The sages, devoted to meditation and concentration, have seen the power belonging to God Himself hidden in its own qualities (guṇa). He, being one, superintends all those causes, time, self, and the rest.
We meditate on Him who (like a wheel) has one felly with three tires, sixteen ends, fifty spokes, with twenty counter-spokes, and six sets of eight; whose one rope is manifold, who proceeds on three different roads, and whose illusion arises from two causes.
These are afterwards explained singly. There are 8 kinds of Tamas, 8 kinds of Moha, 10 kinds of Mahamoha, 18 kinds of Tamisra, and 18 kinds of Andhatamisra, making 62 in all. More information on the Asaktis, the Tushtis, and Siddhis may be found in the Sânkhya-sûtras III, 37–45; Sânkhya-kârikâ 47 seq.; Yoga-sûtras II, 2 seq.
Then follow the 20 pratyaras, the counter-spokes, or wedges to strengthen the spokes, viz. the 10 senses and their 10 objects.
The six ashṭakas or ogdoads are explained as the ogdoads of Prakriti, of substances (dhâtu), of powers (aiśvarya), of states (bhâva), of gods (deva), of virtues (âtmaguṇa).
The one, though manifold cord, is love or desire, Kâma, whether of food, children, heaven or anything else.
The three paths are explained as righteousness, unrighteousness, and knowledge, and the one deception arising from two causes is ignorance of self, produced by good or bad works.
We meditate on Him who (like a wheel) has one felly with three tires, sixteen ends, fifty spokes, with twenty counter-spokes, and six sets of eight; whose one rope is manifold, who proceeds on three different roads, and whose illusion arises from two causes.
These are afterwards explained singly. There are 8 kinds of Tamas, 8 kinds of Moha, 10 kinds of Mahamoha, 18 kinds of Tamisra, and 18 kinds of Andhatamisra, making 62 in all. More information on the Asaktis, the Tushtis, and Siddhis may be found in the Sânkhya-sûtras III, 37–45; Sânkhya-kârikâ 47 seq.; Yoga-sûtras II, 2 seq.
Then follow the 20 pratyaras, the counter-spokes, or wedges to strengthen the spokes, viz. the 10 senses and their 10 objects.
The six ashṭakas or ogdoads are explained as the ogdoads of Prakriti, of substances (dhâtu), of powers (aiśvarya), of states (bhâva), of gods (deva), of virtues (âtmaguṇa).
The one, though manifold cord, is love or desire, Kâma, whether of food, children, heaven or anything else.
The three paths are explained as righteousness, unrighteousness, and knowledge, and the one deception arising from two causes is ignorance of self, produced by good or bad works.
5. We meditate on the river whose water consists of the five streams, which is wild and winding with its five springs, whose waves are the five vital breaths, whose fountain head is the mind, the course of the five kinds of perceptions. It has five whirlpools, its rapids are the five pains; it has fifty kinds of suffering, and five branches.
6. In that vast Brahma-wheel, in which all things live and rest, the bird flutters about, so long as he thinks that the self (in him) is different from the mover (the god, the Lord). When he has been blessed by Him, then he gains immortality.
7. But what is praised (in the Upanishads) is the Highest Brahman, and in it there is the triad. The Highest Brahman is the safe support, it is imperishable. The Brahma-students when they have known what is within this (world), are devoted and merged in the Brahman, free from birth.
8. The Lord (Îśa) supports all this together, the perishable and the imperishable, the developed and the undeveloped. The (living) self, not being a lord, is bound, because He has to enjoy (the fruits of works); but when he has known the god (deva), he is freed from all fetters.
9. There are two, one knowing (Îśvara), the other not-knowing (jîva), both unborn, one strong, the other weak; there is she, the unborn, through whom each man receives the recompense of his works; and there is the infinite Self (appearing) under all forms, but himself inactive. When a man finds out these three, that is Brahma.
6. In that vast Brahma-wheel, in which all things live and rest, the bird flutters about, so long as he thinks that the self (in him) is different from the mover (the god, the Lord). When he has been blessed by Him, then he gains immortality.
7. But what is praised (in the Upanishads) is the Highest Brahman, and in it there is the triad. The Highest Brahman is the safe support, it is imperishable. The Brahma-students when they have known what is within this (world), are devoted and merged in the Brahman, free from birth.
8. The Lord (Îśa) supports all this together, the perishable and the imperishable, the developed and the undeveloped. The (living) self, not being a lord, is bound, because He has to enjoy (the fruits of works); but when he has known the god (deva), he is freed from all fetters.
9. There are two, one knowing (Îśvara), the other not-knowing (jîva), both unborn, one strong, the other weak; there is she, the unborn, through whom each man receives the recompense of his works; and there is the infinite Self (appearing) under all forms, but himself inactive. When a man finds out these three, that is Brahma.
10. That which is perishable is the Pradhâna (the first), the immortal and imperishable is Hara.
The one god rules the perishable (the pradhana) and the (living) self. From meditating on Him, from joining Him, from becoming one with Him there is further cessation of all illusion in the end.
11. When that god is known, all fetters fall off, sufferings are destroyed, and birth and death cease. From meditating on Him there arises, on the dissolution of the body, the third state, that of universal lordship; but he only who is alone, is satisfied.
12. This, which rests eternally within the self, should be known; and beyond this not anything has to be known. By knowing the enjoyer, the enjoyed, and the ruler, everything has been declared to be threefold, and this is Brahman.
13. As the form of fire, while it exists in the under-wood is not seen, nor is its seed destroyed, but it has to be seized again and again by means of the stick and the under-wood, so it is in both cases, and the Self has to be seized in the body by means of the praṇava (the syllable Om).
14. By making his body the under-wood, and the syllable Om the upper-wood, man, after repeating the drill of meditation, will perceive the bright god, like the spark hidden in the wood.
The one god rules the perishable (the pradhana) and the (living) self. From meditating on Him, from joining Him, from becoming one with Him there is further cessation of all illusion in the end.
11. When that god is known, all fetters fall off, sufferings are destroyed, and birth and death cease. From meditating on Him there arises, on the dissolution of the body, the third state, that of universal lordship; but he only who is alone, is satisfied.
12. This, which rests eternally within the self, should be known; and beyond this not anything has to be known. By knowing the enjoyer, the enjoyed, and the ruler, everything has been declared to be threefold, and this is Brahman.
13. As the form of fire, while it exists in the under-wood is not seen, nor is its seed destroyed, but it has to be seized again and again by means of the stick and the under-wood, so it is in both cases, and the Self has to be seized in the body by means of the praṇava (the syllable Om).
14. By making his body the under-wood, and the syllable Om the upper-wood, man, after repeating the drill of meditation, will perceive the bright god, like the spark hidden in the wood.
15. As oil in seeds, as butter in cream, as water in (dry) river-beds, as fire in wood, so is the Self seized within the self, if man looks for Him by truthfulness and penance;
16. (If he looks) for the Self that pervades everything, as butter is contained in milk, and the roots whereof are self-knowledge and penance. That is the Brahman taught by the Upanishad.
is rather obscure at first sight, but very exact when once understood. Fire, as produced by a fire drill, is compared to the Self. It is not seen at first, yet it must be there all the time; its liṅga or subtle body cannot have been destroyed, because as soon as the stick, the indhana, is drilled in the under-wood, the yoni, the fire becomes visible. In the same way the Self, though invisible during a state of ignorance, is there all the time, and is perceived when the body has been drilled by the Praṇava, that is, after, by a constant repetition of the sacred syllable Om, the body has been subdued, and the ecstatic vision of the Self has been achieved.
Second Adhyâya
1. Savitṛ (the sun), having first collected his mind and expanded his thoughts, brought Agni (fire), when he had discovered his light, above the earth.
2. With collected minds we are at the command of the divine Savitṛ, that we may obtain blessedness.
16. (If he looks) for the Self that pervades everything, as butter is contained in milk, and the roots whereof are self-knowledge and penance. That is the Brahman taught by the Upanishad.
is rather obscure at first sight, but very exact when once understood. Fire, as produced by a fire drill, is compared to the Self. It is not seen at first, yet it must be there all the time; its liṅga or subtle body cannot have been destroyed, because as soon as the stick, the indhana, is drilled in the under-wood, the yoni, the fire becomes visible. In the same way the Self, though invisible during a state of ignorance, is there all the time, and is perceived when the body has been drilled by the Praṇava, that is, after, by a constant repetition of the sacred syllable Om, the body has been subdued, and the ecstatic vision of the Self has been achieved.
Second Adhyâya
1. Savitṛ (the sun), having first collected his mind and expanded his thoughts, brought Agni (fire), when he had discovered his light, above the earth.
2. With collected minds we are at the command of the divine Savitṛ, that we may obtain blessedness.
3. May Savitṛ, after he has reached with his mind the gods as they rise up to the sky, and with his thoughts (has reached) heaven, grant these gods to make a great light to shine.
4. The wise sages of the great sage collect their mind and collect their thoughts. He who alone knows the law (Savitṛ) has ordered the invocations; great is the praise of the divine Savitṛ.
Your old prayer has to be joined with praises. Let my song go forth like the path of the sun! May all the sons of the Immortal listen, they who have reached their heavenly homes.
6. Where the fire is rubbed, where the wind is checked, where the Soma flows over, there the mind is born,
7. Let us love the old Brahman by the grace of Savitri; if Thou make Thy dwelling there, the path will not hurt Thee.
8. If a wise man hold his body with its three erect parts (chest, neck, and head) even, and turn his senses with the mind towards the heart, he will then in the boat of Brahman cross all the torrents which cause fear.
9. Compressing his breathings let him, who has subdued all motions, breathe forth through the nose with gentle breath. Let the wise man without fail restrain his mind, that chariot yoked with vicious horses.
4. The wise sages of the great sage collect their mind and collect their thoughts. He who alone knows the law (Savitṛ) has ordered the invocations; great is the praise of the divine Savitṛ.
Your old prayer has to be joined with praises. Let my song go forth like the path of the sun! May all the sons of the Immortal listen, they who have reached their heavenly homes.
6. Where the fire is rubbed, where the wind is checked, where the Soma flows over, there the mind is born,
7. Let us love the old Brahman by the grace of Savitri; if Thou make Thy dwelling there, the path will not hurt Thee.
8. If a wise man hold his body with its three erect parts (chest, neck, and head) even, and turn his senses with the mind towards the heart, he will then in the boat of Brahman cross all the torrents which cause fear.
9. Compressing his breathings let him, who has subdued all motions, breathe forth through the nose with gentle breath. Let the wise man without fail restrain his mind, that chariot yoked with vicious horses.
10. Let him perform his exercises in a place level, pure, free from pebbles, fire, and dust, delightful by its sounds, its water, and bowers, not painful to the eye, and full of shelters and caves.
11. When Yoga is being performed, the forms which come first, producing apparitions in Brahman, are those of misty smoke, sun, fire, wind, fire-flies, lightnings, and a crystal moon.
12. When, as earth, water, light, heat, and ether arise, the fivefold quality of Yoga takes place, then there is no longer illness, old age, or pain for him who has obtained a body, produced by the fire of Yoga,
13. The first results of Yoga they call lightness, healthiness, steadiness, a good complexion, an easy pronunciation, a sweet odour, and slight excretions.
14. As a metal disk (mirror), tarnished by dust, shines bright again after it has been cleaned, so is the one incarnate person satisfied and free from grief, after he has seen the real nature of the self.
15. And when by means of the real nature of his self he sees, as by a lamp, the real nature of Brahman, then having known the unborn, eternal god, who is beyond all natures, he is freed from all fetters.
16. He indeed is the god who pervades all regions: he is the first-born (as Hiraṇyagarbha), and he is in the womb. He has been born, and he will be born. He stands behind all persons, looking everywhere.
11. When Yoga is being performed, the forms which come first, producing apparitions in Brahman, are those of misty smoke, sun, fire, wind, fire-flies, lightnings, and a crystal moon.
12. When, as earth, water, light, heat, and ether arise, the fivefold quality of Yoga takes place, then there is no longer illness, old age, or pain for him who has obtained a body, produced by the fire of Yoga,
13. The first results of Yoga they call lightness, healthiness, steadiness, a good complexion, an easy pronunciation, a sweet odour, and slight excretions.
14. As a metal disk (mirror), tarnished by dust, shines bright again after it has been cleaned, so is the one incarnate person satisfied and free from grief, after he has seen the real nature of the self.
15. And when by means of the real nature of his self he sees, as by a lamp, the real nature of Brahman, then having known the unborn, eternal god, who is beyond all natures, he is freed from all fetters.
16. He indeed is the god who pervades all regions: he is the first-born (as Hiraṇyagarbha), and he is in the womb. He has been born, and he will be born. He stands behind all persons, looking everywhere.
17. The God who is in the fire, the God who is in the water, the God who has entered into the whole world, the God who is in plants, the God who is in trees, adoration be to that God, adoration!