Upanishads Part II · 111 of 112

Maitrayana Upanishad: Sixth Prapathaka (Part 3)

34. The earth is the Gârhapatya-fire, the sky the Dakshina-fire, the heaven the Âhavanîya-fire; and therefore they are also the Pavamâna (pure), the Pâvaka (purifying), and the Suki (bright) 1. By this (by the three deities, Pavamâna, Pâvaka, and Suki) the sacrifice (of the three fires, the Gârhapatya, Dakshina, and Âhavanîya) is manifested. And because the digestive fire also is a compound of the Pavamâna, Pâvaka, and Suki, therefore that fire is to receive oblations, is to be laid with bricks, is to be praised, and to be meditated on. The sacrificer, when he has seized the oblation, wishes 2 to perform his meditation of the deity:

'The gold-coloured bird abides in the heart, and in the sun--a diver bird, a swan, strong in splendour; him we worship in the fire.'

Having recited the verse, he discovers its meaning, viz. the adorable splendour of Savitri (sun) is to be meditated on by him who, abiding within his mind, meditates thereon. Here he attains the place of rest for the mind, he holds it within his own Self. On this there are the following verses:

(1) As a fire without fuel becomes quiet in its place 1, thus do the thoughts, when all activity ceases, become quiet 2 in their place.

(2) Even in a mind which loves the truth 3 and has gone to rest in itself there arise, when it is deluded by the objects of sense, wrongs resulting from former acts 4.

(3) For thoughts alone cause the round of births 5; let a man strive to purify his thoughts. What a man thinks, that he is: this is the old secret 6.

(4) By the serenity of his thoughts a man blots out all actions, whether good or bad. Dwelling within his Self with serene thoughts, he obtains imperishable happiness.

(5) If the thoughts of a man were so fixed on Brahman as they are on the things of this world, who would not then be freed from bondage?

(6) The mind, it is said, is of two kinds, pure or impure; impure from the contact with lust, pure when free from lust 7.

(7) When a man, having freed his mind from sloth, distraction, and vacillation, becomes as it were delivered from his mind 8, that is the highest point.

(8) The mind must be restrained in the heart till it comes to an end;--that is knowledge, that is liberty: all the rest are extensions of the ties 9 (which bind us to this life).

(9) That happiness which belongs to a mind which by deep meditation has been washed 1 clean from all impurity and has entered within the Self, cannot be described here by words; it can be felt by the inward power only 2.

(10) Water in water, fire in fire, ether in ether, no one can distinguish them; likewise a man whose mind has entered (till it cannot be distinguished from the Self), attains liberty.

(11) Mind alone is the cause of bondage and liberty for men; if attached to the world, it becomes bound; if free from the world, that is liberty 3.

Therefore those who do not offer the Agnihotra (as described above), who do not lay the fires (with the bricks, as described above), who are ignorant (of the mind being the cause of the round of births), who do not meditate (on the Self in the solar orb) are debarred from remembering the ethereal place of Brahman. Therefore that fire is to receive oblations, is to be laid with bricks, is to be praised, to be meditated on.

35 4. Adoration to Agni, the dweller on earth, who remembers his world. Grant that world to this thy worshipper!

Adoration to Vâyu, the dweller in the sky, who remembers his world. Grant that world to this thy worshipper!

Adoration to Âditya, the dweller in heaven, who remembers his world. Grant that world to this thy worshipper!

Adoration to Brahman, who dwells everywhere, who remembers all. Grant all to this thy worshipper!

The mouth of the true (Brahman) is covered with a golden lid; open that, O Pûshan (sun), that we may go to the true one, who pervades all (Vishnu) 1.

He who is the person in the sun, I am he 2.

And what is meant by the true one is the essence of the sun, that which is bright, personal, sexless 3; a portion (only) of the light which pervades the ether; which is, as it were, in the midst of the sun, and in the eye, and in the fire. That is Brahman, that is immortal, that is splendour.

That is the true one, a portion (only) of the light which pervades the ether, which is in the midst of the sun, the immortal, of which Soma (the moon) and the vital breaths also are offshoots: that is Brahman, that is immortal, that is splendour.

That is the true one, a portion (only) of the light which pervades the ether, which in the midst of the sun shines as Yagus, viz. as Om, as water, light, essence, immortal, Brahman, Bhûh, Bhuvah, Svar, Om.

'The eight-footed 4, the bright, the swan, bound with three threads, the infinitely small, the imperishable, blind for good and evil, kindled with light--he who sees him, sees everything.'

A portion (only) of the light which pervades the ether, are the two rays rising in the midst of the sun. That is the knower 1 (the Sun), the true one. That is the Yagus, that is the heat, that is Agni (fire), that is Vâyu (wind), that is breath, that is water, that is the moon, that is bright, that is immortal, that is the place of Brahman, that is the ocean of light. In that ocean the sacrificers are dissolved 2 like salt, and that is oneness with Brahman, for all desires are there fulfilled. And here they quote:

'Like a lamp, moved by a gentle wind, he who dwells within the gods shines forth. He who knows this, he is the knower, he knows the difference (between the high and the highest Brahman); having obtained unity, he becomes identified with it.

They who rise up in endless number, like spray drops (from the sea), like lightnings from the light within the clouds in the highest heaven, they, when they have entered into the light of glory (Brahman), appear like so many flame-crests in the track of fire.'

36. There are two manifestations of the Brahma-light: one is tranquil, the other lively. Of that which is tranquil, the ether is the support; of that which is lively, food. Therefore (to the former) sacrifice must be offered on the house-altar with hymns, herbs, ghee, meat, cakes, sthâlîpâka, and other things; to the latter, with meat and drinks (belonging to the great sacrifices) thrown into the mouth, for the mouth is the Âhavanîya-fire; and this is done to increase our bodily vigour, to gain the world of purity, and for the sake of immortality. And here they quote:

'Let him who longs for heaven, offer an Agnihotra. By an Agnishtoma he wins the kingdom of Yama; by Uktha, the kingdom of Soma; by a Shodasin-sacrifice, the kingdom of Sûrya; by an Atirâtra-sacrifice, the kingdom of Indra; by the sacrifices beginning with the twelve-night sacrifice and ending with the thousand years' sacrifice, the world of Pragâpati.

As a lamp burns so long as the vessel that holds the wick is filled with oil, these two, the Self and the bright Sun, remain so long as the egg (of the world) and he who dwells within it hold together.'

37. Therefore let a man perform all these ceremonies with the syllable Om (at the beginning). Its splendour is endless, and it is declared to be threefold, in the fire (of the altar), in the sun (the deity), in the breath (the sacrificer). Now this is the channel to increase the food, which makes what is offered in the fire ascend to the sun. The sap which flows from thence, rains down as with the sound of a hymn. 'By it there are vital breaths, from them there is offspring. And here they quote:

'The offering which is offered in the fire, goes to the sun; the sun rains it down by his rays; thus food comes, and from food the birth of living beings 1.'

And thus he said:

'The oblation which is properly thrown on the fire, goes toward the sun; from the sun comes rain, from rain food, from food living beings'.'

38. He who offers the Agnihotra breaks through the net of desire. Then, cutting through bewilderment, never approving of anger, meditating on one desire (that of liberty), he breaks through the shrine of Brahman with its four nets, and proceeds thence to the ether. For having there broken through the (four) spheres of the Sun, the Moon, the Fire, and Goodness, he then, being purified himself, beholds dwelling in goodness, immovable, immortal, indestructible, firm, bearing the name of Vishnu, the highest abode, endowed with love of truth and omniscience, the self-dependent Intelligence (Brahman), standing in its own greatness. And here they quote:

'In the midst of the sun stands the moon, in the midst of the moon the fire, in the midst of fire goodness, in the midst of goodness the Eternal.'

Having meditated on him who has the breadth of a thumb within the span (of the heart) in the body, who is smaller than small, he obtains the nature of the Highest; there all desires are fulfilled. And on this they quote:

'Having the breadth of a thumb within the span (of the heart) in the body, like the flame of a lamp, burning twofold or threefold, that glorified Brahman, the great God, has entered into all the worlds. Om! Adoration to Brahman! Adoration!'

Footnotes

305:1 The commentator describes the sixth and seventh chapters as Khila, supplementary, and does not think that they are closely connected with the chief object of the Upanishad. This chief object was to show that there is only one thinking Self (kidâtmâ) to be known, and that the same is to be meditated on as manifested in the different forms of Rudra, Brahmâ, Vishnu, &c. Thus the highest object of those who wish for final liberation has been explained before, as well as the proper means of obtaining that liberation. What follows are statements of the greatness of the various manifestations of the Âtman, and advice how to worship them. My MS. gives the beginning of the sixth Prapâthaka, but ends with the end of the eighth paragraph. The verses in paragraph 34, as mentioned before, are given in my MS. at the end of the fourth Prapâthaka. My translation deviates considerably from the commentary. The text is obscure and not always correct. My rule has been throughout to begin a new sentence with evam hy âha, 'for thus it is said,' which introduces proofs of what has been said before. The passages thus quoted as proofs from the Veda are often difficult to understand, nor do they always consist of a complete sentence. My translation therefore is often purely tentative.

305:2 M. reads dvitîyâ for dvidhâ.

305:3 M. reads dvau vâ etâv asya pañkadhâ nâmântar bahis kâhorâtre tau vyâvartete.

305:4 While the sun goes round Meru in a day and a night, the breath performs 21,000 breathings, or, more exactly, 21,600. M. reads bahirâtmagatyâ.

305:5 M. reads adhyaksha, not akshâdhyaksha.

306:1 M. reads sa esho 'ntah pushkare hritpushkare vâsrito.

306:2 The commentator ascribes the dialogue still to the Vâlakhilyas and Pragâpati Kratu.

306:3 M. reads dalasamsthâ âsur vâgnih parata etaih prânâdityâv etâ.

306:4 See Brih. Up. II, 3, 1.

306:5 Professor Cowell, after giving the various readings of his MSS., says, 'the true reading would seem to be yat satyam tad brahma, yad brahma tag gyotir, yad gyotis sa âdityah.' This is exactly the reading of my own MS.

307:1 M. reads kaivâsminn ity evam hyâha.

307:2 The mystic syllable Om.

307:3 See Khândogyopanishad I, 5; Maitr. Up. VI, 25.

307:4 M. reads nâmarûpam.

307:5 The three feet of the prâna are waking, slumber, and deep sleep; the three feet of the sun, the three worlds, bhûh, bhuvah, svar, as in VII, 11. See also Khând. Up. III, 12.

307:6 Cf. Kath. Up. VI, 1.

307:7 Asvattha, lit. fig-tree, then frequently used metaphorically as a name of the world. Here explained as, it will not stand till to-morrow.'

308:1 Kath. Up. II, 16.

308:2 M. reads tanûr yom iti.

308:3 The fires on the three altars.

308:4 Prasña Up. V, 2.

308:5 M. reads atha vyâttam.

308:6 So far the pranava or Om has been explained; now follows the explanation of the Vyâhritis; cf. VI, 2. Vyâhriti is derived from vyâhar, and means an utterance.

308:7 Cf. VI, 5.

309:1 M. reads visvataskakshur.

309:2 Pragâpati, according to the commentator, is identified with Satya, the true, because sat means the three worlds, and these (bhûh, bhuvah, svar) are said to be his body. Hence probably the insertion of Satyam before Pragâpati at the beginning of the paragraph. Then he argues, as the eye has been called satya, and as the eye is Âditya, therefore Pragâpati also, being Satya, is Âditya, the sun. And again, if the sun is worshipped (by the vyâhritis) then, like the sun, the eye of all, Pragâpati also, the self of all, is worshipped.

309:3 Eshopasîta is impossible. We must either read, with the commentator, etam upâsîta, or with M. eshopasiteti.

309:4 He now proceeds to explain the worship of the Sâvitrî verse, which had been mentioned in VI, 2, after the Om and the Vyâhritis, as the third mode of worshipping Prâna (breath) and Âditya (sun), these being two correlative embodiments of the Self. The Sâvitrî is found in Rig-veda III, 6 2, 10, but it is here explained in a purely philosophical sense. See also Brih. Up. VI, 3, 6.

310:1 M. reads târake 'kshni.

310:2 Sûrya is considered as the daily performer of the Prâtahsavana, &c., the sacrifice at which Soma is squeezed out as an offering.

310:3 M. reads pavamânât pavamânah.

310:4 M. reads amritâkhyas ketâkhyas ketâ.

310:5 M. reads gantâ srishtâ.

311:1 M. reads kâryakăranakarmavinirmuktam.

311:2 Nirupâkhyam, rightly translated by Cowell by 'without a predicate,' and rendered by the commentator by apramaya, i.e. not to be measured, not to be classed, i.e. without a predicate.

311:3 I have translated this in accordance with a well-known passage, quoted by the commentator from the Brihadâranyaka, rather than in accordance with his own interpretation.

311:4 M. leaves out vidhâtâ.

311:5 Instead of the peculiar Maitrâyani reading, svâñ sârîrâd, AI. reads svâs kharîrâd.

311:6 The oneness of the Sun and the Breath is proclaimed in the following verse of the Prasña Upanishad I, 8.

312:1 Here ends the M. manuscript, with the following title: iti srîyagussâkhâyâm Maitrâyanîyabrâhmanopanishadi shashthah prapâthakah. Samâptâ.

312:2 In the following paragraphs the taking of food is represented as a sacrifice offered by the Self to the Self (âtmayaganarûpam bhoganam,, l. 13).

312:3 Several words have been inserted in this verse, spoiling the metre.

312:4 See Khând. Up. V, 2.

313:1 See before, III, 3.

313:2 This is very doubtful, in fact, unintelligible. The commentator says, asya bhûtâtmanah kartâ pradhânah pûrvoktah, so 'pi bhogya ity arthah.

313:3 Technical terms, afterwards adopted by the Sâṅkhya philosophers.

313:4 Professor Cowell observes that the term visesha, as here applied to the five gross elements, occurs in the Sâṅkhya-kârika, ver. 38.

314:1 Five receptive, five active organs, and four kinds of consciousness.

314:2 Its very development proves it to be food. Cowell.

315:1 Khând. Up. VII, 9, 1.

315:2 Taitt. Up. II, 2.

316:1 As food depends on time, therefore time is praised, which again depends on the sun, which is a form of the Self.

317:1 Thus, the commentator says, the existence of the lamp can be proved by the light of the lamp, as the existence of time is proved by what we see, the rising of the sun. All this is very obscure.

318:1 Brahman used as neuter, but immediately followed by eko 'nantah, &c.

318:2 After having explained the form of what is to be meditated on and the mode of meditation, the Upanishad now teaches the Yoga which serves to keep our thoughts in subjection, and to fix our thoughts on the object of meditation. See Yoga-Sûtras II, 29.

319:1 The fourth stage is meant for the thinking Self, the earlier stages being waking, slumbering, and slee:2 Professor Cowell offers two renderings of this difficult passage: 'This which is called prâna, i.e. the individual soul as characterised by the subtil body, will thus no longer appear in its separate individuality from the absence of any conscious subject; or, this subtil body bearing the name of intellect will thus become void of all objects.'

320:1 The commentator remarks that this process is called Lambikâyoga, and the state produced by it Unmanî or Unmanîbhâva; see amanîbhâva, in VI, 34, ver. 7.

320:2 I should have preferred to translate âtmânam âtmanâ pasyati by 'he sees his Self by his Self,' but the commentator takes a slightly different view, and says itthambhâve tritîyâ; paramâtmarûpena pasyati.

320:3 Cf. Katha Up. V I, 16 Prasña Up. III, 6 ().

320:4 If we read samyogya we must follow the commentator in translating by 'uniting the senses with the prâna and the manas.'

320:5 Let the Self perceive the Self.

321:1 Cf. Mahâbhârata XII, 8540; Sarvadarsana-saṅgraha, ; Cowell's Translation, .

322:1 The commentator takes devâ as devah, though the accent is against it; see Schroeder, Über die Maitrâyanî Samhitâ,, l. 11.

322:2 Should it not be, 'darkness is the mark?'

322:3 Atamâvishta, explained as an irregular compound, atama-âvishtam, tama-âvesanarahitam.

322:4 Cf. Bhagavadgîtâ XV, 12.

323:1 Cf. VI, 4.

323:2 Cf. Svetâsvatara-upanishad III, 10.

324:1 As the fire which exists invisibly in a heated vessel becomes visible when the heated vessel is touched with sticks dipped in butter, thus the Âtman in the body appears only when the Prânas are diffused in it. Or, as the clarified butter, heated together with the vessel, lights up grass that comes in contact with it, so does this Âtman (called Not-breath), by heating its two bodies which are pervaded by the reflections of the thinker, light up everything brought in contact with it, viz. the world.

324:2 See Katha Up. III, 9.

324:3 See VI, 31; Brih. Up. II, 1, 10.

324:4 The light was always there, but it seems then only to appear.