 9 a conscious Being, the sole 41istent and
Sel)-e1istent, who is aster and 4njoyer o) all ;e becomes. "nd the
panishad proceeds to )ormulate the nature and manner, the general law
o) that becoming o) :od which we call the world. Cor on this conception
depends the S*T*/>" T;/:;T
T;4 D*4 &4S/>"*TA
The
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object o) ove, +nowledge without a +nower and an object o)
+nowledge, Corce without a Worker and a Work, Substance without a
&erson cognising and constituting it.
This is because the original terms also are not really impersonal
abstractions. *n delight o) Brahman there is an 4njoyer o) delight in
consciousness o) Brahman a 2onscient, in e1istence o) Brahman an
41istent= but the object o) BrahmanFs delight and consciousness and the
term and stu)) o) *ts e1istence are *tsel). *n the divine Being +nowledge,
the +nower and the +nown and, there)ore, necessarily also Delight, the
4njoyer and the 4njoyed are one.
This Sel)-"wareness and Sel)-Delight o) Brahman has two modes o)
its Corce o) consciousness, its &rakriti or aya, intensive in sel)-
absorption, di))usive in sel)-e1tension. The intensive mode is proper to the pure and silent Brahman= the di))usive to the active Brahman. *t is the
di))usion o) the Sel)-e1istent in the term and stu)) o) ;is own e1istence
that we call the world, the becoming or the perpetual movement
!uvanam) jagatE+ *t is Brahman that becomes= what ;e becomes is also
the Brahman. The object o) ove is the sel) o) the over= the work is the
sel)-)iguration o) the Worker= niverse is body and action o) the ord.
When, there)ore, we consider the abstract and impersonal aspect o) thein)inite e1istence, we say, ThatJ= when we consider the 41istent sel)-aware
and sel)-bliss)ul, we say, J;eJ. >either conception is entirely complete.
Brahman itsel) is the nknowable beyond all conceptions o) &ersonality
and *mpersonality. We may call it JThatJ to show that we e1ile )rom our
a))irmation all term and de)inition. We may e8ually call it J;eJ, provided
we speak with the same intention o) rigorous e1clusion. Uat and sa# are
always the same. /ne that escapes de)inition.
*n the universe there is a constant relation o) /neness and ultiplicity.
This e1presses itsel) as the universal &ersonality and the many &ersons,
and both between the /ne and the any and among the any themselves
there is the possibility o) an in)inite variety o) relations. These relations
are determined by the play o) the divine e1istence, the ord, entering into
;is mani)ested habitations. They e1ist at )irst as conscious relations
between individual souls= they are then taken up by them and used as a
means o) entering into conscious relation with the /ne. *t is this enteringinto various relations with the /ne which is the object and )unction o)
eligion. "ll religions are justi)ied by this essential necessity= all e1press
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one Truth in various ways and move by various paths to one goal.
The Divine &ersonality reveals ;imsel) in various )orms and names to
the individual soul. These )orms and names are in a sense created in the
human consciousness= in another they are eternal symbols revealed by the
Divine who thus concretises ;imsel) in mind-)orm to the multiple
consciousness and aids it in its return to its own nity.G#
;4 T;"T W4>T "B/"D
*t is ;e that has e1tended ;imsel) in the relative consciousness whose
totality o) )inite and changeable circumstances dependent on an e8ual
immutable and eternal *n)inity is what we call the niverse. \a (aryagāt+
*n this e1tension we have, there)ore, two aspects, one o) pure in)initerelationless immutability, another o) a totality o) objects in Time and
Space working out their relations through causality. Both are di))erent and
mutually complementary e1pressions o) the same unknowable J;eJ.
To e1press the in)inite *mmutability the panishad uses a series o)
neuter adjectives, JBright, bodiless, without scar, without sinews, pure,
unpierced by evil.J To e1press the same "bsolute as cause, continent and
governing *nhabitant o) the totality o) objects and o) each object in the
totality jagatyām jagatE it uses )our masculine epithets, JThe Seer, the
Thinker, the /ne who becomes everywhere, the Sel)-e1istentJ or Jthe Sel)-
BecomingJ.
The *mmutable is the still and secret )oundation o) the play and the
movement, e1tended e8ually, impartially in all things, samam ra!ma)GG
lending its support to all without choice or active participation. Secure and
)ree in ;is eternal immutability the ord projects ;imsel) into the play
and the movement, becoming there in ;is sel)-e1istence all that the Seer in;im visualises and the Thinker in ;im conceives. *avir manī&ī (ari!,#
svayam!,#+
T;4 &4 *T"B4
HG#I *t would be an error to suppose that these conceptions are in their essence later
developments o) philosophical ;induism. The conception o) the many )orms and nameso) the /ne is as old as the ig-veda.
HGGI JThe e8ual BrahmanJ. 9 :ita.
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The pure immutability o) the ord is JbrightJ. *t is luminosity o) pure
concentrated Sel)-awareness, not broken by re-)ractions, not breaking out
into colour and )orm. *t is the pure sel)-knowledge o) the &urusha, the
conscious Soul, with his &ower, his e1ecutive Corce contained and
inactive.
*t is JbodilessJ, 9 without )orm, indivisible and without appearance o)
division. *t is one e8ual &urusha in all things, not divided by the divisions
o) Space and Time, 9 a pure sel)-conscious "bsolute.
*t is without scar, that is, without de)ect, break or imper)ection. *t is
untouched and una))ected by the mutabilities. *t supports their clash o)
relations, their play o) more and less, o) increase and diminution, o)
irruption and interpenetration. Cor *tsel) is without action, acala#
sanātana#)GK Jmotionless, sempiternal.J
*t is without sinews. The reason )or *ts being without scar is that *t does
not put out &ower, does not dispense Corce in multiple channels, does not
lose it here, increase it there, replenish its loss or seek by love or by
violence its complementary or its )ood. *t is without nerves o) )orce= *t
does not pour itsel) out in the energies o) the &ranic dynamism, o) i)e, o)
atarishwan.
*t is pure, unpierced by evil. What we call sin or evil, is merely e1cessand de)ect, wrong placement, inharmonious action and reaction. By its
e8uality, by its inaction even while it supports all action, the conscious
Soul retains its eternal )reedom and eternal purity. Cor it is unmodi)ied= *t
watches as the Sakshi, the witness, the modi)ications e))ected by &rakriti,
but does not partake o) them, does not get clogged with them, receives not
their impression. ]a li(yate+
T;4 S/ *>"*4>"BA C44
What is the relation o) the active Brahman and o) the human soul to
this pure *nactiveE They too are That, "ction does not change the nature o)
the Sel), but only the nature o) the diverse )orms, The Sel) is always (ure)
bliss)ul per)ect, whether inactive or participating in action.
The Sel) is all things and e1ceeds them. *t e1ceeds always that in
which the mind is engrossed, that which it takes in a particular time andspace as a )igure o) itsel). The boundless whole is always per)ect. The
HGKI :ita **. #K.
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totality o) things is a complete harmony without wound or )law. The
viewpoint o) the part taken )or a whole, in other words the *gnorance, is
the broken re)lection which creates the consciousness o) limitation,
incompleteness and discord. We shall see that this *gnorance has a use in
the play o) the Brahman= but in itsel) it appears at )irst to be only a parent
o) evil.
*gnorance is a veil that separates the mind, body and li)e )rom their
source and reality, Sachchidananda. Thus obscured the mind )eels itsel)
pierced by the evil that *gnorance creates. But the "ctive Brahman is
always Sachchidananda using )or its sel)-becoming the )orms o) mind,
body and li)e. "ll their e1periences are there)ore seen by *t in the terms o)
Sachchidananda. *t is not pierced by the evil. Cor *t also is the /ne and
sees everywhere /neness. *t is not mastered by the *gnorance that *t usesas a minor term o) its conception.
The human soul is one with the ord= it also is in its completeness
Sachchidananda using *gnorance as the minor term o) its being. But it has
projected its conceptions into this minor term and established there in
limited mind its centre o) vision, its viewpoint. *t assumes to itsel) the
incompleteness and the resultant sense o) want, discord, desire, su))ering.
The eal an behind is not a))ected by all this con)usion= but the apparent
or e1terior an is a))ected. To recover its )reedom it must recover its
completeness= it must identi)y itsel) with the divine *nhabitant within, its
true and complete sel). *t can then, like the ord, conduct the action o)
&rakriti without undergoing the )alse impression o) identi)ication with the
results o) its action. *t is this idea on which the panishad bases the
assertion, J"ction cleaveth not to a man.J
To this end it must recover the silent Brahman within. The ord
possesses always ;is double term and conducts the action o) the universe,e1tended in it, but not attached to or limited by ;is works. The human
soul, entangled in mind, is obscured in vision by the rushing stream o)
&rakritiFs works and )ancies itsel) to be a part o) that stream and swept in
its currents and in its eddies. *t has to go back in its sel)-e1istence to the
silent &urusha even while participating in its sel)-becoming in the
movement o) &rakriti. *t becomes then, not only like the silent &urusha, the
witness and upholder, but also the ord and the )ree enjoyer o) &rakriti andher works. "n absolute calm and passivity, purity and e8uality within, a
sovereign and ine1haustible activity without is the nature o) Brahman as
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we see it mani)ested in the universe.
There is there)ore no )arther objection to works. /n the contrary,
works are justi)ied by the participation or sel)-identi)ication o) the soul
with the ord in ;is double aspect o) passivity and activity. Tran8uillity
)or the Soul, activity )or theenergy, is the balance o) the divine rhythm in
man.
T;4 "W /C T;*>:S
The totality o) objects art!ānE is the becoming o) the ord in the
e1tension o) ;is own being. *ts principle is double. There is
consciousness= there is Being. 2onsciousness dwells in energy ta(asE
upon its sel)-being to produce *dea o) itsel) vij^anaE and )orm and actioninevitably corresponding to the *dea. This is the original *ndian conception
o) creation, sel)-production or projection into )orm s"&-i) (rasavaE+ Being
uses its sel)-awareness to evolve in)inite )orms o) itsel) governed by the
e1pansion o) the innate *dea in the )orm. This is the original *ndian
conception o) evolution, prominent in certain philosophies such as the
Sankhya W?01543Q0 25_310 25201:0`T *t is the same phenomenon diversely
stated.
*n the idea o) some thinkers the world is a purely subjective evolution
vivartaE) not real as objective )acts= in the idea o) others it is an objective
)act, a real modi)ication W?01543Q0` but one which makes no di))erence to
the essence o) Being. Both notions claim to derive )rom the panishads as
their authority, and their opposition comes in )act by the separation o)
what in the ancient
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;imsel) in the essence o) the Cact as kavi thinks ;imsel) out in the
evolution o) its possibilities as manī&ī) becomes )orm o) ;imsel) in the
movement in Space and Time as (ari!,+ These three are one operation
appearing as successive in the relative, temporal and spatial
2onsciousness.
*t )ollows that every object holds in itsel) the law o) its own being
eternally, śāśvatī!ya# samā!ya#) )rom years sempiternal, in perpetual
Time. "ll relations in the totality o) objects are thus determined by their
*nhabitant, the Sel)-e1istent, the Sel)-becoming, and stand contained in the
nature o) things by the omnipresence o) the /ne, the ord, by ;is sel)-
vision which is their inherent subjective Truth, by ;is sel)-becoming
which, against a background o) boundless possibilities, is the aw o) their
inevitable evolution in the objective Cact.There)ore all things are arranged by ;im per)ectly, yāt!ā=tat!yata# as
they should be in their nature. There is an imperative harmony in the "ll,
which governs the apparent discords o) individualisation. That discord
would be real and operate in eternal chaos, i) there were only a mass o)
individual )orms and )orces, i) each )orm and )orce did not contain in itsel)
and were not in its reality the sel)-e1istent "ll, the ord.
T;4 &/24SS /C T;*>:S
The ord appears to us in the relative notion o) the process o) things
)irst as +avi, the Wise, the Seer. The +avi sees the Truth in itsel) the truth
in its becoming, in its essence, possibilities, actuality. ;e contains all that
in the *dea, the
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emerge )rom a balancing and clashing o) various possibilities. >one o)
these, however, are e))ective in the determination e1cept by their secret
consonance with the aw o) that which has to become. The +avi is in the
anishi and upholds him in his working. But viewed by itsel) the realm o)
the anishi would seem to be a state o) plasticity, o) )ree-will, o) the
interaction o) )orces, but o) a )ree-will in thought which is met by a )ate inthings.
Cor the action o) the anishi is meant to eventuate in the becoming o)
the &aribhu. The &aribhu, called also
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T;*D /T
*. -N()%1D#1 AND I#N(,ANC1
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;is unity= all-power)ul. ;e is able to conceive ;imsel) )rom multiple
centres in multiple )orms )rom which and upon which )low multiple
currents o) energy, seen by us as actions or play o) )orces. When ;e is
thus multiple. , ;e is not bound by ;is multiplicity, but amid all variations
dwells eternally in ;is own oneness. ;e is ord o)
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and seek to put away )rom them the integrality o) the Brahman, also put
away )rom them knowledge and completeness and enter as i) into a greater
darkness. They enter into some special state and accept it )or the whole,
mistaking e1clusion in consciousness )or transcendence in consciousness.
They ignore by choice o) knowledge, as the others are ignorant by
compulsion o) error. +nowing all to transcend all is the right path o)
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enrichment o) the individual by all the materials that the universe can pour
into him. But this also is not the goal o) man= )or though it brings
transcendence o) the ordinary human limits, it does not bring the divine
transcendence o) the universe in the ord o) the universe. /ne transcends
con)usion o) *gnorance, but not limitation o) +now-ledge, 9 transcends
death o) the body, but not limitation o) being, 9 transcends subjection tosorrow, but not subjection to joy, 9 transcends the lower &rakriti, but not
the higher. To gain the real )reedom and the per)ect *mmortality one
would have to descend again to all that had been rejected and make the
right use o) death, sorrow and ignorance.
The real knowledge is that which perceives Brahman in ;is integrality
and does not )ollow eagerly a)ter one consciousness rather than another, is
no more attached to either
could e1ist without the other= )or i) either were abolished, they would both
pass away into something which would be neither the one nor the other,
something inconceivable and ine))able beyond all mani)estation.
*n the worst *gnorance there is some point o) the knowledge which
constitutes that )orm o) *gnorance and some support o) nity which
prevents it in its most e1treme division, limitation, obscurity )rom ceasing
to e1ist by dissolving into nothingness. The destiny o) the *gnorance is not
that it should be dissolved out o) e1istence, but that its elements should be
enlightened, united, that which they strive to e1press delivered, )ul)illedand in the )ul)ilment transmuted and trans)igured.
*n the uttermost unity o) which knowledge is capable the contents o)
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the ultiplicity are inherent and implicit and can any moment be released
into activity. The o))ice o) D */T"*TA
/T"*TA
By "vidya )ul)illed man passes beyond death, by
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the play o) &rakriti or 2hit-Shakti and conse8uently a certain limited
capacity o) )orce o) consciousness which has to bear all the impact o) what
the soul does not regard as itsel) but as a rush o) alien )orces= against them
it de)ends its separate )ormation o) individuality )rom dissolution into
>ature or mastery by >ature. *t seeks to assert in the individual )orm and
by its means its innate character o) *sh or ord and so to possess and enjoyits world.
But by the very de)inition o) the ego its capacity is limited. *t accepts
as itsel) a )orm made o) the movement o) >ature which cannot endure in
the general )lu1 o) things. *t has to )orm it by the process o) the movement
and this is birth, it dissolves it by the process o) the movement and this is
death.
*t can master by the understanding only so much o) its e1periences asassimilate with its own viewpoint and in a way which must always be
imper)ect and subject to error because it is not the view o) all or the
viewpoint o) the "ll. *ts knowledge is partly error and all the rest it
ignor