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14. Him who is to be apprehended in existence, who is called 'incorporeal,'

The maker of existence (bhava) and non-existence, the
kindly one (siva),

God (deva), the maker of the creation and its parts-
They who know Him, have left the body behind.

SIXTH ADHYAYA

The One God, Creator and Lord, in and over the world

1. Some sages discourse of inherent nature (sva-bhāva);

Others likewise, of time.1 Deluded men!

It is the greatness of God in the world

By which this Brahma-wheel is caused to revolve.

2. He by whom this whole world is constantly enveloped

Is intelligent, the author of time, possessor of qualities (gunin),

omniscient.

Ruled o'er by Him, [his] work (karman)2 revolves—

This which is regarded as earth, water, fire, air, and space! $

3. He creates this work, and rests again.

Having entered into union (yoga) with principle (tattva) after principle,

With one, with two, with three, or with eight,*

With time, too, and the subtile qualities of a self

4. He begins with works which are connected with qualities (guna), And distributes all existences (bhāva).5

In the absence of these (qualities) there is a disappearance of the work that has been done.

[Yet] in the destruction of the work he continues essentially other [than it].

1As the First Cause-as in 1. 2. See Introduction, p. 8.

2 That is, the world.

3 The same list of five cosmic elements as in 2. 12 b.

That is, the principles as arranged in groups by systematized Sankhya philosophy: the sole principle—the Person (Purusha); dual principles-the Unmanifest (avyakta) and the Manifest (vyakta); triple principles-the three Qualities (guna), i. e. Pureness (sattva), Passion (rajas), and Darkness (tamas); eight principles-the five cosmic elements together with mind, intellect, and self-consciousness (so enumerated, e. g., at BhG. 7. 4.)

5 Compare the similar line 5. 5 c.

5. The beginning, the efficient cause of combinations,

He is to be seen as beyond the three times (kāla),1 without parts (a-kala) too!

Worship Him as the manifold, the origin of all being,

The adorable God who abides in one's own thoughts, the

primeval.

6. Higher and other than the world-tree,2 time, and forms Is He from whom this expanse proceeds.

The bringer of right (dharma), the remover of evil (pāpa), the lord of prosperity

Know Him as in one's own self (ātma-stha), as the immortal abode of all.

7. Him who is the supreme Mighty Lord (maheśvara) of lords, The supreme Divinity of divinities,

The supreme Ruler of rulers, paramount,

Him let us know as the adorable God, the Lord (75) of the world. 8. No action or organ of his is found;

There is not seen his equal, nor a superior.

His high power (śakti) is revealed to be various indeed;
And innate is the working of his intelligence and strength.

9. Of Him there is no ruler in the world,

Nor lord; nor is there any mark (linga) of Him.

He is the Cause (kāraṇa), lord of the lords of sense-organs.
Of Him there is no progenitor, nor lord.

10. The one God who covers himself,

Like a spider, with threads

Produced from Primary Matter (pradhāna), according to his

own nature (svabhāvatas)—

May He grant us entrance into Brahma !

11. The one God, hidden in all things,

All-pervading, the Inner Soul of all things,

The overseer of deeds (karman), in all things abiding,
The witness, the sole thinker, devoid of qualities (nir-guna),

12. The one controller of the inactive many,

Who makes the one seed manifold

The wise who perceive Him as standing in one's self

They, and no others, have eternal happiness.*

1 That is, without past, present, or future-as in Māṇḍ. 1.

2 Which is described in Katha 6. 1.

* Reading cettă instead of the tautologous cetā, ‘observer.'
This stanza = Katha 5. 12 with slight variation in a and b.

13. Him who is the constant among the inconstant, the intelligent among intelligences,

The One among many, who grants desires,'

That Cause, attainable by discrimination and abstraction
(sankhya-yoga)—

By knowing God, one is released from all fetters! 2
14. The sun shines not there, nor the moon and stars;
These lightnings shine not, much less this [earthly] fire!
After Him, as He shines, doth everything shine.
This whole world is illumined with his light.

15. The one soul (hamsa) in the midst of this world

This indeed is the fire which has entered into the ocean.
Only by knowing Him does one pass over death.
There is no other path for going there.*

16. He who is the maker of all, the all-knower, self-sourced, Intelligent, the author of time, possessor of qualities, omniscient, Is the ruler of Primary Matter (pradhāna) and of the spirit (kṣetra-jña), the lord of qualities (guņa),

The cause of transmigration (samsāra) and of liberation (mokṣa), of continuance and of bondage.

17. Consisting of That, immortal, existing as the Lord, Intelligent, omnipresent, the guardian of this world, Is He who constantly rules this world.

There is no other cause found for the ruling.

18. To Him who of old creates Brahmā,

And who, verily, delivers to him the Vedas

To that God, who is lighted by his own intellect,

Do I, being desirous of liberation, resort as a shelter

19. To Him who is without parts, without activity, tranquil

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6 Or, who is the light of self-knowledge'; or, according to the variant reading atma-buddhi-prasādam, who through his own grace lets himself be known.' 7 Cf. Katha 4. 13 b, Like a light without smoke.'

20. When men shall roll up space

As it were a piece of leather,'

Then will there be an end of evil

Apart from knowing God!

Epilogue

21. By the efficacy of his austerity and by the grace of God (devaprasāda)

The wise Śvetāśvatara in proper manner declared Brahma Unto the ascetics of the most advanced stage as the supreme

means of purification—

This which is well pleasing to the company of seers.

The conditions for receiving this knowledge
22. The supreme mystery in the Veda's End (Vedānta),
Which has been declared in former time,

Should not be given to one not tranquil,

Nor again to one who is not a son or a pupil.2
23. To him who has the highest devotion (bhakti) for God,
And for his spiritual teacher (guru) even as for God,
To him these matters which have been declared
Become manifest [if he be] a great soul (mahatman)——
Yea, become manifest [if he be] a great soul!

1 That is, when the impossible becomes possible.

2 Similar restrictions are imposed at Bṛih. 6. 3. 12 and Maitri 6. 29.

MAITRI UPANISHAD

FIRST PRAPĀṬHAKA

Meditation upon the Soul (Ãtman),

the essence and the true completion of religious sacrifice 1. That which for the ancients was [merely] a building up [of sacrificial fires] was, verily, a sacrifice to Brahma.1 Therefore with the building of these sacrificial fires the sacrificer should meditate upon the Soul (Ātman). So, verily, indeed, does the sacrifice become really complete and indeficient. Who is he that is to be meditated upon?

He who is called Life (prāṇa)!

A tale thereof:

The ascetic king Brihadratha, being offered a boon,
chooses knowledge of the Soul (Ātman)

2. Verily, a king, Brihadratha by name, after having established his son in the kingdom, reflecting that this body is noneternal, reached the state of indifference towards the world (vairagya), and went forth into the forest. There he stood, performing extreme austerity, keeping his arms erect, looking up at the sun.

At the end of a thousand [days] 2 there came into the presence of the ascetic, the honorable knower of the Soul (Atman), Śākāyanya, like a smokeless fire, burning as it were with glow. Arise! Arise! Choose a boon!' said he to the king.

He did obeisance to him and said: 'Sir, I am no knower of the Soul (Atman). You are one who knows its true nature, we have heard. So, do you tell us.'

'Such things used to occur! Very difficult [to answer] is

1 Or the meaning may be: The building up of the previous [sacrificial fires, described in the antecedent Maitrāyaṇī Samhitā,] was verily a sacrifice to Brahma." 2 The commentator Rāmatīrtha supplies' years.'

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