Kena and Other Upanishads
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18 Kena and Other Upanishads VOLUME18 THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO ©SriAurobindoAshramTrust2001 Published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department Printed at Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press, Pondicherry PRINTED IN INDIA Kena and Other Upanishads ii Publisher’s Note This volume comprises Sri Aurobindo’s translations of and com- mentaries on Upanishads other than the Isha Upanishad. (His writings on that Upanishad appear in Isha Upanishad, volume 17 of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SRI AUROBINDO.) It also in- cludes his translations of later Vedantic texts and writings on the Upanishads and Vedanta philosophy in general. The volume is divided into three parts. The first consists of translations and commentaries that were published during Sri Aurobindo’s lifetime. The pieces in this part, along with his final translation of and commentary on the Isha Upani- shad, are his most mature works of Upanishadic interpretation. The second and third parts consist of material from Sri Auro- bindo’s manuscripts. The second includes early translations of the Prashna, Mandukya, Aitareya and Taittiriya Upanishads, and incomplete translations of and commentaries on some other Upanishads and Vedantic texts. The third part comprises incom- plete and fragmentary writings on the Upanishads and Vedanta in general. All the texts have been checked against the relevant manu- script and printed versions. Guide to Editorial Notation The contents of Parts Two and Three of this volume were never prepared by Sri Aurobindo for publication. They have been transcribed from manuscripts that sometimes present textual difficulties. In this edition these problems have been indicated as far as possible by means of the notation shown below. Notation Textual Problem [.......] Word(s) lost through damage to the manuscript (at the beginning of a piece, sometimes indicates that a page or pages of the manuscript have been lost) [word] Word(s) omitted by the author or lost through dam- age to the manuscript that are required by grammar or sense, and that could be supplied by the editors [ ] Blank left by the author to be filled in later but left unfilled, which the editors were not able to fill [note] Situations requiring textual explication; all such information is printed in italics CONTENTS Part One Translations and Commentaries Published by Sri Aurobindo Kena Upanishad 3 Katha Upanishad 99 Mundaka Upanishad 129 Readings in the Taittiriya Upanishad 149 Part Two Translations and Commentaries from Manuscripts Section One. Introduction On Translating the Upanishads 163 Section Two. Complete Translations (circa 1900 – 1902) The Prusna Upanishad of the Athurvaveda 175 The Mandoukya Upanishad 193 The Aitereya Upanishad 197 Taittiriya Upanishad 206 Section Three. Incomplete Translations and Commentaries (circa 1902 – 1912) Svetasvatara Upanishad 235 Chhandogya Upanishad 250 Notes on the Chhandogya Upanishad 258 The Brihad Aranyak Upanishad 268 The Great Aranyaka: A Commentary on the Brihad Aranyak Upanishad 273 The Kaivalya Upanishad 288 Nila Rudra Upanishad 290 Section Four. Incomplete Commentaries on the Kena Upanishad (circa 1912 – 1914) Kena Upanishad: An Incomplete Commentary 297 A Commentary on the Kena Upanishad 311 Three Fragments of Commentary 313 Kena Upanishad: A Partial Translation with Notes 315 CONTENTS Section Five. Incomplete Translations of Two Vedantic Texts (circa 1900 – 1902) The Karikas of Gaudapada 319 Sadananda’s Essence of Vedanta 330 Part Three Writings on Vedanta Four Fragments 337 The Spirit of Hinduism 340 The Philosophy of the Upanishads 345 An Incomplete Work of Vedantic Exegesis 400 The Religion of Vedanta 413 Evolution in the Vedantic View 414 The Means of Realisation 421 A Fragmentary Chapter for a Work on Vedanta 424 God and Immortality 433 Part One Translations and Commentaries Published by Sri Aurobindo These texts were first published between 1909 and 1920. Sri Aurobindo later revised most of them. The revised versions are printed here. Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry, c. 1915–1918 4 Kena Upanishad The Kena Upanishad FIRST PART knEqt ptEt Eqt mn kn AZ Tm Et yt knEqtA vAcEmmA vdEt c o k u vod ynEt 1. By whom missioned falls the mind shot to its mark? By whom yoked moves the first life-breath forward on its paths? By whom impelled is this word that men speak? What god set eye and ear to their workings? oy o mnso mno yd vAco h vAc s u AZy AZ cqrEtmQy DFrA yAmAokAdmtA BvEt 2. That which is hearing of our hearing, mind of our mind, speech of our speech, that too is life of our life-breath and sight of our sight. The wise are released beyond and they pass from this world and become immortal. n t cgQCEt n vAg gQCEt no mn n Evo n EvjAnFmo yTtdnEfyAt aydv tEEdtAdTo aEvEdtAdED iEt fm pvqA y ntd yAccEr 3. There sight travels not, nor speech, nor the mind. We know It not nor can distinguish how one should teach of It: for It is other than the known; It is there above the unknown. It is so we have heard from men of old who declared That to our understanding. yAcAnyEdt yn vAgyt tdv b v EvE nd yEddmpAst 4. That which is unexpressed by the word, that by which the 6 Kena and Other Upanishads: Part One word is expressed, know That to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after here. ymnsA n mnt ynAhmno mtm tdv b v EvE nd yEddmpAst 5. That which thinks not by the mind,1 that by which the mind is thought, know That to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after here. yQcqA n pyEt yn cEq pyEt tdv b v EvE nd yEddmpAst 6. That which sees not with the eye,2 that by which one sees the eye’s seeings, know That to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after here. yQCoZ n fZoEt yn oEmd tm tdv b v EvE nd yEddmpAst 7. That which hears not with the ear,3 that by which the ear’s hearing is heard, know That to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after here. yAZn n AEZEt yn AZ ZFyt tdv b v EvE nd yEddmpAst 8. That which breathes not with the breath,4 that by which the life-breath is led forward in its paths, know That to be the Brahman and not this which men follow after here. 1 Or, “that which one thinks not with the mind”. 2 Or, “that which one sees not with the eye”. 3 Or, “that which one hears not with the ear”. 4 Or, “that which one breathes not (i.e. smells not) with the breath”. Kena Upanishad 7 SECOND PART yEd mys svdEt dBmvAEp nn v vT bZo pm ydy v ydy vd vT n mFmAymv t my EvEdtm 1. If thou thinkest that thou knowest It well, little indeed dost thou know the form of the Brahman. That of It which is thou, that of It which is in the gods, this thou hast to think out. I think It known. nAh my svdEt no n vdEt vd c yo ntd td no n vdEt vd c 2. I think not that I know It well and yet I know that It is not unknown to me. He of us who knows It, knows That; he knows that It is not unknown to him. yyAmt ty mt mt yy n vd s aEvAt EvjAntA EvAtmEvjAntAm 3. He by whom It is not thought out, has the thought of It; he by whom It is thought out, knows It not. It is unknown to the discernment of those who discern of It, by those who seek not to discern of It, It is discerned. EtboDEvEdt mtmmtv Eh Evdt aAmnA Evdt vFy EvyA Evdtmtm 4. When It is known by perception that reflects It, then one has the thought of It, for one finds immortality; by the self one finds the force to attain and by the knowledge one finds immortality. ih cdvdFdT symEt n cEdhAvdFmhtF EvnE Btq Btq EvEcy DFrA yAmAokAdmtA BvEt 5. If here one comes to that knowledge, then one truly is; if here one comes not to the knowledge, then great is the perdition. 8 Kena and Other Upanishads: Part One The wise distinguish That in all kinds of becomings and they pass forward from this world and become immortal. THIRD PART b h vd yo EvEjy ty h bZo Evjy vAd amhFyt t etAmAkmvAy EvjyomAkmvAy mEhmEt 1. The Eternal conquered for the gods and in the victory of the Eternal the gods grew to greatness. They saw, “Ours the victory, ours the greatness.” tqA EvjO tyo h AdbBv t yjAnt EkEmd y - EmEt 2. The Eternal knew their thought and appeared before them; and they knew not what was this mighty Daemon. tEnmbvjAtvd etEjAnFEh EkmtEmEt tTEt 3. They said to Agni, “O thou that knowest all things born, learn of this thing, what may be this mighty Daemon,” and he said, “So be it.” tdydvt tmyvdt kosFyEnvA ahmmFybvFjAtvdA vA ahmmFEt 4. He rushed towards the Eternal and It said to him, “Who art thou?” “I am Agni,” he said, “I am he that knows all things born.” tEmvEy Ek vFyEmypFd sv dhy yEdd pETyAEmEt 5. “Since such thou art, what is the force in thee?” “Even all this I could burn, all that is upon the earth.” tm tZ EndDAvthEt tdpyAy svjvn t ffAk dD s ydtEmEt tt ev Envvt ntdfk EvAt Kena Upanishad 9 6. The Eternal set before him a blade of grass; “This burn;” and he made towards it with all his speed, but could not burn it. There he ceased, and turned back; “I could not know of It, what might be this mighty Daemon.” aT vAymbvn vAyvtEjAnFEh EkmtEmEt tTEt 7.