1This ancient Aswattha tree has its root above and branches below.     That is pure, That is Brahman, That alone is called the Immortal.     All the worlds rest in That. None goes beyond That. This verily     is That.

2Whatever there is in the universe is evolved from Prana and vibrates in Prana. That is a mighty terror, like an upraised thunderbolt. They who know That become immortal.

3From fear of Him the fire burns, from fear of Him the sun shines. From fear of Him Indra and Vayu and Death, the fifth, speed forth.

4If a man is not able to know Him before the dissolution of the body, then he becomes embodied again in the created worlds.

5As in a mirror, so is He seen within oneself; as in a dream, so (is He seen) in the world of the fathers (departed spirits); as in water, so (is He seen) in the world of Gandharvas (the angelic realm). As light and shadow, so (is He seen) in the world of Brahma (the Creator).

6Knowing that the senses are distinct (from the Atman) and their rising and setting separate (from the Atman), a wise man grieves no more.

7Higher than the senses is the mind, higher than the mind is the intellect, higher than the intellect is the great Atman, higher than the Atman is the Unmanifested.

8Beyond the Unmanifested is the all-pervading and imperceptible Being (Purusha). By knowing Him, the mortal is liberated and attains immortality.

9His form is not to be seen. No one can see Him with the eye. He is perceived by the heart, by the intellect and by the mind. They who know this become immortal.

10When the five organs of perception become still, together with the mind, and the intellect ceases to be active: that is called the highest state.

11This firm holding back of the senses is what is known as Yoga.     Then one should become watchful, for Yoga comes and goes.

12He cannot be attained by speech, by mind, or by the eye. How can     That be realized except by him who says "He is"?

13He should be realized as "He is" and also as the reality of both (visible and invisible). He who knows Him as "He is," to him alone His real nature is revealed.

14When all desires dwelling in the heart cease, then the mortal becomes immortal and attains Brahman here.

15When all the ties of the heart are cut asunder here, then the mortal becomes immortal. Such is the teaching.

16There are a hundred and one nerves of the heart. One of them penetrates the centre of the head. Going upward through it, one attains immortality. The other (hundred nerve-courses) lead, in departing, to different worlds.

17The Purusha, the inner Self, of the size of a thumb, is ever seated in the heart of all living beings. With perseverance man should draw Him out from his body as one draws the inner stalk from a blade of grass. One should know Him as pure and deathless, as pure and deathless.

18Thus Nachiketas, having acquired this wisdom taught by the Ruler of Death, together with all the rules of Yoga, became free from impurity and death and attained Brahman (the Supreme). So also will it be with another who likewise knows the nature of the Self.

May He (the Supreme Being) protect us both. May He be pleased with us. May we acquire strength. May our study bring us illumination. May there be no enmity among us.          OM! PEACE! PEACE! PEACE!