Listen, O seeker, to the sacred teaching as it unfolded between the wise sage Yajnavalkya and those who sought the knowledge of immortality. Yajnavalkya spoke of the greatness of the knower of Brahman, saying, “This is the eternal glory of one who realizes the Self—it is not increased by action, nor diminished by inaction. Having truly known the Self, such a person is untouched by evil deeds. Therefore, one who knows thus—calm, self-controlled, withdrawn, enduring, and full of faith—should behold the Self within. To him, all becomes the Self, and he perceives all as his very own being. He crosses beyond evil; evil cannot burn him, for he burns up all evil. Pure, free from hunger and thirst, he becomes a knower of Brahman, if he knows thus.” Then Yajnavalkya addressed King Janaka, “O King, you have attained this.” He continued, “This is the great, unborn Self—the consumer of all offerings, the giver of all wealth. Whoever knows this great, unborn Self as such, attains all wealth.” Further, he declared, “This is the great, unborn Self—undecaying, immortal, fearless, and deathless.” And Yajnavalkya said to Janaka, “You have attained the fearless Brahman, O Janaka.” In gratitude, Janaka replied, “Revered one, I offer you the kingdom of Videha and myself as your servant.” Now, Yajnavalkya had two wives: Maitreyi, who was a lover of wisdom, and Katyayani, who was of more ordinary understanding. As Yajnavalkya prepared to enter another stage of life, he called Maitreyi and said, “Maitreyi, I am about to renounce this house and take up the life of renunciation. Let me make a final settlement between you and Katyayani.” Maitreyi, thoughtful and wise, asked, “Sir, if this whole earth filled with wealth were mine, would I become immortal by it?” Yajnavalkya replied, “No, your life would be like that of those who have abundance, but there is no hope of immortality through wealth.” Maitreyi pressed further, “If I do not attain immortality by this, what use is it to me? Please, tell me only what you know to be truly worthwhile.” Yajnavalkya, pleased by her words, said, “You are dear to us, Maitreyi, and you speak what is dear. Therefore, I shall explain to you; meditate on my words as I clarify the truth.” He began, “Not for the sake of the husband is the husband dear, but for the sake of the Self is the husband dear. Not for the sake of the wife is the wife dear, but for the sake of the Self is the wife dear. Not for the sake of children, wealth, Brahman, Kshatra, worlds, gods, beings, or all things are they dear, but for the sake of the Self are they dear. Therefore, Maitreyi, the Self must be seen, heard, reflected upon, and meditated upon. Through knowing the Self, all is known.” He continued, “If one knows Brahman as other than the Self, Brahman departs from him. If one knows the Vedas, sacrifices, Kshatra, worlds, gods, beings, or all as other than the Self, they depart from him. This Self is Brahman, Kshatra, the worlds, the gods, the Vedas, the beings, and all—whatever is here, is the Self.” Yajnavalkya then gave examples: “Just as when a drum is struck, one cannot grasp the sounds that come from outside, but by grasping the drum or the act of striking, the sound is understood; so too with the Self. When a lute is played or a conch is blown, the sound is caught only by grasping the instrument or the act itself, not by chasing the sounds outside. In the same way, from this great Being arise all breaths—Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda, histories, legends, knowledge, Upanishads, verses, explanations, offerings, food, drink, this world and the next, and all beings—these are its breaths.” He likened the Self to the ocean, the skin, the nose, the tongue, the eye, the ear, the mind, the heart, the hands, the feet, the genitals, the anus, and speech—all are the ultimate destinations of their respective experiences and functions. “All knowledge has speech as its one destination,” he said. He then gave a vivid image: “Just as a lump of salt is wholly salt, without interior or exterior, so is this great Being—a mass of pure consciousness, infinite and without limit. Rising from these beings, it dissolves them back into itself. After departing, there is no more individual consciousness. Thus I say, O Maitreyi.” Maitreyi, puzzled, asked, “Venerable one, you have led me to confusion. I do not understand: ‘After departing, there is no more individual consciousness.’” Yajnavalkya replied, “I do not speak confusion. The Self is indestructible, its nature is not to be cut off; only the union of the elements ceases.” He continued, “When one does not see, even while seeing, it is this that must be seen. For the seer, there is no cessation of seeing, because the Self is indestructible. There is not a second thing; so what else could one see? The same applies for smelling, tasting, speaking, hearing, thinking, touching, and knowing—there is no cessation for the smeller, taster, speaker, hearer, thinker, toucher, or knower, as the Self is indestructible and non-dual. There is not a second thing, so what else could one experience apart from the Self?” He explained, “Where there is duality, one sees another, smells another, tastes another, speaks to another, hears another, thinks of another, touches another, knows another. But where everything has become the Self, then by what means and whom would one see, smell, taste, speak, hear, think, touch, or know? By what means could one know That by which all this is known? By what means could one know the knower?” Thus ended Yajnavalkya’s instruction to Maitreyi: “This alone is immortality.” Having spoken thus, Yajnavalkya departed. Afterwards, the lineage of this wisdom was recited—passed from Paśutimāṣya to Gaupavana, from Gaupavana to Kauśika, from Kauśika to Kauṇḍinya, and so on, through a long and venerable succession of teachers, all the way back to Brahman, the self-born. Homage to Brahman. Yajnavalkya then spoke of the wholeness of Brahman: “That is whole, this is whole; from the whole, the whole arises. When the whole is taken from the whole, the whole remains. Space is Brahman, space is the ancient, air is space—so said the son of Kauravyāyaṇī. This is the Veda; by this, whatever is to be known is known.” He then told the story of Prajapati and his three kinds of offspring: gods, humans, and asuras, who lived as students with their father. When the gods asked for instruction, Prajapati uttered the syllable “Da.” They understood: “Control yourselves.” When the humans asked, he said “Da,” and they understood: “Give.” When the asuras asked, he said “Da,” and they understood: “Be compassionate.” Thus, the divine voice in thunder echoes: “Da, Da, Da”—Control yourselves, Give, Be compassionate. These three—self-control, giving, and compassion—are to be practiced. Prajapati, Yajnavalkya explained, is the heart—this is Brahman, this is all. The heart is of three syllables: hṛ-da-yam. “Hṛ”—to him, they offer themselves; “Da”—to him, they give themselves; “Yam”—he attains the heavenly world who knows thus. “This alone is the truth,” he said. “Whoever knows this great, first-born being, the truth that is Brahman, conquers and dwells in all worlds, for Brahman is truth.” He revealed, “In the beginning, there was only water. From water came truth; truth is Brahman, Brahman is Prajapati, Prajapati is the gods. Truth is worshipped alone. It is of three syllables: sa-tyam. The first and last are truth, the middle falsehood; thus, falsehood is enclosed by truth and becomes truth alone. One who knows thus is untouched by falsehood.” He taught that the sun is truth. The person in the sun’s disk and the person in the right eye rest upon each other—one established in the other by rays and breaths. When one is about to depart, he sees only this pure disk; the rays do not return to him. He explained the mystical teaching: the person in the sun’s disk—his “bhūḥ” is the head, “bhuvaḥ” are the arms, “svaḥ” are the supports. His secret teaching is “aha.” He destroys and casts off evil, who knows thus. Thus, O seeker, was the wisdom of the Self, Brahman, and immortality expounded—subtle, profound, and shining with truth.