"This Brahman shines forth indeed when the lightning flashes, and it
dies when it flashes not. Its splendor goes to the air, and the life to
the air.
"Thus all these deities (fire, sun, moon, lightning), having entered the
air, though dead, do not vanish; and out of the very air they rise
again. So much with reference to the deities. Now then, with reference
to the body.
"This Brahman shines forth indeed when one speaks with speech, and it
dies when one does not speak. His splendor goes to the eye alone, the
life to breath.
"This Brahman shines forth indeed when one sees with the eye, and it
dies when one does not see. Its splendor goes to the ear alone, the life
to breath.
"This Brahman shines forth indeed when one hears with the ear, and it
dies when one does not hear. Its splendor goes to the mind alone, the
life to breath.
"This Brahman shines forth indeed when one thinks with the mind, and it
dies when one does not think. Its splendor goes to the breath alone, and
the life to breath.
"Thus all these deities (the senses, etc.), having entered breath or
life alone, though dead, do not vanish; and out of very breath they rise
again. And if two mountains, the southern and northern, were to move
forward trying to crush him who knows this, they would not crush him.
But those who hate him and those whom he hates, they die around him.
"Next follows the Nihsreyasâdâna, i.e., the accepting of the preeminence
of breath or life by the other gods. The deities, speech, eye, ear,
mind, contending with each for who was the best, went out of this body,
and the body lay without breathing, withered, like a log of wood. Then
speech went into it, but speaking by speech, it lay still. Then the eye
went into it, but speaking by speech, and seeing by the eye, it lay
still. Then the ear went into it, but speaking by speech, seeing by the
eye, hearing by the ear, it lay still. Then mind went into it, but
speaking by speech, seeing by the eye, hearing by the ear, thinking by
the mind, it lay still. Then breath went into it, and thence it rose at
once. All these deities, having recognized the preeminence in life, and
having comprehended life alone as the conscious self, went out of this
body with all these five different kinds of life, and resting in the
air, knowing that life had entered the air and merged in the ether, they
went to heaven. And in the same manner he who knows this, having
recognized the preëminence in prâna, and having comprehended life alone
as the conscious self, goes out of this body with all these, does no
longer believe in this body, and resting in the air, and merged in the
ether, he goes to heaven: he goes to where those gods are. And having
reached this heaven, he, who knows this, becomes immortal with that
immortality which those gods enjoy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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