Om. May we hear only what is auspicious, O gods; may our eyes behold only the good, O worshipful ones. With strong bodies and steady limbs, may we praise the divine and live out the full span granted by the gods. May Indra, renowned among the gods, grant us well-being; may Pūṣā, who knows all, bestow his blessings; may Tārkṣya, whose wheel is unbroken, protect us; and may Bṛhaspati, the wise, grant us peace. In the beginning, Brahmā, the first among the gods, arose as the creator and protector of all the worlds. He taught the supreme knowledge of Brahman—the foundation of all knowledge—to his eldest son, Atharvan. Atharvan, in turn, passed this sacred wisdom to Aṅgira, just as Brahmā had instructed. Aṅgira then taught it to Bhāradvāja, Satyavāha, who in turn shared it with Aṅgiras, explaining both the higher and the lower aspects of knowledge. In time, Śaunaka, a great householder, approached Aṅgiras with reverence and humility. He asked, “Revered sir, by knowing what does all this become known?” To this, Aṅgiras replied, “Two kinds of knowledge are to be known, as those wise in Brahman declare—the higher and the lower.” He explained, “Of these, the lower is the knowledge of the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharvaveda, as well as phonetics, ritual, grammar, etymology, meter, and astronomy. The higher is that knowledge by which the imperishable is attained.” He continued, “That imperishable is invisible, beyond grasp, without lineage or color, without eyes or ears, without hands or feet. It is eternal, all-pervading, extremely subtle, undecaying, and the source of all beings. This is what the wise perceive. Just as a spider projects and withdraws its web, as plants arise from the earth, as hair and nails grow from a living person, so does the universe arise from the imperishable. “Through austerity Brahman increases, and from that, food is produced. From food come breath, mind, truth, the worlds, and immortality through actions. He who is all-knowing, whose austerity is knowledge, from him arise Brahman, name, form, and food.” Aṅgiras then spoke of the rituals seen by the sages in the hymns, which in the Treta age were revealed in many forms. He said, “Practice these with discipline if you desire truth; this is your path to the world of good deeds. When the flame flickers in the well-kindled fire, offer your oblations at the proper time. But if one’s Agnihotra is performed without the new and full moon rites, without the four-monthly rites, without the first-fruits offering, and neglects hospitality, or if the offering is not made to Vaiśvadeva or is performed improperly, then seven worlds are destroyed for him. “The seven flickering tongues of the goddess flame are called Kālī, Karālī, Manojavā, Sulohitā, Sudhūmravarṇā, Sphuliṅginī, and Viśvarucī. Whoever acts among these shining flames, offering oblations at the proper time, is led by the rays of the sun to the place where the lord of the gods dwells alone. The bright oblations call, ‘Come, come!’ and the rays of the sun carry the sacrificer, praising him with sweet words—this is your virtuous, well-earned world of Brahman.” Yet Aṅgiras warned, “These sacrifices are but fragile rafts, described as eighteen kinds of inferior actions. Those who delight in these as the highest good, the deluded, return again to old age and death. Living in ignorance, thinking themselves wise, the deluded wander, battered about like the blind led by the blind. Children, dwelling in ignorance in many ways, think themselves accomplished. What the ritualists do not understand because of passion afflicts them; their worlds perish and they fall. “Those who see sacrificial and charitable acts as supreme, not knowing any higher good, enjoy the fruits of their deeds in heaven, but when their merit is exhausted, they return to this world or a lesser one. But those who practice austerity and faith, who dwell in the forests, peaceful, learned, and living by alms, purified, go by the sun’s path to where the immortal, imperishable Self resides. “Having examined the worlds gained by action, the Brahmin becomes disillusioned, for nothing uncreated is attained by action. To know that, he must approach a teacher, carrying fuel in hand, who is learned and established in Brahman. To the one who approaches properly, whose mind is tranquil and disciplined, the wise teacher declares the true knowledge of Brahman, by which the imperishable, true Person is known.” Aṅgiras then revealed a deeper truth: “Just as from a blazing fire thousands of sparks arise, all of the same form, so, gentle one, from the imperishable arise various beings, and into it they return. The divine, formless Person is both within and without, unborn, without breath or mind, pure, beyond the imperishable, higher than the highest. From Him arise the vital force, mind, all the senses, space, air, light, water, and earth—the support of the universe. “Fire is His head, the sun and moon His eyes, the directions His ears, speech and the Vedas His mouth; air is His vital force, the universe His heart, earth His feet—He is the inner Self of all beings. From Him comes fire, whose fuel is the sun; from the moon, rain; from rain, plants on earth. The man pours seed into the woman, and many creatures are born from the Person. “From Him come the Ṛg, Sāma, and Yajur Vedas, initiation, all sacrifices, rituals, offerings, the year, the sacrificer, and the worlds where the moon is purified and the sun shines. From Him, the gods are born in many forms, as are the Sādhyas, humans, animals, birds; the vital and outgoing breaths, rice and barley, austerity, faith, truth, celibacy, and law. “Seven vital forces arise from Him, seven flames, seven offerings; seven worlds in which the vital forces dwell, hidden in the cave, seven by seven. From Him flow all oceans and mountains; from Him pour all rivers of every form. From Him come all plants and their essences, by whom the inner Self abides among beings. “The Person alone is this entire universe—action, austerity, Brahman, the supreme nectar. Whoever knows this, hidden in the cave of the heart, shatters the knot of ignorance, gentle one. “This is the truth: Manifest, present, dwelling in the cave of the heart, the great abode is offered here. It moves, breathes, blinks—know this, which is both existence and non-existence, the most excellent and supreme knowledge among beings. That which is radiant, subtler than the subtlest, in which all worlds and their inhabitants are contained—that is the imperishable Brahman, that is the vital force, speech, mind; that is truth, immortality, that is to be known, gentle one, know it. “Take the Upanishad as the great bow, place the sharp arrow of meditation upon it; draw it with the mind absorbed in That, and know the imperishable as the target, gentle one. Om is the bow, the Self is the arrow, Brahman is said to be the target. It must be pierced with unwavering attention; become one with it, like an arrow. “Know that One Self in whom heaven, earth, and the space between are woven, along with the mind and all the life-forces; know only that Self, and let go of all other words—this alone is the bridge to immortality. As the spokes are held together in the hub of a wheel, so are all the channels united in that One; He moves within, manifesting in many ways. Meditate on the Self as Om—may you prosper and cross beyond darkness. “He who knows all, who is all-knowing, whose glory is manifest on earth—this Self is established in the luminous city of Brahman, in the supreme sky. Made of mind, leader of the life-forces, established in food, with the heart as his abode—by knowing Him, the wise behold the blissful, immortal form that shines forth. When that Supreme, both higher and lower, is seen, the knot of the heart is untied, all doubts are cut asunder, and all actions come to an end.” Thus, the sacred knowledge was passed down, illuminating the path to the imperishable, guiding seekers from ritual action to the realization of the immortal Self.