Upanishads

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, as the name itself suggests, is brihat i.e. vast as the infinite Reality Itself; the Shankara-Bhashya on this Upanishad is also vast and profound. This Upanishad is a part of Shukla Yajurveda's Shatapatha Brahmana (which is also known as Vajasaneyi Brahmana because its knowledge was received by Sage Yajnavalkya through the grace of Sun in an 'equine form'). Out of the two Shakhas (recensions) of the Shatapatha Brahmana, namely Kanva and Madhyandina, Sri Shankaracharya has written his commentary on Kanva branch; and he starts his commentary from third chapter because first two chapters deal with Karma-kanda (ritualistic) portion and Upanishad proper starts from third chapter, continuing till the concluding eighth chapter. This Upanishad is the elaboration of the theme of another Shukla Yajurveda Upanishad namely Ishavasyopanishad.

@Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is divided into three sections:

(1) Madhu-Kandam : आगम/श्रुति-प्रधान, श्रवण-प्रधान Agama/shruti-pradhan, shravan-pradhan; consists of first two chapters of rituals, third chapter explaining superimposition, and fourth chapter dealing with de-superimposition; it talks about मधु madhu i.e. essence and substratum of everything i.e. Brahman.
(2) Yajnyavalkya-Kandam/Muni-Kandam : उपपत्ति-प्रधान, मनन-प्रधान upapatti-pradhan, manana-pradhan; consists of fifth chapter which uses जल्प jalpa technique of debate (establishment of one's viewpoint and refutation of opponent's viewpoint using yukti i.e. reason), and sixth chapter which uses vada technique of debate (where the purpose of debate is to come to right conclusion about Truth or Reality using reason).
(3)Khila-Kandam - कर्म एवं उपासना-प्रधान karma and upasana-pradhan; consists of seventh and eighth chapters; is a collection of various worship techniques

@ वार्तिककार Vartika-kara Sureshwaracharya has written a वार्तिक Vartika (short commentary) on Shankara-Bhashya of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad; based on that Vartika, three schools of Advaita Vedanta are in vogue:

(1) Vachaspati Mishra's अवच्छेद-वाद Avachcheda-vada : infinite Brahman appears limited due to limiting adjunct of mind just like sky appears limited due to house, pot etc.
(2) विवरणकार Vivarana-kara's बिम्ब-प्रतिबिम्ब-वाद Bimba-Pratibimba-vada : infinite Brahman is reflected in the mind and due to the limitations of mind, the reflection appears to be limited, mortal etc. just like Sun's reflection is seen in the water stored in a pot.
(3)Vartika-kara's आभास-वाद Abhasa-vada : similar to Bimba-Pratibimba-vada except that here, in this school of thought, the reflection is considered illusory. Also, the 'I Am Brahman' knowledge is due to बाध-समाधिकरण Badha-Samadhikaran i.e. वाच्यर्थ vachyartha of ' 'I Am' (i.e. limited phenomenal I-consciousness) is negated; in Vivarana school, 'I Am Brahman' knowledge is due to मुख्य-समाधिकरण Mukhya-Samadhikaran i.e. लक्ष्यार्थ lakshyartha of 'I Am' is cognised as infinite Self/Brahman.

@The seven planes of Consciousness (सप्त-भूमिका sapta-bhoomika of Jnana), though not discussed by Sri Shankaracharya in his प्रस्थानत्रयभाष्य prasthan-traya bhashyas, he mentions them in his text सर्व-वेदान्त-सिद्धान्त-सारसंग्रह Sarva-Vedanta-Siddhanta-SarSangraha. It is also found mainly in Yoga-Vasishtha, Madhusudan Saraswati's commentary on Bhagavad-Gita, and Vidyaranya Swami's Jivan-Mukti-Viveka.

We present here the notes derived from audio talks by Swami Vidyananda Giri, Swami Ranganathanandaji Maharaj, and Swami Ramananada Saraswati on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. (The original text for the Upanishad can be downloaded from sanskritdocuments.org)

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV

This is first chapter as per Shankar-Bhashya (as per the Brahmana, this is third chapter). The chapter starts with the meditation related to Ashwamedha Yajna - one of the highest Vedic ritual. According to scriptures, the actual performance of the ritual as well as mere meditation of the ritual, both give same results; those who are incapable of performing the actual ritual can attain to its fruits by performing mental meditation related to the ritual. This particular ritual is taken here to point out to spiritual aspirant that no matter how great is the result of any action or meditation - even the attainment of the highest sphere of existence - it is still under the domain of phenomenal transmigrating cycle and hence perishable; it can not give Liberation (Mukti) to the aspirant.
The first mantra starts with the mental conception required for meditation related to Ashwamedha Yajna; in the Yajna, as the name itself suggests, अश्व Ashwa i.e. sacrificial horse is the primary important object, its various limbs are imagined to represent various cosmic elements. Its head is to be seen as dawn, its eyes the sun, its vital force the air, its open mouth as the fire called Vaishwanar, is body as year, its back as heaven, its belly the sky, its hoof the earth, its sides as four quarters, its ribs the intermediate quarters, its members the seasons, its joints the months and fortnights, its feet the days and nights, its bones the stars and its flesh the clouds. Its half-digested food is the sand, its blood-vessels the rivers, its liver and spleen the mountains, its hairs the herbs and trees. Its forepart is the ascending sun, its hind part the descending sun, its yawning is lightening, its shaking the body is thundering, its making water is raining, and its neighing is voice.

@One who is actually performing the Ashwamedha sacrifice can also do this mental conception during the Yajna and attain better results; one who is not able to perform the actual sacrifice, being devoid of sacrificial horse, should apply this mental conception on oneself; meditating thus the entire cosmos within oneself, he/she can attain the state of Cosmic Mind (प्रजापति/हिरण्यगर्भ prajapati/hiranyagarbha).
@Human day and night consists of 60 घटिका ghatikas; day-night in पितृलोक Pitriloka (sphere of manes) consists of two human fortnights (कृष्णपक्ष Krishna paksha and शुक्लपक्ष Shukla paksha); day-night in देवलोक Devaloka (heaven) consists of one human year (six months of उत्तरायण Uttarayana and six months of दक्षिणायन Dakshinayana); and day-night for Prajapati (Cosmic Collective) consists of 2000 चतुर्युग chaturyugs (2000 cycles of four Yugas - SatyaYuga, TretaYuga, DwaparYuga, and KaliYuga i.e. 2 कल्प Kalpas; 24 million human years).

The sacrificial vessels made of gold and silver which contain the sacrificial material are called महिमा Mahima; they are placed in front of and behind the sacrificial horse respectively. The gold vessel is to be looked upon as day, while the silver vessel is to be looked upon as night. The stable for this sacrificial horse is Supreme Self Itself. Thus the sacrificial horse is praised variously.

Next, the sacrificial fire, which is to be meditated upon, is praised; by narrating its origin, it will be glorified. In the beginning there was nothing of the manifested universe; it was all covered with मृत्यु: mrutyuh i.e. Death (which is same as सूत्रात्मा sutratma or hiranyagarbha - Brahman/Self holding the universe in potential causal form) or अशनाया ashanaya i.e. Hunger (for hunger is verily death). Then He created mind and, for worshipping Himself water manifested out of Him; hence water is called अर्क arka. One who knows this essence of arka attains happiness and is never devoid of water (this is the secondary result of such knowledge; primary being oneness with hiranyagarbha).

@The universe, before manifestation, was covered with death i.e. it was in potential/un-manifest form. A hungry being satisfies his/her hunger by feeding on something else in the universe, thus causing death to that other part of the universe, hence hunger is equated with death. Hunger is felt by a living organism i.e. by Consciousness limited by buddhi; the cosmic collective hiranyagarbha/sutratma is collective buddhi illumined by Consciousness; hence hiranyagarbha is hunger or death.
@In order to manifest the universe, hiranyagarbha deliberated and projected Himself as cosmic mind. Consciousness Itself 'modifies' as mind-wave-form and then Its reflection in that mind-wave-form 'becomes' ego; this process continues till senses and gross body is manifested. This manifestation-process is same for individual as well as collective; microcosm and macrocosm are built on same plan.

Death (i.e. hiranyagarbha or Brahman with potentiality), having thus manifested the mind, felt fulfilled and wanted to worship Himself; for this worship He manifested water (through the sequence of space-air-fire etc.). This water is called arka as it is related to worship (अर्चनात् अर्क archanaat arka); it also denotes the ability/self-belief of hiranyagarbha to project the universe. Finally out of this water came gross Earth (of which the cosmic collective aspect of fire known as विराटअग्नि virat-agni, is a part). Being tired due to this process of origination of universe, lustre issued forth out of Him and that was fire. Herein this section, the fire used in Ashwamedha sacrifice is being eulogised, and hence its sequence of origin from Supreme Self was narrated. Water was earlier referred to as arka due to its association with worship and also being the source of gross fire; but this reference of arka to water is secondary. Primarily, arka refers to fire as it is the part of the sacrifice.

@The पूर्व मीमांसा purva mimamsa philosophy states that following sequence should be followed while determining the relative priority of प्रमाण pramanas:
श्रुति shruti > लिङ्ग linga > वाक्य vaakya > प्रकरण prakarana > सन्निधि sannidhi(स्थान sthana) > समाख्या samaakhyaa. ('>' = greater precedence)
Fire, in this section, was referred as arka w.r.t. prakarana pramana while the shruti pramana, which is higher than prakarana pramana, says water is arka (aapo va akra). So primarily, water should be called arka and secondarily fire so. But fire is considered primary here because, apart from the prakarana pramana, its claim of preference is strengthened by another shruti pramana (1.2.7) which comes a little later.

The gross collective (prajapati/virat) - that came out of hiranyagarbha - further differentiated Himself into three: sun, air, fire; this cosmic fire is connected with the sacrificial fire. And just as in previous section the sacrificial horse was used as a meditation symbol for Cosmic Being, now in this section, the sacrificial fire is being described as a meditation symbol. The east direction is its head, north-east and south-east directions are its arms; its hind part the west direction, hip-bones the north-west and south-west directions, sides the north and south directions, back heaven, belly the sky, breast the earth. The gross fire (and gross space, air, water, earth) rest in or has its origination from, subtle water element (subtle elements of space, air, fire, earth); one who realises this truth gets resting place wherever he/she goes (this is the secondary result of such knowledge; primary being oneness with hiranyagarbha).
Next few mantras describe the further process of universe-manifestation, through appearance of mind, speech, time, Vedas, Vedic sacrifices, living beings, spheres of existence etc.
The Ashwamedha is thus explained in terms of:
      (i) actual Vedic sacrifice (कर्म रूप अवस्थित karma-rupa-avasthita),
      (ii) fire and horse as accessories to the Vedic sacrifice (कर्माङ्ग रूप अवस्थित karmanga-rupa-avasthita),
      (iii) mental performer of the Vedic sacrifice i.e. spiritual aspirant यजमान/कर्ता रूप अवस्थित yajamana/karta-rupa-avasthita), and
      (iv) results of the Vedic sacrifice i.e. Sun (फल रूप अवस्थित phala-rupa-avasthita).
Hiranyagarbha (prajapati or mrutyuh) Himself appears as all of the above. The spiritual aspirant who thus realises his/her identity with hiranyagarbha gets liberation from transmigration cycle.

Third section starts with meditation related with उद्गीथ udgitha (the chanting portion of SaamVeda) part of the Vedic Sacrifice; it is meant to point out the importance of Prana in relation to other sense-organs and making it the primary means of meditation for attainment of hiranyagarbha state. Unlike the sense-organs and mind, Prana is shown to be free from selfish attachment and inauspicious qualities. Also it is the prime-mover for senses as well as body; all the Vedic chanting and utterances being under the domain of speech and speech deriving its strength from Prana, Prana is the prime-mover also for all Veda. Prana in cosmic collective aspect is hiranyagarbha and here it is pointed out as the main meaning of Saam as well as udgitha; this is done for meditation purpose, so that spiritual aspirant can identify himself/herself with cosmic Prana and thus get free from limited individual aspect of Prana.

@In human system, while the main Prana keeps functioning all the time from birth to death, sense-organs subside during deep-sleep state and re-appear during waking-state.
@In Saam, 'sa' stands for speech while 'am' for Prana; similarly in udgitha, 'ut' stands for Prana while 'githa' stands for speech. All Vedas being uttered by the help of speech and Prana and hence Prana is the prime-mover for entire Veda.
@Special qualities/wealth of Prana related to the performer of udgitha are melodious, rich, fine, and sweet tone (स्वं swam), correct sound pronunciation/articulation of syllables/mantra (सुवर्णम् suvarnam), support of Prana is speech i.e. the body parts such as head, chest, throat, origin of tongue, teeth, lips, nose etc. which are used to pronounce different syllables (प्रतिष्ठा pratishtha); some say the support should be taken as body itself.

Now three mantras are discussed which needs to be repeated by the spiritual aspirant who has known the above importance of Prana and is meditating as 'I am verity that Prana'. The famous mantras are: 'असतो मा सद्गमय asato ma sadgamaya - Lead us from evil to good', 'तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय tamaso ma jyotir gamaya - Lead us from darkness to light', and 'मृत्युर्मा अमृतं गमय mrutyur ma amrutam gamaya - Lead us from death to immortality'. In the first mantra 'असत् asat' means following karmas not enjoined by scriptures which is verily death, and 'सत् sat' means following the injunctions of scriptures which leads to strengthening the moral fibre and spiritual growth. In the second mantra 'tamasa' means the efforts put forth for performing scriptural injunctions and 'jyotir' means the result/fruits of these efforts. In the third mantra 'mrutyu' means combined meaning of 'asat' and 'tamasa' while 'amrutam' means combined meaning of 'sat' and 'jyotir'. The actual performer of the Vedic sacrifice or one who mentally meditates as described in above sections, verily identifies himself/herself with cosmic collective Prana i.e. hiranyagarbha. Such a one doesn't feel limited to one particular body-mind-complex.

This section is also called 'Brahma-Kandika' as the famous महावाक्य mahavakya 'अहं ब्रह्मास्मि Aham Brahmasmi (I Am Brahman)' comes in this section; here also comes the Vidya-Sutra 'आत्मैत्यैव उपासीत Atmaityaiva Upaasita(The Supreme should be worshipped as/meditated upon Self alone)'.

In previous section it was shown that those who perform ritual along with meditation or those who perform meditation alone without karma, get identification with cosmic collective i.e. prajapati/hiranyagarbha. Here in this section too the highest state i.e. of hiranyagarbha, which can be attained by karma and meditation, is explained; the purpose of this is to show later, in coming sections, that though this is the highest result that can be obtained in the phenomenal world, it is still part of phenomenal world and is conditioned by name and form. Thus those who want Liberation from phenomenal world have to give up this desire and karma too; they wish to transcend all names and forms, all states in all spheres of existence.

In the beginning He (prajapati) alone was there; He reflected and found nothing but Himself. He, on account of His previous life's spiritual practices, contemplated and uttered 'I Am He' and hence His first name is 'I' (अहं नाम अभवत aham nama abhavat; Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi refers to this mantra in one of his answers:

@Q: At present I am meditating on the form of an idol, and I am also doing japa in accordance with the instruction I have received from my Guru. Am I or am I not fit to conduct the enquiry of 'Who am I?'
M: 'I' is also the Guru mantra. It is said in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that the first name of God is 'I'. 'Aham nama abhavat' ['I becomes the name']. Om came later. Atman always performs the japa of 'I, I'. Without the performer of the japa, nobody knows the japa. Everybody constantly does the japa of 'I'. By concentrating on that 'I', meditation will improve. The result of such meditation is knowledge. Even so, if you wish to continue meditation on a form, you may do so. The sadhana that is suitable for a person is the proper method for him. ('The Power Of The Presence, Part 1, P233-34')

Since in the beginning this prajapati identified Himself as 'I', all His human creation too, when asked, 'Who are you?' replies 'It is I'! Only after identifying as 'I', later one identifies himself/herself with particular name and form.
Among many spiritual aspirants trying to attain the state of prajapati, this current one, succeeded before all by burning all His impurities. Anyone who correctly performs ritual combined with meditation or only meditation described earlier attains to this cosmic collective state of prajapati/hiranyagarbha. He was afraid due to his initial identification with form and hence even today people are afraid to be alone. Then He remembered his true Self, in which there is no other to fear from, and thus He became free from fear. Also He was not happy being alone, that's why people are not happy being alone! He desired a mate and thus, without Himself undergoing any change, He split Himself into husband and wife. The great sage Yajnavalkya, therefore says, body of husband and wife are like two halves of a split pea. This is a great idea in Sanatana Dharma - men and women are equal manifestations of God; and hence, unlike Semitic religions, Hinduism neither consider woman's origin inferior to man nor give her inferior status in any sphere of life. The husband and wife, thus manifested out of prajapati, generated entire creation.

@Why does the world appear? Following are some of the philosophical explanations:

(1) आत्म-ख्याति Atma-Khyati - This is the opinion of योगाचार Yogachara school of Buddhism; they say that क्षणिक विज्ञान विवर्त kshanik vijnana vivarta (momentary sequence of knowledge) causes the appearance of 'continuous world'
(2) असत्-ख्याति Asat-Khyati - This is the opinion of माध्यमिक Madhyamik school of Buddhism; they say that world is शून्य विवर्त shunya vivarta i.e. illusory appearance of void/nothingness/emptyness
(3) अ-ख्याति A-Khyati - This is the opinion of sage Prabhakar and Samkhya followers; according to them knowledge of infinite Brahman is not possible. The world appearance is due to the संसर्ग samsarga (intermixing) of directly perceived Truth with memory-patterns; people run after sense-objects due to attachment and non-discrimination.
(4) अन्यथा-ख्याति Anyatha-Khyati - This is the opinion of sage Kumarila Bhatta and तार्किक tarkiks (Logicians); according to them the world appearance is due to alternate knowledge, like rope being cognised as snake.
(5) अनिर्वचनीय-ख्याति Anirvachaniya-Khyati - This is the Vedantic opinion which says world appearance is anirvachaniya (indescribable); ignorance of the substratum i.e. Brahman gives rise to illusory world-phenomenon and on Self-realization, the world vanishes. At the same time the world is not completely non-existent like that of वन्ध्यापुत्र vandhyaputra 'son of a barren woman'; it appears and also later disappears! It is neither existent nor non-existent. Also it is not a combination of existence and non-existence.

Thus the entire creation consisting of all spheres of existence being explained, it is ordained that the spiritual aspirant should meditate on the Self undifferentiated by separate perception or manifestations; when the Self is conceived as perceiver and objects of perception, it involves duality and thus it is not the correct idea of Self. Self also should be considered most dear than any other object or relationship. One who realises the Self/God as the infinite non-dual Reality, attains fame (कीर्ति kirti) and his/her praise is heard (shloka); these external fame and praise are secondary results and it may or may not appear in the life of a seer. As for the spiritual aspirant, the primary result is the knowledge of identity of self with Self/God (kirti or fame) and Mukti (श्लोक shloka or praise). Attaining Self-realization, the seer realizes that his/her Self is the Self of all.

@Senses and mind illumine/cognize the objects of the world but the light which illumines/cognizes the senses and mind, is the light of ever-present Self/God. The vachyartha (literal meaning) of 'I' is the limited-self perceiving the world, but lakshyartha (intended meaning) of 'I' is the Self/God - the substratum of limited-self and world.

Those who consider Self as other than themselves and worship It as their deity, ruler, controller etc. are like slave-animal to the deity, just as an animal is under the control of it's master. They are covered with ignorance and deities wish to keep them that way - i.e. under control as one's property - since they worship the deities and offer sacrifices for the deities! The ignorance in the form of a separate limited entity with certain characteristics or attributes attracts corresponding duties and obligations; e.g. one who considers himself/herself as Brahmin, must perform duties related to that temperament. Thus the human psyche types - Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vashya, Shudra - along with their origination first in the heavenly abode, is now being explained.
In earlier chapters while explaining the projection of hiranyagarbha, origination of agni (fire) was narrated; now the narration of origin of heavenly gods like Indra, Varuna, Rudra, Vasu, Soma etc. is continued as a part of the same process. These heavenly gods are the prototypes for human Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras as Agni was the prototype for human Brahmins. Agni being of Brahmin type (contemplative and meditative) was not suited for works involving Kshatriya type (bravery, courage, kingship etc.) and hence agni projected out of himself Indra, Varuna, Rudra etc. Thus Brahmin is the origin of Kshatriya and though in sacrifices like Rajasuya, Kshatriya as a King is superior to the Brahmin conducting the sacrifice, Kshatriya should not insult the Brahmin since Brahmin is the source of Kshatriya. Later from Kshatriya, Vaishya (wealth generators) and from Vaishya, Shudra (serving and nourishing types) were projected. After projecting these four varnas, Dharma was projected as a controlling and guiding entity for all these varnas; Dharma itself is Truth.
Those who are ignorant of the real Self and consider body-mind-complex as the Self are means of sustenance and enjoyment for all beings - from gods, ancestors till animals, insects! This is because they are full of desires and have to be active all the time. The known and unknown worlds attainable as ends by means of rituals etc. are all nothing but meshes of desires and thoughts; entangled in them, a human beings becomes extrovert and forgets his/her own Divine Self. One who meditates on this entire universe, made up of only means and ends, as one's own self, attains to the state of hiranyagarbha.

This section is called 'सप्तान्न ब्राह्मण Saptanna Brahmana' as it describes the origination of Saptanna (seven kinds of food). Continuing the description from pervious chapter, of the unenlightened being's involvement in means and ends i.e. in phenomenal world, here in this chapter, the entire creation is divided into seven types of food.
The Prajapati, through meditation and rites, brought forth seven types of foods - first is the common food which is eaten by all, second and third are in the form of oblations (हुत huta) and gifts/offerings (प्रहुत prahuta) given for gods in Vedic sacrifices (alternatively the sacrifices done on new-moon day i.e दर्श darsh and on full-moon day i.e पूर्णमास purnamasa can be taken), next three are related to individual soul namely - speech, vital-forces, and mind, and the last for animals i.e. milk. Out of these first three along with the last one are साधनरूप saadhanarup (in the form of means) while मन: manah mind, वाक् vaak speech, and प्राण: praanah vital-forces are साध्यरुप saadhyarup (in the form of ends).

@Four types of Pralaya (dissolution of universe):
(1) नित्य प्रलय Nitya Pralaya - individual being's deep-sleep
(2) नैमित्तिक प्रलय Naimittika Pralaya - cosmic collective's (Brahma's) deep-sleep (once in billions of human years)
(3) प्राकृतिक प्रलय Prakritika Pralaya - cosmic collective completing its life-time and dissolution into causal state (trillions of human years)
(4) आत्यन्तिक प्रलय Aatyantika Pralaya - when Self-Realization (आत्मज्ञान AatmaJnana) happens, entire phenomenal universe vanishes in infinite Self.

The three types of food for Prajapati namely mind, speech, and vital-forces are separately described for आध्यात्मिक aadhyatmika (related to individual), आधिभौतिक aadhibhautika (related to phenomenal elemnts), आधिदैविक aadhidaivika (related to deities).
In the aadhyatmika dimension, the mind is all types of thoughts and emotions, speech is all sounds (related to syllables, sentences as well as any sound originating from clash of two objects), and vital-forces are all the movements of air within the body which carryout various functions in the body including main breathing-in breathing-out.
In the adhibhautika dimension, the three spheres of existence namely भू: Bhuh, भुव: Bhuvah, स्वः Svah are speech, mind, and vital-force respectively. Similarly - speech is RigVeda, mind is YajurVeda and vital-force is SaamVeda; speech is देव: devah (deities), mind is पितर: pitarah (ancestors) and vital-force is मनुष्य: manushyah (humans); speech is mother, mind is father and vital-force is child; speech is विज्ञातम् vijnyaatam (illuminator), mind is विजिज्ञास्यम् vijijnasym (thing to be known) and vital-force is अविज्ञातम् avijnatam (unknown).
In the adhidaivika dimension, the speech has पृथिवी Prithivi i.e. Earth as its body and अग्नि Agni i.e. Fire (the illuminator) as its instrumental form; the mind has स्वलोक Svahloka i.e. Heaven as its body and आदित्य Aditya i.e. Sun (the illuminator) as its instrumental form; the vital-force has आप: Aapah i.e. Water as its body and चन्द्र Chandra i.e. Moon (the illuminator) as its instrumental form.

@One infinite Pure Consciousness-bliss Reality appears divided into three parts as below:
 

Aadhidaivika	Aadhyatmika	Aadhibhautika
Space	Sense of Sound	All sounds heard
Air	Sense of Touch	All touch felt
Fire (Sun)	Sense of Sight	All forms seen
Water	Sense of Taste	All that is tasted/eaten
Earth	Sense of Smell	All that is smelt

One who worships/meditates knowing the above mentioned division of the phenomenon as oneself attains to the all-encompassing Prajapati state; while one who worships/meditates on separate parts of phenomenon, attains limited results. The limited results are described as: by begetting son, one wins to world of men, by performing rites and rituals one wins the world of Manes, and by meditation one wins the world of gods. Out of these three, the world of gods is highest and hence is praised.

This phenomenal universe indeed consists of only three things: name, form, and action. Speech is the source of all names and also it sustains them all - by 'speech' (vaak) here the organ of speech is not taken but the common substratum of all words, sounds, expressions etc. is taken. The common base is same for all names and is itself manifesting as specific names, sounds etc. Similar is the case with all forms i.e. meaning of vaak (common substratum for all forms is called 'vision' chakshu) and all action (common substratum for all forms is called 'body' sharira).
Thus till now subjects related to phenomenal universe i.e. products of ignorance were discussed; these were discussed in order that spiritual aspirant feel their transitory nature and develop detachment from world. Further from second chapter (fourth according to Brahmana sequence) onwards topic of Self-Knowledge - attaining which everything is known and supreme peace, bliss, contentment is attained - will be taken up.

Next : Chapter II