Principal Upanishads

Minor Upanishads

Aruni Upanishad

Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality And all the senses grow in strength. All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads. May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me. Let there be no denial at all: Let there be no denial at least from me. May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me, Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me. Om ! Let there be Peace in me ! Let there be Peace in my environment ! Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

   1. Om. Aruna’s son went to the sphere of Brahma, the Creator, and reaching there said, “Lord, in what way can I relinquish work altogether ?” Brahma said to him: You must give up your sons, brothers, friends, and the rest, your hair-tuft and the holy thread, your sacrifices and books regulating them, your scriptures; must give up the (seven upper) spheres entitled Bhur, Bhuvar, Svar, Mahar, Jana, Tapas, and Satya, and the (seven nether) spheres, viz., Atala, Patala, Vitala, Sutala, Rasatala, Talatala and Mahatala, together with the (whole) universe; and must take on the staff and the scanty clothing of the Sannyasin; you must renounce everything else, aye, everything else.

   2. The householder, or the Brahmachari, or the Vanaprashta should commit the fires that lead to the different spheres to the fire that is in the stomach, and consign the sacred Mantra, Gayatri, to the fire that is in his own speech, should throw the holy thread on the ground or into water. The Kutichara living a Brahmachari’s life should give up his relatives, and discard his begging bowl, and the straining-cloth, should give up his triple staves, and the fires that lead to particular spheres. (So said Prajapati). Henceforward he should behave like one who has got no Mantra to repeat, should give up the desire to go to the higher spheres, bathe at the beginning of the three meeting-points of the day, viz., morning, noon, and evening, should effect a union with his Atman through the highest concentration, and from amongst the (whole range of the) Vedas should repeat only the Aranyakas, only the Upanishads, aye, nothing but the Upanishads.

   3. Verily I am Brahman, the Sutra; the Sutra is Brahman for It originates (the cosmos); I myself am the sutra because I am a man of realisation – the wise one who has realised this should give up his triple holy thread. “I have renounced, I have renounced, I have renounced” – uttering this thrice he should declare – “From me there is no fear (in word, thought, or deed) to any being, for from me everything has proceeded”. Uttering the Mantra – “That art my friend, so protect me (from cows, serpents, etc.), thou art strength and my friend, in all seen and unseen danger thou art the Thunder of the Lord of the Universe”, etc., he should hold up high the bamboo staff and put on the loin-cloth. He should take food as if it were medicine, aye, as if it were medicine. Carefully guard (oh, ye all who are concerned) your chastity (in thought, word and deed), non-injury, non-acceptance of (superfluous) gifts, non-thieving and truthfulness – guard them by all means, aye, do guard !

   4. Now then the duties of the highest class of itinerant monks – the Paramahamsa Parivrajakas (are as follows): They must sit and lie down on the ground. Those having already taken the vow of chastity etc., should use an earthen bowl or one made of gourd, or a wooden bowl; they should give up lust anger, avarice, infatuation, ostentation, haughtiness, jealousy, attachment to objects, egotism, falsehood and the like. The Sannyasin should stay at one place during the four months of the rainy season and during the remaining eight months wander alone, or with a single companion, aye, a single companion.

   5. Verily one who has realised the (true) import of the Vedas may give up those things (previously enumerated) after the investiture with the holy thread, or he may do so even before that ceremony – (give up) his father, son, his sacrificial fires, and the holy thread, his works, his wife and all else that he may possess. Sannyasins enter a village for begging purposes only, with their palms or their stomach as the receptacle for food. Uttering “Om” “Om” “Om”, they should mentally place this Mantra, the Upanishad, in the different parts of their body.

He who realises the Truth in this manner is really the wise one. He who knows this (and is a Brahmachari taking on the monastic vow) should give up the staff made of the wood of the Palasha (Dhak), Bilva (Marmelos), or Audumbara (Fig) trees, his skin and girdle and the holy thread, etc., and thus be a hero. “That supreme state of the all-pervading Deity the sages realise for all time like the eye pervading from one end of the sky to the other.” “Sages purged of all impurities like anger etc., who have awakened from the sleep (of ignorance), kindle that Truth (in the minds of the enquirers), that supreme state of the all-pervading Deity.” Such indeed is the injunction of the scriptures leading to liberation – the injunction of the Vedas, aye, of the Vedas.

Here ends the Arunyupanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.

Translated by Swami Madhavananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta