A History of Sanskrit Literature c11.78

c11.78

The remainder of this Upanishad is supplementary, but contains several passages of considerable interest. We have here a cosmogonic myth, like those of the Brāhmaṇas, in which the three qualities of matter, *Tamas*, *Rajas*, *Sattva*, are connected with Rudra, Brahmā, and Vishṇu, and which is in other respects very remarkable as a connecting link between the philosophy of the *Rigveda* and the later Sāṅkhya system. The sun is further represented as the external, and *prāṇa* (breath) as the internal, symbol of the Ātman, their worship being recommended by means of the sacred syllable *om*, the three "utterances" (*vyāhṛitis*) *bhūr*, *bhuvaḥ*, *svar*, and the famous *Sāvitrī* stanza. As a means of attaining Brahma we find a recommendation of *Yoga* or the ascetic practices leading to a state of mental concentration and bordering on trance. The information we here receive of these practices is still undeveloped compared with the later system. In addition to the three conditions of Brahma, waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, mention is made of a fourth (*turīya*) and highest stage. The Upanishad concludes with the declaration that the Ātman entered the world of duality because it wished to taste both truth and illusion.