Once, Uddalaka Aruni sought to teach his son, Śvetaketu, the nature of the Self. He began by asking Śvetaketu to abstain from food for fifteen days, but permitted him to drink water as he wished, for breath is made of water—and if one does not drink, breath itself is interrupted. Śvetaketu followed his father’s instruction and fasted for fifteen days. When he returned, Uddalaka asked, “What shall I recite, sir?” Śvetaketu replied, “The Rig, dear one, the Yajus, the Sama.” But Śvetaketu confessed, “Sir, nothing comes to mind.” Uddalaka explained, “Just as when a large fire burns and only a single ember the size of a firefly remains, it cannot burn much; so, of your sixteen parts, only one remains, and with that you cannot perceive the Vedas. When you eat, you will understand.” After Śvetaketu ate, he returned to his father, and whatever was asked, he answered everything. Uddalaka said, “Just as when only one ember remains, if it is kindled with grass, it blazes greatly; so, when only one of your sixteen parts remained, it was kindled by food and blazed forth. Now you perceive the Vedas. Mind is made of food, breath is made of water, and speech is made of fire.” Śvetaketu understood. Uddalaka continued, “My dear, understand the state of sleep. When a person sleeps, he becomes united with Being, attaining his own nature. That is why we say, ‘he sleeps,’ for he has gone to his own self. Just as a bird tied by a string flies in every direction but returns to where it is bound, so the mind, after roaming everywhere, returns to the vital breath, for the mind is bound to the breath. “Now, understand hunger and thirst. When a person eats, the waters carry what is eaten to the appropriate place. Just as cows, horses, and humans are called by their names, so the waters are called ‘food.’ From this, the shoot arises. This does not arise without a root. Where could its root be, except in food? By means of the shoot, seek the root in food; by means of the shoot, seek the root in fire; by means of the shoot, seek the root in Being. All creatures, my dear, have Being as their root, their abode, their foundation. “When a person is thirsty, fire carries what is drunk to the appropriate place. Fire is called ‘drink.’ From this, the shoot arises. Its root is in water. Thus, by means of the shoot, seek the root in fire; by means of the shoot, seek the root in Being. All creatures have Being as their root, their abode, their foundation. Just as these three elements—food, water, fire—enter the person and each become threefold, so it was said before: when a person departs, speech merges in the mind, mind in breath, breath in fire, and fire in the highest deity. “That which is this subtle essence, all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. That you are, Śvetaketu.” Śvetaketu asked for further explanation, and Uddalaka agreed. Uddalaka then said, “Just as bees gather honey from the juices of various trees and blend them into one essence, so too, all creatures, having merged with Being, do not know, ‘We have merged with Being.’ Whether they become a tiger, lion, wolf, boar, insect, moth, gnat, or mosquito—whatever they become, that they become. “That which is this subtle essence, all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. That you are, Śvetaketu.” Śvetaketu asked again, and Uddalaka continued. “Dear one, rivers in the east flow eastward, and those in the west flow westward. All, coming from the ocean, merge into the ocean and become the ocean itself. There, they do not know, ‘I am this one, I am that one.’ In the same way, all creatures, having come from Being, do not know, ‘We have come from Being.’ Whether they become a tiger, lion, wolf, boar, insect, moth, gnat, or mosquito—whatever they become, that they become. “That which is this subtle essence, all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. That you are, Śvetaketu.” Again, Śvetaketu asked for further clarification. Uddalaka drew Śvetaketu’s attention to a great tree. “If someone strikes the root, the middle, or the top, it bleeds sap while living. Pervaded by the living self, it stands rejoicing, drinking in nourishment. If life leaves one branch, that branch withers; if it leaves another, that one withers; if it leaves all, all wither. When life departs, it dies; but life itself does not die. “That which is this subtle essence, all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. That you are, Śvetaketu.” Śvetaketu asked for more. Uddalaka asked Śvetaketu to bring a fruit of the banyan tree. When Śvetaketu broke it, he saw very small seeds. Uddalaka asked him to break one of the seeds. Śvetaketu replied, “Nothing at all, revered sir.” Uddalaka said, “You do not see this subtle essence, yet from this alone, the great banyan tree stands. Believe this, Somya. “That which is this subtle essence, all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. You are that, Śvetaketu.” Again, Śvetaketu asked for further explanation. Uddalaka instructed, “Place this salt in water, and come to me in the morning.” Śvetaketu did so. When he searched for the salt the next day, he could not find it. Uddalaka asked him to taste the water from different places; everywhere, it was salty. “Though you do not see it here, it is truly present.” “That which is this subtle essence, all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. You are that, Śvetaketu.” Again, Śvetaketu asked for more. Uddalaka told a parable: “Suppose a man is blindfolded and brought from Gandhāra, then released among people. He would wander in every direction, blindfolded, lost. If someone removes his blindfold and tells him the way, then, asking from village to village, a wise man would reach Gandhāra. In the same way, a man who has a teacher knows, but only for as long as he is not freed; then he attains.” “That which is this subtle essence, all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. You are that, Śvetaketu.” Again, Śvetaketu asked for further teaching. Uddalaka explained, “When a man is afflicted, his relatives gather and ask, ‘Do you know me?’ As long as his speech has not merged in his mind, his mind in breath, breath in fire, fire in the supreme deity, he knows them. But when speech merges in mind, mind in breath, breath in fire, fire in the supreme deity, then he does not know them. “That which is this subtle essence, all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. You are that, Śvetaketu.” Śvetaketu requested more. Uddalaka continued, “When a man is brought holding something stolen, people say, ‘He stole, he committed theft, the axe burns him.’ If he is the doer, he makes himself false, accepts the burning axe, and is burned, then killed. But if he is not the doer, he makes himself true, accepts the burning axe, and is not burned, then released. Just as he would not be burned there, so all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. You are that, Śvetaketu.” Śvetaketu understood. Later, Nārada approached Sanatkumāra and said, “Revered one, teach me.” Sanatkumāra replied, “Approach me with what you know; then I will speak further.” Nārada said, “Revered one, I study the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharva as the fourth, history and ancient lore as the fifth Veda, the Veda of the Vedas, the science of ancestors, numbers, divination, treasure, speech, single texts, knowledge of the gods, knowledge of Brahman, knowledge of beings, knowledge of warriors, knowledge of stars, knowledge of serpents and spirits. This, revered one, I study.” Thus, the search for the Self continued, guided by the wisdom of the teacher, revealing again and again: That which is this subtle essence, all this has that as its self. That is the true. That is the Self. You are that, Śvetaketu.