Chandogya Upanishad – 8

Chandogya Upanishad – 8

VIII-i-1: Om. Now, in this city of Brahman, there is a mansion in the shape of a small lotus; in it is a small inner Akasa. What is within that, that should be sought; that indeed, one should desire to understand.

VIII-i-2-3: If the disciples should say to him, ‘In this city of Brahman in which is a small mansion in the shape of a lotus and in the small inner Akasa within – what is it that lies there which should be sought, which one should desire to understand ?’ – he should say in reply, ‘As large indeed as is this Akasa, so large is that Akasa in the heart. Within it, indeed, are contained both heaven and earth, both fire and air, both the sun and the moon, lightning and the stars. Whatever there is of him in this world and whatever is not, all that is contained within it.’

VIII-i-4: If they should say to him, ‘If in this city of Brahman is contained all this, all beings and all desires, then what is left of it when old age overtakes it or when it perishes ?’

VIII-i-5: He should say, ‘It (the Brahman called inner Akasa) does not age with the ageing of the body, it is not killed by the killing of this. This (Akasa) is the real city of Brahman, in it are contained the desires. This is the Atman, free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger, free from thirst, whose desire is of the truth, whose resolve is of the truth. Just as in this world, the subjects follow as they are commanded and whatever province they desire, be it a country or a part of the field, on that they live. (So the ignorant depend upon others for enjoying the fruits of their Karma).

VIII-i-6: ‘Just as here on earth the world which is earned by work perishes, even so there in the other world, the world which is earned by righteous deeds perishes. So those who depart from here without having understood the Atman and these true desires, for them there is no freedom to act as they wish in all the worlds. But those who depart from here, having understood the Atman and these true desires, for them there is freedom to act as they wish in all the worlds.’

VIII-ii-1: If he becomes desirous of the world of fathers, by his mere will, fathers arise. Possessed of that world of fathers he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-ii-2: And if he becomes desirous of the world of mothers, by his mere will, mothers arise. Possessed of that world of mothers he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-ii-3: And if he becomes desirous of the world of brothers, by his mere will, brothers arise. Possessed of that world of brothers he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-ii-4: And if he becomes desirous of the world of sisters, by his mere will, sisters arise. Possessed of that world of sisters he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-ii-5: And if he becomes desirous of the world of friends, by his mere will, friends arise. Possessed of that world of friends he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-ii-6: And if he becomes desirous of the world of perfumes and garlands, by his mere will, of perfumes and garlands arise. Possessed of that world of perfumes and garlands he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-ii-7: And if he becomes desirous of the world of food and drink, by his mere will, food and drink arise. Possessed of that world of food and drink he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-ii-8: And if he becomes desirous of the world of song and music, by his mere will, song and music arise. Possessed of that world of song and music he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-ii-9: And if he becomes desirous of the world of women, by his mere will, women arise. Possessed of that world of women he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-ii-10: Whatever provinces he is attached to and whatever desirable objects he desires by his mere will, they(arise. Possessed of that he feels happy and exalted.

VIII-iii-1: These same are the true desires covdred by the untrue. Although the desires are true, they are covered by the untrue. For whosoever of one’s people departs from here in this world one does not get him back to see.

VIII-iii-2: But those of his people, whether they are alive or dead and whatever else one desires but does not get, all that one finds by going there (into the Atman, the Akasa in the heart); for here, indeed, are those true desires of his covered by the untrue. Just as, though people who do not know the field walk again and again over the treasure of gold hidden underground but do not find it, even so all these creatures here, though they go daily into the Brahman-world, yet do not find it, for they are carried away by the untrue.

VIII-iii-3: This Atean verily is in the heart. Its etymological explanation is this. This (Atman) is in the heart, hence it is the heart. He who knows thus(indeed goes daily into the heavenly world.

VIII-iii-4: Now that serene and happy being, rising out of this body and reaching the highest light, appears in his own true form. This is the Atman, said the teacher. This is the immortal, the fearless. This is Brahman. Verily, the name of this Brahman is the True.

VIII-iii-5: These are indeed the three syllables, ‘sa’, ‘ti’, ‘yam’. What is ‘sa’, that is the immortal, and what is ‘ti’, that is the mortal, and what is ‘yam’, with it one holds the two together. Because with it one holds the two together, therefore it is ‘yam’. Verily, he who knows thus goes to the heavenly world.’

VIII-iv-1: Now, this Atman is the dyke, the embankment for the safety of these worlds. This dyke, neither the day nor the night crosses, nor old age nor death nor sorrow, nor merit nor demerit. All evils turn back from it, for this Brahman-world is free from evil.

VIII-iv-2: Therefore, verily, on reaching this dyke, if one was blind he ceases to be blind; if wounded, he ceases to be wounded, if afflicted- he ceases to be afflicted. Therefore, verily, on reaching this dyke, even night becomes day, for this Brahman-world is ever illumined.

VIII-iv-3: But only those who attain according to the iostruction this Brahman-world through Brahmacharya, to them belongs this Brahman-world. For them there is freedom to act as they wish in all the worlds.

VIII-v-1: Now, what people call sacrifice is really Brahmacharya, for only by means of Brahmacharya does the knower attain that world. And what people call worship (Ista) is really Brahmacharya, for only by worshipping with Brahmacharya does one attain the Atman.

VIII-v-2: Now, what people call the sacrificial session is really Brahmacharya, for only by means of Brahmacharya does one obuain one’s salvation from Being. And what people call the vow of silence is really Brahmacharya for only through Brahmacharya does one understand the Atman and then meditate.

VIII-v-3: Now, what people call a course of fasting is really Brahmacharya, for this Atman never perishes which one attains by means of Brahmacharya. And what people call the life of a hermit is really Brahmacharya, for verily Ara and Nya are the two oceans in the Brahman-world in the third heaven from here and therein is the lake Airammadiya, and there is the Aparajita (unconquered) city of Brahma, and there is the gold hall specially built by the Lord.

VIII-v-4: Therefore only those who attain the two oceans, Ara and Nya, in the Brahman-world by means of Brahmacharya, only to them belongs this Brahman-world and for them there is freedom to act as they wish in all the worlds.

VIII-vi-1: Now, these arteries which belong to the heart exist filled with the juice of a fine substance which is reddish-brown, white, blue, yellow and red. The yonder sun indeed is reddish-brown, he is white, he is blue, he is yellow, he is red.

VIII-vi-2: Just as an extending highway runs between two villages, this as well as that, even so the rays of the sun go to both these worlds, this as well as that. They spread out of the yonder sun and enter into these arteries. Out of these arteries they spread and enter into the yonder sun.

VIII-vi-3: Therefore when one is thus sound sleep, composed, serene so that he knows no dreams, then he enters into (the Akasa of the heart through) these arteries. Then no evil touches him for then he is filled with the light of the sun.

VIII-vi-4: Now, when one is thus reduced to a weakened condition, those who sit around him say, ‘Do you know me ? Do you know me ?’ As long as he has not departed from this body, so long he knows them.

VIII-vi-5: But when he thus departs from this body, then he proceeds upwards through those very rays, (if a knower) he surely goes up meditating on Om or (does not got up if he is not a knower). As long as it takes for the mind to travel, in that (short) time, he goes to the sun. That indeed is the door to the world (of Brahman), an entrance for the knowers and a shutting out for the ignorant.

VIII-vi-6: There is this verse about it: A hundred and one are the arteries of the heart; one of them leads up to the crown of the head. Passing upwards through that, one attains immortality, while the other arteries serve for departing in various other directions – yea, serve for departing.

VIII-vii-1: The Atman which is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is of the truth, whose resolve is of the truth, he should be sought, him one should desire to understand. He who has found out and who understands that Atman attains all the worlds and all the desires. Thus spoke Prajapati.

VIII-vii-2: Both the gods and the demons heard this and said, ‘Well, let us seek that Atman by seeking which one attains all the worlds and all the desires.’ Then Indra alone from among the gods went out and so did Virochana from among the demons. Then without communicating with each other, they both came into the presence of Prajapati, fuel in hand.

VIII-vii-3: For thirty-two years they lived there the disciplined life of a celibate student of sacred knowledge. Then Prajapati asked them, ‘Desiring what have you been living ?’ They replied, ‘The Atman which is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is of the truth, whose resolve is of the truth, he should be sought, him one should desire to understand. He who has found out and who understands that Atman attain all the worlds and all the desires – these are known to be the words of your revered self. Desiring that Atman we have been living.’

VIII-vii-4: Prajapati said to them, ‘The person which is seen in the eye is the Atman’. He added, ‘This is the immortal, the fearless. This is Brahman’. ‘But, revered sir, he who is perceived in water and he who in a mirror, which of these is the Atman ?’ It is he himself that is perceived in all these’, replied Prajapati.

VIII-viii-1: ‘Look at yourself in a pan of water and whatever you do not understand of the Atman, tell me that’. Then they looked in a pan of water. Prajapati asked them, ‘What do you see ?’ They replied, ‘Revered sir, we both see the self entirely as we are, the very image, even to the very hairs and nails.’

VIII-viii-2: Then Prajapati said to them, ‘Having become well adorned, well dressed and well groomed, look into the pan of water.’ They too, having become well adorned, well dressed and well groomed, looked into the pan of water. Then Prajapati asked them, ‘What do you see ?’

VIII-viii-3: They replied, ‘Just as we are ourselves, revered sir, well adorned, well dressed and well groomed, even so are both these, revered sir, well adorned, well dressed and well groomed.’ ‘This is the Atman’, said he, ‘this is the immortal, the fearless. This is Brahman’. They both went away satisfied in their hearts.

VIII-viii-4: Then Prajapati looked at them and said, ‘They are going away without having perceived, without having understood the Atman. Whosoever will follow such a doctrine be they gods or demons, they will be foiled.’ Now, Virochana, satisfied in his heart, went to the demons and declared this doctrine to them. ‘Here the (bodily) self alone is to be worshipped, the self is to be attended upon. Here it is only by worshipping the self and attending upon the self that one obtains both the worlds, this as well as the yonder.’

VIII-viii-5: Therefore, even to this day, here people say of one who is not a giver, who has no faith, who does not perform sacrifices, ‘Oh, he is a demon’; for this is the doctrine of the demons. They adorn the body of the deceased with enjoyable things, clothes and ornaments for, by this, they think, they will win the other world.

VIII-ix-1: But Indra, even before reaching the gods, saw this difficulty: ‘Just as this (reflected self) becomes well adorned when this body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well dressed, well groomed when the body is well groomed, even so this (reflected self) also becomes blind when the body is blind, one-eyed when the body is one-eyed, crippled when the body is crippled, and it perishes when this body perishes. I see no good in this.’

VIII-ix-2: He came back again, fuel in hand. Prajapati asked him, ‘Desiring what, O Indra, have you come back, since you went away satisfied in your heart, along with Virochana ?’ Indra replied, ‘Revered sir, just as this (reflected self) becomes well adorned when this body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well dressed, well groomed when the body is well groomed, even so this (reflected self) also becomes blind when the body is blind, one-eyed when the body is one-eyed, crippled when the body is crippled, and it perishes when this body perishes. I see no good in this.

VIII-ix-3: ‘So is it indeed, O Indra’, said Prajapati; ‘However, I shall explain this further to you. Live here for another thirty-two years.’ He lived there for another thirty-two years. Then Prajapati said to him:

VIII-x-1-2: Prajapati said, ‘He who moves about in dreams, he is the Atman. He is the immortal, the fearless. He is Brahman’. Indra went away satisfied in his heart. But even before reaching the gods he saw this difficulty: ‘Even though this (dream-self) is not blind when this body is blind, nor one-eyed when the body is slain, nor has running nose and eyes when the body has running nose and eyes, yet it is as if they kill it, as if they chase it, it becomes conscious of pain, as it were, and even weeps, as it were. I see no good in this’.

VIII-x-3-4: He came back again, fuel in hand. Prajapati asked him, ‘Desiring what, O Indra, have you come back, since you went away satisfied in your heart ?’ He replied, ‘Revered sir, even though this self is not blind when this body is blind, nor one-eyed when the body is one-eyed, nor suffers defects from the defects of the body, nor is slain when the body is slain, nor has running nose and eyes, yet it is as if they kill it, as if they chase it, it becomes conscious of pain as it were, and even weeps, as it were. I see no good in this’. ‘So is it indeed, O Indra’, said Prajapati; ‘However, I shall explain this further to you. Live here for another thirty-two years.’ He lived there for another thirty-two years. Then Prajapati said to him:

VIII-xi-1: Prajapati said, ‘He who is fully asleep, composed, serene and knows no dream, he is the Atman. He is the immortal, the fearless. He is Brahman’. Indra went away satisfied in his heart. But even before reaching the gods he saw this difficulty: ‘In truth this one does not know himself now as "I am he", nor indeed these beings. It seems as if he has gone to annihilation. I see no good in this’.

VIII-xi-2: He came back again, fuel in hand. Prajapati asked him, ‘Desiring what, O Indra, have you come back, since you went away satisfied in your heart ?’ He replied, ‘Revered sir, in truth this one does not know himself as "I am he", nor indeed these beings. It seems as if he has gone to annihilation. I see no good in this’.

VIII-xi-3: ‘So is it indeed, O Indra’, said Prajapati; ‘However, I shall explain this further to you and none other than this. Live here for another five years.’ He lived there for another five years. That makes one hundred and one years and so with regard to that, people say thus, ‘Verily, for one hundred and one years Indra lived with Prajapati the disciplined life of a celibate student of sacred knowledge". Then Prajapati said to him:

VIII-xii-1: ‘O Indra, mortal indeed is this body, held by death. But it is the support of this deathless, bodiless Atman. Verily, the embodied self is held by pleasure and pain. Surely, there is no cessation of pleasure and pain for one who is embodied. But pleasure and pain do not indeed touch one who is bodiless.

VIII-xii-2-3: Bodiless is air; and white cloud, lightning, thunder, these also are bodiless. Now as these arise out of the yonder Akasa, reach the highest light and appear each with its own form, even so this serene one rises out of this body, reaches the highest light and appears in his own form. He is the Highest Person. There he moves about, laughing, playing, rejoicing with women, vehicles or relations, not remembering this body in which he was born. As an animal is attached to a chariot, even so is the Prana attached to this body.

VIII-xii-4: Now, where the sight merges in Akasa (inside the eye, i.e., the black pupil of the eye), (there exists) that which is the person in the eye; and the eye is only for (his) seeing. And he who knows ‘I smell this’, is the Atman; the nose is for smelling. And he who knows ‘I speak this’, is the Atman, the organ of speech is for speaking. And he who knows ‘I hear this’, is the Atman; the ear is for hearing.

VIII-xii-5: And he who knows ‘I think this’, is the Atman, the mind is his divine eye. Through this divine eye of the mind he verily sees these desired objects which are in the Brahman-world, and rejoices.

VIII-xii-6: ‘Verily, this is the Atman whom the gods worship. Therefore all the worlds and all the desired objects are held by them. He obtains all the worlds all the desired objects, who having known that Atman (from the teacher and the scriptures) understands it.’ Thus spoke Prajapati – yea, thus spoke Prajapati.

VIII-xiii-1: From the dark I attain to the variegated from the variegated I attain to the dark. Shaking off evil as a horse his hairs, shaking off the body as the moon frees itself from the mouth of Rahu, I, having fulfilled all ends, obtain the eternal Brahman-world – yea, I obtain it.

VIII-xiv-1: Verily, what is called Akasa is the revealer of name and form. That within which they are, is Brahman, that is the immortal, that is the Atman. ‘I attain to the assembly-hall and abode of Prajapati. I am the glory of the Brahmanas, the glory of the Kshatriyas, the glory of the Vaisyas. I wish to attain that glory. I am the glory of the glories. May I never go to that which is reddish-white and toothless yet devouring and slippery – yea, may I never go to it.’

VIII-xv-1: Brahma expounded this to Prajapati. Prajapati to Manu and Manu to his descendants. He who has read the Veda according to the prescribed rule, in the time left over after performing his duties to the teacher, he who after having come back from the teacher’s house, settles down in his household, continues the study of the Veda in a clean place, and has virtuous sons and disciples, he who withdraws all his senses into the Atman, who practises non-injury to all beings except in places specially ordained, he who behaves thus throughout his life reaches the world of Brahman and does not return again – yea, he does not return again.

Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality

And all the senses grow in strength.

All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.

May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.

Let there be no denial at all:

Let there be no denial at least from me.

May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,

Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.

Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !

Here ends the Chandogyopanishad, as contained in the Sama-Veda.

Translated by Swami Swahananda

Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai.

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