The Amritabindu Upanishad
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The Hidden Self
The mind may be said to be of two kinds,
Pure and impure. Driven by the senses
It becomes impure; but with the senses
Under control, the mind becomes pure.
It is the mind that frees us or enslaves.
Driven by the senses we become bound;
Master of the senses we become free.
Those who seek freedom must master their senses.
When the mind is detached from the senses
One reaches the summit of consciousness.
Mastery of the mind leads to wisdom.
Practice meditation. Stop all vain talk.
The highest state is beyond reach of thought,
For it lies beyond all duality.
Keep repeating the ancient mantram om
Until it reverberates in your heart.
Brahman is indivisible and pure;
Realize Brahman and go beyond all change.
He is immanent and transcendent.
Realizing him, sages attain freedom
And declare there are no separate minds.
They have but realized what they always are.
Waking, sleeping, dreaming, the Self is one.
Transcend these three and go beyond rebirth.
There is only one Self in all creatures.
The One appears many, just as the moon
Appears many, reflected in water.
The Self appears to change its location
But does not, just as air in a jar
Changes not when the jar is moved about.
When the jar is broken, the air knows not;
But the Self knows well when the body is shed.
We see not the Self, concealed by maya;
When the veil falls, we see we are the Self.
The mantram is the symbol of Brahman;
Repeating it can bring peace to the mind.
Knowledge is twofold, lower and higher.
Realize the Self; for all else is lower.
Realization is rice; all else is chaff.
The milk of cows of any hue is white.
The sages say that wisdom is the milk
And the sacred scriptures are the cows.
As butter lies hidden within milk,
The Self is hidden in the hearts of all.
Churn the mind through meditation on it;
Light your fire through meditation on it:
The Self, all whole, all peace, all certitude.
“I have realized the Self,” declares
the sage,
“Who is present in all beings.
I am united with the Lord of Love;
I am united with the Lord of Love.”
OM Shanti Shanti Shanti
This is the whole of the Amritabindu Upanishad (the name means “drop of the nectar of immortality”). Brahman refers to the ultimate reality, the supreme Godhead, beyond all distinctions or forms. Translated by Eknath Easwaran in The Upanishads (Petaluma, California: Nilgiri Press, 1987).
