Avatarika
‘ब्रह्म ज्ञापयिष्यामि’ इति प्रस्तुतम् ; तत्र यतो जगज्जा-तम्, यन्मयम्, यस्मिंश्च लीयते, तदेकं ब्रह्म- इति ज्ञापि-तम् ।किमात्मकं पुनः तज्जगत् जायते, लीयते च ? पञ्च-भूतात्मकम् ; भूतानि च नामरूपात्मकानि ; नामरूपे सत्य-मिति ह्युक्तम् ; तस्य सत्यस्य पञ्चभूतात्मकस्य सत्यं ब्रह्म ।कथं पुनः भूतानि सत्यमिति मूर्तामूर्तब्राह्मणम् ।मूर्तामूर्तभूता-त्मकत्वात् कार्यकारणात्मकानि भूतानि प्राणा अपि सत्यम् ।तेषां कार्यकारणात्मकानां भूतानां सत्यत्वनिर्दिधारयिषयाब्राह्मणद्वयमारभ्यते सैव उपनिषद्व्याख्या ।कार्यकारणस-त्यत्वावधारणद्वारेण हि सत्यस्य सत्यं ब्रह्म अवधार्यते ।अत्रोक्तम् ‘प्राणा वै सत्यं तेषामेष सत्यम्’ इति ; तत्र केप्राणाः, कियत्यो वा प्राणविषया उपनिषदः का इति च-ब्रह्मोपनिषत्प्रसङ्गेन करणानां प्राणानां स्वरूपमवधारयति-पथिगतकूपारामाद्यवधारणवत् ॥
In plain words
'I will make Brahman known' — that promise is what we're following through on now. And what was taught was this: whatever the world is born from, whatever it's made of, whatever it dissolves back into — that, and nothing else, is Brahman. So what is this world actually made of? The five elements. And the elements themselves are nothing but name and form — that's what 'real' has meant so far. But the Real of that reality, the Real behind the five elements, is Brahman. Then how are the elements even real in the first place? That question belongs to the section on the formed and the formless. Because everything, right down to the breath in you, is built out of cause and effect, the breath too counts as real in this sense. To settle exactly how these cause-and-effect things are real, two sections begin here — and this is the same exposition the Upanishad is giving us. Because it's precisely by working out how cause and effect are real that Brahman, the Real underneath the real, comes into view. And here's the line that starts it: 'The breaths, indeed, are the real; of them, this is the Real.' Naturally you'd ask: which breaths, how many, and what exactly are these teachings about them? In the course of teaching about Brahman, the true nature of the organs — the breaths — gets settled too, the way you might notice a well or a garden along a road you're really traveling for some other reason.
Close to the Sanskrit
'I shall make known Brahman' — this was the topic already taken up. There, it was taught: that from which the world is born, of which it is made, and into which it dissolves — that one is Brahman. But of what nature, again, is that world which is born and dissolves? It is of the nature of the five elements; and the elements are of the nature of name-and-form; for it has been said, name-and-form is the real. Of that real, consisting of the five elements, Brahman is the real. But how, again, are the elements real? — this is the Formed-and-Formless Brāhmaṇa. Since they are of the nature of formed and formless elements, the elements, being of the nature of effect and cause, and the vital breaths too, are real. With a view to ascertaining the truth-nature of those elements, which are of the nature of effect and cause, a pair of Brāhmaṇas is begun; that very exposition is the explanation of the Upanishad. For it is by way of ascertaining the truth-nature of effect and cause that Brahman, the real of the real, is ascertained. Here it is said: 'The vital breaths, indeed, are the real; of them, this one is the real' — there, the questions arise: which are the breaths, or how many, or what are the teachings concerning the breaths? In the course of the teaching on Brahman, the true nature of the organs, the breaths, is ascertained — as one notes a well or a garden found along the road.