Great Throughts Treasury

"There is one unborn prakriti-red, white and black-which gives birth to many creatures like itself. An unborn individual soul becomes attached to it and enjoys it, while another unborn individual soul leaves it after his enjoyment is completed."

"There is a non-dual Ruler of the actionless many; He makes the one seed manifold. Eternal happiness belongs to the wise, who perceive Him within themselves-and not to others."

"The yogi who first performs actions and then turns away from them and who practises one, two, three, or eight disciplines, unites one principle with another principle and with the help of virtues cultivated by the self and of subtle tendencies attains Liberation in course of time."

"The yogi of well regulated endeavours should control the pranas; when they are quieted he should breathe out through the nostrils. Then let him undistractedly restrain his mind, as a charioteer restrains his vicious horses."

"Those who know Him who can be realised by the pure heart, who is called incorporeal, who is the cause of creation and destruction, who is all good and the creator of the sixteen parts-those who know the luminous Lord are freed from embodiment."

"Thou art woman, Thou art man; Thou art youth and maiden too. Thou as an old man totterest along on a staff; it is Thou alone who, when born, assumest diverse forms."

"Through the power of austerity and through the grace of the Lord, the sage Svetasvatara realised Brahman and proclaimed the highly sacred Knowledge, supremely cherished by the company of seers, to sannyasins of the most advanced stage."

"Thou art the dark-blue bee; Thou art the green parrot with red eyes; Thou art the thunder-cloud, the seasons and the seas. Thou art beginningless and all-pervading. From Thee all the worlds are born."

"We meditate on the River whose five currents are the five organs of perception, which is made impetuous and winding by the five elements, whose waves are the five organs of actions and whose fountain-head is the mind, the source of the five forms of perception. This River has five whirlpools and its rapids are the fivefold misery; and lastly, it has fifty branches and five pain-bearing obstructions."

"Two birds, united always and known by the same name, closely cling to the same tree. One of them eats the sweet fruit; the other looks on without eating."

"When earth, water fire, air and akasa arise, that is to say, when the five attributes of the elements, mentioned in the books on yoga, become manifest then the yogi's body becomes purified by the fire of yoga and he is free from illness, old age and death."

"We know Him who is the Supreme Lord of lords, the Supreme Deity of deities, the Ruler of rulers; who is higher than the imperishable prakriti and is the self-luminous, adorable Lord of the world."

"When men shall roll up space as if it were a piece of hide, then there will be an end of misery without one’s cultivating the Knowledge of the Lord, who is without parts, without actions, tranquil, blameless, unattached, the supreme bridge to Immortality, an like a fire that has consumed all its fuel."

"When the Lord is known all fetters fall off; with the cessation of miseries, birth and death come to an end. From meditation on Him there arises, after the dissolution of the body, the third state, that of universal lordship. And lastly, the aspirant, transcending that state also, abides in the complete Bliss of Brahman."

"When there is no darkness of ignorance, there is no day or night, neither being nor non-being; the pure Brahman alone exists. That immutable Reality is the meaning of "That"; It is adored by the Sun. From It has proceeded the ancient wisdom."

"When yoga is practised, the forms which appear first and which gradually manifest Brahman are those or snow-flakes, smoke, sun, wind, fire, fire-flies, lightning, crystal and the moon."

"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 restrain his mind."

"According unto his deeds the embodied one successively assumes forms in various conditions. Coarse and fine, many in number, the embodied one chooses forms according to his own qualities. [Each] subsequent cause of his union with them is seen to be because of the quality of his acts and of himself."

"Being born, thou becomest facing in every direction. Thou art the dark-blue bird and the green [parrot] with red eyes. Thou hast the lightning as thy child. Thou art the seasons and the seas. Having no beginning, thou dost abide with all-pervadingness, Wherefrom all beings are born."

"By knowing God there is a falling off of all fetters; with distresses destroyed, there is cessation of birth and death."

"He who rules the ignorance and the knowledge is another."

"By knowing what is therein, Brahma-knowers become merged in Brahma, intent thereon, liberated from the womb [i.e. from rebirth]."

"Discoursers on Brahma (brahma-v?din) say:?What is the cause? Brahma?1 Whence are we born? Whereby do we live? And on what are we established? Overruled by whom, in pains and pleasures, do we live our various conditions, O ye theologians (brahmavid)? Time (k?la), or inherent nature (sva-bh?va), or necessity (niyati), or chance (yad?cch?), or the elements (bh?ta), or a [female] womb (yoni), or a [male] person (puru?a) are to be considered [as the cause]; not a combination of these, because of the existence of the soul (?tman). The soul certainly is impotent over the cause of pleasure and pain. Those who have followed after meditation (dhy?na) and abstraction (yoga) saw the self-power (?tma-?akti) of God (deva), hidden in his own qualities (gu?a). He is the One who rules over all these causes, from ?time? to ?the soul.?"

"Higher than this is Brahma. The Supreme, the Great, hidden in all things, body by body, the One embracer of the universe? By knowing Him as Lord (??) men become immortal. I know this mighty Person (Purusha) of the color of the sun, beyond darkness. Only by knowing Him does one pass over death. There is no other path for going there. Than whom there is naught else higher, than whom there is naught smaller, naught greater, the One stands like a tree established in heaven. By Him, the Person, this whole world is filled. That which is beyond this world is without form and without ill. They who know That, become immortal; but others go only to sorrow."

"That God faces all the quarters of heaven. Aforetime was he born, and he it is within the womb. He has been born forth. He will be born."

"In the imperishable, infinite, supreme Brahma are two things; for therein are knowledge and ignorance placed hidden. Now, ignorance is a thing perishable, but knowledge is a thing immortal. And He who rules the ignorance and the knowledge is another, [Even] the One who rules over every single source, all forms and all sources; who bears in his thoughts, and beholds when born, that red seer who was engendered in the beginning. That God spreads out each single net [of illusion] manifoldly, and draws it together here in the world."

"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 (pradh?na) and of the spirit (ksetra-j¤a), the lord of qualities (gu?a),the cause of transmigration (sa?s?ra) and of liberation (mok?a), of continuance and of bondage. 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. To Him who of old creates Brahm?, 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?to Him who is without parts, without activity, tranquil (??nta), irreproachable, spotless, the highest bridge of immortality, like a fire with fuel burned. 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!"

"Him who is without beginning and without end, in the midst of confusion, the Creator of all, of manifold form, the One embracer of the universe?By knowing God (deva) one is released from all fetters. Him who is to be apprehended in existence, who is called ?incorporeal,? the maker of existence (bh?va) and non-existence, the kindly one (?iva), God (deva), the maker of the creation and its parts?they who know Him, have left the body behind."

"That syllable of the sacred hymn (?c, Rig-Veda) whereon, in highest heaven, all the gods are seated?Of what avail is the sacred hymn (?c, Rig-Veda) to him who knows not That? They, indeed, who know That, are here assembled. Sacred poetry (chandas), the sacrifices, the ceremonies, the ordinances, the past, the future, and what the Vedas declare?this whole world the illusion-maker (m?yin) projects out of this [Brahma]. And in it by illusion (m?y?) the other is confined. Now, one should know that Nature (Prak?iti) is illusion (m?y?). And that the Mighty Lord (mahe?vara) is the illusionmaker (m?yin). This whole world is pervaded with beings that are parts of Him."

"Not above, not across, not in the middle has one grasped Him. There is no likeness of Him whose name is Great Glory. His form is not to be beheld. No one soever sees Him with the eye. They who know Him with heart and mind As abiding in the heart, become immortal."

"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-gu?a). 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. 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 (s??khya-yoga)?by knowing God, one is released from all fetters! 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. The one soul (ha?sa) 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."

"The One who rules over every single source, in whom this whole world comes together and dissolves, the Lord (???na), the blessing-giver, God (deva) adorable?By revering Him one goes for ever to this peace (??nti). He who is the source and origin of the gods, the ruler of all, Rudra (the Terrible), the great seer, who beheld the Golden Germ (Hira?yagarbha) when he was born?may He endow us with clear intellect! Who is the overlord of the gods, on whom the worlds do rest, who is lord of biped and quadruped here?to what god will we give reverence with oblations? More minute than the minute, in the midst of confusion the Creator of all, of manifold forms, the One embracer of the universe?by knowing Him as kindly (?iva) one attains peace forever. He indeed is the protector of the world in time, the overlord of all, hidden in all things, with whom the seers of Brahma and the divinities are joined in union. By knowing Him thus, one cuts the cords of death. By knowing as kindly (?iva) Him who is hidden in all things, exceedingly fine, like the cream that is finer than butter, the One embracer of the universe?by knowing God (deva) one is released from all fetters. That God, the All-worker, the Great Soul (mah?tman), ever seated in the heart of creatures, is framed by the heart, by the thought, by the mind?they who know That, become immortal."

"The source of all, who develops his own nature, who brings to maturity whatever can be ripened, and who distributes all qualities (gu?a)?Over this whole world rules the One. That which is hidden in the secret of the Vedas, even the Upanishads?Brahm? knows That as the source of the sacred word (brahman). The gods and seers of old who knew That, they, [coming to be] of Its nature, verily, have become immortal."

"This has been sung as the supreme Brahma. In it there is a triad. It is the firm support, the Imperishable. By knowing what is therein, Brahma-knowers become merged in Brahma, intent thereon, liberated from the womb [i.e., from rebirth]. That which is joined together as perishable and imperishable, as manifest and unmanifest?the Lord (??a, Potentate) supports it all. Now, without the Lord the soul (?tman) is bound, because of being an enjoyer; by knowing God (deva) one is released from all fetters. There are two unborn ones: the knowing [Lord] and the unknowing [individual soul], the Omnipotent and the impotent. She [i.e., Nature, Prak?iti], too, is unborn, who is connected with the enjoyer and objects of enjoyment. Now, the soul (?tman) is infinite, universal, inactive. When one finds out this triad, that is Brahma. What is perishable, is Primary Matter (pradh?na). What is immortal and imperishable, is Hara (the ?Bearer,? the soul). Over both the perishable and the soul the One God (deva) rules, by meditation upon Him, by union with Him, and by entering into His being more and more, there is finally cessation from every illusion (m?y?-niv?tti). By knowing God (deva) there is a falling off of all fetters; with distresses destroyed, there is cessation of birth and death. By meditating upon Him there is a third stage at the dissolution of the body, even universal lordship; being absolute (kevala), his desire is satisfied. That Eternal should be known as present in the self (?tmasa?stha). Truly there is nothing higher than that to be known. When one recognizes the enjoyer, the object of enjoyment, and the universal Actuator, all has been said. This is the threefold Brahma."

"The supreme mystery in the Veda?s End (Ved?nta), 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. 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 (mah?tman)?yea, become manifest [if he be] a great soul!"

"The One who, himself without color, by the manifold application of his power (?akti-yoga) distributes many colors in his hidden purpose, and into whom, its end and its beginning, the whole world dissolves?He is God (deva)! May He endow us with clear intellect!"

"We understand him [as a wheel] with one felly, with a triple tire, with sixteen end-parts, fifty spokes,4 twenty counter-spokes, with six sets of eights, whose one rope is manifold, which has three different paths, whose one illusion (moha) has two conditioning causes. We understand him as a river of five streams6 from five sources, impetuous and crooked, whose waves are the five vital breaths, whose original source is fivefold perception (buddhi), with five whirlpools, an impetuous flood of fivefold misery, divided into five distresses, with five branches. In this which vitalizes all things, which appears in all things, the Great?In this Brahma-wheel the soul (ha?sa) flutters about, thinking that itself (?tm?nam) and the Actuator are different. When favored by Him, it attains immortality."

"This whole world the illusion-maker projects out of this [Brahma]. And in it by illusion the other is confined. Now, one should know that Nature is illusion, and that the Mighty Lord is the illusion-maker."

"This living [self] is to be known as a part of the hundredth part of the point of a hair subdivided a hundredfold; and yet it partakes of infinity. Not female, nor yet male is it: nor yet is this neuter. Whatever body he takes to himself, with that he becomes connected. By the delusions (moha) of imagination, touch, and sight, and by eating, drinking, and impregnation there is a birth and development of the self (?tman). According unto his deeds (karman) the embodied one successively assumes forms in various conditions. Coarse and fine, many in number, the embodied one chooses forms according to his own qualities. [Each] subsequent cause of his union with them is seen to be because of the quality of his acts and of himself."

"When there is no darkness, then there is no day or night, nor being, nor non-being, only the Kindly One (?iva) alone. That is the Imperishable. ?That [is the] desirable [splendor] of Savit?i (the Sun).?And from that was primeval Intelligence (praj¤?) created. Not above, not across, nor in the middle has one grasped Him. There is no likeness of Him whose name is Great Glory (mahad ya?as). His form is not to be beheld. No one soever sees Him with the eye. They who thus know Him with heart and mind as abiding in the heart, become immortal."

"Who is the face, the head, the neck of all, who dwells in the heart of all things, all-pervading is He, and bountiful (maghavan); therefore omnipresent, and kindly (?iva). A mighty lord (prabhu) is the Person, the instigator of the highest being (sattva) unto the purest attainment, the ruler, a light imperishable!"

"What is the cause? Brahma? Whence are we born? Whereby do we live? And on what are we established? Overruled by whom, in pains and pleasures, Do we live our various conditions, O ye theologians?"