Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayana
Upanishad
Om O Devas, may we hear with our ears what
is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
OM! May Brahman protect us (the Guru and Sishya) both!
May he give us both (enough) to enjoy!
Efficiency may we both attain!
Effective may our study prove!
May we not hate (each other) at all!
Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
I am now going to explain the principles behind the “tripat-narayana”
philosophy, which, if understood and grasped fully, can cull out and
weed all forms of illusory material that surrounds all living in this
materialistic world.
“OM! The Supreme Being, known as Narayana, desired to create living
beings. And out of such desire (or vow), the living force of breath
called “prana” stems out from the Supreme Being; the mind (manas) and
all other sense organs come into being. Also
created along with are the Sky, the Air, the Light, the Water and the
Earth, which bears all the beings. Out of Narayana arises the Brahma,
the deity who is the creator of all beings; and also the Indra, who is
the ruler of all Devas. Out of Him comes Prajapati, the deity who
originates and controls the people, as well as the twelve Adityas,
eleven Rudras and eight Vasus (various controlling forces mentioned in
the Vedas – each concerning a distinct and different force of nature).
It is only out of the same Narayana that all Vedas came into existence.
Thus, all forces come out of Narayana and also finally merge into Him.”
– Thus proclaims one of the Upanishads in the Rig Veda.
“Narayanan is ever-present and eternal; He is omnipotent and
omnipresent; Brahma, Siva, Indra, all (these deities) are (various
forms of) Narayana himself. He indeed, is all forms of time, space and
direction. All directions of up, down, sides, in and out are
His shadow-cast. All that is existing and the ones to come into
existence are Narayana Himself. The Single Supreme Being, devoid of any
form of impurity, which cannot be expressed in words, and which is the
purest of all pure, is Narayanan. There is nothing above Him and no
second power than His. That one who understands this as such becomes
(merges with) the Narayana Himself; he becomes (merges with) the
Narayana Himself (repeated stress).” – Thus asserts one of the
Upanishads in the Yajur Veda.
“First utter the syllable “OM”; then utter the words “Namah” and “Narayanaya”.
These words respectively are made of one, two and five syllables (as in
Sanskrit); thus the entire phrase is made of eight syllables or called
as “ashta-aksharam” (ashta-eight;
aksharam-syllable). That one who chants this eight-syallable mantra of
Narayana, lives long without any disrepute or notoriety; he is blessed
with rulership, wealth, cattle and servants and ultimately attains the
moksha (or the point of no return) also called as salvation; he attains
the moksha (repeated with stress).” – Thus states one of the Upanishads
in the Sama Veda.
“That blissful Supreme Being (Brahman) which resides within, is of the
form of OM or Pranava. The Pranava (OM) is made of A, U and M. That grew
in multiples. The blessed one, who recites and chants the syllable OM,
he gets rid of all the bindings and bonds of this material world. The
one who chants the words “Om Namo Narayanaya” ultimately attains the
Vaikunda, the abode of Sri Narayana (or the Heaven – the Home of
Salvation). The Vaikunda is not (to be found) anywhere else but in a
pure blessed heart, filled with knowledge (spiritual). From there rises
an offshoot of light, as bright as a ray of lightning. That ray of light
is representative of the various forms of Narayana – called by names
such as son of Devaki, the one sweeter than Honey, the one in the form
of Brahma, the one with lotus-like eyes, Vishnu (or the savior of all).
He resides within all beings, and controls all their activities. He
is the form of non-materialistic syllable OM, the Supreme Being.” – Thus
states one of the Upanishads in the Atharva Veda.
(Having thus known what each of the four Vedas say about Narayana, now
let us understand the fruits of chanting His mantra). That one who
chants this (mantra) in the morning, destroys all (his) sins committed
during the (previous) night. The one who chants this in the evening
destroys all sins committed during the day. That one who chants this
during mid-day, looking at the Sun, destroys all the five kinds of major
and minor sins described as the worst in the Scriptures. He gets all the
benefits of having chanted all the Vedas. Ultimately, he merges into and
becomes one with the Supreme Being Narayana.
OM! May Brahman protect us (the Guru and Sishya) both! May he give us
both (enough) to enjoy! Efficiency may we both attain! Effective may our
study prove! May we not hate (each other) at all!
Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayanopanishad, as contained in the
Atharva-Veda. ! |