Om, O gods, O worshipful ones, may we hear auspicious things with our ears, may we see auspicious things with our eyes. With firm limbs, praising, may we live our life for the welfare of the gods.

May Indra, renowned and of great fame, bless us with well-being. May Pūṣā, the all-knowing, ensure our prosperity. May Tārkṣya, with his unbroken wheel, protect us, and may Bṛhaspati establish our welfare.

"Om, may there be peace, peace, peace."

Sukesha Bharadvaja, Shaibya Satyakama, Gargya Sauryayani, Kausalya Ashvalayana, Vaidarbhi Bhargava, Kabandhi Vaidarbhi, and Kabandhi Katyayana - were all devoted to Brahman and were seeking the supreme Brahman. They approached the venerable sage Pippalada with sacrificial fuel in hand, believing he would impart all the knowledge they sought.

The sage instructed them to live for a year practicing penance, celibacy, and faith, and then to ask any questions they desired. He assured them that if the revered one knew, he would indeed share it with them.

Then Kabandhi Katyayana, having approached, asked: "O revered one, from where indeed are these creatures born?" To him, he said: "Prajapati, indeed desiring progeny, performed austerity."

He creates a pair, namely 'rayi', i.e. wealth, and 'prāṇa', i.e. life, signifying that these two will generate my offspring in various forms. The sun represents life, while the moon embodies wealth.

All that is manifest and unmanifest is indeed wealth. Therefore, form itself is wealth. As the sun rises and enters the eastern direction, it energizes the eastern vital forces through its rays. Similarly, it illuminates and energizes all directions—southern, western, northern, below, above, and in between—through its rays, placing all vital energies within them.

This Vaiśvānara, in its universal form, arises as the life force and fire. This is declared by the verse:

"The universal form, the performer, all-knowing, supreme goal is the one light that shines. The thousand-rayed, hundredfold existing life force of beings rises, this sun."

The year is considered as the lord of all creatures, with its two paths: the southern and the northern. Those who believe in the completion of sacrifices and charitable deeds conquer only the lunar world and return again. Therefore, sages who desire progeny follow the southern path, which is regarded as the path of ancestors and is associated with material wealth.

Then, through the northern path, with penance, celibacy, faith, and knowledge, they seek the Ātmān and conquer the sun. This is indeed the abode of the vital forces, immortal and fearless, the ultimate goal. From this state, they do not return again; thus is the cessation.

- this is the verse.

The father, described as having five feet and twelve forms, is said to reside in the sky, while in the other half, he is associated with excrement. Then, it is said that the wise one is placed like an arrow within the seven wheels.

The month is considered to be the lord Prajāpati. Its dark fortnight represents 'rayi', i.e. wealth. The bright fortnight symbolizes 'Prāṇa', i.e. life, and therefore, sages perform bright sacrifices during this time. Day and night are also seen as the lord Prajāpati, with day representing life and night representing wealth. Those who engage in activities during the day are said to leap towards life, while celibacy is associated with those who leap forward at night.

Food is truly the essence of creation, symbolized by Prajapati. From food arises the seed, and from the seed, all creatures are born. Those who uphold the vow of Prajapati and engage in the creation of life attain the realm of Brahman, where austerity, celibacy, and truth prevail. This pure realm is reserved for those free from deceit, falsehood, and illusion.

Then Vaidarbhi, the son of Bhargava, asked him.

O Lord, how many gods are there that support the creatures? Which of them illuminates these beings? And who among them is the greatest?

He said to him: "Indeed, these are the controlling deities of the sky, the wind, fire, waters, earth, speech, mind, eye, and ear." They, having illuminated (the body), declared: "We hold this body, having worn it."

The eldest, Prana, the life force, said to them: "Do not fall into delusion. I alone, dividing myself fivefold, hold this body together like an arrow." They became disbelieving out of pride. Then, he ascended upwards as if. When he ascends, then all others indeed ascend, and when he remains, all indeed remain.

Just as all bees follow the queen bee when she departs and settle when she settles, similarly, speech, mind, eye, and ear follow the Prāṇa, the life force. They, pleased, praise that life force: this is fire, this is the sun, this is rain, this is Indra, this is wind, this is earth, wealth, god, existence and non-existence, and immortality.

Everything centres on the vital breath, just like spokes in the hub of a chariot. The hymns of the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas, the sacrifices, the warrior and priestly classes—all are sustained by it. As the lord of creatures, you move within the womb and are born. O vital breath, all creatures are yours, for you sustain them by the vital breaths. You are the greatest carrier of the gods, the first offering of the ancestors, the conduct and truth of the sages, including those of the Atharva and Angirasa sages.

You, as Indra, embody the life force with your brilliance, and as Rudra, you are the protector. You traverse the sky as the Sun, the lord of all lights. When you shower your blessings, your creatures thrive in blissful forms. For the fulfillment of desires, food manifests. You are the ascetic, the first sage, the sustainer, and the lord of truth in the universe. Today, we are the benefactors, and you, Mātariśvan, are our father.

May your essence, established in speech, hearing, and sight, and continuously in the mind, be made auspicious and not transgress. All is under the control of Prāṇa, the life force, established in three worlds. Like a mother protecting sons, bestow on us prosperity and wisdom.

Then Kausalya Ashvalayana asked: "O Lord, from where does this life force originate? How does it enter this body? How does it establish itself by dividing the Ātmān? By what means does it depart? How does it interact with the external and internal realms?"

He said to him, "You ask profound questions because you are a knower of Brahman." Therefore, I will tell you: This life force is born from the Ātman. Just as a person spreads a shadow, so is this.

By the action of the mind, it comes into this body. Just as a king indeed appoints officials, saying, 'Govern these villages, govern these villages,' so indeed this establishes the life force and others separately.

The vital breath is established by itself in the path of the rectum, drinking, eyes, ears, and through the mouth and nose. But in the middle is the equalizing breath, which leads the offered food equally. Therefore, these become the seven flames. Indeed, this is the Ātman residing in the heart.

In this context, there are a hundred and one main channels, and within each there are branch channels, totalling seventy-two thousand, where the Vyāna energy circulates. The Udāna energy moves upwards, guiding one to the virtuous worlds through virtue; leads to the sinful world through sin and to the human world through both.

The sun is considered the external prāṇa that rises and supports the visual prāṇa. The deity on earth, she, supports the 'apānam' i.e. downward breath, of a person. The space in between is the 'samāna' i.e. equalizing prāṇa, that is diffusing air. Fire is seen as 'udānaḥ' i.e. the upward breath. Therefore, when the fire is subdued, rebirth happens as the senses merge into the mind.

The mind directs 'prāṇa' i.e the life-breath, and when the life-breath is united with energy and the Ātman, it leads to the desired world as envisioned. A wise person who knows the life-breath ensures that his lineage does not diminish and attains immortality. This is the verse:

Then, Sauryayani Gargya asked him:

O Lord, in this person, what sleeps and what remains awake? Which deity sees dreams? Whose happiness is this? Indeed, in whom are all things established?

He spoke to him.

O Gārgya, just as all the rays of the sun merge into one when it sets and disperse again when it rises, similarly, everything merges into the supreme deity in the mind. Therefore, it is said that in this state, a person neither hears, sees, smells, tastes, touches, speaks, takes, enjoys, releases, nor moves; he is said to be asleep.

In this body, the fires of 'prāṇa' i.e. life-breath are always active. The household fire represents the downward and diffusive breaths (apānaḥ), which are offerings led from the household fire. The sacrificial fire symbolizes the life-breath (prāṇa). The inhalation and exhalation are offerings that are equally led by the equalizing breath (samāna). Indeed, the mind is the sacrificer, and the upward breath (udānaḥ) is the desired fruit. Day by day, this leads the sacrificer to the ultimate reality, Brahman.

In this state, the divine-being experiences his own ego-ness in dreams. He perceives what is seen and heard and repeatedly experiences what has been encountered in various directions. He observes things, whether seen or unseen, heard or unheard, experienced or not, real or unreal. When overwhelmed by brilliance, the divine-being does not dream. Then, happiness is present in the body.

Just as gentle birds settle together on a tree for abode, thus indeed, all this truly settles completely in that transcendental Ātman:

"The earth and its element, water and its element, fire and its element, air and its element, ether and its element, the eye and what is to be seen, the ear and what is to be heard, the nose and what is to be smelled, the tongue and what is to be tasted, the skin and what is to be touched, speech and what is to be spoken, hands and what is to be given, feet and where to go, the anus and what is to be excreted, the genitals and what is to be pleasured, the mind and what is to be thought, the intellect and what is to be understood, the ego and what is to be egotized, consciousness and what is to be perceived, fire and what is to be illuminated, life-force and what is to be sustained."

This is the one who perceives (i.e the seer), touches, hears, smells, tastes, thinks, knows, acts, and is the conscious-self, the person. He truly knows who knows that which is shadowless, bodiless, colorless, pure, imperishable, becomes everything, and omniscient-one (Vijñānātmā). This is the verse -

- stated thus.

Then Shaibya Satyakama asked him:

O Lord, which world does a man conquer by meditating on the syllable 'Om' at the time of death?

He spoke to him:

O Satyakama, the sound 'Om' is both the higher and lower Brahman. Thus, the wise man reaches one of these paths through it.

If a person meditates on a single measure, i.e. single syllable (of Om), he becomes realized through that and swiftly attains the realm of the human world in the universe. There, endowed with austerity, celibacy, and faith, he experiences true greatness.

Then, if he has the second measure or syllable (of 'Om') in the mind, he is led by the Yajur Veda to the sky, to the world of Soma. There, having experienced special opulences, he returns again.

Whoever meditates on the Supreme Being using the syllable 'Om', which consists of three parts (Ā, Ū, M), becomes enlightened by the sun's light and is liberated just as a snake sheds its skin. In this way, he is truly freed from sin and ascends with the hymns to the realm of Brahman. In this dense existence of beings, he perceives the Supreme Being residing within the physical bodies of beings, who transcends.

These two are the verses of the Lord:

"Three mortal measures are applied to various desires and also to those without special connection. The wise are not shaken by these actions well applied on the external, the internal, and the middle (regions). Knowledgeable proclaim one attains - by the Rig Veda this (i.e. earthly world - 'bhu'), intermediate space (i.e. 'bhuva') by the Yajur Veda, and by the Sama Veda that (i.e. heavenly world 'sva'). The wise one follows that path of 'Om' alone, which is peaceful, ageless, immortal, fearless, beyond, and the supreme."

- stated thus.