Om. May my speech be firmly rooted in my mind, and may my mind be established in my speech. O Self, reveal yourself to me; may I never forget the teachings of the Veda. May what I have heard always remain with me. Through this study, may I harmonize day and night. I will speak what is right, I will speak what is true. May That protect me; may That protect the teacher. May it protect us both. Once, Citra, the son of Gargyayani, chose Aruni to serve as his priest. He sent Aruni’s son, Svetaketu, to perform a sacrifice, instructing, “Let him officiate.” When Svetaketu sat to perform the rites, Citra questioned him, “O son of Gautama, is there a world where you will place me after knowing it, or will you place me elsewhere?” Svetaketu replied, “I do not know this. Let me ask my teacher.” He went to his father and asked, “Did you not teach me this? How should I answer?” Aruni admitted, “I too do not know. We, like those who sit in the assembly, study the sacred texts and accept what others give us. Let us both go and learn.” So, carrying firewood as a sign of humility, they approached Citra Gargyayani. Citra welcomed them, saying, “Gautama, you have come as a true seeker. Come, I will instruct you.” Citra began: “All those who depart from this world go to the moon. By their vital breaths, the waxing phase of the moon is nourished. In the waning phase, the moon does not generate offspring. The moon is the gateway to the heavenly world. Whoever can answer the moon’s question is released and proceeds; whoever cannot is sent back to this world as rain, and from rain, is reborn as a worm, insect, bird, tiger, lion, fish, human, or whatever else, according to his deeds and knowledge. Upon returning, he is asked, ‘Who are you?’ He should reply, ‘I am born of the wise seasons, from the seed of the fifteenfold father, from the paternal line. Do not cast me into the mother; direct me to the father as the agent. Let the seasons, the mortals, take up the body for me. By this truth and austerity, I am the season, I am the offspring. Who are you?’ Thus, he is released.” Citra continued: “Having attained the path of the gods, the soul comes first to the world of fire, then to the world of wind, then to the world of Varuna, to the world of the sun, to the world of Indra, to the world of Prajapati, and finally to the world of Brahman. On this ascent, he encounters moments of seeking, the river Viraja, the Sāla tree, the city Samsthāna, the palace Aparājita, and the two gatekeepers, Indra and Prajapati. There is the throne Vibhupramita, the wise seat Vicakṣaṇā, the couch Amitaujā, the beloved Priyā, the beautiful Pratirūpā, as well as flowers, rivers, mothers, and celestial nymphs. By the river, the mothers come to greet him. Then Brahman himself hurries toward him, wondering, ‘By my glory, has he reached the ageless river, or will he be made to age?’” At this, five hundred Apsarases, celestial nymphs, rush toward the soul: a hundred with hands powdered, a hundred bearing fruit, a hundred with ointments, and a hundred with garlands. Brahman adorns the soul with divine ornaments. Thus adorned, knowing Brahman, he attains Brahman alone. He comes to the lake of the heart and crosses it with his mind, while those who do not know sink there. He passes the moments of seeking, which flee from him. He crosses the river Viraja with his mind, shaking off all good and evil deeds. His dear relatives follow his good deeds, his not dear ones his evil deeds. Just as one running with a chariot looks back at the wheel, so he looks back at day and night, at all pairs of opposites, at all his deeds. Purified, knowing Brahman, he attains Brahman alone. The soul then comes to the Ilā tree, fragrant with Brahman; to the city Samsthāna, tasting of Brahman; to the palace Aparājita, shining with Brahman’s brilliance. At the two gates, Indra and Prajapati step aside for him. He comes to the throne Vibhupramita, entered by Brahman’s glory, and to the wise seat Vicakṣaṇā, whose legs and crossbars are the sacred hymns. This seat is wisdom itself, for by wisdom one sees. He comes to the couch Amitaujā, constructed of the past and future, of hymns and sacred chants, with Soma-juice as its mattress, the Udgītha as its covering, and prosperity as its pillow. On this couch sits Brahman. The soul ascends, and Brahman asks, ‘Who are you?’ He should reply: ‘I am the season, I am the offspring, born from space as the womb. O wife, you are the year, the radiant, the being, the self of beings. You are my self; what you are, that am I.’ Brahman asks, ‘Who am I?’ He should reply, ‘Truth.’ What is that truth? That which is other than the gods and the breaths is the real; that which is the gods and the breaths is the true. All this is expressed as ‘truth.’ All this is that; all this are you.’ Thus is he taught. A verse declares: ‘The Yajus is the belly, the Sāman the head, this is the immutable form of the Ṛc.’ One is to be known as Brahman, the seer, the great one made of Brahman. Brahman asks, ‘By what do I obtain male names?’ He should reply, ‘By breath.’ ‘By what female names?’ ‘By speech.’ ‘By what neuter names?’ ‘By mind.’ ‘By what scents?’ ‘By smell.’ ‘By what forms?’ ‘By sight.’ ‘By what sounds?’ ‘By hearing.’ ‘By what tastes?’ ‘By the tongue.’ ‘By what actions?’ ‘By the hands.’ ‘By what pleasures and pains?’ ‘By the body.’ ‘By what joy, delight, and procreation?’ ‘By the generative organ.’ ‘By what movement?’ ‘By the feet.’ ‘By what are thoughts and desires known?’ ‘By intelligence.’ Thus is he instructed. Water, indeed, is my world and yours. Whoever knows thus, conquers and attains that individuality. Kauṣītaki declared: “Breath is Brahman. For this breath, which is Brahman, mind is the messenger, speech the attendant, sight the body, hearing the announcer. All the deities bring offerings unasked to this breath, which is Brahman; likewise, all beings bring offerings unasked to one who knows thus. Therefore, one should not ask anything from one who sits near. Just as, after begging in a village and not obtaining, one sits down, saying, ‘I will not eat what is not given,’ so, if those in front refuse, they say, ‘We will give.’ This is the law for the one who asks. Otherwise, they say, ‘We will give,’ but do not.” Paiṅgya affirmed: “Breath is Brahman. For this breath, which is Brahman, speech is beyond; sight is restrained by it; sight is beyond; hearing is restrained by it; hearing is beyond; mind is restrained by it; mind is beyond; breath is restrained by it. To this breath, all the deities bring offerings unasked; likewise, all beings bring offerings unasked to him who knows thus. Therefore, one should not ask for anything from one who sits near.” As for securing a treasure, when one desires a single treasure, on the full or new moon, or during an auspicious star, having kindled and prepared the fire, facing east or south, one offers clarified butter with prayers to speech, breath, sight, hearing, mind, and intelligence, each as the goddess who secures. Having smelled the smoke and anointed his limbs with ghee, he states his purpose or sends a messenger, and he surely obtains what he seeks. For divine remembrance, when someone dear wishes to be remembered, or for whom this is done, on a festival day, he offers the same oblations, saying, ‘I offer your speech into me, svaha,’ and so on for sight, hearing, mind, and intelligence. After the ritual, he seeks contact or remains silent, and surely becomes dear, and is remembered. The evening and morning meal is called the intermediate Agnihotra. As long as a person speaks, he cannot breathe; then, he offers breath into speech. As long as he breathes, he cannot speak; then, he offers speech into breath. These are the endless, immortal oblations, offered continually, both waking and sleeping, without interruption. Other oblations, which have an end, are actions; thus, the wise men of old did not perform the Agnihotra with those. Śuṣkabhṛṅgara taught: “The hymn is Brahman. Meditate on it as the Ṛc, Yajus, and Sāman; all beings honor, unite with, and bow to one who knows this for excellence. Meditate on it as prosperity, fame, and brilliance. The sacrificer shapes his own self as this brick made of action, weaving the Yajus, Ṛc, and Sāman into it. This is the self of all the threefold knowledge. Whoever knows thus, becomes that self.” Among the all-conquering meditations of the Kauṣītaki, one should, after proper purification, meditate on the rising sun: ‘You are radiance; remove my sin.’ At midday: ‘You are the up-radiance; remove my sin.’ At sunset: ‘You are the down-radiance; remove my sin.’ Whatever sin is committed by day and night is removed. On the new moon, one should meditate on the moon in the west, casting two green blades of grass, praying for purity and immortality, for the increase of breath, offspring, and cattle, reciting the prescribed verses. On the full moon, one meditates on the moon in the east, recognizing Soma as the king, Prajapati, Agni, the eagle, and the all-consuming face, praying that none of these faces consume him, and for the increase of breath, offspring, and cattle. When entering the bedchamber, one should touch the heart of his wife, praying for purity and the well-being of their children, that the ancestors may not depart before them. When returning from a journey, one should touch the head of his son, blessing him with long life, firmness, and prosperity, giving him a name, and invoking the blessings of the gods. Now, concerning the dissolution of the divine: When fire burns, that is Brahman shining forth. When it ceases, its radiance goes to the sun, its breath to the wind. When the sun is visible, that is Brahman; when it is not, its radiance goes to the moon, its breath to the wind. When the moon shines, that is Brahman; when it sets, its radiance goes to lightning, its breath to the wind. When lightning flashes, that is Brahman; when it does not, its radiance and breath go to the wind. All these deities enter the wind and, having died there, are not lost but rise again. So it is with the self: when one speaks, that is Brahman shining forth; when speech ceases, its radiance goes to the eye, its breath to breath. When one sees, that is Brahman; when sight ceases, its radiance goes to the ear, its breath to breath. When one hears, that is Brahman; when hearing ceases, its radiance goes to the mind, its breath to breath. When one contemplates, that is Brahman; when contemplation ceases, its radiance and breath go to breath. All these faculties enter into breath and, having died there, are not lost but rise again. If two wise men, knowing this, should approach from opposite directions, neither could overcome the one who knows. But those who hate him, and whom he himself hates, all perish. Now, the attainment of the highest: All the deities, contending for supremacy, departed from the body, leaving it as if lifeless. Speech entered, and there was speech, but life was absent. Sight entered, and there was sight, but life was absent. Hearing entered, and there was hearing, but life was absent. Mind entered, and there was thought, but life was absent. Finally, breath entered, and the body arose. The gods, recognizing the supremacy of breath, united with breath as the self of wisdom, and together departed from this world, attaining heaven.