Thath thvam asi-Chandhogya Upanishadh 6

[Guest guest]

imaaH

soumya nadhyaaH purasthaath praachyaH syandhanthe paSchaath prtheechyasthaaH

 

These eastern rivers, my dear, flow along to the East and the western one to

the West,

 

samudhraath

samudhram eva aapiyanthi saH samudhraH eva bhavathi

 

They rise from the ocean and merge back in the

ocean and become that ocean itself,

 

thaa yaThaa

thathra na vidhuH iyam aham asmi iyam aham asmi ithi.

 

They do not know `I am this (river),' `I am this (river)

etc.

 

evam eva

khalu soumya imaah sarvaaH prajaaH satha aagamya na vidhuH satha aagacChaamaH

ithi

 

Even so , dear boy, these creatures emerging from the

Absolute, do not know that they have come from That.

 

tha iha

vyaaghro vaa simho vaa vrko vaa varaaho vaa keeto vaa pathango vaa dhamSo vaama

Sako vaa yath yath bhavanthi thath aa bhavanthi

 

Whatever the creatures are before merging, a tiger,

a lion, a wolf, a boar, a worm, a moth,

an insect or an mosquito, they become the same again.

 

The rivers have separate name and form until they

merge in the ocean. But once they reach the ocean the separate identities are

lost. May it be Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari or

Kaveri , once they enter the ocean all become the salty ocean without

distinction. But when they emerge again from the sea in form of water vapour

and carried by the clouds and reach the earth as rain the water from the ocean

again becomes the separate rivers. Similarly the creatures merging into the

Being, sath, lose their identity and when they emerge on creation, just as when

they wake up from deep sleep they again become their individual selves.

 

Sa ya

esho aNimaa ethath aathmyam idham sarvam

 

That Being (into which one merges in deep sleep) is

this Self which is subtle essence ( first cause) and all this world has it as

the inner self.

 

thath sathyam sa aathmaa

 

That is the truth. That is the Self.

 

thath thvam asi svethaketho

 

That thou art Svethakethu

 

ithi

 

(Thus said the father.)

 

 

bhooya

eva maa bhagavan vijnaapayathu ithi

 

(The son said ) please sir, tell me again.

 

thaThaa soumya ithi hovacha

 

Saying " alright my dear boy," he spoke again.

 

asya soumya

mahathaH vrkshasya yo moole abhyaahanyaath jeevan sraveth yaH maDhye

abyaahanyaath jeevan sraveth yaH agre abyaahanyaath jeevan sraveth

 

Of this big tree, if one strikes at the root, the

tree while alive exudes sap. If one strikes in the middle the tree while alive

exudes sap. If one strikes at the top, the

tree while alive exudes sap.

 

esha aathmanaa

anuprabhoothaH pepeeyamaanaH modhamaanH thishTathi.

 

This tree pervaded by life stands drinking and

enjoying.

 

The tree constantly drinks water by its roots which

is found in all parts. And as long as the life exists the tree flourishes.

 

asya yath

ekaH Shaahaam jeevaH jahaathi aTha saa Sushyathi dhvitheeyaam jahaathi aTha saa

Sushyathi thrtheeyaam jahaathi aTha saa Sushyathi sarvam jahaathi sarvam

Sushyathi

 

when life departs from one branch ( due to its

becoming rotten or when cut off ) it dries up. When life departs from the second

one it dries up and when the life departs from the third one it dries up and

when the life goes away from the whole tree the whole tree dries up.

 

Evam eva

khalu soumya vidDhi ithi hovaacha jeevopetham vaava khila idham mriyathe na

jeevo mriyathe ithi

 

Similarly my dear, when bereft of the living self

this body dies but the self does not.

 

Sa ya

esho aNimaa ethath aathmyam idham sarvam

 

That Being (into which one merges in deep sleep) is

this Self which is subtle essence ( first cause) and all this world has it as

the inner self.

 

thath sathyam sa aathmaa

 

That is the truth. That is the Self.

 

thath thvam asi svethaketho

 

That thou art Svethakethu

 

ithi

 

(Thus said the father.)

 

 

bhooya

eva maa bhagavan vijnaapayathu ithi

 

(The son said ) please sir, tell me again.

 

thaThaa soumya ithi hovacha

 

Saying " alright my dear boy," he spoke again.

 

But the doubt of Svetakethu was not about the

nature of the Self which he had understood to be of the essence of Brahman or

sath. He wanted to know how this eternal self becomes manifest as the gross

universe, acquiring name and form. The father explains this by some practical

examples.