Adhyaya 1

Om. May he guard us both. May he nourish us both. May we work together with vigor. May our study shine. May we bear no hatred toward each other.Om. Peace, peace, peace.

1 Om. Those who speak of Brahman ask:What is the cause? Is it Brahman? From where were we born? By what do we live? On what do we stand?Under whose rule, you knowers of Brahman, do we pass through pleasure and its opposite, each in our appointed state?

2 Time, inherent nature, necessity, chance, the elements, the womb, the person—these must be considered.Their union cannot be the cause, for the self exists; nor is the self sovereign, since it is subject to pleasure and pain.

3 Following the discipline of meditation, they saw the power of the divine Self, hidden by its own qualities:the one who rules over all those causes, bound up with time and the self.

4 We contemplate it as a wheel with one rim, three bands, sixteen ends, fifty spokes and twenty counterspokes,six sets of eight, one cord of many forms, three distinct paths, and one delusion arising from two causes.

5 We contemplate it as a river with five streams, five fierce mouths of birth, waves of five breaths, its source in five kinds of awareness,five whirlpools, the rushing flood of five sorrows, fifty branches and five reaches.

6 In that vast wheel of Brahman, the life and resting place of all, the swan wanders,thinking itself apart from the mover. Welcomed by him, it then attains immortality.

7 This is proclaimed as supreme Brahman; in it the three are firmly established, and the imperishable.Knowing the distinction within it, the knowers of Brahman merge in Brahman, intent on that, released from the womb.

8 The Lord upholds this whole world, the perishable joined with the imperishable, the manifest with the unmanifest.The self, not sovereign, is bound through its condition as enjoyer; knowing the god, it is freed from every bond.

9 Two are unborn, knowing and unknowing, sovereign and not sovereign; one unborn female is joined to the enjoyer and what is enjoyed.The infinite Self takes every form yet does not act. When one discovers these three, this is Brahman.

10 Primal nature perishes; Hara is immortal and imperishable. One god rules over perishable nature and the self.By meditating on him, joining with him, becoming what he truly is, at last all illusion falls away.

11 Knowing the god cuts every bond; with afflictions spent, birth and death are cast aside.Meditating on him brings a third state when the body breaks: sovereignty over all; alone, one's desires fulfilled.

12 This must be known, eternally abiding in the self; beyond it there is nothing more to know.Know the enjoyer, the enjoyed and the mover: all has been declared as this threefold Brahman.

13 As fire's form is unseen when hidden in its source, yet its sign is not destroyed,and it may be seized again in its source, the wood, so both are to be grasped in the body through Om.

14 Making your own body the lower firestick, and Om the upper firestick,through the repeated churning of meditation, see the god, hidden there.

15 As oil in sesame, butter in curds, water in riverbeds, and fire in firesticks,so this Self is grasped within oneself by one who beholds it through truth and austerity.

16 The all-pervading Self, laid within like butter in milk,rooted in self-knowledge and austerity—that is Brahman, the highest hidden teaching; that is Brahman, the highest hidden teaching.

Om. May he protect the two of us and provide for us. May we put our strength into our work together. May what we learn be clear and bright. May neither of us hate the other.Om. Let there be peace, peace, peace.

1 Om. People discussing Brahman ask:What causes things? Is Brahman the cause? Where did we come from? What keeps us alive? What supports us?You who know Brahman, who governs the way we live, with happiness and unhappiness, in our different situations?

2 We must consider time, the nature of things, fate, chance, the elements, the source of birth and the person.A combination of these is not enough, because there is a self. The self is not in control either, since it experiences happiness and pain.

3 They followed the practice of meditation and saw the divine Self's power, concealed by its own qualities.It alone controls all those causes, including time and the self.

4 We consider it a wheel with a single rim, three surrounding bands, sixteen ends, fifty spokes and twenty smaller spokes going the other way;it has six groups of eight, a single rope in many forms, three different routes and one delusion with two causes.

5 We consider a river: five streams of water, five birth-sources as fierce mouths, five life-breaths as waves, five kinds of awareness as its original root;it has five whirlpools, five sorrows rushing like a flood, fifty divisions and five stretches.

6 The swan travels around in this great wheel of Brahman, which gives life to everything and holds everything.It thinks of itself as separate from the one who moves it. Then, accepted by him, it becomes immortal.

7 This is sung as the highest Brahman. The three are firmly based in it, along with what never perishes.People who know Brahman understand the distinction within it. Focused on Brahman, they merge into it and are freed from birth.

8 The Lord sustains the world, where what perishes is joined to what does not, and what is visible to what is not.The self lacks control and is tied down by being the one who experiences things. Knowing the god releases it from all its ties.

9 There are two unborn beings: one knows and rules, the other does not know or rule. There is also one unborn female, connected to the experiencer and the things experienced.The limitless Self has every form and does not act. Discovering these three is discovering Brahman.

10 Basic nature breaks down; Hara does not die or break down. A single god controls both perishable nature and the self.Meditating on him, connecting with him and sharing his real nature eventually brings an end to all illusion.

11 When the god is known, every tie is removed. When suffering's causes are exhausted, birth and death are abandoned.Meditation on him brings a third condition when the body breaks apart: power over everything, being alone, with every desire satisfied.

12 This is what needs to be known. It is always present in oneself, and there is nothing further to find out beyond it.Recognize the experiencer, what is experienced and the one who moves them: this threefold Brahman is everything that has been described.

13 You cannot see the shape of fire while it is hidden in its source, but that does not mean its characteristic power is lost.It can be found again in the wood that produces it. In the same way, both can be found in the body by using Om.

14 Treat your body as the lower stick for making fire and Om as the upper one.Keep practicing the churning of meditation, and see the god who is hidden there.

15 Oil is in sesame seeds, butter in curds, water in streambeds and fire in the sticks that produce it.In the same way, a person who looks through truth and disciplined effort discovers the Self within themselves.

16 The Self is present everywhere and contained within, as butter is contained in milk.Based on self-knowledge and disciplined effort, that is Brahman, the highest secret teaching. That is Brahman, the highest secret teaching.