Exploring The Waste Land - Supplementary text

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Section 5, Passage 2

The Voice of Thunder

1. The threefold offspring of Prajapati--gods, men, and devils (asura)--dwelt with their father Prajapati as students of sacred knowledge (brahmacarya).

Having lived the life of a student of sacred knowledge, the gods said: 'Speak to us, Sir.' To them he spoke this syllable, 'Da.' 'Did you understand?' 'We did understand,' said they. You said to us, "Restrain yourselves (damyata)."' 'Yes (Om)!' said he. 'You did understand.'

2. So then the men said to him: 'Speak to us, Sir.' To them then he spoke this syllable, 'Da.' 'Did you understand?' 'We did understand,' said they. You said to us, "Give (datta)."' 'Yes (Om)!' said he. 'You did understand.'

3. So then the devils said to him: 'Speak to us, Sir.' To them then he spoke this syllable, 'Da.' 'Did you understand?' 'We did understand,' said they. You said to us, "Be compassionate (dayadhvam)."' 'Yes (Om)!' said he. 'You did understand.'

This same thing does the divine voice here, thunder, repeat: Da! Da! Da! that is restrain yourselves, give, be compassionate. One should practise this same triad: self-restraint, giving, compassion.

Source:

From T.S. Eliot, Revised Edition by Philip R. Headings who cited:

Thirteen Upanishads, trans. Robert Ernest Hume (London: Oxford University Press, 1921), p. 150.



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