Svetasvatara Upanishad
Svetasvatara Upanishad
Svetasvatara Upanishad
(Vedanta, which means ‘the end of the Vedas’, refers to the ancient Hindu
scriptures called the Upanishads. The Upanishads were written by numerous
anonymous authors at various times, from around 800 B.C.E. to well into the
Current Era. One of the most highly respected and honored of these is the
Svetasvatara Upanishad, guessed to have been written around 400 B.C.E. I
have made this simple verse translation of it out of a long-time love of this
particular Upanishad. I hope it appeals to you as well.)
―Swami Abhayananda
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SVETASVATARA UPANISHAD
A Verse Translation
by Swami Abhayananda
Part One:
10. The forms of the world fade like clouds in the sky;
But the Lord remains ever-One and unchanged.
He is the Ruler of all worlds and all souls;
Through meditation on Him, and communion with Him,
He becomes known as the Self, and from illusion one is freed.
12. These three: the soul, the world, and the Lord of all,
Are nothing else but the one Brahman.
It’s Brahman alone who exists as everyone and everything;
Beyond Brahman, the Self, there is nothing to know.
Like the fire, the Atman, the Self, is concealed within man;
By the power of meditation on OM, it becomes revealed.
Part Two:
16. When that Lord, who pervades all the worlds everywhere,
Gave birth to the first motion, He manifested Himself as creation.
It’s Him alone who is born in this world;
He lives within all beings; it’s only Him everywhere.
17. To that effulgent Lord who’s in fire and in the great oceans,
Who lives as this world, who’s in plants and in trees—
To that Lord let us sing! Give all glory to Him!
To that Lord let us sing! Give all glory to Him!
Part Three:
10. Though He lives within the world, He stands far beyond it;
He has no form; nor has He any blemish or pain.
Those who have known Him have passed beyond death;
But, until a man knows Him, he suffers in pain.
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11. All faces are His; all men’s heads are His own.
All necks are His necks; He’s in everyone’s heart.
He pervades everything; He’s known as ‘the Lord’.
He’s the compassionate Master who’s found everywhere.
16. Though He, Himself, has no senses, all senses are His;
He tastes all the pleasures of life through their use.
He’s the Lord and Ruler of all that exists;
To all beings that live, He’s the only Refuge.
17. The Self is the Swan who rules the whole universe
And everything in it that’s moving or still;
But when He confines Himself as the Spirit in man,
He flies through the senses to sense-objects outside.
Part Four:
3. Thou art woman and man! Thou art the old and the young!
It is Thou alone, Lord, who hast taken all these forms!
4. Thou art the blue bee; Thou art the green parrot.
Thou art the dark clouds, the four seasons, the seas;
Thou art the birthless and limitless God
Who hast given birth to all worlds and all souls.
6. The Self and the soul are like two birds, though one;
They have the same name, and they’re in the same tree.
But, while the soul tastes and enjoys the sweet fruits,
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8. Of what use then are the Vedas to one who has seen
That Brahman in whom the Vedas and all gods are contained?
He knows the eternal Essence of which all souls are made!
Knowing that, he possesses a happiness that is lasting and true.
11. May Shiva, the Creator of the gods and their powers,
The omniscient Support of the world,
He who gives birth to all space and all time,
Endow us with wisdom and clarity of mind!
12. To that Lord, who is King of all gods and all worlds,
The ruler of all creatures on two legs or four,
That blissful and effulgent Lord whom we love,
Let us give all our worship, and serve only Him.
18. The mind cannot grasp Him, either with form or without;
We call Him ‘Great Glory’, but there’s no image of Him.
He can be seen, not with the eyes, but with consciousness, within;
Those who have seen Him are eternally free.
Part Five:
Part Six:
5. The Lord is the sole Originator, the Source, in which all is united;
That One remains undivided, beyond countless eons of time.
Liberation is attained when a man knows that Lord,
The Father of all, who abides in the heart.
8. He has no body or organs or limbs; He’s not like anything else that
exists.
Scriptures cannot describe Him, and speak only of His Power.22
He’s able to do anything that He wills;
His Power is boundless, and He knows everything.
10. May that Lord, like a spider concealed in its own web,
Whose threads form the fabric of this world—
May that Lord who is hidden by His own veiling Power,23
Unite us in Brahman, release us in Him!
13. He is the Eternal within the temporal, the Infinite within form;
He’s the One within many, who grants all desires.
Only those who see Him within themselves
Obtain the gift of eternal Peace.
15. There is nothing in this universe but the Self, the ‘I AM’;
Like a flame, He lives in the hearts of all beings.
The only way to pass beyond death is to know Him;
There’s no other means, and there’s no other End.
19. When a man shall be able to roll up the sky like a rug,
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NOTES:
9. ‘The three directions’ of love are love for (producing) children, love
of food, and love of the heavenly worlds.
10. ‘Illusion arising from two causes’ is the illusion that the body is the
Self, which arises from both virtuous action and sinful action.
11. ‘River with five currents’ is the world-illusion with the five organs of
perception: the ears, nose, tongue, skin, and eyes.
12. ‘The five elements’ are earth, air, water, fire, and aether (akasha).
13. ‘The five organs of action’ are: the hands, feet, tongue, and the
organs of procreation and evacuation.
14. ‘The five kinds of perceptions’ are: taste, hearing, vision, touch, and
smell.
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15. ‘The five whirlpools’ are the objects of the five senses.
16. ‘The five miseries’ are: resting in the womb, being born, growing old,
becoming ill, and dying.
17. ‘The fifty branches’ are unknown. Some say they refer to a category
in Sankhya philosophy.
21. The net of Maya is His Power, and yet ‘He’, in the form of the jiva,
becomes ensnared in the net of Maya.
22. ‘Speak only of His Power’; in other words, since the unmanifest
Brahman cannot be described in words, scriptures speak mainly of His
manifested appearances, produced by His Power of Maya.
23. ‘His own veiling Power’ refers again to His Maya, His manifestory
Power.
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