Seek It by Austerity

In the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, Bhṛgu is the son of Varuṇa. He went to his father and said, Sir, teach me Brahman.

Varuṇa named for him food, breath, the eye, the ear, the mind and speech, and said: That from which these beings are born, that by which, once born, they live, and that into which, when they depart, they enter: seek to know that. That is Brahman.

So Bhṛgu practised austerity. And when he had practised austerity, he knew that food is Brahman; for from food these beings are born, by food they live, and into food they enter when they depart. Knowing that, he went again to his father Varuṇa and said, Sir, teach me Brahman. Varuṇa said to him, Seek to know Brahman by austerity. Austerity is Brahman.

So he practised austerity again, and he knew that breath is Brahman; for from breath these beings are born, by breath they live, and into breath they enter when they depart. Again he went to his father, and again Varuṇa said, Seek to know Brahman by austerity. Austerity is Brahman.

So he practised austerity, and he knew that mind is Brahman. Again he went to his father, and again he was sent back to austerity. And he knew that understanding is Brahman. Again he went, and again he was sent back.

So he practised austerity once more, and he knew that bliss is Brahman; for from bliss these beings are born, by bliss they live, and into bliss they enter when they depart. This is the knowledge of Bhṛgu and Varuṇa, set in the highest heaven. Whoever knows it stands firm. He has food and eats food; he becomes great in children and cattle and in the light of Brahman, and great in fame.

And the one who knows this sings of himself as all things at once, the food and the one who eats it: I am food, I am food, I am food. I am the eater of food. I am the first-born of the order of things, before the gods, in the navel of the immortal. I have overcome the whole world. I am golden light.