Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Brahmana 4
He was afraid. Therefore one who is alone is afraid. This one then thought to himself: ' Since there is nothing else than myself, of what am I afraid? ' Thereupon, verily, his fear departed, for of what should he have been afraid? Assur- edly it is from a second that fear arises.
Verily, he had no delight. Therefore one alone has no delight. He desired a second. He was, indeed, as large as a woman and a man closely embraced. He caused that self to fall (</J>at) into two pieces. Theiefrom arose a husband (pati) and a wife (patnT). Therefore this [is true]: ' Oneself (sva) * is like a half-fragment/ as Yajnavalkya used to say. Therefore this space is filled by a wife. He copulated with her. Therefrom human beings were pioduced.
And she then bethought herself- ' How now does he copulate with me after he has produced me just from himself? Come, let me hide myself/ She became a cow. He became a bull. With her he did indeed copulate. Then cattle were born. She became a mare, he a stallion. She became a female ass, he a male ass; with her he copulated, of a truth. Thence were bom solid-hoofed animals. She became a she-goat, he a he-goat; she a ewe, he a ram. With her he did verily copulate. Therefrom were born goats and sheep. Thus, indeed, he created all, whatever pairs there are, even down to the ants.
He knew: ' I, indeed, am this creation, for I emitted it all from myself. Thence arose creation. Verily, he who has this knowledge comes to be in that creation of his. St G
Then he rubbed thus. From his mouth as the fire-hole (yoni) and from his hands he created fire (agni}< Both these [i.e. the hands and the mouth] are hairless on the inside, for the fire-hole (yom) is hairless on the inside. This that people say, £ Worship this god! Worship that god!' — one god after another — this is his creation indeed! And he himself is all the gods. Now, whatever is moist, that he created from semen, and that is Soma. This whole world, verily, is just food and the eater of food. That was Brahma's super-creation: namely, that he created the gods, his superiors; likewise, that, being mortal, he created the immortals. Therefore was it a super-creation. Verily, he who knows this comes to be in that super-creation of his.
Verily, at that time the world was undifferentiated. It became differentiated just by name and foim, as the saying is: differentiated just by name and form, as the saying is: ' He has such a name, such a form.' He entered in here, even to the fingernail-tips, as a razor would be hidden in a razor-case, or fire in a fire-holder.' Him they see not, for [as seen] he Is incomplete. When breathing, he becomes breath (prdnd) by name; when speaking, voice; when seeing, the eye; when hearing, the ear; when thinking, the mind: these are merely the names of his acts. Whoever worships one or another of these — he knows not; for he is the earliest occurrence of a favorite simile of the later Vedanta; cf. for example, £ankara on the Brahma-Sutras 3. 2. 6 ' as fire is latent in firewood or in covered embers.* But the meaning of m&vambJiara is uncertain. Etymologically the word is a compound signifying * all-bearing.' As such it is an unambiguous appellation of the earth at AV 12. I 6. The only other occurrence of its adjectival -use that is cited in BR. is AV. 2. 16. 5, where the commentator substantiates his rendering the meaning ( fire ' (A V Tr. p. 60-61), and in his criticism of Bohtlingk's translation of this Upamshad (AJP n. 432) suggests that ' vtivambhara may perhaps here mean some kind of insect, in accordance with its later use,' and * since the point of comparison is the invisibility of the things encased ' proposes the translation * or as a vitvambhara in a vtfvam&kara-uest. But Professor Lanman adds to Whitney's note on AV. a. 16. 5 (AV, Tr. p. 60- j); 'I think, nevertheless, that fire may be meant.' The same simile recurs at Kaush. 4. 20. incomplete with one or another of these. One should worship with the thought that he is just one's self (atman\ for therein all these become one That same thing, namely, this self, is the trace (fadaniyd) of this All, for by it one knows this All. Just as, verily, one might find by a footprint (^r),thus— - He finds fame and praise who knows this.
That self is dearer than a son, is dearer than wealth, is dearer than all else, since this self is nearer. If of one who speaks of anything else than the self as dear, one should say, fc He will lose what he holds dear/ he would indeed be likely to do so. One should reverence the self alone as dear. He who reverences the self alone as dear— what he holds dear, verily, is not perishable.
Here people say: £ Since men think that by the knowledge of Brahma they become the All, what, pray, was it that Brahma knew whereby he became the All? '
Verily, in the beginning this world was Brahma, It knew only itself (atmanam): < I am Brahma! ' Therefore it became the All. Whoever of the gods became awakened to this, he indeed became it; likewise in the case of seers (rsi), likewise in the case of men. Seeing this, indeed, the seer Vamadeva began: — I was Manu and the Sun (Surya)\* This is so now also. Whoever thus knows ' I am Brahma! ' the sentence whose protasis is introduced by yatka (' just as'). This arrangement of clauses involves an ellipsis, which, if supplied m full, might be • 'Just as, verily, one might find [cattle, the commentate! explains] by a footprint, thus one finds this All by its footprint, the self (atwany Another possible grouping would connect that protasis with the preceding sentence merely as an added simile, warn (' thus ') being regarded as a resumptive introduction for the following sentence. The translation of the words thus grouped would be: f That very thing is the trace of this All—even this self (atman); for by it one knows this All, just as, verily, one might find by a footprint. Thus he finds fame and praise who knows this.' Neither arrangement of the clauses is entirely satisfactory. Of the two, the latter, however, would appear to be the less probable, for the reason that it prevents the concluding sentence from assuming the exact form — peimitted by the arrangement adopted above — of the customary formula announcing the reward of knowing the truths which have been expounded. 8 G a becomes this All; even the gods have not power to pievcnt his becoming thus, for he becomes their self (atman}. So whoever worships another divinity [than his Self], thinking ' He is one and I another/ he knows not He is like a sacrificial animal for the gods. Verily, indeed, as many animals would be of service to a man, even so each single person is of service to the gods. If even one animal is taken away, it is not pleasant. What, then, if many? Therefoie it is not pleasing to those [gods] that men should know this, ii. Verily, in the beginning this world was Biahma, one only. Being one, he was not developed. He created still further a superior form, the Kshatrahood, even those who are Kshatras (rulers) 2 among the gods: Indra, Varuna, Soma, Rudra, Parjanya, Yama., Mrityu, Isana. Therefore there is nothing higher than Kshatra, Therefore at the Rajasuya ceremony 3 the Brahman sits below the Kshatriya. Upon Kshatrahood alone does he confer this honor. This same thing, namely Brahrnanhood (brahma)> is the source of Kshatrahood. Therefore, even if the king attains supremacy, he rests finally upon Brahmanhood as his own source, So whoever injures him [i.e. a Brahman] attacks his own source. He fares worse in proportion as he injures one who is better. is. He was not yet developed. He created the Vis (the commonalty),those kinds of gods that are mentioned in numbers: the Vasus, the Rudras, the Adityas, the Vi^vadevas, the Maruts.
He was not yet developed. He created the Sudra caste (varya), Pushan 4 Verily, this [earth] is Pushan, for she nourishes ( Vpzts) everything that is.
He was not yet developed. He created still further a better form, Law (dharma). This is the power (ksatra) of the Kshatriya class (ksatra), viz. Law. Therefore there is nothing higher than Law. So a weak man controls a strong man by Law, just as if by a king. Verily, that which is Law is truth. Therefore they say of a man who speaks the truth, < He speaks designate the military and princely class, as contrasted with the priestly class of Brahmans, See page 98, note 2. the Law/ or of a man who speaks the Law, < He speaks the truth/ Verily, both these are the same thing.
So that Brahma [appeared as] Kshatra, Vis, and Sudra. So among the gods Biahma appeared by means of Agni, among men as a Brahman, as a Kshatriya by means of the [divine] Kshatriya, as a Vaisya by means of the [divine] Vai^ya, as a Sudra by means of the [divine] Sudra. Therefore people desire a place among the gods in Agni, among men in a Brah- man, for by these two forms [pre-eminently] Brahma appeared. Now whoever depaits from this world [i. e. the world of the Atman] without having recognized it as his own, to him it is of no service, because it is unknown, as the unrecited Vedas or any other undone deed [do not help a man]. Verily, even if one performs a great and holy work, but without knowing this, that work of his merely perishes in the end. One should worship the Self alone as his [true] world The work of him who worships the Self alone as his world does not perish, for out of that very Self he creates whatsoever he desires. 1 6. Now this Self, verily, is a world of all created things. In so far as a man makes offerings and sacrifices, he becomes the world of the gods In so far as he learns [the Vedas], he becomes the world of the seers (rsi). In so far as he offers libations to the fathers and desiies offspring, he becomes the world of the fathers. In so far as he gives lodging and food to men, he becomes the world of men. In so far as he finds grass and water for animals, he becomes the world of animals. In so far as beasts and birds, even to the ants, find a living in his houses, he becomes their world. Verily, as one would desire security for his own world, so all creatures wish security for him who has this knowledge. This fact, verily, is known when it is thought out.
In the beginning this world was just the Self (Atman), one only. He wished; c Would that I had a wife; then I would procreate. Would that I had wealth; then I would offer sacrifice.' So great, indeed, is desire. Not even if one desired, would he get more than that. Therefore even today when one is lonely one wishes: ' Would that I had a wife, then I would procreate. Would that I had wealth, then I would offer sacrifice. So far as he does not obtain any one of these, he thinks that he is, assuredly, incomplete. Now his complete- ness is as follows: his mind truly is his self (dtmaii); his voice is his wife; his breath is his offspring; his eye is his worldly wealth, for with his eye he finds; his ear is his heavenly [wealth], for with his ear he hears it, his body (dtman\ indeed, is his work, for with his body he performs work. The sacrifice is fivefold. The sacrificial animal is fivefold. A person is fivefold. This whole world, whatever there is, is fivefold. He obtains this whole world who knows this.