Listen, then, to the ancient teaching as it unfolds. Whoever leaves this world without knowing his own true world, his own Self, is not embraced by the unknown; just as a Veda left unrecited or a duty left undone bears no fruit, so too do the greatest of good deeds become exhausted and pass away. Therefore, one must meditate upon the Self alone as one’s world. For the one who does so, his deeds are never exhausted; whatever he desires, he creates from his own Self. Indeed, this Self is the very world of all beings. When a person offers sacrifices, he attains the world of the gods; by recitation, the world of the sages; by desiring offspring or giving offerings to ancestors, the world of the ancestors; by serving and feeding humans, the world of humans; by providing grass and water to animals, the world of animals; and when creatures like dogs, birds, and insects in his house live by him, he attains the world of those beings. Just as one who seeks the well-being of all worlds, so all beings wish well for the one who knows this truth. This is something known and investigated by the wise. In the beginning, there was only the Self, one and without a second. The Self desired: “May I have a wife, then may I beget offspring, then may I possess wealth, then may I perform actions.” This is the full extent of desire; nothing more can be gained by wishing. Even now, when a person is alone, he desires in the same way: “May I have a wife, may I have offspring, may I have wealth, may I perform actions.” Until each of these is attained, he feels incomplete; his completeness lies in their fulfillment. Within this person, the mind is his Self, speech is his wife, breath is his offspring, sight is his human wealth—for by sight he finds what is beneficial—and hearing is his divine wealth, for by hearing he learns what is beneficial. The Self is his action, for by the Self he acts. All sacrifice, all animals, all persons, all that exists—everything is fivefold in nature. Whoever knows this attains all. By his intelligence and austerity, the Self generated seven kinds of food: one he made common to all, two he assigned to the gods, three he reserved for himself, and one he gave to the animals. In these foods, everything is established, both what breathes and what does not. Why do these foods not diminish, though they are always eaten? Because the one who knows their inexhaustibility partakes of food with awareness of its symbol, and thus reaches the gods, living upon strength. Of these seven foods, the one common to all is that which is eaten every day. Whoever worships this food is not overcome by evil, for it is mixed and shared among all. Two foods are assigned to the gods: the primary offering and the secondary offering. Thus, sacrifices are made to the gods in both main and subsidiary forms, such as the new and full moon sacrifices. Therefore, one should always offer oblations. One food is given to the animals—milk. At first, both humans and animals live on milk. When a child is born, clarified butter is given or applied to the breast. Likewise, when a calf is born, it is said, “It is not yet eating grass.” In milk, everything is established, both what breathes and what does not. It is said, “By offering milk throughout the year, one conquers death again.” But truly, it is not the continuous offering, but the knowledge that on whatever day one offers, that day one conquers death again. Thus, knowing this, one gives food to all the gods. And so, though these foods are always consumed, they are never diminished. The person is the very source of inexhaustibility, for he generates food again and again by intelligence and action; if he did not, food would dwindle. He eats food with its symbol—the mouth—and by this, he reaches the gods, living upon strength. Three foods the Self reserved for himself: mind, speech, and breath. When the mind is elsewhere, one neither sees nor hears; for by mind alone one sees and hears. All experiences—desire, resolve, doubt, faith, lack of faith, steadiness, unsteadiness, shame, intelligence, and fear—arise only in the mind. Even when touched from behind, one knows by the mind. All sound depends on speech, and speech depends on it. Breath consists of inhalation, exhalation, diffused breath, upward breath, and equalizing breath; all is made of breath. The Self is formed of speech, mind, and breath. There are three worlds: this world is speech, the intermediate world is mind, and the heavenly world is breath. There are three Vedas: speech is the Rig Veda, mind is the Yajur Veda, breath is the Sama Veda. There are gods, ancestors, and humans: speech is the gods, mind is the ancestors, breath is the humans. There are father, mother, and offspring: mind is the father, speech is the mother, breath is the offspring. All that is known, to be known, or unknown exists only in speech, mind, and breath. Whatever is known is the form of speech; speech is the knower and protector of it. Whatever is to be known is the form of mind; mind is what is to be known and protects it. Whatever is unknown is the form of breath; breath is the unknown and protects by becoming that. For speech, the earth is the body, and its luminous form is fire; as much as there is of speech, so much is the earth and fire. For the mind, the sky is the body, and its luminous form is the sun; as much as there is of mind, so much is the sky and the sun. These two, united as a pair, give birth to breath. He is Indra, unmatched; the second is with a rival. He who knows this has no rival. For breath, water is the body, and its luminous form is the moon; as much as there is of breath, so much are the waters and the moon. All these are equal and infinite. Whoever worships them as finite gains only a finite world, but whoever worships them as infinite attains the infinite. He is the year, Prajapati, with sixteen parts. Of these, the nights are fifteen parts; the sixteenth part is fixed. He is filled by the nights and diminished by the waters. On the night of the new moon, with this sixteenth part, he enters all living beings, and is born again with the dawn. Therefore, one should not cut off the breath of living beings on that night, not even a lizard, for the sake of this deity. This year, Prajapati, with sixteen parts, is also the person who knows thus. For him, wealth is the fifteen parts; the Self is the sixteenth. He is filled by wealth and diminished by the waters. Therefore, the Self is not wealth; the Self is superior to wealth. Even one who has all possessions, if he lives by the Self, is said to live by the superior. There are three worlds: the world of humans, won by a son; the world of ancestors, won by action; and the world of gods, won by knowledge. Of these, the world of the gods is highest—thus, knowledge is praised. When a man feels his end approaching, he addresses his son: “You are Brahman, you are the sacrifice, you are the world.” The son replies, “I am Brahman, I am the sacrifice, I am the world.” Whatever was left unsaid is unified as Brahman; all sacrifices as the sacrifice; all worlds as the world. Thus, everything is unified. “Let me not be separated from all this,” he prays. Therefore, the instructed son is to be cherished. When one who knows thus departs, he enters his son together with his breaths. If any debt or wrong remains, the son releases him from it; hence he is called “son.” With a son, one stands firm in this world, and into him these immortal breaths enter. From the earth and fire, divine speech enters him; whatever he utters comes to be. From the sky and sun, divine mind enters him; by it, he is joyful and does not grieve. From the waters and the moon, divine breath enters him; this breath moves and does not move, is not afflicted, and does not perish. One who knows thus becomes the Self of all beings. As this deity is, so is he; as all beings support this deity, so all beings support him. If creatures grieve, it does not affect him; he goes to the blessed world, for evil does not reach the gods. Now, about the vow: Prajapati created the actions, and each claimed its own function—speech to speak, the eye to see, the ear to hear, and so on. Death, in the form of fatigue, seized and overcame them, binding them so that speech, sight, and hearing all become tired. But death could not seize the middle breath. The actions resolved to know this breath: “This one is the best—he moves and does not move, is not afflicted, and does not perish. Let us all become his form.” So they all became his form, and thus they are called “breaths.” In a family where this is known, they say, “He is of noble lineage.” If those who know thus compete and exhaust themselves, they die at the end. Such is the truth about the Self. Among the gods, too, each declared its function—fire to blaze, the sun to heat, the moon to shine. As the middle breath is chief among the breaths, Vayu is chief among the gods; the others fade, but not Vayu. Vayu is the unfailing deity. A verse is recited: “From where the sun rises and where it sets”—from the vital breath it rises, into the vital breath it sets. The gods made him the law; he is today and tomorrow. Whatever they did before, they do now as well. Therefore, one should observe only one vow: “From the vital breath and from the waters, may neither evil nor death reach me.” One who observes this attains union and companionship with this deity, knowing thus. There are three: name, form, and action. Speech is the source of all names; all names arise from it. This is their chant, their Brahman, for it bears all names. Among forms, the eye is their source; all forms arise from it. This is their chant, their Brahman, for it bears all forms. Thus, the teaching flows, showing the unity of Self, the inexhaustibility of food and breath, the interconnection of all beings, and the supremacy of knowledge. Whoever knows thus, becomes one with all, and is never separated from the whole.