Suka Rahasya Upanishad

Suka Rahasya Upanishad



Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;

May we work conjointly with great energy,

May our study be vigorous and effective;

May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).

Om ! Let there be Peace in me !

Let there be Peace in my environment !

Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !



1-19. Now we expound the Rahasya Upanishad: the divine sages, worshipping Brahma, asked: Lord, tell us the Rahasya Upanishad. He said, ‘In the past Vyasa, the treasure of all Vedas and penance asked Shiva: O Lord of great wisdom, who has vowed firmly to break the bondage (of life). The time has come to give initiation to my son Suka into the sacrament of Veda’. Shiva said, ‘When the sole Brahman is imparted by me, your son will depart by himself having got detachment’.


Vyasa said: Be it as it may; in the Upanayana, when Brahman is imparted, may my son become omniscient very quickly and get the four kinds of Moksha.


Then Shiva, hearing this sat in a divine seat to give instruction. Suka, the fortunate, came there with devotion and getting the Pranava, spoke again to Shiva.


Suka aid, ‘First among gods, all-knowing, be pleased. The supreme Brahman, inherent in Om, has been imparted; the special sense 'That Thou Art' etc., with the six limbs, I desire to hear’.


Shiva said, ‘Well said, O treasure of knowledge, you have asked for the desirable, the mystery of the Vedic texts, named Rahasyopanishad with the six parts, knowing which one shall be directly released. The texts without the six parts one should not teach. Just as Upanishads are the crown of the Vedas, so is the Rahasya of Upanishads. For the wise man who meditates upon Brahman, holy spots, Vedic rites and mantras are useless. One wins a hundred years of life, meditating the sense of major texts. The same is won, uttering this once.


20. Om, for this mantra, Hamsa is the Rishi, unmanifest Gayatri is the metre, deity is Paramahamsa, Hamsa is the seed, Sama-Veda is the power. ‘I am That’ is the pin. Its application is in the context of uttering the major text to secure the grace of the Paramahamsa. ‘Truth, knowledge, infinity is Brahman. Bow to the thumbs, ‘Eternal joy is Brahman’ – Svaha to the index fingers. ‘Brahman is eternal joy, mostly’ – Vasat to the middle fingers. ‘That which is plenitude’ – Hum to the ring fingers. ‘The lord of plenitude’ – Vasat to the little fingers. ‘One and non-dual is Brahman. Phat’ to the inside and outside of the palms. ‘Truth, knowledge, infinity is Brahman’ – Phat to the inside and outside of the palm. ‘Truth, knowledge, infinity is Brahman – bow to the heart’.


‘Eternal bliss is Brahman’ – Svaha to the head – Vasat to the braid of hair. ‘That which is plenitude’ – Hum to armour – Vausat to the three eyes. ‘One and non-dual Brahman’ – Phat to the missile. The earth, old region, heaven, Om, this is the link of space.


21-22. Meditation: I bow to the noble teacher, beyond becoming and the three Gunas, one, eternal, holy, witness of all knowledge, giver of bliss, beyond the world, sky-like, purpose of major texts.


The four major passages:

(1) Consciousness is Brahman

(2) I am Brahman

(3) That Thou Art and

(4) This self is Brahman.


Those who recite the statement of identity become liberated in Sayujya (identity).


23-24. Of the great incantation ‘Tat’, the seer is Hamsa, un-manifest Gayatri is the metre.

Paramahamsa the deity; Hamsa the seed; Sama-Veda, power; So’ham is the pin; application is the meditation for my liberation. Bow to the thumbs, to that aspirant Svaha to Isana, the index fingers, Vasat to Aghora the middle fingers, to Sadyojata, the ring fingers, hum; to Vamadeva, the little fingers Vausat; to that spirit, Isana, Aghora etc. Phat.


Meditation: Meditate on that shining light as knowledge and its objects and what is beyond them both, taintless, awake, free and imperishable.


25-26. Of the chant of ‘Tvam’ Vishnu is the seer, Gayatri is the metre, supreme self the deity, ‘aim’ the seed, ‘klim’ the power, ‘sauh’ the pin, application is to the repetition for my liberation.


Bow to Vasudeva, to the thumbs: Svaha to Samkarsana, the index-fingers; Vasat to Pradyumna, the middle fingers; Hum to Aniruddha, the ring fingers; Vausat to Vasudeva, the little finger; Phat to Vasudeva and others.


Meditation: I adore the word ‘Thou’ the Jiva state, in all living things, everywhere, impartite form, controller of mind and egoism.


27. For ‘Asi’, the seer is Manah, metre Gayatri, deity Ardhanarishvara, seed is Avyaktadi, power is Nrisimha, pin is supreme Self. Application is repetition for identification of Jiva and Brahman. I bow to the thumbs, the dyad of Earth; Svaha to the index finger, the dyad of water. Vasat to the middle fingers, the dyad of fire; Hum to the ring fingers, the dyad of Air; Vausat for the little fingers, the dyad of Ether; Phat for the front and back of the hand, the dyad of Earth etc. So too the consecration of the heart. Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah, Om. Thus the directions are enclosed.


28-29. Meditation: ‘Meditate ever on Asi, thou art. Aiming at the merger of Jiva in that, as long as the mind dwells on the purport’. Thus have been stated the six limbs of the major texts.


30-38. Now according to the classification of the mystic teachings are set forth the verses on the purport.


Prajnana is that whereby one sees, hears, smells and makes clear all objects here, pleasant and unpleasant, by which one knows. In the four-faced Brahman, Indra and Devas, men, horses, cows, etc., spirit is one Brahman – so, in me too Prajnana is Brahman. In this body being remains witness to the intellect and is called I. The Being full in itself is described as Brahman, referred to with Asmi. So, I am Brahman. The being, one without a second, without name and form before creation and even now is called That. The being called Thou here beyond the senses understood as one. Let this unity be experienced. The inner self, from ego to the body, is called this (ayam) because it is self-luminous and realizes intimately. The truth of the universe is stated of all that is seen by the word Brahman.


39. I was in the state of dream of ‘I’ and “Mine’ because of the absence of the vision of the spirit. But I was awakened when the sun of my own nature arose by means of the major texts spoken clearly by the perception.


40-42. Senses has two ways: expressed and implied. In ‘Tattvam Asi’ the expressed meaning is the senses etc., which are elemental and the implied is, ‘He’ in ‘you’ (Tvam), in the word Tat the expressed sense is lordship etc., the implied is the supreme being which is Sat, Chit and Ananda. ‘Asi’ identifies these two. Tvam and Tad mean effect and cause respectively when this is the adjunct; otherwise both are the same Sat, Chit and Ananda – separating the space and time faites the identity is got, just as in the world, in the expression, ‘This is that Devadatta’.

The Jiva is having the effect-adjunct, Isa has cause-adjunct – when both are removed, only the full knowledge remains.


43-45. First hearing from the Guru, then thought about it and meditation – this is the cause of full knowledge. Other knowledge will surely perish, while the knowledge of Brahman leads to Brahman. The Guru should instruct the words of the Upanishad with the limbs, not merely the words – These are Brahma’s words.


46-53. Ishvara said, ‘O Suka, thus being instructed by me as requested by Vyasa, you will become Jivanmukta’.


The Svara which is uttered at the start of Veda is Parameshvara. Suka being thus instructed by Shiva became one with the universe; rose, bowed to Shiva and giving up all possessions, went away as if swimming in the ocean of the supreme spirit.


Vyasa, seeing him go away as a recluse, went after him calling, affected by separation. All the world echoed him. Hearing this Vyasa was over joyed along with his son.


He who learns this through the Guru’s grace will become released from all sin and enjoy Moksha.


Thus the Upanishad.



Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;

May we work conjointly with great energy,

May our study be vigorous and effective;

May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).

Om ! Let there be Peace in me !

Let there be Peace in my environment !

Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !



Here ends the Sukarahasyopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.