Page:Ancient India, 2000 B.C.-800 A.D..djvu/86

68 for that which would make her immortal; and the priest, gratified by the noble wish of his spouse, then explained to her that the Universal Soul dwells in the husband and in the wife and in the sons, in Brahmans and in Kshatriyas, and in all living beings, in the gods above and in the creatures below—yea, in all the universe.—Brihadáran-yaka Upanishad.

This is the truth which is inculcated in numerous passages in the Upanishads in language simple and fervent and solemn, the like of which has never been composed by Hindus of later times.

"The Intelligent, whose body is spirit, whose form is bright, whose thoughts are true, whose nature is like ether (omnipresent and invisible), from whom all works, all desires, all sweet odours and tastes proceed;—He who embraces all this, who never speaks and is never surprised,

"He is my soul within the heart, smaller than a corn of rice, smaller than a corn of barley, smaller than a mustard-seed or kernel of a canary-seed. He also is my soul within my heart, greater than the earth, greater than the sky, greater than the heavens beyond, greater than all these worlds.

"He from whom all works, all desires, all sweet odours and tastes proceed, who embraces all this, who never speaks and is never surprised, He—my soul within my heart—is God. When I shall have departed from hence, I shall mingle with him.—Chhándogya Upanishad.

This is the truth which is explained in a hundred beautiful similes. The Universal Soul is like the honey, in which drops collected by bees from distant trees mingle; it is like the ocean, in which rivers coming from distant regions are lost; it is like the saline water, in which particles of salt can no longer be discerned.

"At whose wish does the mind, sent forth, proceed on