The Upanishads, перевод и комментарии Свами Парамананды, английский, издание 1919 года. Полный текст выбранного издания Парамананды, включающего Иша-, Катха- и Кена-упанишады, предисловие и комментарии переводчика. Это три текста, а не полное собрание всех упанишад.
Полный текст выбранного издания Парамананды, включающего Иша-, Катха- и Кена-упанишады, предисловие и комментарии переводчика. Это три текста, а не полное собрание всех упанишад.
Project Gutenberg identifies ebook 3283 as public domain in the USA. Translator Swami Paramananda lived 1884–1940; the digitized text identifies the 1919 edition. Produced by J. C. Byers CRLF normalized to LF, outside whitespace trimmed, full edition body split at paragraph boundaries for the reader. Commentary is attributed to this historical translator. Полные сведения об издании и лицензия
Verses XVI-XVIII are regarded by many as an interpolation, which
would account for certain obscurities and repetitions in them.
XX
Nachiketas said: There is this doubt regarding what becomes of a
man after death. Some say he exists, others that he does not
exist. This knowledge I desire, being instructed by thee. Of
the boons this is the third boon.
XXI
Yama replied: Even the Devas (Bright Ones) of old doubted
regarding this. It is not easy to know; subtle indeed is this
subject. O Nachiketas, choose another boon. Do not press me.
Ask not this boon of me.
XXII
Nachiketas said: O Death, thou sayest that even the Devas had
doubts about this, and that it is not easy to know. Another
teacher like unto thee is not to be found. Therefore no other
boon can be equal to this one.
XXIII
Yama said: Ask for sons and grandsons who shall live a hundred
years, many cattle, elephants, gold and horses. Ask for lands of
vast extent and live thyself as many autumns as thou desirest.
XXIV
If thou thinkest of any other boon equal to this, ask for wealth
and long life; be ruler over the wide earth. O Nachiketas, I
shall make thee enjoyer of all desires.
XXV
Whatsoever objects of desire are difficult to obtain in the realm
of mortals, ask them all as thou desirest; these lovely maidens
with their chariots and musical instruments, such as are not
obtainable by mortals--be served by these whom I give to thee. O
Nachiketas, do not ask regarding death.
The third boon asked by Nachiketas concerning the great Hereafter was one
which could be granted only to those who were freed from all mortal desires
and limitations, therefore Yama first tested Nachiketas to see whether he was
ready to receive such knowledge. "Do not press me regarding this secret," he
said. "Even wise men cannot understand it and thou art a mere lad. Take,
rather, long life, wealth, whatever will give thee happiness on the mortal
plane." But the boy proved his strength and worthiness by remaining firm in
his resolution to know the great secret of life and death.
XXVI
Nachiketas said: O Death, these are fleeting; they weaken the
vigour of all the senses in man. Even the longest life is short.
Keep thou thy chariots, dance and music.
XXVII
Man cannot be satisfied by wealth. Shall we possess wealth when
we see thee (Death)? Shall we continue to live as long as thou
rulest? Therefore that boon alone is to be chosen by me.
XXVIII
What man dwelling on the decaying mortal plane, having approached
the undecaying immortal one, and having reflected upon the nature
of enjoyment through beauty and sense pleasure, would delight in
long life?
XXIX
O Death, that regarding which there is doubt, of the great
Hereafter, tell us. Nachiketas asks for no other boon than that
which penetrates this hidden secret.
Part Second
I
Yama said: The good is one thing and the pleasant another. These
two, having different ends, bind a man. It is well with him who
chooses the good. He who chooses the pleasant misses the true
end.
II
The good and the pleasant approach man; the wise examines both
and discriminates between them; the wise prefers the good to the
pleasant, but the foolish man chooses the pleasant through love
of bodily pleasure.
III
O Nachiketas after wise reflection thou hast renounced the
pleasant and all pleasing forms. Thou hast not accepted this
garland of great value for which many mortals perish.
IV
Wide apart are these two,--ignorance and what is known as wisdom,
leading in opposite directions. I believe Nachiketas to be one
who longs for wisdom, since many tempting objects have not turned
thee aside.
With this second part, the Ruler of Death begins his instructions regarding
the great Hereafter. There are two paths,--one leading Godward, the other
leading to worldly pleasure. He who follows one inevitably goes away from the
other; because, like light and darkness they conflict. One leads to the
imperishable spiritual realm; the other to the perishable physical realm.
Both confront a man at every step of life. The discerning man distinguishing
between the two, chooses the Real and Eternal, and he alone attains the
highest, while the ignorant man, preferring that which brings him immediate
and tangible results, misses the true purpose of his existence. Although Yama
put before Nachiketas many temptations to test his sincerity and earnestness,
he judging them at their real value, refused them all, saying "I have come
from the mortal realm, shall I ask for what is mortal? I desire only that
which is eternal." Then Death said to him: "I now see that thou art a sincere
desirer of Truth. I offered thee vast wealth, long life and every form of
pleasure which tempts and deludes men; but thou hast proved thy worthiness by
rejecting them all."
V
Fools dwelling in ignorance, yet imagining themselves wise and
learned, go round and round in crooked ways, like the blind led
by the blind.
VI
The Hereafter never rises before the thoughtless child (the
ignorant), deluded by the glamour of wealth. "This world alone
is, there is none other": thinking thus, he falls under my sway
again and again.
There are many in the world, who, puffed up with intellectual conceit, believe
that they are capable of guiding others. But although they may possess a
certain amount of worldly wisdom, they are devoid of deeper understanding;
therefore all that they say merely increases doubt and confusion in the minds
of those who hear them. Hence they are likened to blind men leading the
blind.
The Hereafter does not shine before those who are lacking in the power of
discrimination and are easily carried away therefore by the charm of fleeting
objects. As children are tempted by toys, so they are tempted by pleasure,
power, name and fame. To them these seem the only realities. Being thus
attached to perishable things, they come many times under the dominion of
death. There is one part of us which must die; there is another part which
never dies. When a man can identify himself with his undying nature, which is
one with God, then he overcomes death.
VII
He about whom many are not even able to hear, whom many cannot
comprehend even after hearing: wonderful is the teacher,
wonderful is he who can receive when taught by an able teacher.
Throughout the Vedic Scriptures it is declared that no one can impart
spiritual knowledge unless he has realization. What is meant by realization?
It means knowledge based on direct perception. In India often the best
teachers have no learning, but their character is so shining that every one
learns merely by coming in contact with them. In one of the Scriptures we
read: Under a banyan tree sat a youthful teacher and beside him an aged
disciple. The mind of the disciple was full of doubts and questions, but
although the teacher continued silent, gradually every doubt vanished from the
disciple's mind. This signifies that the conveying of spiritual teaching does
not depend upon words only. It is the life, the illumination, which counts.
Such God-enlightened men, however, cannot easily be found; but even with such
a teacher, the knowledge of the Self cannot be gained unless the heart of the
disciple is open and ready for the Truth. Hence Yama says both teacher and
taught must be wonderful.
VIII
When taught by a man of inferior understanding, this Atman cannot
be truly known, even though frequently thought upon. There is no
way (to know It) unless it is taught by another (an illumined
teacher), for it is subtler than the subtle and beyond argument.
IX
O Dearest, this Atman cannot be attained by argument; It is truly
known only when taught by another (a wise teacher). O
Nachiketas, thou hast attained It. Thou art fixed in Truth. May
we ever, find a questioner like thee.
Knowledge of the Atman or Self cannot be attained when it is taught by those
who themselves lack in real understanding of It; and who therefore, having no
definite conviction of their own, differ among themselves as to its nature and
existence. Only he who has been able to perceive the Self directly, through
the unfoldment of his higher nature, can proclaim what It actually is; and his
words alone carry weight and bring illumination. It is too subtle to be
reached by argument. This secret regarding the Hereafter cannot be known
through reasoning or mere intellectual gymnastics. It is to be attained only
in a state of consciousness which transcends the boundary line of reason.
X
I know that (earthly) treasure is transitory, for the eternal can
never be attained by things which are non-eternal. Hence the
Nachiketa fire (sacrifice) has been performed by me with
perishable things and yet I have attained the eternal.
XI
O Nachiketas, thou hast seen the fulfillment of all desires, the
basis of the universe, the endless fruit of sacrificial rites,
the other shore where there is no fear, that which is
praiseworthy, the great and wide support; yet, being wise, thou
hast rejected all with firm resolve.
The teacher, saying that the imperishable cannot be attained by the
perishable, shows that no amount of observance of rituals and ceremonies can
earn the imperishable and eternal. Although the Nachiketa fire-sacrifice may
bring results which seem eternal to mortals because of their long duration,
yet they too must come to an end; therefore this sacrifice cannot lead to the
final goal. Yama praises Nachiketas because, when all heavenly and earthly
pleasures, as well as knowledge of all realms and their enjoyments were
offered him, yet he cast them aside and remained firm in his desire for Truth
alone.
XII
The wise, who by means of the highest meditation on the Self
knows the Ancient One, difficult to perceive, seated in the
innermost recess, hidden in the cave of the heart, dwelling in
the depth of inner being, (he who knows that One) as God, is
liberated from the fetters of joy and sorrow.
XIII
A mortal, having heard and fully grasped this, and having
realized through discrimination the subtle Self, rejoices,
because he has obtained that which is the source of all joy. I
think the abode (of Truth) is open to Nachiketas.
The Scriptures give three stages in all spiritual attainment. The aspirant
must first hear about the Truth from an enlightened teacher; next he must
reflect upon what he has heard; then by constant practice of discrimination
and meditation he realizes it; and with realization comes the fulfilment of
every desire, because it unites him with the source of all. Having beheld
this, a man learns that all sense pleasures are but fragmentary reflections of
that one supreme joy, which can be found in the true Self alone. Yama assures
Nachiketas that there is no doubt of his realizing the Truth, because he has
shown the highest discrimination as well as fixity of purpose.
XIV
Nachiketas said: That which thou seest, which is neither virtue
nor vice, neither cause nor effect, neither past nor future (but
beyond these), tell me That.
XV
Yama replied: That goal which all the Vedas glorify, which all
austerities proclaim, desiring which (people) practice
Brahmacharya (a life of continence and service), that goal I tell
thee briefly--it is Aum.
Источники и права
