Brahman is near, moving in the cave of the heart; know it as the target. Take the great bow of the Upanishad, set on it the arrow sharpened by worship, draw it with a mind fixed on That, and pierce the Imperishable. Om is the bow, the Self is the arrow, Brahman the target; be one with it as the arrow with the mark. Know only the One Self, give up other talk; this is the bridge to immortality. When he is seen, the knot of the heart is cut, all doubts fall away, and karma ends. Sun, moon and fire do not shine there; by his light all shines. Brahman alone is all this.
Manifest, close at hand, moving in the cave of the heart, it is the great abode. In it is set all that moves, breathes and blinks. Know it as being and non-being, the most desired, beyond the knowledge of creatures, the highest.
यदर्चिमद्यदणुभ्योऽणु च यस्मिँल्लोका निहिता लोकिनश्च । तदेतदक्षरं ब्रह्म स प्राणस्तदु वाङ्मनः तदेतत्सत्यं तदमृतं तद्वेद्धव्यं सोम्य विद्धि
yadarcimadyadaṇubhyo'ṇu ca yasmim̐llokā nihitā lokinaśca | tadetadakṣaraṃ brahma sa prāṇastadu vāṅmanaḥ tadetatsatyaṃ tadamṛtaṃ tadveddhavyaṃ somya viddhi
That which is luminous, subtler than the subtle, in which the worlds and their dwellers are set, is the imperishable Brahman. It is prana, it is speech and mind. It is the true, it is the deathless. Dear one, it is the target to be struck. Strike it.
Taking the great weapon of the Upanishads as a bow, fit to it an arrow sharpened by worship. Drawing it with a mind absorbed in That, dear one, strike that Imperishable as the target.
Om is the bow, the self is the arrow, and Brahman is called the target. It is to be struck with an unwavering mind; one should become one with it, as the arrow with its mark.
In whom heaven, earth and the middle air are woven, and the mind with all the pranas, know him alone as the one Self. Leave other talk. He is the bridge to immortality.
Where the channels meet like spokes in the hub of a wheel, there he moves within, born in many forms. Meditate on the Self as Om. May you fare well in crossing to the far shore beyond darkness.
He who knows all and understands all, whose glory is on earth, is established as the Self in the space of the divine city of Brahman, the heart. Made of mind, leader of the breath and body, he dwells in food, seated in the heart. By knowledge the wise behold him, shining as bliss and immortality.
न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः । तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति
na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṃ nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto'yamagniḥ | tameva bhāntamanubhāti sarvaṃ tasya bhāsā sarvamidaṃ vibhāti
There the sun does not shine, nor the moon and stars; these lightnings do not shine, much less this fire. Everything shines only after him who shines; by his light all this is lit.
This immortal Brahman is before, Brahman behind, Brahman to the south and north, below and above. Brahman alone spreads forth as this universe, the most excellent.
English translation · F. Max Müller
1. Manifest, near, moving in the cave (of the heart) is the great Being. In it everything is centred which ye know as moving, breathing, and blinking, as being and not-being, as adorable, as the best, that is beyond the understanding of creatures.
2. That which is brilliant, smaller than small, that on which the worlds are founded and their inhabitants, that is the indestructible Brahman, that is the breath, speech, mind; that is the true, that is the immortal. That is to be hit. Hit it, O friend!
3. Having taken the Upanishad as the bow, as the great weapon, let him place on it the arrow, sharpened by devotion! Then having drawn it with a thought directed to that which is, hit the mark, O friend, viz. that which is the Indestructible!
4. Om is the bow, the Self is the arrow. Brahman is called its aim. It is to be hit by a man who is not thoughtless; and then, as the arrow (becomes one with the target), he will become one with Brahman.
5. In him the heaven, the earth, and the sky are woven, the mind also with all the senses. Know him alone as the Self, and leave off other words! He is the bridge of the Immortal.
6. He moves about becoming manifold within the heart where the arteries meet, like spokes fastened to the nave. Meditate on the Self as Om! Hail to you, that you may cross beyond (the sea of) darkness!
7. He who understands all and who knows all, he to whom all this glory in the world belongs, the Self, is placed in the ether, in the heavenly city of Brahman (the heart). He assumes the nature of mind, and becomes the guide of the body of the senses. He subsists in food, in close proximity to the heart. The wise who understand this, behold the Immortal which shines forth full of bliss.
8. The fetter of the heart is broken, all doubts are solved, all his works (and their effects) perish when He has been beheld who is high and low (cause and effect).
9. In the highest golden sheath there is the Brahman without passions and without parts. That is pure, that is the light of light, that is it which they know who know the Self.
10. The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings, and much less this fire. When he shines, everything shines after him; by his light all this is lighted.
11. That immortal Brahman is before, that Brahman is behind, that Brahman is right and left. It has gone forth below and above; Brahman alone is all this, it is the best.
Public-domain translation by F. Max Müller (1884).
Text source: Wikisource · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikisource transcription of a public-domain text)
