4. "Brahman is," thus said one who knew the science of Brahman; and this penance is the door to Brahman, thus said one who by penance had cast off all sin. The syllable Om is the manifest greatness of Brahman, thus said one who well grounded (in Brahman) always meditates on it. Therefore by knowledge, by penance, and by meditation is Brahman gained. Thus one goes beyond Brahman (Hiranyagarbha), and to a divinity higher than the gods; nay, he who knows this, and worships Brahman by these three (by knowledge, penance, and meditation), obtains bliss imperishable, infinite, and unchangeable. Then freed from those things (the senses of the body, &c.) by which he was filled and overcome, a mere charioteer , he obtains union with the Self.'

5. The Valakhilyas said: 'O Saint, thou art the teacher, thou art the teacher . What thou hast said, has been properly laid up in our mind. Now answer us a further question: Agni, Vayu, Aditya, Time (kala) which is Breath (prana ), Food (anna), Brahma , Rudra, Vishnu, thus do some meditate on one, some on another. Say which of these is the best for us.' He said to them:

6. 'These are but the chief manifestations of the highest, the immortal, the incorporeal Brahman. He who is devoted to one, rejoices here in his world (presence), thus he said. Brahman indeed is all this, and a man may meditate on, worship, or discard also those which are its chief manifestations. With these (deities) he proceeds to higher and higher worlds, and when all things perish, he becomes one with the Purusha, yes, with the Purusha.'

Footnotes

^299:1 M. reads vyavartatvam.

^299:2 It should be kankalatvam.

^299:3 M. reads mattasvaro.

^299:4 Instead of the irregular sayogyam, M. always reads sayugyam.

^299:5 It is not quite clear what is the subject to which all these adjectives refer. M. reads baddho for baddham, but afterwards agrees with the text as published by Cowell.

^300:1 M. reads natavat.

^300:2 M. reads ye 'rtha anartha iva te sthitah, esham.

^300:3 M. reads na smaret paramam padam.

^300:4 M. reads svadharma eva sarvam dhatte, stambhasakhevetarani.

^300:5 The commentator considers the other sacrificial performances as hurtful, and to be avoided.

^300:6 M. reads anyathadhah pataty, esha.

^300:7 The rules of the order to which he belongs.

^300:8 A Tapasvin is free from the restrictions of the preceding asramas, but he must have obeyed them first, before he can become a real Tapasvin.