- Now we will tell the secret Upanishad. The divine sages, who worshiped Brahma, asked him: O Lord, tell us the secret instruction. He said: In the past, the saint Vyasa, [having attained] perfection in [knowledge of] the Vedas and austerities, addressed, with folded palms in reverence, Shiva, [seated] with [his] consort.
- The blessed Vedavyasa said: O God of gods, Great Sage, dedicated to the liberation [of the world]!
- The time has come, O Teacher of the world, to initiate my son Shuka into the Vedic mysteries and give him instructions on Brahman.
- The Lord said: At the time of My imparting direct [knowledge] of Brahman, [which grants] eternal liberation, [your] son himself will realize [everything].
- The Blessed Vedavyasa said: So be it – at [the time of] the Upanayana ceremony, when You, by Your mercy, grant [the knowledge] of Brahman to my son,
- May my son immediately become omniscient, O Great Lord, and, endowed with By your grace, he will attain four types of liberation!
- Hearing what Vyasa said, Shiva, rejoicing, sat down with his consort on the divine throne to give instructions, surrounded by divine sages.
- The righteous Shuka came there, filled with devotion, and having received the pranava, addressed Shiva.
- The blessed Shuka said: Have mercy, O God of gods, Omniscient and Full of Being, Consciousness and Bliss, Beloved of the Mind, Lord of existence, Ocean of compassion!
- You have told me about the Supreme Brahman hidden in the sound Om.
- Now I wish to hear the essence of the wise sayings such as That Thou Art and others, and the six parts [of nyasa] [that accompany them]. O Ever-Good One, tell me this secret by your mercy!
- The Good Eternal Shiva said: Good, good, O great-sage Shuka, perfect in knowledge! You have asked what was necessary to ask about the secret hidden in the Vedas.
- It is called the secret Upanishad, which has six parts. By knowing it directly liberation is attained, that is certain.
- The guru should not impart the great sayings [of the Vedas] without the six parts, but with them alone.
- Just as the Upanishads are the head of the four Vedas, so this secret Upanishad is the head of the Upanishads.
- For the wise who realizes Brahman, what is the use of pilgrimage, mantras, and Vedic rituals?
- As a hundred years of life are gained by investigating the meaning of the sayings [of the Vedas], so by a single repetition [of this Upanishad] together with [its accompanying parts, such as] Viniyoga and dhyana.
- Om. Of this great mantra, of the great utterance, the prophet Hamsa, the meter of the avyakta-gayatri, the deity Paramahamsa. Its seed is Ham, the power is Sah, the key is So ham. The method is repetition (japa) of the great utterance for the sake of the grace of Paramahamsa.
[Nyasa of the hands:]
satyaM j~nAnamanantaM brahma a~NguShThAbhyAM namaH
nityAnando brahma tarjanIbhyAM svAhA
nityAnandamayaM brahma madhyamAbhyAM vaShaT
yo vai bhUmA anAmikAbhyAM huM
yo vai bhUmAdhipatiH kaniShThikAbhyAM vauShaT
ekamevAdvitIyaM brahma karatalakarapR^iShThAbhyAM phaT
[Ньяса тела:]
satyaM j~nAnamanantaM brahma hR^idayAya namaH
nityAnando brahma shirase svAhA
nityAnandamayaM brahma shikhAyai vaShaT
yo vai bhUmA kavachAya huM
yo vai bhUmAdhipatiH netratrayAya vauShaT
ekamevAdvitIyaM brahma astrAya phaT
(Six sayings with which nyasa is performed:
Brahman is Truth, Knowledge and Infinity;
Brahman is eternal Bliss;
Brahman is filled with eternal Bliss;
That which is fullness (also abundance);
He who is the Lord of fullness (abundance);
Brahman is the One and Only.)
bhUrbhuvassuvaromiti digbandhaH (digbandhana: Earth, air, sky, Om are thus protected the cardinal directions).
Meditation:
I worship that true Teacher [who] is eternally [filled] with bliss and bestows the highest happiness, the only one [who is] the embodiment of [true] knowledge, transcending duality, like the sky, one, eternal, unstained, unshakable, [who] is the witness of all thoughts, transcending the mundane, free from [the limitation] of the three qualities [of matter], about whom [the great sayings of the Vedas, such as] That Thou art and others, speak.
- These are the four great sayings. Thus,
Om. Knowledge is Brahman;
Om. I am Brahman;
Om. That Thou art;
Om. This Spirit is Brahman.
- Those who repeat the dictum of non-difference Tat Tvam Asi – attain liberation in union with Shiva.
- The prophet of the great mantra Tat is Paramahamsa; its meter is avyakta-gayatri; the deity is Paramahamsa. Its seed is Ham, its power is Sah, its key is So ham. The method is repetition for liberation in union [with God].
[Nyasa of the hands:]
tatpuruShAya a~NguShThAbhyAM namaH
IshAnAya tarjanIbhyAM svAhA
aghorAya madhyamAbhyAM vaShaT
sadyojAtAya anAmikAbhyAM huM
vAmadevAya kaniShThikAbhyAM vauShaT
tatpuruSheshAnAghorasadyojAtavAmadevebhyo namaH karatalakarapR^iShThAbhyAM
phaT
[Nyasa of the body:]
tatpuruShAya hR^idayAya namaH
IshAnAya shirase svAhA
aghorAya shikhAyai vaShaT
sadyojAtAya kavachAya huM
vAmadevAya netratrayAya vauShaT
tatpuruSheshAnAghorasadyojAtavAmadevebhyo nama astrAya phaT
(In Nyasa, the five faces of Shiva are worshipped: Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha and Ishana)
bhUrbhuvassuvaromiti digbandhaH (digbandhana: Earth, air, sky, Om, thus the cardinal directions are protected).
Meditation:
I meditate on that great radiance which is knowledge, knowable and incomprehensible, which is Truth, Knowledge, pure, awakened, free and indestructible, the image of Being, Consciousness and Bliss.
- The prophet of the great mantra Tvam is Vishnu, the verse meter of Gayatri, the deity of the Supreme Spirit (Paramatma). Her seed is Aim, the power is Klim, the key is Sauh. The method is repetition (japa) for liberation.
[Nyasa of the hands:]
vAsudevAya a~NguShThAbhyAM namaH
sa~NkarShaNAya tarjanIbhyAM svAhA
pradyumnAya madhyamAbhyAM vaShaT
aniruddhAya anAmikAbhyAM huM
vAsudevAya kaniShThikAbhyAM vauShaT
vAsudevasa~NkarShaNapradyumnAniruddhebhyaH karatalakarapR^iShThAbhyAM phaT
[Nyasa of the body:]
vAsudevAya hR^idayAya namaH
sa~NkarShaNAya shirase svAhA
pradyumnAya shikhAyai vaShaT
aniruddhAya kavachAya huM
vAsudevAya netratrayAya vauShaT
vAsudevasa~NkarShaNapradyumnAniruddhebhyo astrAya phaT
(In Nyasa, the four aspects of Vishnu (chaturvyuha) are worshipped: Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha)
bhUrbhuvassuvaromiti digbandhaH (digbandhana: Earth, air, sky, Om, thus the cardinal directions are protected).
Meditation:
I worship the principle of Tvam, which is called the living soul (jiva); he animates all beings, he is omnipresent and indivisible, he uses the limited personal consciousness (chitta) and the ego (ahankara) as his instruments.
- The prophet of the great mantra Asi is Manas (mind), the verse meter of Gayatri, the deity Ardhanarishvara. Its seed is unmanifested and primordial, the power is Nrisimha, the key is the Supreme Spirit (Paramatma). The method is repetition (japa) for the sake of [realization] of the unity of the living soul with the Absolute.
[Nyasa hands:]
pR^ithvIdvyaNukAya a~NguShThAbhyAM namaH
abdvyaNukAya tarjanIbhyAM svAhA
tejodvyaNukAya madhyamAbhyAM vaShaT
vAyudvyaNukAya anAmikAbhyAM huM
AkAshadvyaNukAya kaniShThikAbhyAM vauShaT
pR^ithivyaptejovAyvAkAshadvyaNukebhyaH karatalakarapR^iShThAbhyAM phaT
[Nyasa of the body:
pR^ithvIdvyaNukAya hR^idayAya namaH
abdvyaNukAya shirase svAhA
tejodvyaNukAya shikhAyai vaShaT
vAyudvyaNukAya kavachAya huM
vAyudvyaNukAya netratrayAya vauShaT
pR^ithivyaptejovAyvAkAshadvyaNukebhyaH astrAya phaT]
(In Nyasa, the five elements (pancha-mahabhuta) are worshipped, each of them as a duad).
bhUrbhuvassuvaromiti digbandhaH (digbandhana: Earth, air, sky, Om, thus the cardinal directions are protected).
Meditation:
I always meditate on the principle of Asi ([you] are), [so that] the mind abides in the state described in the saying The living soul [is one with] Brahman , for the sake of dissolution in the One Nature .
Here [are reported] the great sayings with their six parts.
- Now, in in accordance with the classification of the secret instructions, verses will be spoken about the meaning of the sayings.
- By means of which a person sees, hears, smells, expresses [ideas] in words and distinguishes the pleasant from the unpleasant, this is prajnana (knowledge).
- In Brahma, Indra and other gods, in men, in horses and cows, [is manifested] the one Consciousness, which is Brahman. Knowledge is of the nature of Brahman.
- The perfect Supreme Spirit, residing in this body and being the witness of the mind, is called the Self .
- The Supreme Spirit, perfect in itself, is designated by the word Brahman ; of him, the One, it is said [I] am . This Brahman I am.
- The One and Only Truth, devoid of name and form, which existed before creation and which is always now, is called That.
- The essence, which is beyond the body and the sense organs, is called You (tvam). Perceived in its unity, it is (asi). It is necessary to realize its unity with That (tat).
- [That which] before the Essence, beginning from the ego (ahankara) and ending with the body, [this being,] self-luminous and directly [perceiving], is called the word this (ayam).
- The nature of the entire perceived world is expressed in the word Brahman. That Brahman has the form of the self-luminous Spirit .
- [Shuka said:] I was in a dream, devoid of reason, [thinking that there is] I and mine , due to ignorance of the Essence. But I was awakened by the sun of true Nature that arose as a result of the great sayings communicated by the Teacher.
- There are two senses (artha) of what is said: the expressed (vacya) and the characterized (or that which is the purpose of what is said; lakshya). The expressed [sense] of the word You (tvam) is [that which is composed] of the [five] elements and the organs of sense and action; the characterized sense is He (sa). The expressed sense of the word That (tat) is the mind [that has acquired] godlikeness; the characterized sense is Brahman, [the image of] Being, Consciousness and blissful Happiness. The word There is (asi) means their unity.
- You (tvam) and That (tat) denote effect and cause; on the other hand, they are both the image of Being, Consciousness and Bliss. Both these words transcend space and time in the world, so that He (sa) and This (ayam) form one man.
- The living soul (jiva) is the effect, the Lord (ishvara) is the cause. By surpassing both of them, full awakening (purna-bodha) is achieved.
- First listening (sravana) to the Teacher, then thinking (manana) about the meaning [of his instructions] and meditation (nididhyasana) – this contributes to [achieving] full awakening.
- The study of other types of knowledge is in any case transient, but the study of the science of Brahman (brahma-vidya) undoubtedly leads to the attainment of [unity] with Brahman.
- The teacher should transmit to the disciple the great sayings with their six parts, and not just the sayings alone – so said by Brahma.
- The Lord said: O Shuka, best of sages, here is the secret instruction imparted to you.
- Having received from Me, at the request of your father Vyasa, who realized Brahman, the instruction on Brahman, you, constantly meditating [on its meaning, will attain] liberation during life and will be filled with Being, Consciousness and Bliss.
- The sound (svara), proclaimed at the beginning of the Vedas and abiding at their end; he who surpasses him, absorbed in matter, is the Great Lord .
- Having received these instructions from Shiva, [Shuka] rose, bowed down to Shiva with devotion and left all his possessions.
- And he departed, as if floating in the ocean of the Supreme Absolute.
- Seeing him depart, the sage Krishnadvaipayana [Vyasa] followed him and began to call him, [being sad] because of the separation. And then the whole world responded like an echo.
- Hearing this, Vyasa, the son of Satyavati, became filled with the highest bliss along with [his] son.
- He who, by the grace of the Teacher, receives this secret instruction, is freed from all sins and attains direct liberation, [verily] attains direct liberation.
This is the Upanishad.
