Mantra 2

In plain words

Watch what happens as the senses shut down: the eye's whole apparatus draws back into its own inner form, and the people at the bedside say, 'he no longer sees.' The same happens with smell, and they say, 'now he can't smell.' It happens with taste, with speech, with hearing, with thought, with touch, with every kind of knowing — one by one, each presiding power withdraws, and what that withdrawal actually shows is the senses gathering themselves into the heart. There, in the heart, is an opening — the mouth of a subtle channel, a doorway out — and it glows, self-luminous, lit by nothing but its own light, the self's own light and nothing else. By that very light, at that very point, the true self — the individual self clothed in the subtle body — makes its exit. There is an old teaching that says the same thing: the creator himself, uncertain where his departing would leave him, asked 'into what, once I have gone, will I have gone? In what will I finally be established?' — and out of that very question, he brought forth the breath of life. And this light of awareness, always present, becomes unmistakably vivid right at this moment. Through this same subtle covering, everything we call 'living' — being born, dying, coming, going, changing in every way — plays out for the self, even though the self itself never really changes. That twelvefold instrument, headed by the intellect, is what we call the connecting thread, the very thing that constitutes life; it is the inner self of everything that moves and everything that doesn't. Now, which way out does it take? Through the eye, if the person's knowledge or deeds were aimed at reaching the sun. Through the crown of the head, if they were aimed at Brahmā's world. Or through some other opening in the body, depending entirely on what was done and what scripture says about it. And as this self sets out — really, as it takes on a new form for its journey — the breath of life goes right behind it, the way a retinue follows its king, and every other faculty, starting with speech, follows the breath in turn. Don't take that too literally, though — it's just a vivid way of describing what is chief and what follows; nobody is claiming a tidy, single-file march actually happens. What really carries the self forward is knowledge — but not free, chosen knowledge. Like a dream, it is knowledge shaped entirely by past karma. If it were otherwise, if you could simply choose your own next awareness, everyone would already be free; but no one ever is. That is exactly why the sage Vyāsa said: you are always shaped by that same condition. Karma stirs up a very specific kind of awareness, built from residual impressions lodged in a particular turn of the mind, and at the moment of death, this happens to everyone alike — the whole world becomes bearer of just such a pointed awareness. And wherever that awareness is shining, that is exactly where you go; you simply follow the light of your own last, specific knowing. So here is the real takeaway: right now, while you still have the freedom to act, is the time to practice spiritual discipline, to train yourself in careful discernment, and to build up real merit — this is work for the faithful, for those who care about what comes next, and who do it wide awake, not carelessly. And underneath every scripture, whatever else it teaches, there is really just one thing being asked of you with real urgency: stop doing wrong. Because once death arrives, nothing can be done — you are simply carried by the momentum of what you already did, with no freedom left to change course. As it is said: good action makes you good, and bad action makes you bad. It is precisely to give you a way out of this whole predicament that every branch of the Upaniṣads exists at all. And there is no final way out of it except by actually walking the path they lay down. So this, in the end, is the whole point: give everything you have, right here, to the very practice this Upaniṣad prescribes.

Close to the Sanskrit

The mass of organs becomes unified through its own subtle-body nature; then those standing at his side say of him — 'he does not see.' Similarly, upon the withdrawal of the deity of smell, the organ of smell becomes unified through its subtle-body nature; then they say 'he does not smell.' The same applies to the rest. In the tongue, Soma or Varuṇa is the deity; owing to the withdrawal of that [deity], they say 'he does not taste.' Similarly, [when] he does not speak, does not hear, does not think, does not touch, [and] does not cognize, they say [this]. Then the withdrawal of the deities, and the unification of the organs in the heart, is inferred. There, when the organs have been gathered into the heart, that inner activity which [occurs] is now described — of this heart, [namely] the present, aforementioned heart's aperture, this is meant: the tip, the mouth of the channel, the door of egress — it shines forth, as if self-luminous, by its own light, made by the taking of a mere portion of brilliance, by its very own light, by the self alone; by that self-light, that shining, at the tip of the heart, this self, consisting of understanding, having the subtle body as its adjunct, goes forth, departs. Likewise, in the Ātharvaṇa [it is said]: '"In what, having departed, shall I have departed? Or in what, being established, shall I be established?" — thus he [Prajāpati] created prāṇa' — thus. And there, the light of the self's own consciousness is always more manifest; through the medium of that adjunct indeed, in the Self, [there occurs] the whole empirical dealing marked by birth, death, going, coming, and every kind of change; that which has the nature of that [self-with-adjunct] indeed is the twelvefold instrument beginning with intellect; that is the thread; that is the life; that is the inner self of the world and of what stands still. By that shining, that light at the tip of the heart, [the self] departing — by which path does it depart? — this is told: whether from the eye, if there be knowledge or action that is the cause of attaining the world of the sun; or from the crown, if [that which is] the cause of attaining the world of Brahmā; or from other bodily locations, [other] bodily members, according to action, according to what is heard. That [self] consisting of understanding, departing, having set out for the other world — [that is,] having assumed a form for the other world, that is the meaning — prāṇa, occupying the position of an overlord of all, follows after, like [a retinue follows] a king; and as that prāṇa departs after, all the vital faculties, beginning with speech, [also] depart after. This is a wish-to-describe by way of what is principal; it is not, however, that a sequential, purposive going is intended here. Then this self becomes possessed of [specific] cognition, like in a dream, [that is] becomes possessed of specific cognition, owing to the force of karma — not independently; for if [it had] cognition independently, everyone would have accomplished all that needs accomplishing; but that is indeed never obtained; therefore Vyāsa himself has said — 'always conditioned by that state' — thus. By karma, however, being manifested as a specific cognition consisting of an impression seated in a particular modification of the internal organ, the whole world becomes possessed of [such] cognition at this time; and it proceeds, [that is] follows, exactly toward that destination which is illuminated by [that] specific cognition — that is the meaning. Therefore, at that time, for the sake of independence, the practice of yogic discipline, the practice of discriminative reflection, and the accumulation of special merit should be undertaken by those full of faith, who desire the other world, [and who are] undistracted. The purpose to be diligently accomplished, [common to] all scriptures, is: cessation from bad conduct. For at that time nothing whatsoever can be accomplished, since one who is being led by [prior] karma lacks independence. It has been said: 'One becomes righteous by righteous action, sinful by sinful [action].' For the sake of prescribing the means of pacifying this very evil, the Upaniṣads of all the branches have been set forth. For there is no absolute means of pacifying this evil apart from the practice of the means prescribed by it. Therefore, one must be diligent in effort right here, in the means prescribed by the Upaniṣad — this is the purport of the section.

In plain words

There was already a simile for this — a heavily loaded cart, creaking as it goes. So here is the question that follows from it: when this self sets out for the next world, what exactly plays the part of the carter's provisions for the road? Once it gets there, what does it actually enjoy? And what is it that starts up a new body on the other end? That is what gets answered next.

So this is what actually travels with the self on its way to the next world: knowledge and action, as a pair — every kind there is, whether commanded, forbidden, or simply neither. Both cling to the self and follow it, exactly as provisions follow a traveler. Alongside them travels a third thing: what we're calling 'prior cognition' — really just the accumulated residue of everything you've done and experienced before. That residue is what makes new action possible at all, and what lets its fruit ripen and be enjoyed; without it, nothing could be done and nothing could be tasted. You can see this everywhere: a skill nobody was taught still shows up in some people from birth, in painting and crafts like it, while others remain clumsy even at things that could hardly be easier. The same holds for pleasure itself — some people simply take to certain enjoyments naturally, others don't. None of that is random; it all comes down to whether this prior impression is present or not. Without it, no one — literally no one — could act or enjoy the fruit of acting. So these three things — knowledge, action, and prior impression — are exactly what plays the part of the cart-driver's provisions on the road to the next life. And because they are what actually secures and lets you enjoy your next body, the real takeaway is simple: act well now, and only well, so that when the time comes, you find yourself joined to the body you actually want, able to enjoy it fully.

Close to the Sanskrit

'Like a cart, having gathered its load, it creaks as it goes' — thus was it said. Now [the question is]: what, for him who has set out toward the other world, is the food-for-the-road that stands in the place of the carter's load? And having gone to the other world, what is it that he enjoys? And what is it that initiates a [new] body, etc.? — this is [now] stated—

Him, the self going toward the other world — knowledge-and-action: knowledge and action [together are] 'knowledge-and-action.' Knowledge [is] of every kind: enjoined and prohibited, and unenjoined and unprohibited; likewise action [is] enjoined, prohibited, and unenjoined-unprohibited — [these] properly accompany [him], [that is] they follow closely, they attach themselves, they accompany. And prior cognition — [that is] cognition whose object was previously experienced, prior cognition, [that is] the impression of the experience of the fruit of past action, that is the meaning. And that impression becomes a contributing factor in the commencement of new action and in the ripening of action; therefore it too accompanies [him]. For without that impression it is not possible to perform action or to enjoy its fruit. For skill on the part of the senses does not occur in a matter that has not been practiced; but for senses impelled by the impression of prior experience, skill arises here even without practice. And it is seen that, in the case of some, in certain activities marked by painting and the like, skill [occurs] here from birth itself, without any practice at all; [while], in certain [activities] endowed with the greatest ease, unskillfulness [persists] in the case of some others. Likewise, in the enjoyment of objects, purely by [their own] nature, skill and unskillfulness are seen in the case of some. And all this has as its cause the arising or non-arising of prior cognition. Therefore, without prior cognition, no one's engagement is possible, whether in action or in the enjoyment of its fruit. Therefore, these three, standing in the place of the cart-driver's provisions — the food-for-the-road to the other world — are called 'knowledge-action-prior-cognition.' Since knowledge-and-action and prior cognition are the means of attaining and enjoying another body, therefore one should practice only what is auspicious in the way of knowledge, action and the rest, so that union with, and enjoyment of, a desired body may come about — this is the purport of the section.