The Heritage of the Brahmans
It is said that long ago, in the childhood of the world, the senses were so fine that we could… Read More »The Heritage of the Brahmans
Oriental Department Papers
Chandogya Upanishad 3:12-16 (Heart, Will, Life)
[Translation] The divine Song, verily, is all their being, whatsoever there is; and the Word is the divine Song. The… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 3:12-16 (Heart, Will, Life)
Chandogya Upanishad 3:1-11 (Honey for the Gods)
[Translation] That sun is honey for the bright powers; the heaven is the curved support of it; the mid-world is… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 3:1-11 (Honey for the Gods)
Vivekachudamani (Crest-Jewel of Wisdom)
First Steps on the Path Prologue (Verses 1–15) I bow before Govinda, the objectless object of final success in the… Read More »Vivekachudamani (Crest-Jewel of Wisdom)
Aitareya Upanishad (Father, Mother and Son)
[Translation] Self was here verily in the beginning; nothing else opposing at all. He beheld, saying: Let me now put… Read More »Aitareya Upanishad (Father, Mother and Son)
The Noble Eightfold Path
I. There are two extremes, Brothers, that he who has renounced should shun. On the one side, the constant following… Read More »The Noble Eightfold Path
Chandogya Upanishad 1:1-7 (The Mysteries of Sound 1)
Note: It will be advisable to study the Commentary that follows, before reading this translation. [Translation] OM: let a man… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 1:1-7 (The Mysteries of Sound 1)
Chandogya Upanishad 4:1-2 (An Old Legend)
[Translation] Janashruti, the grandson of Janashruta, was full of faith, a giver of many gifts, bestowing much cooked food. He… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 4:1-2 (An Old Legend)
Taittiriya Upanishad 2 (The Lotus of the Bliss of the Eternal)
II.[Translation] The knower of the Eternal obtains the supreme; therefore this is declared: Real, wisdom, endless is the Eternal; he… Read More »Taittiriya Upanishad 2 (The Lotus of the Bliss of the Eternal)
The Races of Ancient India
Of the Brahmans, white is the color; of the Kshattriyas, red; of the Vaishyas, yellow is the color; of the… Read More »The Races of Ancient India
The Warrior
Seership is of the Self; actor-ship, of the powers. For, as the great King, even without being engaged himself, becomes… Read More »The Warrior
Kena Upanishad (By Whom?)
[Translation] By whom commanded does the mind go forth? By whom compelled does the first life go forth? By whom… Read More »Kena Upanishad (By Whom?)
The Earliest Races
[I.] At the beginning of the formative period, in the first of the four ages, the Evolver put forth beings.… Read More »The Earliest Races
The Hymn of the Spirit
Thousand-headed is Spirit, thousand-eyed, thousand-footed; he wrapping the world altogether, overpassed it by a space of ten fingers. Spirit verily… Read More »The Hymn of the Spirit
Lovers of the East: Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765-1837)
A satirical critic of our orientalists once said that their capacity, like the Word divine in the heavens, had three… Read More »Lovers of the East: Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765-1837)
Chandogya Upanishad 6:1-7 (First Principles 1)
[Translation] There lived once Shvetaketu, Aruni’s grandson; his father addressed him, saying: —Shvetaketu, go, learn the service of the Eternal;… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 6:1-7 (First Principles 1)
Taittiriya Upanishad 1 (The Lotus of the Teaching)
I. [Translation] Om Bless us Mitra; bless us Varuna; bless us Aryaman; bless us Indra, Vrhaspati; bless us wide-stepping Vishnu.… Read More »Taittiriya Upanishad 1 (The Lotus of the Teaching)
Mundaka Upanishad (The Two Wisdoms)
I. [Translation] The Evolver first of the bright ones came into being, the maker of the whole, the guardian of… Read More »Mundaka Upanishad (The Two Wisdoms)
Chandogya Upanishad 1:8-2:21 (The Mysteries of Sound 2)
[Translation] Three, verily, were skilled in the up-singing Shilaka Shalavatya, Chaikitayana Dalbhya, Pravahana Jaivala. They said: In the up-singing, indeed,… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 1:8-2:21 (The Mysteries of Sound 2)
The Songs of the Master
I. In the Bhagavad Gita, first translated and best known of all the Sacred Books of the East, there is… Read More »The Songs of the Master
The Dream of Life
Dream, wherein the Self is mirrored, has two, powers,—to extend and to envelope; enveloping the habitual self and its world,… Read More »The Dream of Life
Lovers of the East: Anquetil Duperron (1731-1805)
Who opened the doors of the east to the west? Who brought to the west the light of the east?… Read More »Lovers of the East: Anquetil Duperron (1731-1805)
The Meaning of OM
Mandukya Upanishad The unchanging Om is the All. Its expansion is, what has been, what is, what shall be. And… Read More »The Meaning of OM
“Vita Brevis”
Whither are gone the great lords of the earth, with their might of chariots and armies? The earth, that witnessed… Read More »“Vita Brevis”
Sankara, the Teacher
The Upanishads, Buddha, and Sankara: these are the three great lights of Indian wisdom. The Upanishads far away in the… Read More »Sankara, the Teacher
Nala and the Gods (Mahabharata)
And when the king of the Nishadhas had been chosen by the daughter of Bhima, the lords of the worlds… Read More »Nala and the Gods (Mahabharata)
Chandogya Upanishad 6:8-16 (First Principles 2)
[Translation] Aruna’s son Uddalaka addressed his son Shvetaketu, saying: —Learn from me, dear, the reality about sleep. When a man… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 6:8-16 (First Principles 2)
King Nala’s Rivals
[Translation] When a fair time had come, and a lucky day and hour, King Bhima called the lords of the… Read More »King Nala’s Rivals
Chandogya Upanishad 2:22-24 (The Mysteries of Sound 3)
[Translation] I select and assign the different notes of the chant. The animal note is the up-singing of the Fire-lord.… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 2:22-24 (The Mysteries of Sound 3)
The Sorrows of Damayanti
Thereon Damayanti, seeing King Nala, ruler of men, thus distraught, his thoughts wrapped up in the play, herself not distraught… Read More »The Sorrows of Damayanti
The Great Upanishads
“From every page of the Upanishads, deep, original, lofty thoughts step forth to meet us while a high and holy… Read More »The Great Upanishads
The Four Duties of a Dervish
The faith of Islam, the latest of the world-wide religions, is also, in many things, the most materialistic and dogmatic.… Read More »The Four Duties of a Dervish
The Dream of Ravan
I. A Mystery Many conjectures have been offered as to the source and authorship of this curious and wonderful book,… Read More »The Dream of Ravan
Atma Bodha (The Awakening to the Self)
This awakening to the Self is recorded for those whose inner darkness has been worn away by strong effort, who… Read More »Atma Bodha (The Awakening to the Self)
Lovers of the East: Sir William Jones (1746-1794)
We have seen how Anquetil Duperron, a Lover of the East, brought to Europe the first seed of Indian Wisdom… Read More »Lovers of the East: Sir William Jones (1746-1794)
True Friendship
He who transgresses and despises modesty, who says—I am a friend but undertakes nothing for his friend, know that he… Read More »True Friendship
Taittiriya Upanishad 3 (The Lotus of the Sage Bhrgu)
III. [Translation] Invocation Om. May That guard us two—teacher and pupil; may That save us two; may we two do… Read More »Taittiriya Upanishad 3 (The Lotus of the Sage Bhrgu)
An Answer
A question has been asked about the meaning of the frequent references to the Vedas; whether they have any settled… Read More »An Answer
Tattva Bodha (Shankara’s Catechism)
Introductory In the “Awakening to the Self” [Atma Bodha], and, still more, in the “Crest-Jewel of Wisdom”, Shankara the Teacher… Read More »Tattva Bodha (Shankara’s Catechism)
Chandogya Upanishad 4:4-9 (Teachers Other Than Human)
[Translation] Satyakama the son of Jabala addressed his mother Jabala thus: I am going to dwell with a teacher, in… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 4:4-9 (Teachers Other Than Human)
The Great Deep
For the Waters were in the beginning, when fire had perished from the face of the world; and all things,… Read More »The Great Deep
The Mother of the Vedas (Gayatri)
The Gâyatri, the most sacred Indian verse, the Mother of the Vedas, is taken from the third of the ten… Read More »The Mother of the Vedas (Gayatri)
The Birth of the World-Egg
The universe was wrapped in darkness, unseen, unnamed, unthinkable, unknowable, in dreamless sleep. Then the Self-being, the unmanifested Master, manifested… Read More »The Birth of the World-Egg
Buddha’s Method
“If a Bhikshu should desire, brethren, by the complete destruction of the three bonds to become purified, to be no… Read More »Buddha’s Method
Concerning Three Brahmans
I. In the city of Devikota, there is a Brahman, Vedasharma by name. In the season of the equinox, he… Read More »Concerning Three Brahmans
The Tale of a Tiger
Once on a time, as I passed through the Southern Forest, I beheld An old Tiger who had taken a… Read More »The Tale of a Tiger
Esoteric Teaching (Rig Veda, i. 164, 45)
The most ancient declaration of Esoteric Teaching in the Sacred Books of India is probably this verse from the earliest… Read More »Esoteric Teaching (Rig Veda, i. 164, 45)
The Prince and the Woodman
A certain prince, born under an evil star, was cast out from the city, and fed by a certain woodman.… Read More »The Prince and the Woodman