Brahadaranyaka Upanishad - Part 5

Part 5 of the Brahadaranyaka Upanishad (बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्) gathers a series of beautiful meditations (upasanas) on Brahman: the infinite, the sacred syllable Om, the threefold teaching of Prajapati, and the celebrated exposition of the Gayatri - the mantra revered across the Hindu world. These short, luminous chapters form a practical manual of contemplation.

Chapter I - The Infinity of Brahman

Om. Infinite is That Brahman, infinite in this manifested universe. From the Infinite Brahman proceeds the infinite. After the realization of the Great Identity or after the cosmic dissolution, when the infinity of the infinite universe merges in the Infinite Brahman, there remains the Infinite Brahman alone.

Om (ॐ) is the Akasa Brahman - the primeval akasa, the akasa containing air, says the son of Kauravayarna. It is the Veda - thus the knowers of Brahman know; "for through it one knows what is to be known."

Chapter II - The Three Great Disciplines

Prajapati had three kinds of offspring: gods, men and demons (asuras). All lived with him practicing the vows of brahmacharins. When each group finished its term, each asked for instruction - and to each he uttered the single syllable Da.

• The gods understood: "Control yourselves (दम्यत, damyata)."
• The men understood: "Give (दत्त, datta)."
• The demons understood: "Be compassionate (दयध्वम्, dayadhvam)."

"That very thing is repeated even today by the heavenly voice, in the form of thunder, as 'Da,' 'Da,' 'Da,' which means: 'Control yourselves,' 'Give,' and 'Have compassion.' Therefore one should learn these three: self-control, giving and mercy."

Chapter III - Brahman as the Heart

"Prajapati is this - the heart (intellect). It (the heart) is Brahman. It is all." The word Hridayam (हृदयम्) consists of three syllables:

• hri - to him who knows this, his own people and others bring presents;
• da - to him who knows this, his own people and others give their powers;
• yam - he who knows this goes to heaven.

Chapter IV - Meditation on Satya Brahman

"That intellect Brahman was verily this - satya alone." Whosoever knows this great, glorious first-born one as the Satya Brahman conquers these worlds, and his enemy is conquered and becomes non-existent - "for Satya indeed is that Brahman."

Chapter V - In Praise of Satya Brahman

• In the beginning this universe was water alone. That water produced Satya. Satya is Brahman. Brahman produced Prajapati and Prajapati the gods. Those gods meditate on Satya.
• The name Satya (सत्य) has three syllables: sa, ti and ya. "The first and last syllables are the truth. In the middle is untruth. This untruth is enclosed on both sides by truth; thus truth preponderates. Untruth does not hurt him who knows this."
• That which is Satya is the sun - the being in yonder orb and the being in the right eye. "These two rest on each other": the being in the sun rests on the being in the right eye through his rays, and the latter rests on the former through his organs. When the individual self is about to leave the body, he sees the solar orb clearly (without rays), for those rays no longer come to him.
• Of the being in the solar orb: Bhuh is the head, Bhuvah the arms, Svah the legs; his secret name is Ahar. He who knows this destroys evil and leaves it behind.
• Of the being in the right eye: Bhur is the head, Bhuvar the arms, Svar the legs; his secret name is Aham. He who knows this destroys evil and leaves it behind.

Chapter VI - Meditation on Brahman as the Mind

"This being identified with the mind and resplendent by nature is realized by yogis within the heart as of the size of a grain of rice or barley. He is the lord of all, the ruler of all and governs all this - whatever there is."

Chapter VII - Meditation on Brahman as Lightning

"They say that lightning is Brahman. It is called lightning (विद्युत्, vidyut) because it scatters (विदनत्, vidanat) darkness. Whosoever knows this - that lightning is Brahman - scatters the evils that are ranged against him; for lightning is indeed Brahman."

Chapter VIII - Meditation on the Vedas as a Cow

One should meditate upon speech (the Vedas) as a cow. She has four teats:

Her bull is the vital breath (prana) and her calf, the mind.

Chapter IX - Meditation on the Vaisvanara Fire

"This fire which is within a man and digests food that is eaten is Vaisvanara. Its sound is that which one hears by stopping the ears. When a man is about to leave the body, he hears this sound no more."

Chapter X - The Path of the Departing Soul

• When a man departs from this world, he reaches the air. The air opens for him there "as wide as the hole of a chariot wheel," and through this opening he ascends to the sun.
• The sun opens for him "as wide as the hole of a lambara," and through it he ascends to the moon.
• The moon opens for him "as wide as the hole of a drum," and through it he ascends to a World free from grief and cold, where he dwells for endless years.

Chapter XI - The Supreme Austerities

• "The supreme austerity is indeed that a man suffers when he is ill. He who knows this wins the highest world."
• "The supreme austerity is indeed that a man, after death, is carried to the forest. He who knows this wins the highest world."
• "The supreme austerity is indeed that a man, after death, is laid on the fire. He who knows this wins the highest world."

Chapter XII - Meditation on Food and the Vital Breath as Brahman

• Some say that food is Brahman; "but this is not so, for food decays without the vital breath (prana)."
• Others say that the vital breath is Brahman; "but this is not so, for the vital breath dries up without food."
• "These two deities (food and the vital breath), when they become united, attain the highest state (Brahmanhood)." When Pratrida put this to his father, the father stopped him with a gesture: "Oh, no, Pratrida; for who would attain the highest merely by being identified with these two?"
• "It is vi; food is verily vi, for all these creatures rest (विसन्ति, visanti) on food. It is ram; the vital breath is ram, for all these creatures delight (रमन्ते, ramante) in the vital breath." All creatures rest on him and delight in him who knows this.

Chapter XIII - Meditation on the Vital Breath

• Uktha: "The vital breath is the Uktha, for it raises up (उत्थापयति, utthapayati) all this universe." From him who knows this is raised a son who is a knower of the vital breath.
• Yajus: "The vital breath is the Yajus, for all these beings are united (युज्यन्ते, yujyante) with one another if the vital breath is present."
• Saman: "The vital breath is the Saman, for all these beings meet (सम्यन्चि, samyanchi) if the Saman (vital breath) is present."
• Kshatra: "The vital breath is the Kshatra, for the vital breath protects (त्रायते, trayate) the body from wounds (खनितोः, khanitoh)."

Chapter XIV - The Sacred Gayatri

The Four Feet of the Gayatri

• The fourth foot is "apparently visible (दर्शत, darsata) because he is seen, as it were, by the yogis," and "supramundane (परोरज, paroraja) because he shines alone on the whole universe as its overlord."
• That Gayatri rests on the fourth, supramundane foot; and that again rests on truth. "The eye is truth, for the eye is indeed truth. Therefore, even today, if two persons come disputing, one saying: 'I saw it,' and another: 'I heard of it,' we should trust the one who says: 'I saw it.'"
• That truth rests on strength. "The vital breath (prana) is strength. Hence truth rests on the vital breath. Therefore they say that strength is more powerful than truth."
• Thus the Gayatri is based on the vital breath within the body. "That Gayatri protected the gayas. The organs are the gayas... Because it protected the organs, it is called the Gayatri." The Savitri verse, which the teacher communicates to the pupil, is no other than this; it saves the organs of the pupil to whom it is imparted.

The Savitri and Its Fruit

• Some impart a Savitri in the Anushtubh metre, saying: "The goddess of speech is Anushtubh." But one should not do that; one should impart only that Savitri which is Gayatri.
• If the knower of the Gayatri accepts the three worlds full of wealth as a gift, he receives the fruit of only the first foot; if as much as the Vedas confer, only the second; if as much as all living creatures cover, only the third. The fruit of the fourth, supramundane foot "is not to be counterbalanced by any gift received."
• The salutation to the Gayatri: "O Gayatri, thou art one-footed, two-footed, three-footed and four-footed. And thou art without any feet, for thou art unattainable. Salutation to thee, fourth foot, apparently visible and supramundane! May the enemy never attain his object!"
• If the knower of the Gayatri bears hatred towards anyone, he should either use the mantra "May his desired object never flourish!" or say: "May I attain that cherished object of his!"

Janaka, Budila and the Elephant

Janaka, Emperor of Videha, asked Budila, the son of Asvatarasva: "Well, how is it that you, who called yourself a knower of the Gayatri, have come to be an elephant and are carrying me?" Budila replied: "Because, Your Majesty, I did not know its mouth." Janaka said: "Fire is its mouth. If people put a large quantity of fuel into the fire, it is all burnt up. Similarly, a man who knows this, even if he commits a great many sins, consumes them all and becomes pure, clean and free from decay and death."

Chapter XV - The Prayer of a Dying Person

The door (real nature) of the truth (Satya Brahman) is covered by a golden disc. Open it, O Nourisher! Remove it so that I who have been worshipping the truth may behold it.

O Nourisher! O lone Traveller of the sky! O Controller! O Sun! O Offspring of Prajapati! Gather your rays. Withdraw your light. I would see through your grace that form of yours which is the most benign. I am indeed He, that purusha who dwells in the sun. I am immortal.

Now when my body falls may my breath return to the all-pervading Prana! May this body, reduced to ashes, return to the earth!

Om. O Fire, who art the symbol Om, O god of deliberations, remember, remember all that I have done.

O Fire, lead us by the good path towards the enjoyment of the fruit of our action. You know, O god, all our deeds. Destroy our sin of deceit. We offer by words repeated salutations to you.

Practical / Modern Context

• The three disciplines for daily life: The single syllable Da condenses an entire ethic - self-control (दम, dama), generosity (दान, dana) and compassion (दया, daya). Practicing all three, not one, is the Upanishadic formula for harmony with gods, men and demons alike - the forces within and around us.
• The Gayatri as a lived meditation: Chapter XIV explains why the Gayatri protects the gayas (the organs): it is taught as a safeguard for the whole being. Chanting the Gayatri daily, as millions still do, is a direct application of this teaching.
• The golden disc within: The dying person's prayer, "Open it, O Nourisher," is recited in contemplation to remove the veil of the sun (the intellect's golden light) and behold the truth. In meditation, one can practice "seeing through the benign form" rather than grasping at surfaces.
• Truth and strength: The insight that "strength is more powerful than truth" is not cynicism but a call to ground truth in living vitality (prana) - aligning words with the life-energy that backs them.

Common Misconceptions

1. "The Gayatri is merely a chant to the sun god." The Upanishad identifies the Gayatri with the vital breath, the organs and the whole of reality - its fourth foot is the supramundane, apparently visible Sun realized by yogis. It is an upasana on Brahman, not sun-worship alone.
2. "Thunder is literally the voice of a god." The threefold "Da-Da-Da" of the thunder is a teaching device: the divine voice in nature perpetually reminds beings of self-control, giving and compassion.
3. "Food and breath are rival deities." The Upanishad explicitly rejects both food and breath as Brahman when taken alone; it is their union that attains the highest state - a lesson in integration rather than exclusivity.
4. "Part 5 is disconnected from the rest of the Upanishad." On the contrary, its meditations on the heart, the vital breath and the Gayatri flow directly from Yajnavalkya's earlier teaching that Brahman is known through the Self within.

Conclusion

Part 5 of the Brahadaranyaka Upanishad is a treasury of contemplation. From the infinity of Brahman and the three disciplines of Prajapati, through meditations on the heart, lightning, the Vedas as a cow and the Vaisvanara fire, it culminates in the majestic teaching on the four-footed Gayatri. Its closing prayer - "I am indeed He, that purusha who dwells in the sun. I am immortal" - distills the whole of Vedic spirituality into a single, timeless affirmation, offering every seeker a path of purity, splendour and liberation.

Related Prabhukedwar Guides

• Complete Guide to Chanting Gayatri Mantra
• Kashi Vishwanath Temple & Sacred Banaras
• Meaning of Om Namah Shivaya Mantra

For more authentic Hindu temple guides, pilgrimage routes, mantras, and Vedic insights, visit Prabhukedwar.