BRAHMO DHARMA Translated by : Hemehandra Sarkar in 1928 as Secretary, Brahmo Centenary Committee. Reprinted with a foreword, November, 1992 Sadharan Brahmo Samaj 211, Bidhan Sarani, Calcutta-700 006Published by : ‘Lakshmi Narayan Ray, Secretary, Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, 211, Bidhan Sarani, Calcutta-700 006, India. Printed in offset process by M/s. Friends Graphic, 1B, Beadon Row, Calcutta-700 006, India. 1992 BRAHMO DHARMA Foreword to the Reprint of 1992. ‘Hem Chandra Sarkar rendered invaluable service by transtating into English the classical book ‘Brahmo Dharma, collated and devised by Debendranath Tagore, who gave a concrete shape to the religious aspect of Brahmo Samaj founded by Rammohun Roy. Debendranath, virtually the spiritual successor of Rammohun, produced this book fom a realisation that Brahmos needed such a volume as a dictionary for everyday use. He felt that it should contain the fundamental principles of Brahmoism, enabling Brakmos to solve their spiritual problems, and it should include religious instructions which would assist them to lead honest and pious lives with unfailing faith in the ‘Author and the Preserver of the Universe. In his treatise, "The Mission of the Brahmo Samaj’, Pandit Sivanath Sastri said: "The Mission of the Brahmo Samaj or the Theistic Church of India in the modern world is unique ; and the work that it has undertaken to do is altogether new :-vir., to organise a sysicm of religious culture, and to build a church on the basis of natural and universal theism swsmsuncThe Theistic Church of India has a great and glorious mission as far a8 this country is concerned, namely, to fuse in a bond of spiritual union the conflicting claims of Hinduism, Mahomedanism and Christianity, by laying insistence on their universal aspects; for certainly that was the grand ideal before the mind of Raja Rammobun Roy, the founder of the Brahmo Samaj.” Debendranath Tagore proceeded to fulfil the grand design of ‘Raumohun Roy in various ways, production of the book-Drahmo Dharma-being one of them. The toils of Hem Chandra Sarkar in translating and publishing it forthe benefit of Brahmos outside Bengal are remembered with a deep sense of gratitude, There is some demand for a reprint of the English translation, Sadharan Brahmo Samaj has undertaken the production of the reprint chiefly for the benefit of ‘Brahmas outside West Bengal. Ifthe publication succeeds in meeting their longstanding demand, our efforts will be rewarded. ‘The 1928 publication was described as Brahmo Dharma of ‘Maharshi DebendranathTagore (Translated into English). Although‘Debendranath collected and devised the book and authored few Slokas fn the basis of some other spiritual classics of India, he never appended bis own name to it, He envisaged it asthe principles of the Brahmo Samaj rather than an individual's accomplishment. The 1928 English edition was printed at the Brabmo Mission Press, the services ‘of which could not be utilised this time due to its considerably reduced ‘operational strength, Thave added a page of chapierwise contents s0 that readers may casily locate the required section The chapterwise contents had actually appeared in some of the Bengali editions earlier, I have addoed the Appendix to the transtated version for increasing its usefulness, 1 apologise that it was not possible to undertake an updated new edition of the book. The enlarged reprint is expected to fulfil the intended object of making the English translation available to those ‘who need it, November 9, 1992 Lakshmi Narayan Ray Secretary, Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, Calcutta. BRAHMO DHARMA CHAPTER-WISE CONTENTS Part-I Part-II Chapter Page Chapter Page Love or Bliss 11, Virtuous Familyman 141 Creation 10 2. Family relationship 148 Knowledge 14 3. Duties to Family 159 Natute of Knowledge 26 4. Philosophy of Life 163 Definition 345. Contentment ,» 178 Means to Knowledge 40 6. Eminent Virtues 180 Communion 49 7. Truthfulness 188 Omnipresence 62 8, Practising Righteousness 191 Relationship 69 9. Charity 198 ‘Meditation 83.10, Self Control 205 Selfsevealing 88 11. Pious Life 2 Incomparable 93 12. Instructions 216 ‘Supremacy 103.13, Controlling the senses 220 Majesty 109 14. Abstention 225 Righteousness 121 15. Righteous Living 234 The Final State 128-16. _The Last Resort 239 Appendix Page 245 ‘Mode! Prayer. ® Enlarged Reprint @ November, 1992 @PREFACE The Bratmo Dharma of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore originally written in 1848, has been rendered in several vernaculars of India. Kut a complete translation has not yet appeared in any of the Buropean languages, It cortainly deserves to be made known to the English-speaking readers, ‘and the Brahmo Samej -Centenary Committee have done well in arranging to publish an Fnglish translation of the book. The work has not been easy. Inthe English render ing the boauiy and grace of the classic Bengali of Maharshi Debendranath has suffered mmch. The translator had to choose between the claim of the faithfulness to the original text and that of the requirements of English idioms and we have decided in favour of the former, We have tried to keep ‘as close to Mabarshi's original as we could. The translations are not of the original Sanckrit texts, but of the Bengali renderings of Maharshi Devendranath, It has been specially noted where we have taken the liberty of departing from this practice, hove aded explanatory notes to cach verse which has been printed in smaller script, Tam largely in debted to Babu Sntischandra Chakravarti, x4, for: the references of the verses to the origital context. I had to depend on Mr. K. S, Sastry and others for reading the proofs, oe 1 was unsble to read owing to the failure of eye-sight. I take this opportunity of conveying gratitude to these friends, but for whose co-operation it would have becn impossible for me to complete the work. Tam conscious of the many defecis of the volume, but in consideration of the many disadvantages under which 1 had to work, the indulgent readers will judge them rightly. HEOUANDRA SARKAR, Brabmo Sadhenasram, 210-8, Cornwallis Street, Calcutta, 20th August, 1998.INTRODUCTION Though the Brahmo Samaj has declured Truth to be the eternal and imperishable scripture and does not recognise any book as the Seriptare, the Brahmo Dharma of Maharshi Devendranath, has come to be regarded as an authoritative exposition of the principles of Brahmoism. Maharshi com- poved the book in that hope. Afterwards, Keshub Chunder Sen, compiled another book of a similar nature with a broader basis under the name Sloksangraka, having takenits contents from the seripsures of all important religions. ‘Though thie latter is more in consouance with the universal spirit of Beahmoism it is romarkable that it has not been as widely adopted in the Brahmo Samaj as the Brahmo Dharma of Mubarshi. Within a tew decades, it was translated into several vernaoulars of India, and lias passed through many eiitions in Bengali, The story of its composition is well-known, and has been recorded by Maharshi himself in his autobiography, chapter 23, Tb was written in tho year 1848 (1770 Sak). Dovendranath was then 31 years of age. ‘The Brahmo Samaj had been well organised by that time, Many people had joined it, The form of divine service adopted by the Calcutta Brahmo Samaj and which is still followed by it (Adi Brahmo Samaj), had already been framed, The Vedanta had been discarded as insufficient to be the basis of Brahmoism, which was definitely established on the natural faculties of the human mind. But Maharshi felt the necessity of a book for Brahmos. It was in response to that felt need that the Brahmo Dharma was composed, Maharshi looked upon it as a work of inspiration, He has deliberately written in the autobiography: “It is uot the product of my fecblo intellect, * > It is the trath of God whieh welled up in my hearé, These living triths came down to my hears from Him who is the life and light of truth.” The actual process bas thus been described in the autobiography : “NowI began to think, a book is required for the Brahmos. Then Isaid to Akshaykumar Datta ‘please sit down with paper and pen, and take down what I dictate” Now I turaed my heart, towards God, with ‘single-mindedness, I began to dictate with authority in the language of the Upanishads, like the enrrent of a river, the spiritual truths which flashed in my mind by His grace; and Aksbaykumar took them down, In thres hours the first part was completed. Mabarshi thas said, ‘it did not involve any labour om my part, but though it took three hours to write out the book, my whole life would be spent and yet I shall not fully unterstand and assimilate its deep signiticance” ‘Thus was the first part written. The second part was compiled sometime afterwards, and the expository notes in Bengalee were added later on after the first and second part had been published ‘The Brahmo Dharma isa work of unique significance. Though the language is mat of the Upanishads it is an original work. The only composition with which it ean be compared is the BrahmaSutra of Badarayan. But the object of Brahma-Satra was to propare a digest of the teachings of the Upanishads, But Mabarshi Devendranath, while using the language of the Upanishads, has productd an original work, which has not always followed the ideas of the Upanishads. The various Upanishads and even the different parts of the individual Upanichad aro not always eonsistont, Maharshi Devendranath had in his mind a consistent concep tion of the Religion of the Brahmo Samaj, and he gare an expression to it in the language of the Upanishads. In order to do that Devendranath took considerable liberty with the idoas as well as with the texts, There are stadonts of the Upanishads who take exception to this method, aud blame Davendranash for doing violonce to their texts. This criti- ccism is bazed on a misconception of the book. The Brahmo Sharma is not @ digest or compilation of the texts of the Upanishad. It is an otiginal work onthe principles of Bralimoism in the language of the Upanishads. Maharshi took such passages from different parte of the Upanishads k ' £ i ‘ : k as best expressed the ideas of Brakimoism as he conceived thom. This is quite clear from the aecount of the eomposi- tion of the book given by Maharshi himself in his Auto- biography. He says, that one by one, certain truths flashed in his mind, and being conversant with she vocabulary of the Upanishads he exprossed them in theit language. Devendranath had great veneration for the Upanishads. His religious nature was largely fed and murtured by them, bat his spiritual awakening and ideas did not originate from the Upanishads. They are original and indepondent. He found only a confirmation of those ideas in the Upanishads He has himself said, that he found an echo “of the spiritual ideas of his heart in the Upanishads” Tt was in the year 1838, that he first became acquainted with the Upanishads accidentally by reading a torn leaf of paper, casually blown by the wind. ‘The story has been narrated by himself in his autobiograghy. It was one of those incidents of far-reaching consequences which the world call an accident, but in which men of faith recognise the hidden purpose of an underlying Providence, However, struck by the beauty and depth of the verse in the torn leaf, and told that it was from the Upanishads, he devoted himself, with the characteristic carnestness of his nature to the study of Upanishads with the help of Ramchandra Vidyabagish, the minister of the Brahmo Samaj. For ten years he had fed his spirit in the rich pasture of the Upanishads. At first he had hoped, that the Upanishads might become the foundations of Brahmoism; but with closer acquaintance with them he found that was not possible, and it was with greatest reluc- tamee that he discarded the Upanishads as the basis of his religion. But he continued to have great veneration for the Upanishais and his mind was saturated with its spirit. Naturally, when he thought of composing a book which woald give an exposition of the principles of Brahmoism, he wrote in the language of the Upanishads. The entire contents of the first part of the Brehmo Dharma are from the Upanishads, But he has taken them from differentplaces ; and in the process he has frequently torn them away from their contexts and even sometimes disiorted them and pieced them together to suit his purpose. This might have been considered objectionable if he were, preparing a compilation of thc Upanishads only. But his object was quite different. He was composing, as we have said, an original book; only the language was the language of the Upanishads. A lover and admirer of the Upanishads neod not be put out by the liberty which Maharshi has taken with the text of the Upanishads. By composing the Brahmo Dharma in the language of the Upanishads, Maharshi Derendranath has nob ouly honoured them but has also rendered 2 great service to them. Maharshi's book has popularised the Upanishads, as it was uever bofore, Tt has brought out the Upanishads to their best advantage. By taking out the best verses of the Upanishads from their original context with their encumbrances and unintelligible and even objectionable surroundings and arranging thom in a systematic form, Malarshi has presented the Upanishads in a far more attractive form than they ever were, and bas ‘helped the average men to appreciate their beauty and excellence more easily. The so-called distortions of Maharshi Devendranath have, in most casos, grvatly improved and added to the effectiveness of the purpose of the original. ‘Take for example, the soventeonth verse of the sixteenth chapter of the first part of the Brahmo Dharma: sara fanart Asner Temeday | aaah Ae Seer Te: wea | ay ART eraR acaR: wT FelpeaTE y Jt has been taken from the fifth section of the second chapter of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Maharshi has taken considerable liberty with the original texts, by having torn a portion of the tenth verse, and another portion of the fifteenth verse and pieced them together with the portions of the fifteonth verse of the sixth chapter of the Swotasva- tara Upanishad. But one has only to read the original toxt, and he will ab once understand how much more effective it has become by the so-called tearing off and distortion of the text, ‘The verse as itis given in the Brahmo Dharma, has become one organic whole and does not at all look like a composite one. Ono, who has read the. verse in the Brahmo Dharma, will never care to use the original text from the Brihodaranyaka, Even such admirers of the Upanishads as late Pandit Sivanath Sastri and the poet Rabindranath, who are undoubtedly well-acquainted with the Upanishads in their expositions of the verses, have used the texts of the Brahmo Dharma and not the original, There ean be no doubt thet the Brahmo Dharma has greatly popularised the Upanishads, ‘Tae object of Maharshi Debondranath, however, was to give a systematic exposition of the principles of the Brahmo Samaj and this he did with grest effectiveness in the Ianguage of the Upanishads. There is ono underlying plan conscious or unconscious in the sixteen chapters which constitute the first part, though with occasional confusion. ‘The opening chapter attempts the difficult task of defining God, which has baffled the ingenuity of of many theologians. Maharshi has succeeded beautifully in defining and indicating the nature of the supreme reality with a few verses from the Upanishads, mostly from the Taittiriya. In the second verse he defines God as that irom which all beings have beon born ; by which the created beings live and unto which (when departed from here) they proceed and entor, What was left here indefinite is made definite in the next verse. There God is called the Anandam ‘which I have ventured to translate as Love In the foarth verse the two aspects of the divine nature, its infinitade transcending all human understanding and its relationship with man in love, have been beauiifully brought out. In the next verse the relationship of love is still more clearely indicated and the chapter concludes with the beautiful verse from the Brikadsranyaka declaring God to be the richest treasure, the supreme joy of tho human soul. ‘The second chapter in conformity with the tradition tries to give en account of the process ofcreation, But Mahsrshi has wisely refrained from giving any elaborate description and has been satisfied with indicating in broad outline that in the begining all these did not exist, There was only the Infinite, Btornal Spirit which eroated the universe, In the third chapter the method of ‘Amowing God is indicated. Tho inquirer is advised to sock a learned anddevont preceptor. Tho majesty of God and the supromny of divine knowledge have been indicated in a number of beautiful verses. The fourth chapter deals more clearely with the question of the nature of man’s knowledge of Cod. It is surprising how some of the difficulties reised by modera agnosticism have been anticipated and beautifully mot. In the language of the Kena, Upanishad it is said that it is nob that we do not know God nor that we do know Him well. He who knows the moaning of the saying ‘that we know Him, yet we do not know Him, knows Him, In the subsequent chapters, the Brahmo conception of the nature of God has heen still furter developed. In the fifth chapter, the All-pervasiveness of God has been emphasised. In the sixth chapter, the means of knowing God is indicated in a greater detail, Maharshi has taken a number of profoundly significant verses from different Upanishads which will be noticed in their context indicating the meane of knowing God. In tho seventh chapter the supreme majesty of God iy declared with great emphasis. Te is the Oue without the second, the Lord of all, He hns no cause, nor does he become anything clse, but he dwells also in the soul of men and fle can be kaown by spiritual communion, In the thres con- cluding verses of the chapter the procoss of knowing Him fs indicated. God is compared to a targct and the soul to the arrow and the mystic syllable Om to the bow. Just as the archer with great attention bits the target by throwing the arrow with the bow, so the haman coul is to be cast at od with grest attention with the help of ‘Om'. ‘The eighth chapter emphasises the omnipresence of God. Ho is every- where, He sees everything, He does everything though { vi J Ho has neither eyes nor arms, He is the’ One indwelling presonce in matter aud mind, the permanent in the midst of the transiont phenomena of the material world, the conscionsness of the conscious beings, the One Providence that supplies the needs of all exoatures and finally the Soul of our souls, By knowing Him the fetters of the heart aro snapped and the mortal becomes immortal ‘The tenth chapter specifies the nature of the relation of man with God. Muharshi Devondransth had a great aver sion towards the Sankara type of monism and he declares with groat cmphasis the reality and individuality of the human soul, In the language of the Rig Veda which was subsequently adopted by more than one Upanishad, Maharshi compares the human soul and the divine sout as two birds, friends of each other, dwelling on the same tree. This is 8 very profound and significant simile. It.at once indicates the close relationship of the human soul with God, as being two friends of a vimilar nature always dwelling togother and yet distinct from each other. Man is responsi- ble for his actions and has to hear their consequences. God, though he sees and knows all, is free from the taint of the actions of man, Man, if he know his owa nature, would live in perfect peace and joy. He becomes unhappy because he forgets himself. In a numbor of verses taken from different Upanishads this idea has been developed at length. God hha been declared to be dearer than wealth, dearer than con, dearer ‘than anything else. He is to be seen, He is to ba known, He is to be meditated upon. If man knows Him he attains the fulfilment of the life. If he does not know Him that is the groatest calamiiy. In the closing verse of the chapter God is declared to be the Supreme Law of righteousness which lends to perfect peace, In tho tenth chapter are collected together » number of formulas for the worship and meditation of God, the firet of these being the ‘ancient symbol ‘Om.’ God is to be mediteted upon with the help of this eymbol 2s the gods in the euperior worlds do, The next is the well-knownGayairi formula taken from the Rig Veda, Lastly there is a verse from the Krishna Yajurveda which has been adopted by several Upanishads declaring God to be the indwelling spirit in fire and water, carth and heavens. The eleventh chapter indicntes the difficult nature of Brabmajuana. God is beyond tho reach of the senses. He cannot be knowa by much learning, nor by keen intellect Ho reveals himself to whomsover he chooses. Ho is hidden in everything and one should try to know Him with the help of competent teachers, Tn the twolfth chaptor the indwelling proseno of God is further amplified. He is present everywhere, As the birds nestle in the tree, so all exeatures live in Him, His relation ‘with the human soul is more particularly indicated loro ; He sees all actions and distzibuies reward and punishment according to our deserts. The fools see only outward things but the wise hsving known the Supreme Indwelling Spirit everywhere do not desire anything else except ‘Him. The chapter closes with the profound declaration of Maitveyi “what shall I do with that which do not make sae Immortal ?” and the grand prayer of the Brihadaranyaka, “from untruth, lead me to truth, from darimess lead me to light, from death lead me to life eternal.” The thirteenth chapter opens with the beautiful verse expressing the grandeur of truth. ‘Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood. God can be attained by the pursuit of trath, ‘Truth has its source in God; but this idea is not followed up and the subsequent verses, which do nob seom to have any ‘common aim, revert to the usual theme of the nature of God, who is said to be without birth, who can only be defined as ‘not this’ ‘not that,’ but who is declared at the name time as the Lord and ruler of the Universe, The chapter closes with an interesting verso indicating the relationship of the human soul with the divine soul as absolutely distinct though insepamble from each other like the shadow and light, The fourteenth chapter C speaks of the majesty of the Infinite. The opening verse says that in the Infinite is Bliss, There is no happiness in the finite. In the next verse the disciple asks ‘where the Lord seated’? ‘The prevepter replies ‘in His owa majesty” Then the Infinite majesty of God is further specified by a number of verses. He is deciated to be above, below, on the right, on the loft pervading all space. Likewise he is said to be tho Lord of the past and fature, of to-day and to-morrow extending over all times. Though One, He provides for the needs of all, from whom everything has sprang at the beginning and unto whom all retum at the end. He is the Creator aad Rulor of the Universe. There is no Lord besides Him. He is the agency by which the universe is preserved, He cannot be known by thought and words He is only known to Hi sho says, ‘He is.” ‘The last two chapters, the fifteenth and the sixtocnti, of tho first par of Brubmo Dharma, are mainly ethical as contrasted with the previous chapters, which are mainly theological. ‘The fifteenth chaptor is largely taken from tho Kathopanishad, which, of all the Upauishads, is most deeply. tinged with ethical charactoristics. The opening verse de- clares with emphasis tha unless one tums away fzom evil- doing and until the mind is controllod and disciplined, one cannot attain God by mere theological or theoretical know- ledge. Then the sharp line is drawn between right and wrong. Right or good is one the Pleasant is another. ‘The two paths present themselves to man. He who chooses, the path of duty or right attains the good. But evil befalls Him who follows the easy path of pleasure. The nature or destiny of a man is shaped by his action. One who acts righteously becomes righteous, one who acts wickedly, betomes wicked. Arman whose sonsos are uncontrolled, whose mind is not isciplined, is like a chariot dragged by unruly horses, Such aman inovitably comes to grief, Ho cannot atiain God. But one who keeps his sonses controlled ike horses by the rein of Reason reaches the suprome goal of life, the ix]highest place of God, which the wise continuously see as the eye spread in the sky. ‘The sixtoonth chaptar likewise is ethical and hortitary. ‘The opening vorse ennmexatos the positive condition of the mina in which ons should seek God. He mast have controlled his senses and mind and tusned away from all worldly desires, A man with such a frame of mind cannot be touched by sin or sorrow and rejoices having attained God. Then follow a fow verses of a very high ethical import, taken from the Mandakopanishad inculouting the pursuit of Trath, Good and Righteousness. He who seeks God in such a way, finds Him, Lastly the book closes with triumphant declaration in the words of the Yajur Veda adopted by the saye of the Swetaswatara Upanishad affirming that he has seen God, tho glorious Immortal Person, who pervades the heavens above and dwells in the Soul within and by knowing whom immortality is attained, ‘The second part of the Brakmo Dharaa, which was compiled sometime after the first pact, consists of the fenameration of the daily éutios of the theitic house-holder according to the ideal of Brahwo Dharma, Brahmo Dharma as Mabayebi conceived it was to be the religion of home an@ society and not of the forests like the religion of the Upanishads. Accordingly Maharshi thought it necessary to add a number of practical precepts to the Theological principles ennneiatad in tho firat park The compilation of second part involved considerable Iabour and was not ‘e work of ease and inspiration like that of the first part. ‘After the compilation of the firet part, Msbsrshi deliberate: Ty set to work im search of suitable passages from the ancient religious literature of India, ‘The contents of the second part lave been taken from Manu Sambita, Maba- hart, Gita, Mahanirean Tantra ete "The opooing chapter, enunciates the house-holder's duty towands the various mombers of the family, more speseialiy to bie parents, The second chapter sebs forth the ideal of ‘mmacried life, which is commended very highly. A mian is I I Cid said to be half so long as he isnot united with a wife. The mntval duties of husband and wifo are eaumerated in ‘a number of verses but most of them are meant for the wife, Tho wife is enjoimed to follow the husband like a shadow and to look to the comforts and happiness of the husband, It is to be regretted that a similar injunction hag not been expressly given to the husband, It is evident that the position of a wife is not that of an equal partner in life, The third chapter enumerates in detail the duties of ‘the honse-holder to tho different members of the family, wife, sons and daughter, Itis to be noted that a very high ideal of responsibility towards the daughter is set forth hore: The daughter should be affectiovately tended and ‘carefully educated equally with the sons and should -be given in marriage to a suitable person of noble birth and hhigh qualifications, Incidentally extortion of money from the bridegroom in exchange for the daughter is very severely condemned. The fourth chapter emphasises the necessity of Ioaraing and righteousness for a householder. He shonld seek knowledge and spirituality even from youth. Ttis nob by external accidents like that of old age or residing in a forest,that a man is entitled to respect, Tt is by learning and piety that a man becomes a sage. ‘The fifth chapter enjoins the cultivation of patience and contentment, Sorrows and difficulties are inevitable in life. The only safo-guard against them and the true secret of happiness are to be found in contentment and resignation to the inevitable. The sixth chapter does not soem to havey any unity of subject matter. Here ® number ‘of miscellaneous virtues such as truthfulness, sincerity, benevolence, self-control, purity and courage are com- mended. A very high place is assigned to truthfiilnoss, which is extolled with great emphasis in more than one vorse, The seventh chapter deals with the subject of telling the toth in giving evidence before a Court of justice, After defining who is s witness, the virhue of giving trae evidence is extolled. It in said that even the gods do uotknow a better person than one who gives true evidence. The eighth chapter likewise does not confine itself to one idea. The opening verses enjoin the necessity of acting righteously under all circumstances. Provocation is not a justification for unjust dealing. He is truly good who returns good for evil. Bvil should be conquered by good. Then it passes on to ihe subject of the benefits of cultivating the company of the wise and good and avoiding that of the wicked. The chapter closes with the denun- ciation of the wngrateful. The nineth chapter commends the virtue of charity and benovolenee. Having declared the great merit of moking charities, it goes on emphasising the importance of ascertaing the right objects of charity and its proper motive: indiscriminate charity and careless indiffer- ent giving are equally condemned. Further it enumerates some of the forms which charity should take such as giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, shelter to tired, medicine to the sick ete Giving education is spoken of as the highest form of charity. The showy charity that neglects tho pressing needs of near relations is severoly condemned, Barning money by unfair means, even for making charities is strongly condemned. Charity does not extenuate the guilé of earning money by unfair means In the tenth chapter, the virtue of self-control is inctleated with great emphasis, True knowledge is declared to be the sure means of attaining oolf-control. Anger, greed und envy ate the chief obstacles in the way of attaining self-control and these must be carefully rooted out. The eleventh chapter ‘enumerates a qumber of virtues such as pationce, forgive ness, self-control, purity, knowledge ete., which are declared to be the characteristics of true piety. It also insists on the necessity of jast punishment for the maintenance of society, but unjust punishment is rightly condemned, and the efficacy. of forgiveness in reclaiming the wrong doer is emphasised. The twelfth chapter commends 2 few other virtues as patience, forgiveness, charity, humility ete, on occasions doubt as to the right course of action, one is advised to of | | ' t | i i C xii J follow the path of self-approbation. Ibis the motive of the meu which is more important than the outward success or failure. The thirteenth chapter inculcates the supreme neces- sity of controlling the senses in « few well-chosen verses. A man who does nob control the senses comes to grief like a charioteer who cannot controi his horses, ora boat caught in a storm. One uncontrolled sense is sufficient to bring in complete rain as a small hole is enough to drain out the entire water from a leathor bag; therefore one should iscipline his sensos and mind with firm resolve. The fourteonth chupter further omphasises the necessity of abstaining from unrighteousness and performing righteous deeds. ‘The person who follows righteousness attains happiness here and hereafter. Righteousness is the only thing that does not perish with the body. The fifteenth chapter amplifies the subject of righteous living, specifying three kinds of unrighteousness viz those performed through body, mind and speech. Men are said to attain three different conditions good, bad and middle accoring to their actions. The book closes with a final impressive exhortation to follow righteousness. One should never betake to unright- cous conduct even if it leads to prosperity, for it is only shortlived. Untighteousness is sure to bring disaster in the long run; therefore one should grow in righteousness silently and steadily ; righteousness ix the one thing that never fails; parents, friends, relatives are of no avail for hholp in the other world. Righteousness aldne follows him to the end: therefore a man should earn righteousness for his own help. Such in brief are the contents of this remarkable volume.BRAHMO DHARMA PART 1 CHAPTER 1 & arate aefea tg Stawrfen: wef to 1, Om, thus say the professors of divine knowledge. ‘Tho divine fire of the Knowledge of God is hid in the heart of all Jnuman beings, The consciousness of the infinite goodness of God ie written in ineffacoable Tetiors in tho souls of all men, We ean see Goil when this hidden fi is kindled by the study of the universe. | He has imprinted his ionage of pure goodness on all material thi and on all human hearts, Thoso blessed wise pure wakeful great souls, who have heen able to realise it, they aro theists and those who having walisod it teach about Him, they are the prof Airino Itnowledge. To bo a thoist ov a professor of theism it | necessary to belong to a particular country, age or nationality. The | theists of all countries have the right to teach about God. ‘The ideas and the truths realised in the souls and taught'by the anciont theistic sages of Incia have been compiled in this first part of the Brahmo Dharma. Thexefore it is prefaced with this verse : re of 1. This is the opening verso of the Swolaswatara Upanishad. Mt has | been fitingly pat at the beginning of the Brahmo Dharma to indicate | that the ideas thet follow are the viows of the balievers in one God. Maharshi Devendranath in compiling the Brahmo Dharme Velieyed that ‘the Ideas contained thercin were the mature thoughts of the Thekts of ‘ages and all countries.BRAHMO DHARMA ey aah a sof ager rae Bm ara Stee wl Reni fante afefimea eae He 1 Rae nF Seer aT a? ew arte ‘anata’ eater are, erate eg ae Sue far ‘atid Feu ae afcaa? argeettat: | “ae Peforaraes Felten seater ‘aq aw 1 2. ‘Phat from which ll these beings are bom, by which all created beings are sustained an into which (when departed from here) they procved and enter; that is Gott. Desire to know him thoroughly — He from whom ll these created things stationary or moving hve been cae at i whow es hire they ei. (ut whose will uot even an atom of them ean remain, he is Brahman. the Reality, the Lont of vw all. That Almighty Supreme God is absolute in His will aud purpose. Whatover He desires thet is does From the power of the absolute person all these buings have been bom and have received their diverse powers. If he dletres to destroy them, then all these beings with their various powers shall again return unto Him with their different powers, Not « of will be found anywhere. ae nipaa ey to deicyr. When wo at tan hors se ee 8 cag tad ing eet Vall of the Taitiya Upnitnt, Te nag ieee Ga ces ye she te Upaihede Te wae wr anasto author of he Rehman inn hose apts ; "nea wh iho, nih cinch ios tntinees as ee Rishon in that ete. Ins ren p athe ace tne gro ter defniton of i than this ann debice She asa owned. God in himselt indent thine a nine ae : PHAPTER 1. VEREE 3. are Indefinahle, We cau sidicate dea only: by theie manilestations and cions. ‘The-supreise reality is of comme indefiaable, We ean only indicate it by its action, So the Taiiriya indicates the Brabmati by its action, namely, that from which all beings are bor, ete [3] sores afeaenis yah saat 1 ama orenfa safe aa sarerafira' farafier ug Swrmrery Reet ere carfin ante ortte: aear re Safer are cafe afica Frater eu 3. From Love sarcly have all these beings been bom ; by Love created beings are sustained and unto Love they proveed and enter ‘This absolute God, the exealor, presorver, snl destroyer, has 0 particulne name. ‘The ancient Theists who having realised “Him in their minds as the infinite, al-porvading, indwelling, beneficent person enjoyed the pure bliss there-of having declared Hum as the Bliss, we also, when we become soften, immersed inthis love, call bim the Elia, 3. This verse las hoon takes from the 6th Annvakes. the thind Vali of ‘Tittciya Upanisad. What in the previows verse was indefinitely declared to be the source and enstonanee of the universe is definitely indicate by the ‘vord “Anandam”, This is very interesting and profonnaly significant vere T have rendered the worl Anendam as Love. ‘The word i modern sanskt generally stands for Bliss ot joy aud Mchasshi Devendransth has rendered as such, bab Lam of opinion thatit is anore properly render ss Lave ‘he word bas a special technical meaning in tho Upanishads, ‘The ‘Tuisticiye Upanishad has used this word in its conception of tbe tmiverse,—novording to which thete am progresively deoper trata in the constitution of the wuiverse, as well as the human fe, namely, “the Aumanaye Koss, Prananaye Kosa, Aeuomays oss, Viimsnanaya \os0, Gnandemays host", This is wally a veey profound amalysix of the natery of existence, ‘The dnmenaya Kose be clearly whut we mean by the matecial saibetratnin of the aniverse, Deeper and higher than this isthe Pranamaya Koa ot the world of life!) Tn and uhovo material existence thee Ho a mayeerions vomething which iw called life. oF vitality. The Tishi bac clearly realised his cubils tnath : higher sill dhe smbsteatum4 SEANO DHARMA sepa ee alse ete ea Sed esl ey era cate ee Eeeaioae at arene, i Gea na oye ee aaa el fa wa fant? ware eae oe were awe Heer Fe FON | 1 ae Be 8 ome stance nti ve rd the wort Andon his vegies Love. Th tho fist balf of tho veewe the water speaks of She Satie of Got fm which dhe Fl bunny nid rn fw but dere is another aspect of Gl which Bogen eonidance, “That sweet is Gals Lave, Tho weer of he Upsala rly sold that : as Knowa ths Ananda of Gal is not afraid anywhere, clearly is he aupct of Love. Fis these and silat usages et cxidet date word Ananda in the Upaisals sends for what We un mole Papcholoy by Dove, andthe Tin of the Upanishads jn that distant past reached the highwateemark of modern mligions fhoght samely ‘God is Lore’ and the pent veo sas that by Love |: this universe oreatod, by Love fe it sustained and tn Love dons find its consummation, A profound and ingpeing tru indeed! {4] acilanet frrciet aoreq ara ae 1 rime! arena arena a FRaRR STITH Bw Ona: See: Fareed simrer weraT ex | Te: Fear FAR Fee we 4. That from which speceh with mind (thought) comes back without finding {the end] having know: i's i ees ing known that Gail's Love, one is not z a infinite spivit of God is not a limited entity. He is neither iter nor mind, Therefore mind cannot grasp Him, As mind CHAPTER 1. VERSE 5. cannot understand Him far Tese enn speech express Him. The rind in its effort to comprehend Him comes back baile ; so also pecch in its effet to dese lim stops short, ‘That infinitn person can only be indicated as the mind of the mind, as the speech of the pooch, as the conscions eanse’ andl stay of ell. He, who, enjoys the uprome bliss of realising this absolute all-pervading God of bliss vrithin himself, has attsined the end of all his desires, He bas realised all his desites, satised with the company of his Dearest ‘Ho is over anzious to do that whieh is dear unto Him as His faithful and obedient servant. He never turns. back from | performing the ‘ill of his beloved } for fear of calumny, unbearable bomiliation, un- eserved contamely, ot tere perscoution, 1k becomes easy for him to Iny dows his Iie ty carrying out the command of hie Beloved. 80 ‘who ean fiighten him any longer ? He has become free from fear by resigning himself to the giver of Tie. He is not afraid even of death 4, This vere has cen token from che Sth Amuvaka of the Qnd Valli of the Taitiniya Canis Tv the previons note ee Ise already indicated the inner rignificanoe fof Anaudain, In this verve the true aneasing of the word is more cleats Inanifese. “Here the two opposite aspects of God, namely tte transeend- ‘ent or tho absohte snd what in atsence of a better term can called the Luinan aspect have baen indicated. Gad in his transcend- fut espect is infinite, Deyond the reach of hums thooght and compre- hension, But if God were only infinite, frail human being woul reecil in fear from such God, But God has another benign aspect where hae is related to man. He is not only Infinite but is Loveand as Love rman is near and denr unto Him. When man knows Him as Love, as ving Father or the dear ane, he does not recoil from Him but is drewo unto Him, Just as a litle child of « grost and wise futher may not indorstand is greatness or wisdom and would be ecared away fram him i{ it did, but can understand his Tove, s0 man, a tiny ereatnze, though the eannot fathom the depth af the infinite divine uature, ean undersinnd end is aasured by His Love, [5] Rac) cdetara’ way erehrafa Hat sea? wreeeceghhg: FG! SCTE sew Pee a he: sey wre TAA! ge rete mL 5. He ix sweetness indeed ! This (man or creature) havinge BRARNO DHARA obtained Hie sweetness becomes loving. calls Him the Sweet By immersed in supreme joy Human Speech naturally enjoying His sweet love man ie 5. Thie verse as well as the fo sneceading ones have been taken from the 7th Anuvaka of the Gna Vali of the Taitiriya Upanishad, Iu this verse the Bishi “having realised tho loving aatme of Got Aeclares in eestasy—"H is sweetness indeed” and says human love In its various forms is but ike eprays from the fountein of divine love. Man is loving. because ‘God is Love {6} SAREE aw: MENT VSM ATT MTA A EL vatrarrearfa gt fe fee 8 sway Set garg se are? are gir fey fe oe? rer we STREET: ee OTT Oe ey) oe ‘wearer Fe ae arama’ sree gerate het watrgTTT He 6. Who would move or who would live if He wore not m the nniverse ns Love. Ibis He indeed who inspires Love, ‘Thie incomparable universe has come into existence and the ereatwes ave received the means of their aubsistenee owing to the existence of the suptome Soul. But for Him nothing could exist ‘Where would this heaven be, where the Furth, where these living beings, where their activities, fortune and happiness if the benc- fioont God, the creator, and the stay of all, had aot crented this universe and ostablithod the eyetom of ouch good laws? It ia Ho, who ‘gives happiness to all men, Our desites are fuliled by recatving such Ihappiness from diverse beings as the geod Lord of the universe has cendovrel them with a view to ourhappiness. The eight of the bonuties of nature, the taste of sweet food, the affection of parents; the love of friends, the glory of knowlalge, the joy of wligious ministration, andl all other blessings which we get from various sourees, eome from Hix favour. Oh, how great are His mercies ! He lns not been contented ing us happiness through many thizgs, but also sweetens our with gi life, fils our mind and satisfies our desires, hy giving Himself when wwe seek Him, He prosontly wipes out the tears from the bu ees, and blossoms by pouring out the plentiful water on the parched ae CHAPTER 1. lotus of the heart of those wise and gentle persous, who not con- tented with the happiness of the earth, seek Him continuously. Oh, he lone understands the grace of Him, who hus enjoyed the pure bliss of seeing for a moment in his own heart, the God of perfect Dlise Here the Rishi indicates the alleustaining and all-encrgsing, nature cof God's Love, He declares with the emphasis of absolute convietion that nothing In this universe could liye or move but for tho existence of the loving God It # God who inspires love in the man heart. 17) wet Grae cafearrena ret as ferent Frere sort aferet Fea | wa Sora’ naerafet uo sa afer A ae OE! UTUR: Cat ME wf ‘carat anes Safe ART PrN ME Fore afte AW ETE: treme ‘aftr werare wf ‘afiret feat Save amt eT HT eee! | Sua! mar a Sere a wafe, se TAAL HOH 7. When he (the devotee). finds sure refuge in this unsoon, ‘unembodied, unspenkable, uncontained (God) then he reches the roqion of fearlessness, [As the frightened child, becomes reassured when it nachos the bosom af the mother, co we overcome the fears of this terrible world when we find refuge in the bocom of the loving God spread alt aromd. ‘Then having known him, the unseen but all-eeing, the ‘uncoutained but all-containing Lord of all, as our one only friend and helper, we resign ourselves wnto Him and walk with undisturbed ‘mind in the path indicated by Him, following His commands. ‘2. This verse repeats the iden of the 4th vere in an amplified form j namely, that only when man realises that behind the soemingly terrible ‘and heartles: universe there is an unten loving heart thea he is no Tonget aid in the midet of all tho visiitudes of life, be remains unmoved.SRANMO DHARMA [sd ahaa ferrets reg array | sere’ aariifirey a faafe werea cw "ea Te: Prone wa ReTET Be | ‘aired wr Fer a FRA rar HE 8. That from which epeech with mind. (thought) comes back ‘without fining [Hhe end} heving known that God’s Love one is not afraid at any time. He who has no fith in the goodness of God and does not know His real porpose, though living within the unchanging beautiful order of the universe, is afraid like one living in a house full of darkness. But he who hana seen the bensficent light of the perfect God of goodness spread over the univers, is nover afraid. '& This yore which has been taken from the dth Anuvaka of the 2nd ‘Valli of the Thittsya Upanishad, isa verletim repetition of the fourth verre which also has bean taken fiom the sane Upanishad with the only variation of “arate” ‘al any time’ in the place of “gama” from any quater. [94 rer wean nfatare war artis weit wiser TTT: | raed apreenents aarti wrergaatate t < & ower Are ear ‘oearatay mere: See TAT af | wet wera) fetter wa eet om cea wey) Spa tsar Crareye err Og! TCT we FO: Re] ATEN Pe atie Sera sfenfa mregorenty arater ee: Me Te SIE) “OT a ‘aravee rei af she want erty eeetefie” sept ee He is tho Supreme Refuge of him (an) He is the Supreme Treasure of him (aman). ‘He is the Supreme Habitation of him (man). ‘He is the Supreme Joy of him (man). All other beings live by participating in n measure of hie Love, cuapren 1 vers 9) 9 ood fortunes of man, knowledge of Gc is the best is the Inst reward of goodness. Of all treasures, God isthe richest treasine of man, He who has seceived this treasure does not count any other treasure as tressure, Of all the worlds, God is the highest. He is our supreme rofuge. He who AAwells in Bim doos nof ask for the fleeting imperfect happiness of the transiont Timited world. OF all the joys avadlnble for man, to the highest joy. Jn comparicon with this supreme joy ue are ike mere drops im the OF all the and highest. To got Hi ot oie Oot te gs af ; Fee ie tome Hoa anid se secs Cro at ; 7 y comparing it with other joys of the world, He panel Se ee ain weg th Gta Soke ee gn ot tm ty af rte ee a etn nt vom tr cna ee ee el ne Ou Uta ri te al un of ics Dem on to winplify it,CHAPTER U. {wy Xe ar wei Aa fafeerdty | aby rete. ‘eatenfeatag | SAT eT srs STITT we ‘ad orm 2 sei? ger wy icf wey ey wemtan xe Poti) taeeas! ces! @ thee fists wend? wen erm: arm: “ery ‘ew (ee rm ewer ae: uyerfeerce’ fie amfererae Rie winfeat atkatee ty amy ay ‘a! Fug: wer ae STR were ee: Ta: CR HE L._ Nothing cf this (univer i God) without » second. Ty without birth, without d ‘sted before ereation as the one [Suproie fe is, indeed, the great (Infinite) Spirit Without death, and without fer Before creation the Besides Him nothing el and umes Supreme God ied mt tho One. Rely hing sl ose. Aer eatin ale all eons sos beng exit in Him a tho ely es Hs hs brn ell the One wieat» nosed ee the One withont the second. = Therefore the Reality, : He isthe Consciousness, He knows Himself. Thecefowe He has boon eallod the Spin, But that. Spit ieee ‘born from: the Supreme §| irit, being ae f-existent, self-contained, eternal and all-perfect, "Src my Poe Teal Si yes t B f ; i i ‘ euARreR ven 1 indica thas the Bleral, etexitent God alone existed in he begiomng, {fom thorn all beings have hess hora, leaving seo and) progresise oman Imomlodge to datasine the meth of eration. “hia verve bas been taken from tluee diferent sourxs, namely, che first part ¥¢ to serdhg from Bribadasangaka from Ti 1. uty (0 ofa from greyed VIG. 1. And the ree fom Brihadsranyakn, IV. iv. 25 Mhamsbi could not get any single verse in the Upraisheds to expres’ Wie “Here we Bare a Gear instance of the fet that touepln of teat, Se Si ot tec to comple eton om tho Upside, Dut hod hh on ideas of a syste of Theology, which ho expressed in the lanyrag of tho Upanishads. a ciltsaas a anger se soiree afed fang net ‘a? we cron “a aaen’ simqeReRgaIAT era savant ‘ae! war erate sar Reretora ee TAT ory Ree: wre aren wine tear weer a Xe fw! wfareNTTHTEN HH We meditated and haying meditated ciated all chis that oxiste Before ereation no other object besides the Supreme God existed. Ho Ho did not create [the universe] with the help of other materiale He thought over the act of eration and having We can fashion Like an artisan. pondered over it erentod all this existing untversn something with earth or stone or iron, but that caunot be enlled Gaention is the production of something at one’s dosire withowe the help uf say other thing: ‘The power of ereation belongs only to the One So we havo not the power of creating anything. Supreme God. He alone has made this wonderful machinery of the universe by creating all these conselous aud unconscious beings, by his owa innate power and inzellizenee. 2, This vease as bova taken from the da Annavaka of dhe second Vali of tho Dwitisiya jpanishind. In the original it is preceeded by the wonls— wmyetfa) “He desired may {be rang, may Fhe rm ey et RENEE) “He desired may Bernt Bw ho wards@wargee 1 The vont eeu, ae pois reat singly masta, Talat 0. i neal tc pieanon volving the idea of sirenomayest. ‘The important significance, of the wor here obviously is that creation 15 nol a soewe fancy 0€ God, but involves tenuous thowght and mediation on tho part of God, We may comparea Seana nan aaa a 12 THAN DRAKA this with the account of erestion in the open Gevesis, wlio the act of eration does not sem to thought apd meditation as in this Verse. Mah, oes not notion this point but dilater tion the ‘help cf any other thing, which, though a fat ‘nthe mind of the composer of Bee if Chayter of the book of bbave involved the serious arab in his explanatory uote fet of creation without the ot seem to be predominent the verse. His emphasis undoobicdly ie on ot on srrarg; meditated or brooded oven, baz | RAMTEATET WT a: ween | we argedifana: aie farmer whet vey weer? eG ‘a sae re EY Se Catan abt efererfe | get ‘a ararrm: Sng? afifee’ ote: sare eat “efit Gere ober on AY’ we 3. From this were bom life, min all the senses, the heavens, the air, the light, the water, and the earth that containe all, ‘That Almighty Perfect Person has created ater, ait fie, and other materials life, mind, and all the senses, 3. This verve isthe third inthe this seetion the relation of the uni Tengil. In the fist verse, sparks from dhe Blazing fre. Tn the fourth verse heswen is eyes, he quarters the ents, ad so ich is uncontiovers at His own will, for fashioning the universe and first Bhanda of the second Bfandk. verse to the Brahman is described at ‘the crention i compara to the eoming ont of calle the head, the sun and the moon the ov. Maharshi lias taken the third verse ‘andl will e admitted by al teins, [3] ‘wareenferaater arareaftrese: 1 wrneas ange aqufata wee ase Snare, Ahar wer weg Safer: raf ‘are eater ast SOT TT: WE TR 4. "Out of fear for Him, fire gives hent, out of feer fer Him the eum shines, out of fear for Him, Indra (the loud, wine se Aeath the fifth, move about, vuarren 1 vEiee 15, is ives heat, the bet the wil of tw allgsating Gos th sve on ss shins the ous give ain, wins blow, and death move bt Nothing can go beyond His will and His rule, ‘The sw on plunets, stars, water, and wind, though material objects, move abs in their respective tasks, out of feer for Him, co wt 4. Ths vase taken fom he third Val ofthe ssn ae fhe Keatgnatad, Thea de iret hasaotcly bse atl by Cod Dats ara by ln. Ma Das ake, Ai, Sora oe man he oni yoy se tthe di of puna erident fr Ty and tho mond Pca the th eth Her we od tbe witha trussed the Veep : ices prem overling Gd, the Ve Tra ian and recognizes a supreme a ‘Sut te, being His agentsSa arate liaise Sa CHAPTER III, afeman @ getting: ad a faerqueaa wera mares warfare Gree yet Ae eat Hare at weit aarfarery ven fPrémeionin gzdarsts teri aq! mefETE: ee Freneer aw a ‘afar aay fRerficny ae” sneval awa wremnfererd ‘on! fing 1 ad? awformed %: fare gedmeg foray SeraTT oma suuratema erawTeNtertedae ‘se frame’ ata xfaorwercfete © gata Te) femity wet femur wat feet wanery ged Géery fee oreenienmerg Ye! sete ot meh ere, ae aT? BRT UL 1, He (tho seeker after divine knowledge) should go to a prvvep: tor in order to mow Him fally. He, the learned, sould epeale unto him, who lias came unto him with hie mind entirely tranquil endowed with peaceful disposition, the divine science systematically, by which he ean Imow the Bernal Person truly. Iti the dnty of every person to go to a preceptor who has knows Got, to recive instructions about the supreme God, having contralled his ire and boing peaceful in disposition, ‘The preceptor shoul give proper instractions to everyuns, who eosies to. him, with a Aiseiplined mind, being desirous of Knowing Goa, whatever be bis caste, He should not he nogligent ia abis duty. This Chapier deals with the subject. of the means of acquiting Brefma- prac aod ita importanee, The opening verses taken from Bundak Upani shad, Fst chapter, socond Khana, Verses 12 and 13 with slight, modification, ‘The last quarter ofthe 12th Verwe has heen omitted, which rans as follows ‘afwerte: sinter sufireny? With fuel in bis and versed inthe ‘YVodas and devoted to Brahman) It was tie cestom of a sesker after knowledge 10 go to a preceptor with fuel in His haul, ‘This may noi be necessary in the modem times, but other qualifications of a seckor after Eb cuapren i, verse 15. 1s iene Waowltge, nnnely, tht De Amd Dede in shxgh od ee a ae a aac alos nr cae ad i eens aig tect fe ot FE Men yn tbe tery ear bone» See eho es how mark mm tsar efor ee ena fern teed a ly stvinded preceptor {15 1 nou weragagie, eRe ase: fen Tet fret wetter faafeahe we er ara AeerTaTHEATERe RY sauce wes fear meta: wee: ute: wushte’ vat sae fer) fem we areet Fred eR AAA KA UME wz sco ey See Fea eT Fae” a RFT STAT AR 2, ‘The Rigveda, tho Yajurveda, the Samayeda, the Atharvavedn, and their ancillary sciences} the phonetics, the sysiem of ecre- rmonials, gramay, etymology, mete, and astronomy are inferior, but that is superior by which the Etzrnal is attained, ‘The eupreme object of human. Life is. to acquire knowledge about fe nature and purpose of God. The science by the stuly of ‘whi, shat supremely desirable pearl of knowledge etn be attned js the true, the highest science, all other seionees are inferior. Iti thorefog, dbut Rig, Yajur, Sawa and Atharve Vedas the phone- ties, Ue science of estenioninls, getuimar,ctymalogy, mot, aitro rnomy are the infeviorseienpes. Those portions of Rig, Yajur, Same, ete, apd all other seionces’ which teach about thé trie Knowlege 1 superior sciences. ‘They should be studied by al. ean roe ti inthe fw hf cher he ‘Mondaia Cpanishad 1 vias duslured bp Angles to Sonaka, in reply Wo his question, what is that, by bnowing which, oll this baoxoes koown. Tt ie very remarkable specially when we consider the greet vencraion in which the Vedas wero lad in those das, The sage cmphatially dedazer that the Velas with Uucie homadhes are Hataior Knowlelye, Breda is fa above the know ledge of Veta,6 mano DIAROrA wd 2 A 5 A , TIE ATARI Ae aanfeag Fret fad wand gest aged aa aats aftrafer FRI: van zest Ria ay ay ee tara gH deer fewey araAT ‘ada see ual gee a ara “ary watteentere se spree axe umremisfteerar ner am Ag) YET arash eee atest & afta ser aq Seven | faq! Sone! arateaetet ‘fre? cworefimrts fini’ anfee’ aster? erste, apt career ay aA ee Wa STE cae: wate eRe | aT genre Tuer ea; ORE NATTA faq erage aria” agret sree ‘oftemfa’ wis: ome sity feet 3, ‘That which is not the object ofthe organs of the knowledge whieh is beyond the organs of the action, without birth, withont form, without eyes or ents. ‘The wise seo clearly, that source of all beings, who is without hands oF foot, who is ctermal, allpervading, all-penotrating, very subtle, and crvation. He can not be seen by th ithout decay. He is above eyes, nor grasped by the hands. He is not tho object of any of the senses. Yet wise persone devoted to God, clearly realise that soures of all beings in the midst of this creation. 3 This verse is ako takon from the Mfondaka Upanishsd being the conti mation of the preening verse. Tt is possibly meant to give an asruranco fof the possibility of Brabwajuana, Tn that ease the emphasis shonld be on ‘the final words; sftwmfta Mer: ‘the wise see fully or clearly,” while tho fivst portion ofthe verse indieates tho difficulty of knowing God, who cannot ‘be seen and cannot be graspe and is without birth, withoat form ete, Yet the Rishi declares, the wise see Him clensly. The word et; hes a wide range ‘of meaning. In modern Senclrit it means steady, eoolheaded, but in the Uipunisheds it also included the siguiticance of wisdom. In thie verse, it un Aoubiedly combines hoth the ements of intellectual wisdom and moral lseipfine, Maharshi as included this verse in the present chapter 1 indicate that knowledge of God, though band of attainment, i quite possible for an egmest inquirer, if he resorts to the right mans | HAPTER 1, cms 17 u wat aged mil armafiraeier | wea EH Speeder wa eeraTen tsa AMATI AE ARTA TTT RON AAATAA SAAT GAH AAT et saat? ag! = quite ‘oe @ mf apt are aifiey awe fererg: an: Veer a ATT: APNEA Yay a TET afgne, «nq mee wg aff ve a ‘owe ef of ad he Ae cade mteyaes, vfeare afateer) mg aft wiferTs: Faire agony AAR ag ANE at Pear x tae wg aE ann esimataterery arama corny Sa ay aA rm: Sore: wg anger ‘serg! WON wre: same way aE SHOTS WEF CGE afG toree war Samar ay ohe A cee ate ee eee fee aememgfers sar wit a phasd sft) wag aff ong ‘ware wer ‘ama! ‘ator Mara’ Asie a wanfeashwee afee | witifes: ayerrg: wfafey ‘eure? a we gefaty ‘sqe?) stat Ra art a a Petal “meray? wen 4. Oh, Gargi, He, whom tho Brabanas salute, is this imperish- sible Brahman (the etermal Goi), Hee ie neither coarse, not fine, nei- ther short, nor Tong, not red, not moist, neither shndow nor ouknese, neither air nor etlet, without attachment, without taste, without smell, withont eye, without ear, thout speech, without mind, without light, wichou Life, without mouth, He cannot be compared to anything. He is not coarse (material). He is not atom, He is not short, He is not long, He has no dimension, He is not red, There is no colour in Him like rodnest ete, He ie not moisture, Ho is not a gata substance. He ig nol ais, He is not a gascous substance. He is not tivle, He i not smell. ‘These are ihe charscteristies 313 bRAUNO DHARMA of material things. He is not material, so nothing of these exists i As Ho is not a material cubstance, He has not a materia body like ows. Neither has He a bodily life, nor limbs such as fice etc. As there is relation between body and mind in us, we ce or hear or speak on account of that relation. God is no such being with body and mind related together. Consequently He does nnot ace through eyes, nor spenk through mouth like us He is without eves, without ears, without speech. He is without mind; He is not a mind without a body, in Him thero are no functions of mind. He is without attachment He is uot addicted fo earthly pleasures and pains, When He is not matter nor mind, how ean Ho be Tike shadow or dirknoss or ether. Fle is the eternal reality, the infinite spirit, nothing can be compared to Him. As the mind is superior to matter, so the Supreme Spirit whose essence is telligence, is infinitely euperior to mind. Tntelligenco is innate im Him, That All-mowing person does not require any eenses 10 mow anything, He doos not require memory to know the past He knows all (past, present; future), at once. He has not anges, envy, hated, grief, like us. His meres, affection, love, and joy, are not also like ours. He is goodness. The love and affection, which springs from this spitit of goodness, flowing through the universe keeps it moistened. He infinitely transcends the human virtues of justice, merey and Jove, Our Lovo is only a particle of His infinite love, 4. Here is another verse of siilar import to the previous one from the Bribadaransaka Upaniched. It ie the eghth verse of the eighth section ofthe thin] chapter of that Upsniahad with the last portion omitted. Here also the dificulty of the Jmowledge of God is even more strongly emphasised, ‘The wellknown conception of the Upanishads that God ean not be fnuleated by any epithet, Ghat every assortion is 2 limitation, that He fan not be indicated, has heen very forebly brought out here. But inspite of this the Brahman is not unknowable ‘That is the important point here. So we woukl put the emphasis a in the previous verse, on the predicate @fiewefia which may be rendered ther as ‘speak’ or salute” ‘Max Mullortekes itn the former sonse. I would prefer the latter meaning. ‘Tho significance of tho verso ics in the fet that the knowers af God salute or Norship Him. The word Brhmana here meane those who know God sand not a caste or class oF comunity. {18 ] we a ware maet omit amiesadt fred ‘faea: wan aay Wm: mur corsa fed fred wa oe ane 2 ace were @ fi? aie sare cqeheeedt werrnhtenda sts ritouafemraar Fated), “feeeh! few” Wi nt 5. At the command of this Taperishable [person], ch Gargi, the sun and the moon stand, held fast, ‘At His command, the sam, standing at the centre of the solar systom, has been illuminating Tike a lump by its own light, the arth and other planets within it; and holding them fast in their respective paths (orbits) by its own might, und has been keoping alive by dictibuting ite vitality, birds eatile and other animals, fand twoes, eroopers and other vegetables. Held by this Inw tho beautiful moon, with its nector-tike rays, has boen roaming, in the void paths [of the heavens), and has been delighting the hearts of all, putting on new dress every night, and has been keoping alive and fresh the vegetables by its beautiful Tight, 5. Now follows the beautiful verso which is the continuation of the pre vious verse from the Brihadaranyale Upanished, which Mabarebi has split up into foar diferent verses. In sublime language they declare the misjesty of God in reguleting the fares of nature. Tt isthe Bernal God at whose ‘command the sun and the moou are held fast in their respective places. L9) wae aT aCe BATA mufat rarefied Ferwe Fewer nau saver @ weer naam & ofl’ ae ghee carargfeer’ fea ftoen? | cneret endeventg: weeararfrened) sarees sear aratgfieretera feet WEA ued 6, At the command of tht Imperishable [person], Oh Giargi, the hhoaven snd the earth stand, held fast. ‘The common name of all the other worlds beside this Harth20 rainio DHARMA namely the aun, the moon, the planets, the sas and other itumined worlds is the hagven. ‘This Barth a¢ our feet and the heaven above our hen, all exist under the discipline of that beneficent raler of the ‘universe. Not pasticle of them can go beyond His law. 6. After the sun and raoon, the Barth and eaven sxe given ap instances of God's overruling providence, [20 45 waa a FETA AMG mnie faaoGeRteeaTEE arererrarsenar: deere Premnfeaete ven ‘oma 3 ware awed “Sah ‘fate: genk wire sederar, aray; Was: waqTT: FFs! Vt wravewar: ‘faveT: Hehe wen 7. At the command of that Lmporishable [person], Oh Gargi, ‘moments, hours, days and nights, halfanonths, months, the seasons, and the years stand held fast ‘The events that occur from time to time, aro according to His laws, Not even the slightest event can happen beyont His inexorable lav. 7 Therelatel man of the continouns eye of the yeas, srs month fertnighin da and hgh, ie rihtly mentioned ax an tetance of Bininezonble niet oe ia wae eT AMER mt mrt: eat SA: asda, mater: uu ar eae 2 weer sana? @ arf ‘enw: srawer: yetfenTAT: ‘wa? wed wefan Fim: Femtarfie’ ceive: fem: ‘ade: sata faarnar, sar, ae: eee az: oo: | retest ate ed faa: ate Ken 8 At the command of thet Imperishable [person], oh Gung some rivers [rising from while mountains flow eastwarils [while] others westwards, Accotiing to the law of the supremely beneficent God rapid rivers, having risen from high mountains, covered with snow, flow OMAPTER I. VERSE 21. at distributing bonefit and blessings to innumerable creatures. The water which is accumulated in some unknown and indefinite heights of mountains, beyond our sight, we get easily at a of bundreds of miles. 8. In this verso the Rixki has expressed is wonder ab the law necording. 4o which some rivers dow eastwarde and othors westwards, distributing waters to the broad plain of the Indian continent. ‘To the fresh wondering mind of tho Aryans this appeared marvellous, ana verily it is so. ‘The rising of the ‘vapours from the water of the sens, their march upwards towanls the ‘mountaing, formation of the elouds and downpour of therains giving. rise to innumerable seams and rivers, earrying the watars back into the ovenn, verily a liviag example of the beneficent Providence of God. Tt will be noticed thatthe writer was at least ronghly acquainted with the geography ‘of India. In the original verse of the Brihadarangaka Upanishad, there is nother line which speaks of men praising God, which is not very. clear, boy the omission of which the heanty and value of the vere has been en- Ihanced rather than decreased [32] A ar omeet arafafeensfay Ra TES aaa aT waa agit adawarerracara arate en fe PF aawe @ mf ‘afafeer sfemra ‘ofa as Sette at areal’ cate ‘wef wdawerfel arf sre ev sey “a ‘ae wef ten 9. Whoseever, oh Gargi, without knowing that Imperishable pevson offers ablations in this world, performs sacrifices and penances {for several thousands of years, he does not recvive abiding fruit. Having directly, known ‘the beneficent God in our hearts, we fre to be united with Him in love, and to do His work consciously then only we can attain the endless fruit of His companionship If without knowing Him, one worships Him doy and night care- lessly being attached to this world, with external pomps, or wastes his body and mind by performing useless cacrifices to please the po- pulace, or gives away all his wealth in the hope of getting honour and fame, he cannot establish any relationship with God ; conso-22 RAHMO DHARMA quently he bas not receive any permanent result, Whoever having known Géd performs zeligious duties institnted by Him with view to do his work in love for Him, in bim all the charae- teristics of religion ame to be found and he enjey' the supremely desired imperishable joy of God te the e 9, This and the next verse are a farther continwation of the same section of Biibadaranyaks Upanishad being the tenth vorse of the eighth section of {hho Third Chaplcr. Tere the supreme impostance of "Bradmaynana’, as been indicated with great emyhusis, The cage declares that the frais af sect fices and other religions performances are of a transient nature, nd if & enon peeforms them for thousands of years be docs not attain the Permouent results. By Brabnsjnane alone, one attains abiding sults Which have been variously called inthe Upanishads as Arittaw, eternal lif, Shanti, Seat, efor pence, ee ee arvaent miaearamieng ff 6 Bow | we ganeas afi fateerearatenre Het @ arm: ween fg: Boag ree & arf fafa wena Sey Af a! are! puma Sa 27e | RE RUM ee Rafal” “Fehr ser Srey Slee a: TMT! ten 10, Whosoever, oh Gargi, without knowing this Tm perishable {peteon] departs from this world he is poot; he is to be pitied ; on the othor hand, whocoever having Eoown thi: departs from this world, he is a Brahmana, Imperishalle [percon] (Of all the creatures in the world, man alone is ontitled to Brakmajnana, ‘The namo of man has been to glovified because thw has tho privilege of knowing God and the religious duties inst tuted by Him. Who is more unfortunate than he, whe having received the supremely valuahle human life fails to know God? Who is poorer than the person, who is unable to taste the smspeak able joy, that is felt by realising God who is the object of bighest love? He is to be pitied. He is poor indeed, his birth is Nke the birth of a beast of burden, On the other hand whoever knowing, euaPrEn 111 Vane 22 2 Flim departs from this work he is fortunate, Ne i dhe best of asen, de is Beshmana. 10, ‘This ie the second bali of the tenth rene of the eighth section of Aad ehapter ofthe Beibadaronyaka Upanihad. As 2rahnejnowe ia auprenie {bjee of hraman Ife it atsraly fellows dat whoever dee without wih Gan no has fied in the mais obet of if, He & to be yited, aud! who- cre, attains Brakmejnana in this life ke is fortunate, be is Brabmaun Fiece evidently BrBhmana means xo a esste, bub the blessed perren who bas Brabuainens : (41 eet tagen arden’ aad Rad wafer fase afters ereree arecremrarsiteraiters 1 ¢H sa F cay Wet a anf? wee’ a Safeq ce ufearnry Sag ge oa sad Maerfewsery eag fig’ TaT sama! word gfe ey eg aa Safed! gehen ey enfant = 8y wot Ranh ors stays is wf oechaTe Fa wet LL. Oh Gargi, this Imperishable yerson'fis not seen], He wees all; Hie is not heard by any ene, he Teas all; Be is not Ghought by nny one, He thinks all; He is not known by sy fone, but Knows all. In that Imperishable [person] indeed, Ob Gargi, the ether is woven like warp aud woof. ‘Whatever wo know by the operations of sosing, hearing, think: ing, ‘He knows them all, moreover he Knows, wit we cannot cee; hatHe isnot the object of seeing, hearing, thinking and comprehending of sy ous, No one com know Him as he knons Frimeelé ; understanding eapnat comprehend the Infinite by thoueht The sky. ie perveded by tis Infvite Impershable Person there js no space where this all-pervading God. does not exis. 431, ‘This is the final vere of the discourse of Yajnavallys in reply to the queaton of Gang. Bsing the eleventh verse of tle egth etcton OF (3 Mint chaplr of he Beihadaryaka Uponisbad. Yojnavahya concludes 9 veetag hat th universe i woven by she impsihabloHrabman ke wart se ot hat ia te say the universe entcely made up of he inate ene arent ‘God, ‘There is nothing else but Him. Maharebt has onile = Jee wore in the middle, which if anything, as improved the efleivencss of the verse.wlnserera: ca ANAT aa Phunsenrefades wraeralet waar waz Sta at Sey we ara nA! Atar SRAT a | tat wary afi: ae, Rg: ree wea; Gear aENRETeh: amen: wumte yee sree 28 12. Out of fear & sn chines, Him wind Mows, ont of fear fo Oct of fear for His Agni, Hin the India nel Dectb the fifth, ‘moves abou Under che rile of this imperishable beneficent porson, wind, sim, fire, clouds, death ete, are all together continvoss!y engaged in performing the good of this univers, 12, Now follow two veres fim two different sourees, which 20 to confirm the ideas dilated in te previons verses from the Tribadaranyska. ‘The frst one is from he ‘aitiviya Cponishad JH, vil ond the othee from Katha Upenishad VI, if. Tt is only a vasiation of the verse of the Wateenth, verse taken from the Kaths Upanizhad stress commented upon. ‘The simi Jasity of che two verses is remarkable. They niust have been interdependent. [26] afed Gre srg ea mrmosife Fred 1 werd aaa qoafegeara wale wen fe Tew ore ange ore seta auf et ‘eet sme faa Sek ane fey ria | ARE rag antec AMT ay ‘wea? awe ay AS Renae My ea waator wy) wT Sheowt erfewetagdhe eet warhiate oes nad ate SHhenmgnteee am tataton we caw wth, a aromatase ow fig? Fromater; 'wier:' wae. cadre: Forfa? een 18, ‘This entire universe is established in duly instituted’ laws, wing come out from God who is life and, being filled by Him. { i crraeeer Tvs 26 2% se. All {beings) having been born None ean overstep His will, thio eerasting vine Die : aa BE ir na taken tor: Katha Opn once it fet wer ane aly ot SN a fave hom Hn, ahd sates (in ol ‘mater wv ee oof ts exe he wevins Se opal a pew etae of Gol eit. He i Fee bed humeral trl w hae Te st‘Et ow who tor Bi ecame aT ov, see a Span mtr or tng St e t A alin sey messing tol srl or in Ce ay tha regs ene serine 0 Upnitods iat vey erst brome ele in Ju consCHAPTER IV. oe Ras Ra AAA were | BS HIME HUTT: 1g Stara ott af Coated aired goer Serta ae yore feeaPe aT RE; A! eR | TEE cme! og a “BE TEE Te! THT RN: AG! UE 1. He who is the ear of the ens, mind of the mind, speech af the speceh, is the lifs of the life, the eye of the eye. | ‘The eye, oar, organ of speech, mind and life have received their respective powers from supreme God, and are able to employ those powers in their respective functions, having been established in Him as their stay, ‘Therefore, He hay been called the ear of the ‘ear, mind of the mind, speech of the speech, life of the life and eye of the eye. As He is the oye of the eye but not Himself the eye, ett of the ear but not Himself the ear, 2o He is the mind of the mind, bat not Himself the mind, He is the unlimited intelligence, He is the cause and sustenance of all 1. The fourth chapter deals with the question of the natore of man's Imowledge of God. It is marvelous bow the Rishis of the Upanishads, anticipated some of the diffinlticy raised by modem agvostic thibkers, and how conclusively they mot these objections. The Risbis of the Upanishads fully realised the agnostic position that God is infinite, that mind with epeech comes back balled, but at the seme time claimed. He in not absolutely unknown. ‘This position has been fully and bewutifully ‘atablched in the few verses of this chapter, which have been all taken tom the Kena Upanished. The frst is token from tho fret chapter, second verse, In the opening verws was raised the profound question “who is it impelled by wham, mind goes to ite work, the life first starts, impelled bby whom men speak and what God unites eye and ear [to their respective objects.” "The present and the subsequent verees are an aneyer to that searching enguiry. Tt declarcs that Ged ie the source and sustenance of ‘the organe of the senses, mind, and understanding ; 20 itis not possible to know God as we know the objects of smses, ‘The last portion of the ‘vere, namely to the effect that the wise become immortal by knowing Hit, thas boen omitted here as it at been declared with emphasis at the canclusion of the chapter, cuarren 1. viens 28 [81 ar nee ertecetr a aurea eat Fett were aiacafieana | wate afefearen wiateareta 1 ea Ta yaai & wererraafert ven swan erate danke aw wa: or fey HLS “og: Te sees ee reg tia af rere aw gfe tT TEE sawn? meet caren fe epee eRe A! AE am cam, a eat! Ca Bar yt em am Saat’ eof fare | See ERE ON ae mad Rw CARAT re, TE: fen aft SaftRerey ware ate Rar wea Sf OER! yee egaiei eravatet wer P wreraits oe! cer ey smesfet myeerrer: Frere’ fier HR 12, He isnot approachable by the eye, by speech and by mind. We donot know Hin paticulasly and we do not know how to instruct about “He is different from all objects known or tioknown, We have thus heant from those ancient teachers who have spoken unto us about Goud ‘The only instruction that ean be given about Fim who, though ‘ye of the oye, is beyond the reach of the oye, though speech of the speech, is beyond the reach of the speeck, though mind of the Tnind, ie beyond the seach of the snind, is that He is diferent from ail objects either known or wikuown. Ten not any of the things ‘which are well-known to u9 nor ni of the limited exeated things not Known to us Ho is the orestr, the stay and the regulator of all limited, cronted things known or unknown. Ho is within all, yet different and indepeudent of all, Such is the teaching of ancient sages ; 2, ‘This verses taken ftom the Kena Upanisha, fit chapter, thin verse 1 speaks epost cophaiclly ofthe transtendence of God, ‘Tho renses can sy cuach Him, mint cannot think of Him. Heis above all things known wet nbuown, sch Bas. heen the teaching of dhe ancient sages It is tobe tpotod that this ancient Rishi of the Upanishads apoukeof sages till more ancient28 BRAEMO DHARAA [29] werernafed Ga armgert 1 ata aw a fate ag afeeqared van Say me SNS Serhan Cor wer ‘ane fechas Soa ome Mg Teg | fae ysrer “aw! “fap! Fee St) ae aw ag (ae" efeahery Romesh heed eeTSA’ : Know Him as the Brahman who can not be spoken by speech, but by whom speoch hiss boon cent, Whatsoever limited objects the poople worship, are never God. Ho is God, from whom speech has recived the power of speaking. ‘Specch is possible by His indwelling presence, but He is not express: el by speech, “He is uot the limita’ object which people worship indicating ax ‘this’. Some worsbip water, air, fre, stone, beasls birds, trees or creepers ; some worship the sun, moon, planets, ‘and stars, some worship gods and godesses imagined by mind, many people worship men of uncommon powers as incarnations of Gol; but none of these is God. Worshi is orship of those ie not worship of God. ° e 4. This isthe fourth vero of the fst chapter of the Keun Ups chapter of 9 Upavisad reler to some known objets of worship and emphatically declares that this snot God. It would be interesting. to know, if aye had the meron of ascertaining what is the object to which tho write rier 25 ‘his It would seem to peint to some idol or image but perhaps at yet idol Teokipind et ncinn comenes Rae ace ea ie we fen 6 ee ot some other symbol for worship, wares [ 30] HART A Aga Farge | sea ae & ffs Re aferquraé ven ‘aad eorehgenrast we ‘soar a! eg” MgRERT Sa! Bey awe ‘woh Feat ery! eater amPR 1 ee a: Fe a So ae ae RR A oT 4. ‘Tho theistic teachers sey—know Him as God, whom people CHAPTER IV. VERS 51 20 ceannot think, but who knows every thonght of mind. What- soever limited things people worship are nover God. Mind ean think of only Timited things. But how can mind think of Him who is infinite intelligence 1 He is not the object of thought; no one can think of that Perfect Exsenee ; but Fe thinks all. Ho is tho witnoss of all our foclings, desires, and actions Darknoss cannot cover evil deeds nor calumny can twmish our {g0o0 actions before Him, ‘4, This iss continnation from the Kena Upanishad being the fith verse of tho firt chapter. It repeats the idea of the previons verse with mind substituted in the place of sposch. In the original there are three more verse of exactly similar nature with eye, ear and life substituted for spoech or mind, as being unable to give us knowledge of Cod. (3) ale aut Batt catenfi gel at Bar maT we ee, Te matin afar: Fah ARE MfefeRh “aA! weThe, seed! hg ef EW Ey AR ea RE Te OA a” a aS ew: HF HL TE yon think T know God well” then surely you know very little of the nature of God, He who thinks ‘I have known God well he has known ‘very Tittle of God ; because he has not known that the infinite God cannot be Known well. Perhaps he is satisfied with the thought thar God is some object having « form ; or if his thought is subtler, he thinks Him ax some Timited formleee object like mind. He has pot known that Goll has neither body nor ind, if He had body, He world be an object of senses; if He had mind, He woald be graspod by the mind. ‘There azo many people who understand that God has no body, but they do not realise clemly that He lias no mind either. They attribute to that pure absolute infrite intelligence, tho fmction of Limited mind. ‘They think that Be has anger, envy, alfection, compassion and pertinlity. Tf He bad theee virtues of mind, we would have known Him well fo thoco who think that they know Him well, attribute to Him these virtues of mind; these among them who sve still mote grosslyattribute to Him virtues of body. Mind is a subtle object, beyond the reach of senses. But that which is subtler than it, has not even the virtues of mind. How can we know Him wall? He Who is the cause of this universe has no doubt wisdom; but is that wisdom limitol like ows, oan we comprehend that infinite knowledge by our faite understanding ? He lias created this world und is even now protecting it, So it is evident He has the power of creation and protection, But is that power limited like ours? Can we comprehend that unthinkable power in our mind ? Can the love of Him who has created merey, affection, love for the good of this world, bo like the finite love of our minds ? ‘Who eau fathom the mufathomable love of the tuo, the beautiful and the good 5, ‘Thos four verses are from the second chapler of the Keun Upani- ‘had. Hore the sage has propounded his conception of man's knowledge cf God. Tu the previous verses he indicated, the difienlty of knowing God. But therefore He isnot altogether unknown ; we ean know Him, only it we wnderstand that ye do not know Him thoroughly. Maharshi has taken only the first half of tho frat verue of the second chapter. { 2] arg wat ga2fa a G2fe Be a1 at mate aig ata A2fa Ge a ta ses saixte aw Safe Ae aE Bat we aiigae wef FRR Te OR) a aE sens we at ea eT waa, FET OE RW A) TameeatiaTE a) A FRR Ae w efit nen 6 Ido not think that Thave known God well. It is not that 1 do not know Him, nor is it that { know Him. He among us, who knows the meaning of the saying “It is not that I do not know ‘Him, no is it that I know Him” knows Him. ‘Fe is not that I do not know Him’, that is to say, i is not that I do not at all know anything about the Spirit of Go. By His ‘grace I havo apprehended the spivit of trath, of beauty and bene ficence of tho perfect God who is without beginuiug and without CHAPTER TV. VERSE J. 3 end, But T have not fally comprehended Him as T have compre- hended finite objects. He who having seon Him face (0 feo with the eye of pure knowledge, hus known Him as the Perfect ; be has fully understood the menning of this saying. 6. ‘This is the second verse ofthe tecond chaptev of the Kena Upanishad Ik in a very thoughtful saying and is a completo answer to the agnostic doubt of allaget. ‘The £42 has once for all elewrod arvay in one short ‘ense the mist of agnostic disbelief. Te true that are ean not know the infinite God in His perfection. But it also true that it not that wo do not Know Him al all. We have some idea of Him, that is the nature of the knowledge ofall infnitade. We do not know infinite space but we ean distinguish it from finite space of various dimensions and eo we have some conception of infinite space; stich ie the nature of the knowledge of the Snftaite God. The theists and devotees hare Known God in varicus measures acvording to their esperlonce and progress in thei apizitoal knowledge. [33] aerad ae ad ad Tet A ae a | sfamd froma fmranfaarreny vot caer waite: samt xfer affect aif ser oe ad UE sribateara: | ae ya ‘ei sree Pati war ate thee: at arm: “Bat Feorenfa a: | tafe ced UREA aM ‘ReTTa? eMRAE ff rafedag) “fem fried aw aReradi aareftat yen He who thinks that he has not known Goi, has really Known Him.* Oa the other hand, ho who thinks that he has known Him, really does not know Hin. 'The truly wise person thinks that he hae not known Goi; but he who is not so wise thinks that he has known God. + Tf wo undarstand that we ean not know Him fully by our limited, finite understanding, then we have a tue conception of the perfect God who is without beginning and without fend. ‘The wise person who lins realised the perfoct nature of the true, the hoautiful, abd the goed, by the oye of pure knowledge knows that we can mot reach the ond of His sprit. 1. Thins the thind vere fom the second ebupter of the Kena. Upanicbad and continues and confine the conception of the previous vers. Men of Tile knowledge only think chat thoy know all sbout God ; but the truly vwiso know that their knowledge of divine infinituds is 0 imperfect that3a NRAHO DEARMA jt em bo said zo bone knowledge st alle Here the ist has eeprom in, tbe burace what the witest man of ancient Greees is known to have foil of himself as contrasted with othors xt ‘he Knows he does not know fuything, while others have not thnt knowlege even ; or what Newton ix Teyarted have sa, namely, ‘Tam Tike a little

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