Listen, dear one, to the sacred teaching as it unfolds, woven with the wisdom of the ancient seers. Imagine a conch shell being blown. Its sound cannot be caught or separated from the conch or the act of blowing itself. Only by grasping the conch or the breath that moves through it can one truly catch the sound. In the same way, when a fire is kindled with damp wood, many kinds of smoke arise, each appearing distinct. So too, from the great Being, from the very breath of existence, arise all the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvangirasa, the ancient histories, the sacred lore, all knowledge, the Upanishads, verses, aphorisms, explanations, and commentaries. All these are but the breathings of that great Self. Just as all waters ultimately flow to the ocean, so too all sensations of touch have their destination in the skin, all scents in the nose, all tastes in the tongue, all forms in the eye, all sounds in the ear, all intentions in the mind, all the Vedas in speech, all actions in the hands, all movements in the feet, all pleasures in the generative organ, all excretions in the anus, and all knowledge in the heart. Each has its own destination, its own resting place. Now, consider a lump of salt thrown into water. It dissolves completely, becoming inseparable from the water; wherever you taste the water, it is salty throughout. So too, this vast, endless, infinite mass of consciousness arises from the elements and merges back into them. After death, there is no distinct, separate consciousness that can be pointed to—so declares the sage Yājñavalkya. Upon hearing this, Maitreyi, his devoted wife, spoke: “Venerable one, you have left me confused by saying that after death there is no distinct consciousness.” Yājñavalkya replied gently, “No, dear, I am not speaking confusion. This indeed is enough for understanding.” He continued: “Where there is duality, one sees another, one smells another, one hears another, one speaks to another, one thinks of another, one knows another. But where everything has become one’s own Self, by what means and whom would one see? By what means and whom would one smell, hear, speak to, think of, or know? How could one know the knower? That by which all this is known—how could one know that knower?” He then revealed the unity that pervades all creation: This earth is the honey, the essence, of all beings, and all beings are the honey of this earth. The luminous, immortal person who dwells in the earth and the one who dwells in the body are one and the same—this is the Self, the immortal, this is Brahman, this is all. The same is declared for the waters, the fire, the space, the air, the sun, the moon, the directions, the lightning, the thunder, righteousness, truth, the human being, and the Self itself. In each, the immortal person within is none other than the Self, which is Brahman, the all. This Self is the lord and king of all beings. Just as all the spokes are fixed in the hub and rim of a wheel, so too are all beings, all gods, all worlds, all breaths, and all selves fixed in this Self. This is the honey, the secret wisdom, that Dadhyanc Atharvana spoke to the Ashvins. The seers, seeing this truth, sang in the Rig Veda: “For you, O men, I reveal a mighty, formidable thing for gaining wealth, just as the thunderer brings his rain; for Dadhyanc Atharvana spoke to you the honey by means of the horse’s head.” Again, it is sung: “For Atharvana, O Ashvins, you replaced the head of Dadhyanc with that of a horse; he then spoke to you the honey, Tvastri’s secret, hidden in the armpit.” The seers further declared: “He made bipeds and quadrupeds, and, becoming a bird, entered all as a person.” Thus, this person, the Self, is present in all bodies, in every dwelling; nothing is hidden from or by him. Another hymn proclaims: “He became the likeness of every form; that is his form for each to see—Indra, by his power, moves in many forms, with horses by the hundreds and tens.” These are indeed the horses, tens, thousands, and countless others. This is Brahman—without before or after, without inside or outside. The Self is Brahman, the all-pervading. Thus is the teaching. The tradition of this knowledge is then recounted, passed down through a long lineage of sages, from teacher to disciple, from Dadhyanc and the Ashvins, through generations, all the way to Brahman, the self-born, the source of all. In another line, the succession of teachers and students is traced, each preserving and transmitting the sacred knowledge, all ultimately leading back to Brahman, the self-born. Salutations to Brahman! Now, it is told that Janaka, king of Videha, once performed a great sacrifice, giving many gifts. Brahmins from the lands of the Kurus and Panchalas assembled there. King Janaka wondered, “Who among these Brahmins is the most learned in Brahman?” He gathered a thousand cows, tying ten gold pieces to the horns of each, and announced: “Revered ones, whoever among you is the most learned in Brahman, let him drive away these cows.” None dared to step forward. Then Yājñavalkya said to his student Samashrava, “Dear one, drive these cows away.” Samashrava did so, and the other Brahmins grew angry, questioning how he could make such a claim. Asvala, Janaka’s chief priest, challenged Yājñavalkya, saying, “Surely, you are the most learned among us?” Yājñavalkya replied humbly, “We bow to the most learned; we are only seekers of cattle.” But Asvala pressed on with further questions. He asked, “Since all this is seized by death, how does the sacrificer free himself from death’s grasp?” Yājñavalkya answered, “By the Hotṛ priest, by speech, by fire—for speech is the Hotṛ of the sacrifice. This is the means of release, the means of complete release.” Next, Asvala asked, “Since all is seized by day and night, how does the sacrificer free himself from their grasp?” Yājñavalkya replied, “By the Adhvaryu priest, by the eye, by the sun—for the eye is the Adhvaryu of the sacrifice. This is the means of release, the means of complete release.” He was then asked, “Since all is seized by the waxing and waning fortnights, how does the sacrificer free himself from their grasp?” Yājñavalkya said, “By the Brahman priest, by the mind, by the moon—for the mind is the Brahman of the sacrifice. This is the means of release, the means of complete release.” Asvala inquired further, “This intermediate space seems without support; by what means does the sacrificer ascend to the heavenly world?” Yājñavalkya answered, “By the Udgātṛ priest, by method, by breath—for breath is truly the Udgātṛ of the sacrifice. That breath is the wind, the utterance of the Udgātṛ, the supreme release. Thus is the supreme release; now, the attainments.” Asvala asked, “With how many verses does the Hotṛ today perform the sacrifice?” Yājñavalkya answered, “With three: the puronuvākyā, the yājyā, and the śasyā. With the puronuvākyā, he wins the earth-world; with the yājyā, the intermediate world; with the śasyā, the heavenly world.” Thus, through vivid images, deep questions, and the wisdom of sages, the unity of the Self with all existence is revealed, and the path to liberation shown. This is the teaching. Salutation to Brahman!