The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal
This book provides a in-depth understanding of who we are, why we are, how we can go back to where we belong.
Only to be near him, only to serve and obey him in humility and in reverence, is to become quickened in spirit; and the purpose of study of the scriptures is not merely or primarily to inform the intellect, but to purify and enrich the soul:
translated by Swami Prabhavananda;and Frederick Manchester. The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal. Kindle Edition.
As smoke and sparks arise from a lighted fire kindled with damp fuel, even so, Maitreyi, have breathed forth from the Eternal all knowledge and all wisdom-what we know as the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the rest. They are the breath of the Eternal.
He who sees all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, hates none. To the illumined soul, the Self is all. For him who sees everywhere oneness, how can there be delusion or grief?
To darkness are they doomed who devote themselves selves only to life in the world, and to a greater darkness they who devote themselves only to meditation. Life in the world alone leads to one result, meditation alone leads to another. So have we heard from the wise. They who devote themselves both to life in the world and to meditation, by life in the world overcome death, and by meditation achieve immortality.
He truly knows Brahman who knows him as beyond knowledge; he who thinks that he knows, knows not. The ignorant think that Brahman is known, but the wise know him to be beyond knowledge.
THE secret of immortality is to be found in purification of the heart, in meditation, in realization of the identity of the Self within and Brahman without. For immortality is simply union with God.
The wise prefer the good to the pleasant; the foolish, driven by fleshly desires, prefer the pleasant to the good.
(p. 24).
The Self is not known through study of the scriptures, nor through subtlety of the intellect, nor through much learning. But by him who longs for him is he known.' Verily unto him does the Self reveal his true being.
Know that the Self is the rider, and the body the chariot: that the intellect is the charioteer, and the mind the reins.
The senses, say the wise, are the horses; the roads they travel are the mazes of desire.
The wise call the Self the enjoyer when he is united with the body, the senses, and the mind.
(p. 29).
The senses derive from physical objects, physical ical objects from mind, mind from intellect, intellect lect from ego, ego from the unmanifested seed, and the unmanifested seed from Brahman-the Uncaused caused Cause.
The senses of the wise man obey his mind, his mind obeys his intellect, his intellect obeys his ego, and his ego obeys the Self.
Arise! Awake! Approach the feet of the Master and know THAT. Like the sharp edge of a razor, the sages say, is the path. Narrow it is, and difficult to tread !
Soundless, formless, intangible, undying, tasteless, less, odorless, eternal, without beginning, without end, immutable, beyond nature, is the Self. Knowing ing him as such, one is freed from death.
(p. 30).
What is within us is also without. What is without is also within. He who sees difference between tween what is within and what is without goes evermore from death to death.
Man does not live by breath alone, but by him in whom is the power of breath.
If a man fails to attain Brahman before he casts off his body, he must again put on a body in the world of created things.
Above the senses is the mind. Above the mind is the intellect. Above the intellect is the ego. Above the ego is the unmanifested seed, the Primal Cause.
When all the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intellect wavers not-that, say the wise, is the highest state.
(p. 37).
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"As the flowing rivers, whose destination is the sea, having reached it disappear in it, losing their names and forms, and men speak only of the sea: so these sixteen parts created from out his own being by the Self, the Eternal Seer, having returned turned to him from whom they came,
disappear in him, their destination, losing their names and forms, and people speak only of the Self. Then for man the sixteen parts are no more, and he attains to immortality.
(p. 54).
"Brahman willed that it should be so, and brought forth out of himself the material cause of the universe; from this came the primal energy, and from the primal energy mind, from mind the subtle elements, from the subtle elements the many worlds, and from the acts performed by beings in the many worlds the chain of cause and effect-the the reward and punishment of works. "Brahman sees all, knows all; he is knowledge itself. Of him are born cosmic intelligence, name, form, and the material cause of all created beings and things." Finite and transient are the fruits of sacrificial rites. The deluded, who regard them as the highest good, remain subject to birth and death.
(pp. 60-61).
OM is the bow, the arrow is the individual being, and Brahman is the target.
(p. 64).
Vaiswanara, the Self as the universal person in his physical being, corresponds to the first letter-A. Whosoever knows Vaiswanara obtains what he desires, and becomes the first among men. Taijasa, the Self as the universal person in his mental being, corresponds to the second letter-U. Taijasa and the letter U both stand in dream, between waking and sleeping. Whosoever knows Taijasa grows in wisdom, and is highly honored.
(pp. 75-76).
"In the beginning there was Existence, One only, without a second. Some say that in the beginning there was non-existence only, and that out of that the universe was born. But how could such a thing be? How could existence be born of non-existence? No, my son, in the beginning there was Existence alone-One only, without a second.
(p. 109).
"Yes, concentration is higher than discriminating will. Those who reach greatness here on earth reach it through concentration. Thus, while small and vulgar people are always gossiping and quarrelling relling and for lack of concentration abusing one another, great men, possessing it, obtain their reward. Meditate on concentration as Brahman."
(p. 116).
This Self, when associated in our consciousness with the body, is subject to pleasure and pain; and so long as this association continues, freedom from pleasure and pain can no man find.
(p. 127).
As a man acts, so does he become.
A man acts according to the desires to which he clings.
Thus he who has desire continues subject to rebirth.
(p. 177-178).
Craving for progeny leads to craving for wealth, and craving for wealth leads to craving for life in other worlds.
(p. 181)
The first signs of progress on the path of yoga are health, a sense of physical lightness, clearness of complexion, a beautiful voice, an agreeable odor of the person, and freedom from craving.
(pp. 192-193).
How To Meditate
Sit upright, holding the chest, throat, and head erect. Turn the senses and the mind inward to the lotus of the heart. Meditate on Brahman with the help of the syllable OM. Cross the fearful currents of the ocean of worldliness by means of the raft of Brahman-the sacred syllable OM. With earnest effort hold the senses in check. Controlling the breath, regulate the vital activities. As a charioteer holds back his restive horses, so does a persevering aspirant hold back his mind.
(p. 192)
As you practice meditation, you may see in vision forms resembling snow, crystal, wind, smoke, fire, lightning, fireflies, the sun, the moon. These are signs that you are on your way to the revelation of Brahman.
(p. 192).
Retire into solitude. Seat yourself on a clean spot and in erect posture, with the head and neck in a straight line. Be indifferent to the world. Control trol all the sense organs. Bow down in devotion to your Guru. Then enter the lotus of the heart and there meditate on the presence of Brahman-the the pure, the infinite, the blissful.
(p. 208).
At death he is born again, and the circumstances of his new life are determined by his past deeds and by the habits he has formed.
(p. 209).
He who made this great spectacle of waking. dream, and dreamless sleep-he I am. I am Brahman: man: know this, and break all bonds.
(pp. 209-210).