Brihadaranyaka Upanishad | Part II. Ch IV. Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi

Tell me, venerable Sir, of that alone which you know to be the only means of attaining Immortality.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

The Upanishads

Chapter IV-Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi (I)

1. "Maitreyi, my dear," said Yajnavalkya, "I am going to renounce this life. Let me make a final settlement between you and Katyayani (his other wife)."

2. Thereupon Maitreyi said: "Venerable Sir, if indeed the whole earth, full of wealth, belonged to me, would I be immortal through that?" "No," replied Yajnavalkya, "your life would be just like that of people who have plenty. Of Immortality, however, there is no hope through wealth."

3. 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."

4. Yajnavalkya replied: "My dear, you have been my beloved even before and now you say what is after my heart. Come, sit down; I will explain it to you. As I explain it, meditate on what I say."

5. Then Yajnavalkya 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, hut 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 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 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 realization of the Self, my dear-through hearing, reflection and meditation-all this is known.

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 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 beings and this All-are that Self.

7-9. "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 different kinds of playing is grasped; Similarly, no particular objects are perceived in the waking and dream states apart from Pure Intelligence.

10. "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), the Upanishads, verses (slokas), aphorisms (sutras), elucidations (anuvyakhyanas) and explanations (vyakhyanas) are like the breath of this infinite Reality. From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed, breathed forth.

11. "As the ocean is the one goal of all waters (i.e. 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.

12. "As a lump of salt dropped into water becomes dissolved in water and cannot be taken out again, but wherever we taste the water it tastes salt, even so, my dear, this great, endless, infinite Reality is Pure Intelligence alone. This self comes out as a separate entity from these elements and with their destruction this separate existence also is destroyed. After attaining oneness it has no more consciousness. This is what I say, my dear." So said Yajnavalkya.

13. Then Maitreyi said: "Just here you have bewildered me, venerable Sir, by saying that after attaining oneness the self has no more consciousness." Yajnavalkya replied: "Certainly I am not saying anything bewildering, my dear. This Reality is enough for knowledge, O Maitreyi."

14. "For when there is duality, as it were, then one smells another, one sees another, one hears another, one speaks to another, one thinks of another, one knows another. But when everything has become the Self, then what should one smell and through what, what should one see and through what, what should one hear and through what, what should one speak and through what, what should one think and through what, what should one know and through what? Through what should One know That owing to which all this is known-through what, my dear, should one know the Knower?"

The Upanishads translated by Swami Nikhilananda

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