Yajnavalkya had
two wives: Maitreyi and Katyayani. Of these, Maitreyi was conversant with the
Knowledge of Brahmn, while Katyayani had an essentially feminine outlook. One
day Yajnavalkya, when he wished to embrace another mode of life, Said:
Maitreyi, my dear, I am going to renounce this life to become a monk. Let me
make a final settlement between you and Katyayani. [Yajurveda, Brih. Upa. IV,
V-Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi (II), 1 – 2]
Maitreyi said:
Venerable Sir, if indeed the whole earth full of wealth belonged to me, would I
be immortal through that or not? No, replied Yajnavalkya, your life would be
just like that of people who have plenty. Of Immortality, however, there is no
hope through wealth.Then Maitreyi said: What should I do with that which would
not make me immortal? Tell me, venerable Sir, of that alone which you know to
be the only means of attaining Immortality. Yajnavalkya replied: My dear, you
have been my beloved even before and now you have resolved to know what is
after my heart. If you wish, my dear, I shall explain it to you. As I explain
it, meditate on what I say. And he said:
Verily, not for the sake of the husband, my dear, is the husband loved, but he
is loved for the sake of the self which, in its true nature, is one with the
Supreme Self. Verily, not for the sake of the wife, my dear, is the wife loved,
but she is loved for the sake of the self. Verily, not for the sake of the
sons, my dear, are the sons loved, but they are loved for the sake of the self.
Verily, not for the sake of wealth, my dear, is wealth loved, but it is loved
for the sake of the self. Verily, not for the sake of the animals, my dear, are
the animals loved, but they are loved for the sake of the self. Verily, not for
the sake of the brahmin, my dear, is the brahmin loved, but he is loved for the
sake of the self. Verily, not for the sake of the kshatriya, my dear, is the
kshatriya loved, but he is loved for the sake of the self. Verily, not for the
sake of the worlds, my dear, are the worlds loved, but they are loved for the
sake of the self. Verily, not for the sake of the gods, my dear, are the gods
loved, but they are loved for the sake of the self. Verily, not for the sake of
the Vedas, my dear, are the Vedas loved, but they are loved for the sake of the
self. Verily, not for the sake of the beings, my dear, are the beings loved,
but they are loved for the sake of the self. Verily, not for the sake of the
All, my dear, is the All loved, but it is loved for the sake of the self.
Verily, my dear Maitreyi, it is the Self that should be realized-should be
heard of, reflected on and meditated upon. By the realisation of the Self, my
dear, through hearing, reflection and meditation, all this is known. [Yajurveda,
Brih. Upa. IV, V-Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi (II), 3- 6].
The brahmin
rejects one who knows him as different from the Self. The kshatriya rejects one
who knows him as different from the Self. The worlds reject one who knows them
as different from the Self. The gods reject one who knows them as different
from the Self. The Vedas reject one who knows them as different from the Self. The
beings reject one who knows them as different from the Self. The All rejects
one who knows it as different from the Self. This brahmin, this kshatriya,
these worlds, these gods, these Vedas, these beings and this All-are that Self.
As the various particular kinds of notes of a drum, when it is beaten, cannot
be grasped by themselves, but are grasped only when the general note of the
drum or the general sound produced by different kinds of strokes is grasped;
And as the various particular notes of a conch, when it is blown, cannot be
grasped by themselves, but are grasped only when the general note of the conch
or the general sound produced by different kinds of blowing is grasped; And as
the various particular notes of a vina,when it is played, cannot be grasped by
themselves, but are grasped only when the general note of the vina or the
general sound produced by the different kinds of playing is grasped; As from a
fire kindled with wet fuel various kinds of smoke issue forth, even so, my
dear, the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Atharvangirasa, history
(itihasa), mythology (purana), the arts (vidya), Upa.,s, verses (slokas),
aphorisms (sutras), elucidations (anuvyakhyanas), explanations (vyakhyanas),
sacrifices, oblations in the fire, food, drink, this world, the next world and
all beings are all like the breath of this infinite Reality.
From this Supreme Self are all these,
indeed, breathed forth. As the ocean is
the one goal of all waters (the place where they merge), so the skin is the one
goal of all kinds of touch, the nostrils are the one goal of all smells, the
tongue is the one goal of all savours, the ear is the one goal of all sounds,
the mind is the one goal of all deliberations, the intellect is the one goal of
all forms of knowledge, the hands are the one goal of all actions, the organ of
generation is the one goal of all kinds of enjoyment, the excretory organ is
the one goal of all excretions, the feet are the one goal of all kinds of
walking, the organ of speech is the one goal of all the Vedas. As a lump of
salt has neither inside nor outside and is altogether a homogeneous mass of
taste, even so this Self, my dear, has neither inside nor outside and is
altogether a homogeneous mass of Intelligence. This Self comes out as a separate
entity from the elements and with their destruction this separate existence is
also destroyed. After attaining this oneness it has no more consciousness.
This is what I say, my dear; so said
Yajnavalkya. (Yajurveda, Brih. Upa. IV, V-Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi II, 7 – 13).
Then Maitreyi
said: Just here you have completely bewildered me, venerable Sir. Indeed, I do
not at all understand this. He replied: Certainly I am not saying anything
bewildering, my dear. Verily, this Self is immutable and indestructible. For
when there is duality, as it were, then one sees another, one smells another,
one tastes another, one speaks to another, one hears another, one thinks of
another, one touches another, one knows another. But when to the knower of Brahmn
everything has become the Self, then what should he see and through what, what
should he smell and through what, what should he taste and through what, what
should he speak and through what, what should he hear and through what, what
should he think and through what, what should he touch and through what, what
should he know and through what? Through what should one know That Owing to
which all this is known? This Self is That which has been described as 'Not
this, not this.' It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived; undecaying,
for It never decays; unattached, for It never attaches Itself; unfettered, for
It never feels pain and never suffers injury.Through what, O Maitreyi, should
one know the Knower? Thus you have the instruction given to you. This much,
indeed, is the means to Immortality. Having said this, Yajnavalkya renounced
home. [Yajurveda, Brihadaranyaka Upa., IV, V-Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi (II), 14
-15]
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