The God Varuna made the rivers to flow. At his Order they run and he sustains them. They cease not flowing and never feel weary. They move with swiftness like birds in full flight.
Rig Veda II, 28, 4
’Unknowable and constant, It should be realized in one form only. The Self is free from taint, beyond the akasa, birthless, infinite and unchanging.’
Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV, IV-Death and the Hereafter, 20
’The intelligent seeker of Brahman, learning about the Self alone, should practise wisdom (prajna). Let him not think of too many words, for that is exhausting to the organ of speech.’
Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV, IV-Death and the Hereafter, 21
That great, unborn Self, which is identified with the intellect (vijnanamaya) and which dwells in the midst of the organs, lies in the akasa within the heart. It is the controller of all, the lord of all, the ruler of all. It does not become greater through good deeds or smaller through evil deeds. It is the lord of all, the ruler of all beings, the protector of all beings. It is the dam that serves as the boundary to keep the different worlds apart. The brahmins seek to realize It through the study of the Vedas, through sacrifices, through gifts and through austerity which does not lead to annihilation. Knowing It alone one becomes a sage (muni). Wishing for this World (i.e. the Self) alone, monks renounce their homes.
Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV, IV-Death and the Hereafter, 22
The knowers of Brahman of olden times, it is said, did not wish for offspring because they thought: ’What shall we do with offspring-we who have attained this Self, this World?’ They gave up, it is said, their desire for sons, for wealth and for the worlds and led the life of religious mendicants. That which is the desire for sons is the desire for wealth and that which is the desire for wealth is the desire for the worlds; for both these, indeed, are but desires. ’This Self is That which has been described as Not this, not this. It is imperceptible, for It is not perceived; undecaying, for It never decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered, for It never feels pain and never suffers injury.
Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV, IV-Death and the Hereafter, 22 (cont)
