The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

by Swami Krishnananda

Chapter III

Fourth Brahmana: The Unknowability of Brahman

1. atha hainam uṣastas cākrāyaṇah papraccha: yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, yat sākṣād aparokṣād brahma, ya ātmā sarvāntaraḥ, tam me vyācakṣveti. eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ. katamah yājñavalkya, sarvāntaraḥ. yaḥ prāṇena prāṇiti, sa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ, yo'pānenāpāniti sa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ, yo vyānena vyānīti sa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ; ya udānena udāniti, sa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ, eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ.   

Atha hainam uṣastas cākrāyaṇah papraccha:yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, yat sākṣād aparokṣād brahma, ya ātmā sarvāntaraḥ, tam me vyācakṣveti: When the preceding question was answered, another great Master called Uṣasta, the descendant of Cākrāyaṇa put another question: "Yājñavalkya, answer this. There is an eternal Being which is immediately presented into experience and directly observed; which is the Self of all beings and internal to everything. Explain it to me. What is that which is innermost to all beings, which is internal to everything, which is non-immediate experience—not immediately experienced as through the senses when they perceive objects, and which is direct, not indirect experience?" Tam me vyācakṣveti: "Explain that to me." Eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ. katamah yājñavalkya, sarvāntaraḥ:  "This very Being in you is your internal Self." This is what Yājñavalkya said. "But what is this internal Being you are speaking of? Tell me that again," Uṣasta said. Yaḥ prāṇena prāṇiti, sa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ, yo'pānenāpāniti sa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ, yo vyānena vyānīti sa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ; ya udānena udāniti, sa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ, eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ: "He who breathes in through the Prāṇa is your inner Self. He who performs the function of expiration is your own Self that is working in the form of this outward breath, the Apāna. That which pervades your whole body, known as Vyāna, again, is the operation of your own Self. That which works as Udāna, whose activity consists of lifting the body at the time of death and performing certain other functions of that nature, that which is called Udāna in ordinary language, is really your own Self that is working. There is no such thing as Prāṇa, Apāna, Vyāna, Udāna, Samāna. They are only names that we give to the functions of the inner Self that is yours. So, Uṣasta, I tell you that this is really the inner Self of yours which appears as the various functions." "Oh, you should not speak like this to me. You must explain it in a greater detail." So, the question is not finished. He tells Yājñavalkya:

2. sa hovāca uṣastas cākrāyaṇaḥ: yathā vibrūyād, asau gauḥ, asāv aśva iti, evaṁ evaitad vyapadiṣṭam bhavati, yad eva sākṣād aparokṣād brahma ya ātmā sarvāntaraḥ tam me vyācakṣva iti: eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ. katamah yājñavalkya, sarvāntaraḥ. na dṛṣṭer draṣṭāram paśyeḥ, na śruter śrotāraṁ śṛṇuyāḥ, na mater mantāraṁ manvīthāḥ, na vijñāter vijñātāraṁ vijānīyāḥ, eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ, ato'nyad ārtam. tato ha uṣastas cākrāyaṇa upararāma.

Sa hovāca uṣastas cākrāyaṇaḥ: yathā vibrūyād, asau gauḥ, asāv aśva iti, evaṁ evaitad vyapadiṣṭam bhavati, yad eva sākṣād aparokṣād brahma ya ātmā sarvāntaraḥ tam me vyācakṣva iti: This passage has two meanings. It may mean: "Tell me directly—'this is the Ātman'—just as you say 'this is a cow, this is a horse'.  Do not give an indirect definition of it as you have just done." Or, it may mean: "You have only told me, this is your inner Self in the same way as people would say, 'this is a cow, this is a horse', etc. That is not a real definition. Merely saying, 'this is that' is not a definition. I want an actual description of what this internal Self is. Please give that description and do not simply say, 'this is that'—tam me vyācakṣva iti."Ya ātmā sarvāntaraḥ tam me vyācakṣva iti: eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ. katamah yājñavalkya, sarvāntaraḥ. na dṛṣṭer draṣṭāram paśyeḥ: Yājñavalkya says: "You tell me that I have to point out the Self as if it is a cow or a horse. Not possible! It is not an object like a horse or a cow. I cannot say, 'here is the Ātman; here is the Self'. It is not possible because—na dṛṣṭer draṣṭāram paśyeḥ—you cannot see the seer of seeing. The seer can see that which is other than the Seer, or the act of seeing. An object outside the seer can be beheld by the seer. How can the seer see himself? How is it possible? Na dṛṣṭer draṣṭāram paśyeḥ: You cannot see the seer of seeing. Na śruter śrotāraṁ śṛṇuyāḥ: You cannot hear the hearer of hearing. Na mater mantāraṁ manvīthāḥ: You cannot think the Thinker of thinking. Na vijñāter vijñātāraṁ vijānīyāḥ: You cannot understand the Understander of understanding. Eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ: That is the Ātman."

Nobody can know the Ātman inasmuch as the Ātman is the Knower of all things. So, no question regarding the Ātman can be put, such as "What is the Ātman?' 'Show it to me', etc. You cannot show the Ātman because the Shower is the Ātman; the Experiencer is the Ātman; the Seer is the Ātman; the Functioner in every respect through the senses or the mind or the intellect is the Ātman. As the basic Residue of Reality in every individual is the Ātman, how can we go behind It and say, 'This is the Ātman?' Therefore, the question is impertinent and inadmissible. The reason is clear. It is the Self. It is not an object – na vijñāter vijñātāraṁ vijānīyāḥ, eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ.

Ato'nyad ārtam: "Everything other than the Ātman is stupid; it is useless; it is good for nothing; it has no value; it is lifeless. Everything assumes a meaning because of the operation of this Ātman in everything. Minus that, nothing has any sense—ato'nyad ārtam." Tato ha uṣastas cākrāyaṇa upararāma. Then Uṣasta Cākrāyana, the questioner kept quiet. He understood the point and did not speak further.