In the sacred assembly, the wise Uṣasta Cākrāyaṇa approached Yājñavalkya with a profound question. “Yājñavalkya,” he said, “explain to me that Brahman which is directly perceived, not indirect, that Self which is the innermost of all.” Yājñavalkya replied, “This is that Self, the innermost of all.” Uṣasta pressed further, “Which, Yājñavalkya, is the innermost of all?” Yājñavalkya answered, “That which breathes with the breath is the innermost Self; that which breathes with the downward breath is the innermost Self; that which breathes with the diffused breath is the innermost Self; that which breathes with the upward breath is the innermost Self; that which breathes with the equalizing breath is the innermost Self. This is that Self, the innermost of all.” Still unsatisfied, Uṣasta said, “Just as one points and says, ‘That is a cow, that is a horse,’ so is this designated. Explain to me that Brahman which is directly perceived, not indirect, that Self which is the innermost of all.” Yājñavalkya repeated, “This is that Self, the innermost of all.” Again, Uṣasta asked, “Which, Yājñavalkya, is the innermost of all?” Yājñavalkya replied with deep insight, “You cannot see the seer of seeing; you cannot hear the hearer of hearing; you cannot think the thinker of thinking; you cannot know the knower of knowing. This is that Self, the innermost of all. Everything else is afflicted.” Hearing this, Uṣasta Cākrāyaṇa became silent. Then the learned Gārgī Vācaknavī stood and questioned Yājñavalkya, “Yājñavalkya, that in which all this is woven, both warp and woof—tell me, in what are the waters woven?” Yājñavalkya replied, “In air, Gārgī.” She continued, “In what is air woven?” He said, “In space, Gārgī.” “In what is space woven?” she asked. “In the intermediate worlds, Gārgī,” he replied. “In what are the intermediate worlds woven?” “In the heavenly worlds, Gārgī.” “In what are the heavenly worlds woven?” “In the worlds of the sun, Gārgī.” “In what are the worlds of the sun woven?” “In the worlds of the moon, Gārgī.” “In what are the worlds of the moon woven?” “In the worlds of the stars, Gārgī.” “In what are the worlds of the stars woven?” “In the worlds of the gods, Gārgī.” “In what are the worlds of the gods woven?” “In the worlds of the Gandharvas, Gārgī.” “In what are the worlds of the Gandharvas woven?” “In the worlds of Prajāpati, Gārgī.” “In what are the worlds of Prajāpati woven?” “In the worlds of Brahman, Gārgī.” “In what are the worlds of Brahman woven?” At this, Yājñavalkya stopped her: “Gārgī, do not ask further, lest your head fall off. You are asking questions beyond the proper limit, in the realm of the gods. Gārgī, do not ask further.” Respecting his warning, Gārgī was silent. Next, Uddālaka Āruṇi rose and addressed Yājñavalkya: “Yājñavalkya, we stayed among the Madras in the house of Patañcala Kāpya, studying the sacrifice. He had a wife possessed by a Gandharva. We asked him, ‘Who are you?’ He replied, ‘I am Kabandha Atharvaṇa.’” Kabandha Atharvaṇa then spoke to Patañcala Kāpya and the sacrificers, “Do you know, Kāpya, that thread by which this world, the other world, and all beings are held together?” Patañcala Kāpya admitted, “I do not know that, revered one.” Kabandha continued, “Do you know, Kāpya, the inner controller, who controls this world, the other world, and all beings from within?” Again, Patañcala Kāpya replied, “I do not know him, revered one.” Kabandha then declared, “Whoever knows, Kāpya, that thread and that inner controller, is a knower of Brahman, a knower of worlds, a knower of gods, a knower of Vedas, a knower of sacrifices, a knower of beings, a knower of the Self, a knower of all.” Turning to Yājñavalkya, he said, “If you, Yājñavalkya, do not know that thread and that inner controller, and claim to be a knower of Brahman, your head will fall off.” Yājñavalkya calmly replied, “I know, Gautama, that thread and that inner controller.” “If anyone says, ‘I know,’ let him speak as he knows.” “Speak as you know,” they said. Yājñavalkya explained, “Air, Gautama, is that thread; by air, as the thread, this world, the other world, and all beings are held together. Therefore, Gautama, when a person dies, they say, ‘His limbs are loosened.’ For by air, as the thread, all are held together. Thus it is. Now, hear of the inner controller.” And Yājñavalkya spoke of the inner controller: “He who stands within the earth, yet is other than the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body is the earth, who controls the earth from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands within the waters, yet is other than the waters, whom the waters do not know, whose body is the waters, who controls the waters from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands within fire, yet is other than fire, whom fire does not know, whose body is fire, who controls fire from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands within the intermediate space, yet is other than the intermediate space, whom the intermediate space does not know, whose body is the intermediate space, who controls the intermediate space from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands within air, yet is other than air, whom air does not know, whose body is air, who controls air from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in the sky, yet is other than the sky, whom the sky does not know, whose body is the sky, who controls the sky from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in the sun, yet is other than the sun, whom the sun does not know, whose body is the sun, who controls the sun from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in the moon and stars, yet is other than the moon and stars, whom the moon and stars do not know, whose body is the moon and stars, who controls them from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in space, yet is other than space, whom space does not know, whose body is space, who controls space from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal.” Yājñavalkya continued: “He who stands in the directions, yet is other than the directions, whom the directions do not know, whose body is the directions, who controls the directions from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in lightning, yet is other than lightning, whom lightning does not know, whose body is lightning, who controls lightning from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in thunder, yet is other than thunder, whom thunder does not know, whose body is thunder, who controls thunder from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in all worlds, yet is other than all worlds, whom all worlds do not know, whose body is all worlds, who controls all worlds from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in all the Vedas, yet is other than the Vedas, whom the Vedas do not know, whose body is the Vedas, who controls the Vedas from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in all sacrifices, yet is other than all sacrifices, whom all sacrifices do not know, whose body is all sacrifices, who controls all sacrifices from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal.” He went further: “He who stands in all beings, yet is other than all beings, whom all beings do not know, whose body is all beings, who controls all beings from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. Thus far, the teaching concerning the elements. Now, concerning the self: He who stands in the breath, yet is other than the breath, whom the breath does not know, whose body is the breath, who controls the breath from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in speech, yet is other than speech, whom speech does not know, whose body is speech, who controls speech from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in the eye, yet is other than the eye, whom the eye does not know, whose body is the eye, who controls the eye from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in the ear, yet is other than the ear, whom the ear does not know, whose body is the ear, who controls the ear from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in the mind, yet is other than the mind, whom the mind does not know, whose body is the mind, who controls the mind from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in the skin, yet is other than the skin, whom the skin does not know, whose body is the skin, who controls the skin from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in knowledge, yet is other than knowledge, whom knowledge does not know, whose body is knowledge, who controls knowledge from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in light, yet is other than light, whom light does not know, whose body is light, who controls light from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in darkness, yet is other than darkness, whom darkness does not know, whose body is darkness, who controls darkness from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in seed, yet is other than seed, whom seed does not know, whose body is seed, who controls seed from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal. He who stands in the self, yet is other than the self, whom the self does not know, whose body is the self, who controls the self from within—he is your Self, the inner controller, immortal.” Yājñavalkya then revealed the highest truth: “Unseen, yet the seer; unheard, yet the hearer; unthought, yet the thinker; unknown, yet the knower. There is no other seer but this, no other hearer but this, no other thinker but this, no other knower but this. This is your Self, the inner controller, the immortal. Anything else is subject to suffering.” Hearing this, Uddālaka, son of Aruṇa, became silent. At this point, Vācaknavī, known as Gārgī, addressed the assembly: “Revered Brahmins, I will ask Yājñavalkya two questions. If he answers me, none of you will ever defeat him in a discussion about Brahman. But if he does not answer me, his head will fall off.” The assembly replied, “Ask, Gārgī.” With the sharpness of a warrior rising with bow and arrows, Gārgī said, “I come to you, Yājñavalkya, as one ready for contest, with two questions. Answer them for me.” “Ask, Gārgī,” he replied. She asked, “Yājñavalkya, that which is above the heavens, that which is below the earth, that which is between heaven and earth, and that which is, was, and will be—people speak of these. In what are all these woven and interwoven?