Hear now the profound wisdom of the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, where the unity of all existence is revealed through the imagery of honey, the immortal Self, and the sacred conversations of the sages. All beings are intimately connected, each to the other, as honey is to the bees and the hive. Fire itself is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of fire. Within this fire dwells a luminous, immortal person—resplendent and undying—who is also present in speech. This radiant being is truly the Self, the immortal, the very Brahman, the all-encompassing reality. So it is with space: space is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of space. The same luminous, immortal person who resides in space is found as well in the heart-space within each being. He is the Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. Air, too, is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of air. The immortal person who abides in air is also present in the breath of every living creature. He is the Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. The sun is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of the sun. The luminous, immortal person who resides in the sun is found as well in the eye. He is the Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. The moon, shining in the heavens, is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of the moon. The immortal person within the moon is also present in the mind. He is the Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. The directions themselves—north, south, east, west, and all between—are the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of the directions. The luminous, immortal person in the directions is present in the ear, in hearing itself. He is the Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. Lightning, flashing in the sky, is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of lightning. The immortal person in lightning is also within the subtle body. He is the Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. Thunder, resounding through the heavens, is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of thunder. The luminous, immortal person in thunder is also in sound and voice. He is the Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. Righteousness, the very order of the cosmos, is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of righteousness. The immortal person in righteousness is also within the inner righteousness of every being. He is the Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. Truth itself is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of truth. The immortal person in truth is also within the inner truth of each being. He is the Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. The human being is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of the human being. The immortal person in the human being is present within the individual as the very Self. He is the same as this Self, the immortal, Brahman, the all. Indeed, the Self is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of the Self. The immortal person in this Self is the Self itself—one and the same, the immortal, Brahman, the all. This Self is the lord and king of all beings. Just as all the spokes of a wheel are fixed in the hub and rim, so too are all beings, all gods, all worlds, all breaths, and all selves fixed in this Self. This is the secret honey that the sage Dadhyanc Atharvana revealed to the Ashvins. The seer, beholding this truth, proclaimed: “For you, O men, I manifest a mighty, formidable thing for gaining wealth, as the thunderer brings his rain; for Dadhyanc Atharvana spoke to you the honey by means of the horse’s head.” Again, the seer declared: “O Ashvins, you replaced the head of Dadhyanc with that of a horse; then he spoke to you the honey, the true secret of Tvastri, which was hidden in the armpit.” The seer further revealed: “He made the bipeds in front, he made the quadrupeds in front; he, having become a bird, entered in front as a person.” Thus, this person is present in all bodies, in every abode; nothing is hidden from him, and nothing is concealed by him. And so, the seer said: “He became the likeness of every form; that is his form for each to see—Indra, by his powers, moves in many forms, for his horses are yoked by the hundreds and tens.” Indeed, these are the horses, the tens, the thousands, the countless forms. This is Brahman—without a before or after, without inside or outside. This Self is Brahman, the all-pervading. Thus is the teaching. Or, as the tradition is handed down, this wisdom has been transmitted through an unbroken lineage of teachers, each receiving and passing on the sacred knowledge, stretching back through the ages to the very self-born Brahman. To Brahman, the source, salutations are offered. In another lineage, the wisdom flows from teacher to student, each name a link in the golden chain, culminating in Brahman, self-born and the ultimate source. Salutations to Brahman. At this time, Janaka, king of Videha, performed a great sacrifice, bestowing many gifts. Brahmins from the Kuru and Panchala lands gathered there. Janaka wondered, “Who among these Brahmins is the most learned?” He caused a thousand cows to be penned, each with ten gold pieces tied to its horns. He announced to the Brahmins, “Revered ones, whoever among you is the most learned in Brahman, let him drive away these cows.” None dared approach. Then Yajnavalkya, the wise, said to his disciple, “Dear Samashrava, drive these cows away.” The student did so, and the Brahmins were angered, saying, “How can he claim to be the most learned among us?” Asvala, Janaka’s chief priest, challenged Yajnavalkya: “Surely, Yajnavalkya, you are the most learned among us?” Yajnavalkya replied humbly, “We bow to the most learned; we are only seekers of cattle.” Asvala then prepared to question him further. He asked, “Since all this is seized by death, by what does the sacrificer free himself from death’s grasp?” Yajnavalkya answered, “By the officiating priest, the Hotṛ; by speech; by fire—for speech is the Hotṛ of the sacrifice. Thus, speech, fire, and the Hotṛ are the means of release, the means of complete release.” Asvala continued, “Since all is seized by day and night, by what does the sacrificer free himself from their grasp?” Yajnavalkya replied, “By the Adhvaryu, by the eye, by the sun—for the eye is the Adhvaryu of the sacrifice. Thus, the eye, the sun, and the Adhvaryu are the means of release, the means of complete release.” He asked further, “Since all is seized by the waxing and waning fortnights, by what does the sacrificer free himself from their grasp?” Yajnavalkya answered, “By the Brahman priest, by the mind, by the moon—for the mind is the Brahman of the sacrifice. Thus, the mind, the moon, and the Brahman priest are the means of release, the means of complete release.” Asvala pressed on, “This intermediate space seems unsupported; by what means does the sacrificer ascend to the heavenly world?” Yajnavalkya replied, “By the Udgātṛ, with the method, with the breath—for breath is truly the Udgātṛ of the sacrifice. Breath is the wind, the utterance of the Udgātṛ, the release, the supreme release.” He then asked, “With how many verses does the Hotṛ today perform the sacrifice?” Yajnavalkya answered, “With three: the puronuvākyā, the yājyā, and the śasyā. With the puronuvākyā he wins the earth, with the yājyā the intermediate world, with the śasyā the heavenly world.” “How many offerings does the Adhvaryu pour into the sacrifice?” Yajnavalkya replied, “Three: the offering that blazes up, the offering that overflows, and the offering that settles down. With these, he wins the world of the gods, the world of humans, and the world of the ancestors, respectively.” “With how many deities does the Brahman priest protect the sacrifice on the southern side?” Yajnavalkya answered, “With one: the mind. The mind is infinite, and all the gods are infinite. With the infinite alone, he wins the world of reality.” “With how many stotras does the Udgātṛ chant in the sacrifice?” Yajnavalkya replied, “With three: the puronuvākyā, the yājyā, and the śasyā, each with its respective deity and reference to the self. The puronuvākyā is the breath, the yājyā is the downward breath, and the śasyā is the vyāna. With these, he wins all that is possessed of breath.” At this, Asvala ceased his questioning. Then Jāratkārava Ārtabhāga questioned Yajnavalkya: “How many grahas and atigrahas are there?” Yajnavalkya replied, “There are eight grahas and eight atigrahas. These are they: The breath is a graha, seized by the atigraha called apāna, by which one perceives smells. The tongue is a graha, seized by rasa, by which one perceives tastes. Speech is a graha, seized by name, by which one utters names. The eye is a graha, seized by form, by which one sees forms. The ear is a graha, seized by sound, by which one hears sounds. The mind is a graha, seized by desire, by which one desires desires.” Thus, in the assembly of the wise, the unity of all things, the workings of sacrifice, and the subtle connections between the senses and their objects were revealed, pointing ever to the luminous, immortal Self—Brahman, who is all.