Now, all this
universe was then undifferentiated. It became differentiated by name and form:
it was known by such and such a name, and such and such a form. Thus to this
day this universe is differentiated by name and form; so it is said. He has
such aname and such a form. This Self has entered into these bodies up to the
very tips of the nails, as a razor lies hidden in its case, or as fire, which
sustains the world, lies hidden in its source. People do not see the Self, for
when viewed in parts It is incomplete: when breathing, It is called the vital
breath (prana); when speaking, the organ of speech; when seeing, the eye; when
hearing, the ear; when thinking, the mind. These are merely Its names according
to Its functions. He who meditates on one or another of Its aspects does not
know, for It is then incomplete: the Self is separated from Its totality by
being associated with a single characteristic. The Self alone is to be
meditated upon, for in It all these become unified. Of all these, this Self
alone should be known, for one knows all these through It, just as one may find
an animal which is lost through its footprints. He who thus knows the Self
obtains fame and association with dear ones.This Self is dearer than a son,
dearer than wealth, dearer than everything else, because It is innermost. If
one holding the Self dear were to say to a person who speaks of anything other
than the Self as dear, that he, the latter, will lose what he holds dear-and
the former is certainly competent to do so-it will indeed come true. One should
meditate upon the Self alone as dear. He who meditates upon the Self alone as
dear-what he holds dear will not perish. They say: Since men think that by the
Knowledge of Brahman they become all, what, pray, was it that Brahman knew by
which It became all?
This self was
indeed Brahman in the beginning. It knew itself only as I am Brahman. Therefore
it became all. And whoever among the gods had this enlightenment, also became That
Brahman. It is the same with the seers (rishis), the same with men. The seer
Vamadeva, having realized this self as That, came to know: I was Manu and the
sun. And to this day, whoever in a like manner knows the self as I am Brahman,
becomes all this universe. Even the gods cannot prevent his becoming this, for
he has become their Self. [Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I, IV-The
Creation and Its Cause, 7-10].
One should
meditate on the mind as Brahman- this is said with reference to the body. One
should meditate on the akasa as Brahman-this is to said with reference to the
gods. Thus, both-the meditation, with reference to the body and, the meditation
with reference to the gods- are being taught. That Brahman has four feet
(quarters): speech is one foot, the prana (the nose) is one foot, the eye is
one foot, the ear is one foot-this is to said with reference to the body. Now
with reference to the gods: Agni (fire) is one foot, Vayu (air) is one foot,
Aditya (the sun) is one foot and the quarters (disah) are one foot. This is the
twofold meditation with reference to the body and with reference to the gods.
Speech is, indeed, a fourth foot (quarter) of Brahman of which the mind is a
symbol. It shines and warms with the light of fire. He who knows this shines
and warms with fame, with renown and with the radiance of Brahman. Prana (the
nose) is, indeed, a fourth foot of Brahman. It shines and warms with the light
of the air. He who knows this shines and warms with fame, with renown and with
the radiance of Brahman. [Sama Veda, Chan. Upa. III, XVIII - The Mind and the
Akasa as Symbols of Brahman, 1-4]
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