Section 7.4 (fourth khaṇḍa) (three texts)

Upaniṣad text:

‘Will indeed is greater than Mind. When one wills, then he minds, then he utters Speech; then he utters it in Name; in the Name the mantras become one; and in the Mantras the performances become one’.—(1)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

Will indeed is greater than Mind;—‘Will’ also here stands, like the’ act of minding, reflecting,—for a particular functioning of the internal organ; that function which consists in determining and discriminating what should be done and what should not be done, it is only when a subject has been duly discriminated and determined upon, that there comes minding or reflection and then the desire to do.—In what way?’—When one wills,—that is, discriminates subjects such as what should be done and the like,—determining that ‘it is proper to do this’,—then he minds (reflects) to read the Mantras and so forth;—after this he utters speech,—in reciting the mantras etc.,—then he utters it in Name,—i.e. he utters it after having made up his Mind to utter the Name.—In the Name—in name in general,—the Mantras become one,—i.e. become included, because the Particular is always included,—under the Universal.—In the Mantras, the performances become one; as a matter of fact, acts (of sacrifice) are performed only as they are illumined (indicated) by the Mantra-texts; and there is no sacrificial act without Mantras; it is only when the act has come into existence on being indicated by the Mantra that it comes to be enjoined in the form that ‘it should be performed by the Brāhmaṇa, for securing such and such results’; and wherever we find the origin of acts in the Brāhmaṇa-texts, it is only the way of making clearer those acts which have already come into existence through Mantras; there is not a single act found in the Brāhmaṇa-texts which has not been indicated by Mantras; it is well-known among people that Acts (of sacrifice) are laid down in the three Vedas; and the term ‘three Vedas’ is a name for the Ṛk, Yajus, and Sāman.—In the Atharvaṇa, we find it declared that the wise ones saw the Acts in Mantras’. Thus, it is only right and proper that performances should become one in Mantras.—(1)

Upaniṣad text:

‘Indeed, all these merge in the Will,—are made up of the Will, and abide in the Will. Heaven and Earth willed; Air and Ākāśa willed; Water and Fire willed.—Through the willing of these. Rain wills; through the willing of Rain, food wills; through the willing of Food, Life-Breaths will; through the willing of Life-Breaths, Mantras will; through the willing of the Mantras, Acts will; through the willing of the Acts, the World wills; through the willing of the World, all things will. This is Will. Meditate upon Will.’—(2)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

All these—Mind and the rest—merge in the Will,—i.e. their origination, birth, also lies in the Will,—and abide in the Will,—during their existence.—Heaven and Earth,—which stand for all that is immovable,—willed—performed the act of volition; so also Air and Ākāśa willed,—these also performed the act of volition, as it were;—similarly, Water and Fire—which represent all that is immovable in its form,—willed. Through the willing of these—i.e. on account of the willing of Heaven, Earth and the rest,—Rain wills,—i.e. becomes efficient;—so through—on account of—the willing of Rain, Food wills,—as it is from Rain that Food is produced;—through— i.e. on account of—the willing of Food, Life-Breaths will; because Life-Breaths are made up of Food and are nourished by Food; says the Vedic text—‘Food is the bandage’;—through the willing of Life-Breaths, the Mantras will; as it is only a man with strong Life-Breaths (i.e. who is powerful) who reads the Mantras, not a weak man; through the willing of Life-Breaths, Acts will—i.e. such acts as Agnihotra and the like,—i.e. when they are performed as indicated by the Mantras, they become capable of bringing about their results.—Through the willing of Acts, the World,—the result—wills,—i.e. becomes efficient by containing within itself the Acts and the Actors;—through the willing of the World, all things,—the entire Universe—wills—to attain and retain its complete form. Thus all this Universe, which culminates in the final result, has its root in Will; and thus highly qualified therein is Will; hence meditate upon Will. Having said this he describes (in the following text) the reward that accrues to one who meditates on Will—(2)

Upaniṣad text:

‘One who meditates upon Will as Brahman, being himself lasting, well-established and undistressed, attains (respectively) lasting, well-established and undistressed regions determined for him;—and becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within reach of the Will,—for one who meditates upon Will as Brahman. ‘Revered Sir, is there anything greater than Will?’—‘Certainly, there is something greater than Will.’—‘Explain that to me, Revered Sir.’—(3)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

One who meditates upon Will as Brahman,— i.e. regarding it as Brahman,—he attains regions determined for him—by God, as that ‘such and such regions will be his reward—the learned man reaches the regions which have been thus decided upon, willed, for him;—these regions are lasting—eternal, as compared to things that are absolutely ephemeral,—the man himself also being lasting;—if the man inhabiting the regions were not lasting, then the very volition of the lasting would be futile; hence the man himself is lasting;—the regions are also well-established,—well-stocked with accessories,—it being found that one becomes established through cattle, offspring and other accessories; and the man himself is also well-established,—i.e. fully supplied with his own accessories the regions are undistressed,—free from dangers arising from enemies and others;—and the man himself is also undistressed;—and such a man attains such regions as have been described. And in the sphere within reach of the Will, he becomes free to act as he wishes,—within reach of his own Will, not within the Will of others; if the latter were meant, that would be contrary to the reward going to be described later on. This is for one who meditates upon Will as Brohman;—as before.—(3)

End of Section (4) of Discourse VIL