Śāṅkhāyana (Kauṣītaki) Āraṇyaka 5

English (machine translation) 5

Language: English

5.1

ŚĀ 5.1 = KU 3.1
Pratardana Daivodāsi indeed arrived at the beloved abode of Indra by fighting and by manly valour. Indra said to him: 'Pratardana, choose a boon.' Pratardana said: 'Do you yourself choose for me that which you consider most beneficial for a human being.' Indra said to him: 'The superior does not choose for the inferior. Do you choose yourself.' 'Then it is not a boon for me,' Pratardana said. But Indra did not depart from truth, for Indra is truth. Indra said to him: 'Know me alone. This indeed I consider most beneficial for a human being: that he should know me. I slew the three-headed son of Tvaṣṭṛ. I delivered the Arurmagha ascetics to the wild jackals. Transgressing many treaties, I crushed the Prahlāda demons in the sky, the Puloma demons in the intermediate space, and the Kālakhañja demons upon earth. Of me in that state, not even a single hair was harmed. Whoever knows me thus, his world is not harmed by any deed whatsoever, not by theft, not by the killing of an embryo, not by the murder of his mother, not by the murder of his father. If he has committed evil, the dark colour does not depart from his face.'

5.2

ŚĀ 5.2 = KU 3.2
He said: 'I am breath, the conscious self. Meditate upon me as life, as immortality. Life is breath; breath indeed is life. For as long as breath remains in this body, so long is there life. For by breath alone one attains immortality in this world, and by consciousness true intention. He who meditates upon me as life, as immortality, reaches full life in this world and attains immortality and imperishability in the heavenly world.' On this point some say: 'The vital breaths indeed go into unity, for no one would be able at the same time to make known a name by speech, form by the eye, sound by the ear, and to think by the mind. Becoming a unity indeed, the vital breaths make known all these one by one: when speech speaks, all the vital breaths speak after it; when the eye sees, all the vital breaths see after it; when the ear hears, all the vital breaths hear after it; when the mind thinks, all the vital breaths think after it; when the breath breathes, all the vital breaths breathe after it.' 'Even so it is,' Indra said, 'yet there is a pre-eminence among the vital breaths.'

5.3

ŚĀ 5.3 = KU 3.3
'One lives deprived of speech, for we see the mute; one lives deprived of the eye, for we see the blind; one lives deprived of the ear, for we see the deaf; one lives deprived of the mind, for we see children; one lives with his arms cut off; one lives with his thighs cut off—for thus we see,' [he said]. 'Now indeed, it is breath alone, the conscious self, that takes hold of this body and raises it up. Therefore one should meditate on this very recitation (uktha). This is the obtaining of all in breath. What is breath, that is consciousness; what is consciousness, that is breath. For of it this is the perception, this is the knowledge: when a man here has fallen asleep and sees no dream whatsoever, then he becomes one in this breath alone. Then speech enters into it along with all names; the eye enters into it along with all forms; the ear enters into it along with all sounds; the mind enters into it along with all thoughts. When he awakens, just as sparks might disperse in all directions from a blazing fire, even so from this self the vital breaths disperse to their respective abodes, from the vital breaths the gods, from the gods the worlds. This very breath, the conscious self, takes hold of this body and raises it up. Therefore one should meditate on this very recitation (uktha). This is the obtaining of all in breath. What is breath, that is consciousness; what is consciousness, that is breath. For of it this is the proof, this is the knowledge: when a man here, afflicted and about to die, falls into weakness and attains confusion, they say of him: "His thought has departed; he does not hear, he does not see, he does not speak with speech, he does not think." Then he becomes one in this breath alone. Then speech enters into it along with all names; the eye enters into it along with all forms; the ear enters into it along with all sounds; the mind enters into it along with all thoughts. When he departs from this body, he departs together with all these.'

5.4

ŚĀ 5.4 = KU 3.4
'Upon speech indeed all names are poured out in him; through speech he obtains all names. Upon breath indeed all odours are poured out in him; through breath he obtains all odours. Upon the eye indeed all forms are poured out in him; through the eye he obtains all forms. Upon the ear indeed all sounds are poured out in him; through the ear he obtains all sounds. Upon the mind indeed all thoughts are poured out in him; through the mind he obtains all thoughts. For these two dwell together in this body, and together they depart. Now, how all beings become one for this consciousness, that we shall explain.'

5.5

ŚĀ 5.5 = KU 3.5
Speech is one of its parts taken out: name is placed outside as its corresponding material element. Breath is one of its parts taken out: odour is placed outside as its corresponding material element. The eye is one of its parts taken out: form is placed outside as its corresponding material element. The ear is one of its parts taken out: sound is placed outside as its corresponding material element. The tongue is one of its parts taken out: the taste of food is placed outside as its corresponding material element. The two hands are one of its parts taken out: action is placed outside as their corresponding material element. The body is one of its parts taken out: pleasure and pain are placed outside as its corresponding material element. The sexual organ is one of its parts taken out: bliss, delight, and procreation are placed outside as its corresponding material element. The two feet are one of its parts taken out: movements are placed outside as their corresponding material element. The mind is one of its parts taken out: thought and desires are placed outside as its corresponding material element.

5.6

ŚĀ 5.6 = KU 3.6
Mounting speech with consciousness, through speech one obtains all names. Mounting breath with consciousness, through breath one obtains all odours. Mounting the eye with consciousness, through the eye one obtains all forms. Mounting the ear with consciousness, through the ear one obtains all sounds. Mounting the tongue with consciousness, through the tongue one obtains all tastes. Mounting the two hands with consciousness, through the two hands one obtains all actions. Mounting the body with consciousness, through the body one obtains pleasure and pain. Mounting the sexual organ with consciousness, through the sexual organ one obtains bliss, delight, and procreation. Mounting the two feet with consciousness, through the two feet one obtains all movements. Mounting the mind with consciousness, through the mind one obtains all thoughts.

5.7

ŚĀ 5.7 = KU 3.7
For speech destitute of consciousness would not make any name known: 'My mind was elsewhere,' one says, 'I did not cognise that name.' Breath destitute of consciousness would not make any odour known: 'My mind was elsewhere,' one says, 'I did not cognise that odour.' The eye destitute of consciousness would not make any form known: 'My mind was elsewhere,' one says, 'I did not cognise that form.' The ear destitute of consciousness would not make any sound known: 'My mind was elsewhere,' one says, 'I did not cognise that sound.' The tongue destitute of consciousness would not make any taste of food known: 'My mind was elsewhere,' one says, 'I did not cognise that taste of food.' The two hands destitute of consciousness would not make any action known: 'Our mind was elsewhere,' the two say, 'we two did not cognise that action.' The body destitute of consciousness would not make either pleasure or pain known: 'My mind was elsewhere,' one says, 'I did not cognise that pleasure or pain.' The sexual organ destitute of consciousness would not make bliss, delight, or procreation known: 'My mind was elsewhere,' one says, 'I did not cognise that bliss, delight, or procreation.' The two feet destitute of consciousness would not make any movement known: 'Our mind was elsewhere,' one says, 'we two did not cognise that movement.' For without consciousness no thought would succeed, nor would what is to be cognised be cognised.

5.8

ŚĀ 5.8 = KU 3.8
One should not seek to know speech; one should know the speaker. One should not seek to know odour; one should know the smeller. One should not seek to know form; one should know the seer. One should not seek to know sound; one should know the hearer. One should not seek to know the taste of food; one should know the knower of the taste of food. One should not seek to know action; one should know the doer. One should not seek to know pleasure and pain; one should know the experiencer of pleasure and pain. One should not seek to know bliss, delight, and procreation; one should know the knower of bliss, delight, and procreation. One should not seek to know movement; one should know the goer. One should not seek to know the mind; one should know the thinker. These ten material elements are indeed dependent on consciousness; the ten elements of consciousness are dependent on material elements. For if there were no material elements, there would be no elements of consciousness; or if there were no elements of consciousness, there would be no material elements.
For no form whatsoever would be achieved from either one alone, nor are they diverse. Just as the rim is fixed upon the spokes of a chariot and the spokes are fixed upon the hub, even so these material elements are fixed upon the elements of consciousness, and the elements of consciousness are fixed upon breath. That very breath is the conscious self, endless, ageless, immortal. It does not become greater by good action, nor smaller by bad action. For it indeed makes him perform good action whom it wishes to lead up from these worlds; and it indeed makes him perform bad action whom it wishes to lead down. This is the guardian of the world; this is the sovereign of the world; this is the lord of the world. 'He is my self'—this one should know. 'He is my self'—this one should know.

5.9

Thus ends the fifth chapter in the Śāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka.

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Śāṅkhāyanāraṇyaka — Sanskrit