Curated Selection (44 of 435 verses)
A curated selection of key philosophical passages. The complete Brihadaranyaka Upanishad contains additional sections on meditation techniques and sacred practices.
Verse 1.1Famous
intermediateआत्मैवेदमग्र आसीत्पुरुषविधः। सोऽनुवीक्ष्य नान्यदात्मनोऽपश्यत्। सोऽहमस्मीत्यग्रे व्याहरत्। ततोऽहंनामाभवत्॥
ātmaivedamagra āsītpuruṣavidhaḥ | so\'nuvīkṣya nānyadātmano\'paśyat | so\'hamasmītyagre vyāharat | tato\'haṃnāmābhavat ||
"In the beginning, this was Self alone, in the form of a Person. Looking around, he saw nothing other than himself. He first said: "I am." Therefore the name "I" arose."
What This Means:
Before creation, there was only the Self in human-like form. Looking around, seeing nothing else, it said "I am" - creating the first sense of self-identity.
Going Deeper:
This describes the primordial moment of self-awareness. The "I" (aham) is the first word, the origin of all identity and duality.
How To Apply This:
Your sense of "I" comes from the original Self-awareness. Trace "I" back to its source.
#origin#I am#first word#self-awareness
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The 44 verses in this selection
Creation and the Self
- 1.1In the beginning, this was Self alone, in the form of a Person. Looking around, he saw nothing other than...
- 1.2He was afraid. Therefore one who is alone is afraid. But he thought: "Since there is nothing other than...
- 1.3He was not happy. Therefore one who is alone is not happy. He desired a second. He was as large as a man...
- 1.4Therefore this body is like half of a split pea, as Yajnavalkya said. Therefore this space is filled by...
- 1.5She thought: "How can he unite with me after producing me from himself? Let me hide." She became a cow; he...
- 1.6She became a mare, he a stallion. She a she-donkey, he a donkey. She a ewe, he a ram. He united with her...
- 1.7He knew: "I indeed am creation, for I have created all this." Thus creation arose. One who knows this...
- 1.8Then all this was undifferentiated. It became differentiated by name and form: "This has this name, this...
- 1.9That Self has entered here up to the fingertips, like a razor in its case, like fire in its source. They...
- 1.10In the beginning this was Self alone, one only. He desired: "May I have a wife, may I procreate, may I...
Maitreyi Dialogue I - The Immortal Self
- 2.1"Maitreyi!" said Yajnavalkya, "I am about to renounce this life. Let me make a settlement between you and...
- 2.2Maitreyi said: "Sir, if this entire earth filled with wealth were mine, would I become immortal through...
- 2.3Maitreyi said: "What shall I do with that which will not make me immortal? Tell me, sir, what you know...
- 2.4Yajnavalkya said: "Dear one, you were dear to me before, and now you say what is dear. Come, sit. I will...
- 2.5He said: "It is not for the sake of the husband that the husband is dear, but for the sake of the Self. It...
- 2.6"It is not for the sake of sons that sons are dear, but for the sake of the Self. It is not for the sake...
- 2.7"Not for the sake of brahminhood is brahminhood dear, but for the Self. Not for the sake of power is power...
- 2.8"Not for the sake of gods are gods dear, but for the Self. Not for the sake of beings are beings dear, but...
- 2.9"The Self, O Maitreyi, should be seen, should be heard, should be reflected upon, should be deeply...
- 2.10"Brahminhood abandons one who knows brahminhood as other than the Self. Kshatriya-hood abandons one who...
- 2.11"This brahminhood, this kshatriya-hood, these worlds, these gods, these beings, all this is the Self."
- 2.12"Just as one cannot catch the various sounds of a drum being beaten, but by grasping the drum or the...
- 2.13"Just as smoke issues from a fire made of damp fuel, so from this great Being have been breathed forth the...
- 2.14"As the ocean is the one goal of all waters, as the skin is the one goal of all touches, as the nose is of...
Gargi's Questions - The Imperishable
- 3.1Gargi said: "Yajnavalkya, if all this is woven, warp and woof, on water, on what is water woven?" "On air...
- 3.2"On what is air woven?" "On the mid-space worlds." "On what are the mid-space worlds woven?" "On the...
- 3.3"On what are the gandharva-worlds woven?" "On the sun-worlds." "On what the sun-worlds?" "On the...
- 3.4He said: "Gargi, do not ask too much, lest your head fall off. You are asking about a deity that is not to...
- 3.5Then Gargi Vacaknavi said: "Venerable Brahmins, I will ask him two questions. If he answers them, none of...
- 3.6She said: "Yajnavalkya, that which is above the sky, below the earth, between heaven and earth, that which...
- 3.7He said: "That which is above the sky, below the earth, between heaven and earth, that which is called...
- 3.8She said: "On what is space woven?" He said: "That, O Gargi, the brahmins call the Imperishable (Akshara)...
Death, Karma, and Liberation
- 4.1When this person departs with the life-breath, all the vital breaths follow him. He becomes pure...
- 4.2Just as a caterpillar, reaching the end of a blade of grass, takes hold of another blade and draws itself...
- 4.3Just as a goldsmith, taking a piece of gold, fashions a newer and more beautiful form, so does the Self...
- 4.4This Self is Brahman. It is made of consciousness, made of mind, made of breath, made of speech, made of...
- 4.5As one acts, as one conducts oneself, so does one become. The doer of good becomes good; the doer of evil...
- 4.6They say a person is made of desire. As is one's desire, so is one's will. As is one's will, so is one's...
- 4.7There is this verse: "Attached to that, he goes with his work to wherever his mind is fixed. Having...
- 4.8That is for one who desires. But one who is without desire, who is free from desire, whose desire is...
- 4.9There is this verse: "When all the desires that dwell in the heart are released, then the mortal becomes...
- 4.10Just as the slough of a snake lies dead and cast off on an ant-hill, so does this body lie. But this...
- 4.11This great unborn Self, made of consciousness, dwells in the space within the heart. It is the controller...
- 4.12The Brahmins seek to know this Self through Vedic study, sacrifice, charity, austerity, and fasting...