The Vedas recognize divine karma (the action of God) as the source of all creation, preservation and destruction. However, since God performs them without desires, unlike human beings he is not bound by them. From the first chapter of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.6.1) we learn that karma is one of the triple causes of diversity, the other two being name and form. The diversity in names arises from speech, and the diversity in forms comes from the eye, whereas the (mind and) body is the sources for the diversity in actions. For all actions, the body is the source, the controller, or the lord. Within the body, the mind, the speech, breath, the organs of action, and the organs of perception are considered the main deities who receive their share of food from the body and perform their actions. However, we cannot fully rely upon them to fight the impurities and the evil that can infest our body, since they are all vulnerable to evil and demonic actions, thoughts, desires, temptations, a
There are total 6 sections of this Upanishad, explained as follows:
Section I
May Mitra be kind to us.
May Varuna and the blessings of Aryama.
May also the grace of Indra and Brahaspati.
And Vishnu the strider of the world.
Salutation to Brahman, and Vayu,
who alone we deem as Brahman visible.
I declare that you are right and you are good.
May that Brahman protect me and protect the speaker
Section 2
The science of pronunciation we shall now expound
The sounds, the tone, the measure, and the force for articulation
The uniformity and continuity in their pronunciation are all important.
The chapter on pronunciation is thus explained.
Section 3
Having heard the basics of pronunciation from the teacher
the students invoke Brahman and pray for the glory of both.
And the teacher then explains
the secrets of conjunction of words
using the five perceptible objects:
the Universe, the light, the knowledge,
the people and the body.
These are known as the five great aggregates.
Regarding the universe:
the earth is the first form,
the heaven the second,
and the space in between is the middle.
The air is the connecting element.
This is it should be about the universe.
Regarding light the teaching is like this:
fire is the first form, the sun is the second.
Water is the middle.
Lightening is the connecting element.
This is how it should be about light.
Regarding knowledge the teaching is like this:
the teacher is the first form,
the taught is the second.
Learning is the middle.
The instruction is the connecting element.
This is how it should be about knowledge.
Regarding people the teaching is like this:
Mother is the first form,
father is the next.
The progeny is the middle.
Procreation is the connecting element.
This is how it should be about the people.
Regarding an individual the teaching is like this:
the lower jaw is the first form,
the upper jaw is the second form.
Speech is the middle.
Tongue is the connecting element.
This is how it is about the individual.
Section 4
He who is found eminently among the hymns of the Vedas,
who has originated from the immortal hymns of the Vedas,
may that great Indra fill me with intelligence. May I become
a possessor of that which gives me immortality. May my body
become strong and able. May my tongue yield the nectar of honey.
May my ears listen abundantly. You, who are the intellect and
the sheath of Brahman, may you preserve my learning.
Section 5
Bhu, Bhuva and Suvah are
the three words of mystical importance.
Above these there is another
called Maha, declared to us
by sage Mahachamasya.
This verily is Brahman.
It is the body, while the other
three divinities are its limbs.
Bhu is this world. What is called Bhuva is the firmament.
Suvah is the world beyond.
What is called Maha is Aditya,the sun.
It is by Aditya that the worlds are nourished.
Section 6
That which is with in the heart is the space
where in lives Purusha of the mental, immortal and golden sheaths.
Between the two palates where lies the small tongue,
where the hair is parted (while combing) and
the skull is divided into two equal halves,
It is the place of Indra's origin.
He attains self-illumination, control over the minds,
becomes the Lord of Speech, the Lord of the eyes,
the ears and the knowledge.
After that he becomes Brahman, whose body is space, whose nature is truth, who plays with the vital airs, whose mind is bliss and who is filled with peace and who is immortal.
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