The Aitereya Upanishad   Chapter I     1. In the beginning the Spirit was One and all this (universe) was the Spirit; there was nought else that saw. The Spirit thought, "Lo, I will make me worlds from out my being."     2. These were the worlds he made; Ambhah, of the ethereal waters, Marichih of light, Mara, of death and mortal things, Apah, of the lower waters. Beyond the shining firmament are the ethereal waters and the firmament is their base and resting-place; Space is the world of light; the earth is the world mortal; and below the earth are the lower waters.     3. The Spirit

Part Three   Writings on Vedanta   These incomplete writings (c. 1902 ­ 1916) were not revised by Sri Aurobindo for publication. They have been transcribed from his manuscripts and arranged in chronological order.     Four Fragments   1   The answer to all philosophical problems hinges on the one question, What is myself? It is only by knowing man's real self that we can know God; for whatever we may think or know, the value of the thought and the knowledge must hinge upon the knower, the means of knowledge and   Vedanta's final & single answer to all the questi

An Incomplete Work of Vedantic Exegesis   Book II The Nature of God   Chapter I     The view of cosmic evolution which has been set forth in the first book of this exegesis,1 may seem deficient to the ordinary religious consciousness which is limited & enslaved by its creeds and to which its particular way of worship is a master and not a servant, because it leaves no room for a "Personal" God. The idea of a Personal God is, however, a contradiction in terms. God is Universal, he is Omnipresent, Infinite, not subject to limits. This all religions confess, but the next moment they n

Kena Upanishad   A Partial Translation with Notes   I     1. By whom willed falleth the Mind when it is sent on its mission? By whom yoked goeth forth the primal Breath? By whom controlled is this Speech that men utter? What God yokes the vision1 and the hearing?   2. That which is the Hearing behind hearing, the Mind of mind, utters the Speech behind speech,—He too is the Life of the life-breath and the Vision behind seeing. The wise put these away and pass beyond; departing from this world they become immortal.   3. There Sight goes not, nor there Speech, nor the Mind arrives. We know it not, nor

Kena and Other Upanishads Publisher's Note   This volume comprises Sri Aurobindo's tr

'Kena and Other Upanishads' by Sri Aurobindo - Page 1 of 50   Section Two   Complete Translations   Circa 1900 ­ 1902     The Prusna Upanishad   of the Athurvaveda   being the Upanishad of the Six Questions.   Before which one repeats the Mantra.     OM. May we hear what is auspicious with our ears, O ye Gods; may we see what is auspicious with our eyes, O ye of the sacrifice; giving praise with steady limbs, with motionless bodies, may we enter into that life which is founded in the Gods. Ordain weal

Katha Upanishad     The Katha Upanishad of the Black Yajurveda   THE FIRST CYCLE; FIRST CHAPTER     1. Vajasravasa, desiring, gave all he had. Now Vajasravasa had a son named Nachiketas.     2. As the gifts were led past, faith took possession of him who was yet a boy unwed and he pondered:     3. "Cattle that have drunk their water, eaten their grass, yielded their milk, worn out their organs, of undelight are the worlds which he reaches who gives such as these."    

'Kena and Other Upanishads' by Sri Aurobindo - Page 1 of 50 Part One   Translations and Commentaries Published by Sri Aurobindo These texts were first published between 1909 and 1920. Sri Aurobindo later revised most of them. The revised versions are printed here.   Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry, c. 1915­1918 Kena Upanishad

'Kena and Other Upanishads' by Sri Aurobindo - Page 1 of 50 The Philosophy of the Upanishads   Chapter I   Prefatory   The philosophy of the Upanishads is the basis of all Indian religion and morals and to a considerable extent of Hindu politics, legislation and society. Its practical importance to [our] race is therefore immense. But it has also profoundly [affected] the thought of the West in many of the most critical stages of [its] development; at first through Pythagoras and other Greek philosophers, then through Buddhism working into Essene, Gnostic and Roman Christianity and once again in our own times through German metaph

Part Two   Translations and Commentaries from Manuscripts   These texts written between c. 1900 and 1914 were found among Sri Aurobindo's manuscripts and typescripts. He did not revise them for publication.     Section One   Introduction     On Translating the Upanishads   OM TAT SAT   This translation of a few of the simpler & more exoteric Upanishads to be followed by other sacred and philosophical writings of the Hindus not included in the Revealed Scriptures, all under the one title of t