The Upanishads

This Upanishad begins with a series of questions that the sage Valakhilyas asks the god Prajapati. The first question asked is, if the body is like a chariot, who is that chariot’s driver? It is the Spirit who is within all things and is also above all things. The Spirit “comes as a messenger to the body” (99) even when a person is asleep, which means that the Spirit is both consciousness and provides consciousness. The Spirit is “never-changing, never-moving, unpollutable” and is beyond desire and the “three conditions and constituents of the universe” (100).

Besides the Atman, there is also the soul “bound by the light or darkness which follow works” (100), the bhutatman. This “human soul” (100) is composed of the tan-matras, the five subtle elements, and the mahabhutas, the five gross elements. This soul is also under the power of the three conditions of nature, which are obstacles to a human understanding of the Spirit.

Brahman is both “ONE and infinite” (101) and generates new worlds. The universe itself exists within Brahman’s consciousness. The goal of contemplation through meditation is to become aware of oneness with Brahman.