Bhashya
‘ओमित्येतदक्षरम्’ इत्याद्यष्टाध्यायी छान्दोग्योपनिषत् ।तस्या सङ्क्षेपत अर्थजिज्ञासुभ्य ऋजुविवरणमल्पग्रन्थमिदमारभ्यते ।तत्र सम्बन्ध — समस्त कर्माधिगत प्राणादिदेवताविज्ञानसहितम् अर्चिरादिमार्गेण ब्रह्मप्रतिपत्तिकारणम्, केवलञ्च कर्म धूमादिमार्गेण चन्द्रलोकप्रतिपत्तिकारणम्, स्वभाववृत्ताना च मार्गद्वयपरिभ्रष्टाना कष्टा अधोगतिरुक्ता, नच उभयोर्मार्गयोरन्यतरस्मिन्नपि मार्गे आत्यन्तिकी पुरुषार्थसिद्धि - इत्यत कर्मनिरपेक्षम् अद्वैतात्मविज्ञान ससारगतिद्वयहेतूपमर्देन वक्तव्यमिति उपनिषदारभ्यते ।न च अद्वैतात्मविज्ञानादन्यत्र आत्यन्तिकी नि श्रेयसप्राप्ति ।वक्ष्यतिहि—' अथ येऽन्यथातो विदुरन्यराजानस्ते क्षय्यलोका भवन्ति ', विपर्यये च—'स स्वराड् भवति '—इति ।तथा—द्वैतविषयानृताभिसन्धस्य बन्धनम् , तस्करस्येव तप्तपरशुग्रहणेबन्धदाहभाव , ससारदुःखप्रामिश्र इत्युक्त्वा—अद्वैतात्मसत्याभिसन्धस्य, अतस्करस्येव तप्तपरशुग्रहणे बन्धदाहाभाव , स-सारदुःखनिवृत्तिर्मोक्षश्च—इति ॥
In plain words
The Chandogya Upanishad, spanning eight chapters, opens with the words, 'Om, this syllable...' To serve those who seek to grasp its essential meaning in a concise form, this clear and brief exposition is now begun. The context of this teaching is as follows: ritual actions combined with the meditative realization of cosmic forces like Prana lead to the attainment of the divine realm via the path of light. On the other hand, ritual actions performed alone lead only to the lunar sphere via the path of smoke. For those who live purely by natural impulses, straying from both paths, a painful descent into lower forms of life is declared. Since neither of these two paths can ever yield the ultimate fulfillment of human life, this Upanishad begins the teaching of the non-dual Self—entirely independent of ritual action—in order to dissolve the very causes of these transmigratory paths. Indeed, there is no final liberation apart from the realization of the non-dual Self. As the scripture itself will later declare: 'Those who see otherwise than this remain dependent on other rulers and dwell in perishable worlds,' whereas 'the knower of truth becomes a sovereign self-ruler.' To illustrate this, the text compares one attached to the illusions of duality to an accused thief who, grasping a red-hot axe in a trial by ordeal, is bound and burned, remaining trapped in the painful cycle of worldly existence. Conversely, one who is anchored in the truth of the non-dual Self is like an innocent person who holds the heated axe without being burned, thereby achieving the complete cessation of worldly suffering and attaining final liberation.
Close to the Sanskrit
The Chandogya Upanishad consisting of eight chapters begins with 'Om, this syllable...'. For those who desire to know its meaning in brief, this clear, concise exposition is commenced. There, the connection is: the knowledge of deities like Prana, etc., attained along with all rituals, is the cause of attaining Brahman via the path of light, etc.; and mere ritual action is the cause of attaining the lunar world via the path of smoke, etc.; and for those who act according to their natural impulses, fallen from both paths, a painful downward path is declared. And since in neither of these two paths is there the ultimate accomplishment of human goals, therefore, the knowledge of the non-dual Self, independent of ritual action, must be expounded for the destruction of the causes of both paths of transmigration; thus this Upanishad is begun. And there is no ultimate attainment of the supreme good other than from the knowledge of the non-dual Self. For it will say: 'Now, those who know otherwise than this, having others as their rulers, belong to perishable worlds,' and in the opposite case: 'He becomes a self-ruler.' Likewise, after stating that one who is attached to the untruth of the domain of duality experiences bondage, like a thief grasping a heated axe experiencing binding and burning, and is mixed with the suffering of transmigration; it says that one who is attached to the truth of the non-dual Self, like a non-thief grasping a heated axe experiencing no binding or burning, attains the cessation of the suffering of transmigration and liberation.