In ancient times, the sages spoke of the Person, the inexhaustible source, who brings forth food again and again, never depleting his abundance. He who truly understands this inexhaustibility becomes inexhaustible himself. By his intelligence and actions, the Person continuously generates food; without this, food would diminish. He partakes of food through its symbol—the mouth—by which he eats and, sustained by strength, reaches the realm of the gods, as the sacred hymns proclaim. Yet, the Person reserved three powers for himself: mind, speech, and breath. These he kept as his own. For, as we know, when the mind wanders, we neither see nor hear; it is through the mind alone that seeing and hearing truly occur. Within the mind dwell desire, resolve, doubt, faith, lack of faith, steadiness, unsteadiness, shame, intelligence, and fear—all these are but forms of mind. Thus, even when touched from behind, it is by the mind that one knows. All sound depends on speech, and speech depends on sound. Breath manifests as inhalation, exhalation, the diffused breath, the upward breath, and the equalizing breath—all of these are forms of breath. This Self, then, is woven of speech, mind, and breath. Three worlds arise from these: speech is this world, mind is the intermediate world, and breath is the heavenly world. Likewise, there are three Vedas: speech is the Rig Veda, mind is the Yajur Veda, and breath is the Sama Veda. Among the beings, speech is the gods, mind is the ancestors, and breath is humanity. Within the family, mind is the father, speech is the mother, and breath is the offspring. All that is known, to be known, or unknown rests in speech, mind, or breath respectively. That which is known is the form of speech; speech is the knower and protector of what it becomes. That which is to be known is the form of mind; mind is what is to be known and, becoming that, mind protects it. The unknown is the form of the vital breath, for breath itself is the unknown; by becoming that, breath protects him. For speech, the earth is the body, and its radiant form is fire; as much as there is of speech, so much is the earth and so much is fire. For mind, the sky is the body, and its radiant form is the sun; as much as there is of mind, so much is the sky and the sun. These two, sky and earth, unite as a pair, and from them the vital breath is born. This breath is Indra, without rival; the second, the mind, has a rival. He who knows this stands without rival. For the vital breath, water is the body, and its radiant form is the moon; as much as there is of breath, so much are the waters and the moon. All these—speech, mind, and breath—are equal and infinite. Whoever worships them as finite conquers only the finite world, but those who worship them as infinite attain the infinite. This Person is the year, Prajapati, composed of sixteen parts. Fifteen are the nights, and the sixteenth is fixed. He is filled by the nights and diminished by the waters. On the night of the new moon, with his sixteenth part, he enters all living beings and is reborn in the morning. Therefore, one should not harm any living creature on that night, even a lizard, for the sake of this deity. The year, Prajapati with sixteen parts, is also the person who knows thus. Of his parts, wealth is fifteen, and the self is the sixteenth. He is filled by wealth and diminished by the waters. Thus, the self is higher than wealth; even if one possesses all, it is the self that is truly superior. There are three worlds: the world of humans, conquered by a son; the world of ancestors, won by action; and the world of gods, attained by knowledge. Of these, the world of the gods is the highest; therefore, knowledge is most praised. When a man is near death, 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, all is unified. The instructed son is to be cherished, for when one who knows thus departs, he enters his son along with his breaths. Any debts or wrongs are released by the son, and so he is called 'son,' for through him one stands firm and the immortal breaths enter him. From the earth and fire, divine speech enters the son; whatever he utters comes to be. From the sky and sun, divine mind enters him, granting joy and freedom from sorrow. From the waters and moon, the divine vital breath enters him, moving and unmoving, untroubled and imperishable. He who knows thus becomes the self of all beings, supported by all as the deity is supported by all. If beings grieve, he remains untouched, for he goes to the blessed world where evil does not reach. Prajapati, the Lord of beings, created actions. Each action claimed its domain: “I will speak,” said speech; “I will see,” said the eye; “I will hear,” said the ear; and so on. Death, in the form of fatigue, overcame them, binding them so that speech, sight, and hearing become weary. Yet, death could not seize the middle breath. The other powers recognized the greatness of this middle breath, which moves and does not move, is untroubled and does not perish, and they all became its form. Thus, in a family where this knowledge is present, they say, “He is of noble lineage.” If those who know this compete and exhaust themselves, they die at the end. Such is the nature of the self. Among the gods, each claimed its function: “I will blaze,” said fire; “I will heat,” said the sun; “I will shine,” said the moon. But among them, as among the breaths, Vayu, the wind, is chief and unfailing, never fading as the others do. A verse is recited: “From where the sun rises and where it sets”—it rises from and sets into the vital breath. The gods made breath the law, the present and the future. Whatever was done before is done now. Therefore, one should hold only one vow: “From the vital breath and the waters, may neither evil nor death reach me.” Observing this, one attains union with the deity who knows thus. There are three: name, form, and action. Speech is the source of all names, the chant, and the Brahman of names. The eye is the source of all forms, the chant, and the Brahman of forms. The self is the source of all actions, the chant, and the Brahman of actions. This triad is one, with the self as their unity. This immortal is concealed by truth: breath is immortal, name and form are truth, and by these, breath is hidden. At this time, Dripta Balaki, son of Anu of the Gargya lineage, approached Ajatashatru, king of Kashi, and declared, “I will teach you of Brahman.” Ajatashatru replied, “For this, we will give a thousand. Janaka! Janaka! So many seek him.” Gargya began: “That person who is in the sun—I worship him as Brahman.” Ajatashatru replied, “Do not speak to me of this. He is the ruler, head of all beings; I worship him.” Whoever worships thus becomes ruler and head of all. Gargya continued: “That person who is in the moon—I worship him as Brahman.” Ajatashatru answered, “Do not speak to me of this. Soma, the king, is great and wears white garments; I worship him.” Whoever worships thus is daily reborn, and his food never diminishes. Gargya said, “That person who is in lightning—I worship him as Brahman.” Ajatashatru replied, “Do not speak to me of this. He is radiant; I worship him.” Whoever worships thus becomes radiant, and so do his descendants. Gargya said, “That person who is in space—I worship him as Brahman.” Ajatashatru answered, “Do not speak to me of this. He is full and unmoving; I worship him.” Whoever worships thus is filled with offspring and cattle, and his progeny do not depart from this world. Gargya said, “That person who is in wind—I worship him as Brahman.” Ajatashatru replied, “Do not speak to me of this. He is Indra, unconquered and leader of the hosts; I worship him.” Whoever worships thus becomes victorious and unconquered, surpassing others. Gargya said, “That person who is in fire—I worship him as Brahman.” Ajatashatru answered, “Do not speak to me of this. He is powerful; I worship him.” Whoever worships thus becomes powerful, as do his descendants. Gargya said, “That person who is in water—I worship him as Brahman.” Ajatashatru replied, “Do not speak to me of this. He is beautiful; I worship him.” Whoever worships thus is approached by beauty, and nothing unseemly comes to him; beauty is born from him. Gargya said, “That person who is in the mirror—I worship him as Brahman.” Ajatashatru replied, “Do not speak to me of this. He is shining; I worship him.” Whoever worships thus becomes shining, as do his offspring, and wherever he goes, he outshines all. Thus, the sages revealed the many facets of the Self, the inexhaustible source, and the unity underlying all names, forms, and actions. Those who know and worship thus, truly become one with the infinite.