Let us contemplate the mystery of the Self, as revealed in these sacred verses. Just as a mighty king, gathering his subjects and moving freely through his realm, so does the Self, collecting the senses, roam at will within the body. Yet, when deep sleep overtakes him, and all knowledge is suspended, the seventy-two thousand channels of the heart are filled and settled, and the Self withdraws, resting within the body. In that repose, he lies at ease, much like a child, or a great priest, or one who has fulfilled his desires. From the Self, all emerges—just as a spider spins its web, or sparks leap from a fire, so too do the breaths, the worlds, the gods, and all beings arise from the Self. The teaching is clear: the breaths are truth, and this is their deeper truth. Whoever knows the child, the support, the counter-support, the pillar, and the cord, overcomes his enemies for seven generations. This child is the middle breath; for him, the support and counter-support are breath, breath is the pillar, and food is the cord. Seven openings attend upon him. Within the eyes, the red veins are linked to Rudra, the watery to Parjanya, the yellow to the Sun, the white to Fire, and the black to Indra. The lower eyelid is connected to earth, the upper to the sky. Whoever knows this, his food does not fail. There is a verse: The bowl with its opening below and base above contains all forms of glory. The seers are its seven shores, and speech is the eighth, united with sacred knowledge. This bowl is the body itself, with its opening below and base above. Breath is the glory placed within all forms. Breath is the seers, and speech is the eighth, united with sacred knowledge. Gautama and Bharadvāja are here; this is Gautama, this is Bharadvāja. Viśvāmitra and Jamadagni are here; this is Viśvāmitra, this is Jamadagni. Vasiṣṭha and Kaśyapa are here; this is Vasiṣṭha, this is Kaśyapa. Speech is Atri, for by speech, food is eaten. This is the meaning of Atri. Whoever knows this becomes the eater of all, and all is his food. There are two forms of Brahman: the formed and the formless, the mortal and the immortal, the fixed and the moving, the manifest and the unmanifest. The formed is everything other than air and space; this is mortal, fixed, and manifest. Its essence is what shines forth. The formless is air and space; this is immortal, and this is its essence. Of this formless, immortal essence, its sap is the person in the orb; this is its sap—thus is the explanation concerning divinity. Concerning the self: it is likewise formless, whatever is beyond the breath, and the space within the self—this is mortal, established, and existent. Its sap is the eye, for the existent is its sap. The formless, breath and the space within the self—this is immortal, and this is its essence. Its sap is the person in the right eye; this is its sap. The form of that person is like a royal garment, like a white woolen cloth, like a firefly, a flame of fire, a lotus, a flash of lightning. Just as a flash of lightning, so is his radiance—whoever knows thus. Now comes the instruction: "Not this, not this." There is nothing higher than this negation. Its name is "Truth of truth." The breath is truth; of these, this is the truth. Maitreyi, said Yajnavalkya, I am about to depart from this place. Let me make the final arrangement for you and Katyayani. Maitreyi asked: If the whole earth were filled with wealth, could I become immortal by that? Yajnavalkya replied: Your life would be as that of those who possess means, but there is no hope of immortality through wealth. Maitreyi said: That by which I would not become immortal—what would I do with that? Whatever you know, please teach me that alone. Yajnavalkya said: You have spoken dear words, as one who is dear. Come, sit down; I will explain. While I explain, you should reflect. Speak, O revered one. Yajnavalkya said: This is the connection—Upanishad—Brihadaranyaka Upanishad—section. Whoever knows Brahman as something apart from the self, to him Brahman is lost. Whoever knows power, worlds, gods, beings, or all as separate from the self, to him they are lost. This is Brahman, this is power, these are the worlds, these are the gods, these are the beings, this is all—this, which is the self. Just as, when a drum is struck, one cannot grasp the sounds outside it, but by grasping the drum or the strike, the sound is caught; just as, when a lute is played, one cannot grasp the sounds outside it, but by grasping the lute or the playing, the sound is caught; just as, when a conch is blown, one cannot grasp the sounds outside it, but by grasping the conch or the blowing, the sound is caught. Just as, when a fire is kindled with damp fuel, various smokes arise separately, so too, from this great being, its breathings are the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvangirasa, history, ancient lore, knowledge, Upanishads, verses, aphorisms, explanations, commentaries—all these are its breathings. As all waters have the ocean as their one destination, all touches have the skin, all smells have the nose, all tastes have the tongue, all forms have the eye, all sounds have the ear, all intentions have the mind, all Vedas have speech, all actions have the hands, all movements have the feet, all pleasures have the generative organ, all excretions have the anus, and all knowledges have the heart as their one destination. Just as, when a lump of salt is thrown into water, it dissolves completely and cannot be taken out, and wherever one tastes the water, it is salty—in the same way, this great, endless, infinite, full mass of knowledge arises from these elements and merges back into them; after death, there is no distinct consciousness, so I say, declared Yājñavalkya. Maitreyi said: Revered one, you have thoroughly confused me by saying that after death there is no distinct consciousness. Yājñavalkya replied: No, dear, I am not speaking confusion; this is enough for understanding. For where there is duality, one sees the other, one smells the other, one hears the other, one speaks to the other, one thinks of the other, one knows the other. But where everything has become just one's own Self, then by what means and whom would one see? By what means and whom would one smell, hear, speak, think, or know? By what means could one know the knower? That by which all this is known—how could one know that knower? This earth is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of this earth. That luminous, immortal person who is in this earth, and that luminous, immortal person who is in the body—he indeed is this Self, this immortal, this is Brahman, this is all. These waters are the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of these waters. That luminous, immortal person who is in these waters, and that luminous, immortal person who is in the seed—he indeed is this Self, this immortal, this is Brahman, this is all. Thus, the teaching unfolds, revealing the unity of all, the truth of the Self, and the immortality sought—not in wealth or outward things, but in the realization of the Self as Brahman, the all-encompassing reality.