Katha Upanishad
puram ekādaśadvāram ajasyāvakracetasaḥ anuṣṭhāya na śocati vimuktaś ca vimucyate etad vai tat
"There is a town with eleven gates belonging to the Unborn (Brahman), whose thoughts are never crooked. He who approaches it, grieves no more, and liberated (from all bonds of ignorance) becomes free. This is that.
haṃsaḥ śuciṣad vasur antarikṣasad dhotā vediṣad atithir duroṇasat nṛṣad varasad ṛtasad vyomasad abjā gojā ṛtajā adrijā ṛtaṃ bṛhat
He (Brahman) is the swan (sun), dwelling in the bright heaven; he is the Vasu (air), dwelling in the sky; he is the sacrificer (fire), dwelling on the hearth; he is the guest (Soma), dwelling in the sacrificial jar; he dwells in men, in gods (vara), in the sacrifice (rita), in heaven; he is born in the water, on earth, in the sacrifice (rita), on the mountains; he is the True and the Great.
ūrdhvaṃ prāṇam unnayati apānaṃ pratyag asyati madhye vāmanam āsīnaṃ viśve devā upāsate
He (Brahman) it is who sends up the breath (prâna), and who throws back the breath (apâna). All the Devas (senses) worship him, the adorable (or the dwarf), who sits in the centre.
asya visraṃsamānasya śarīrasthasya dehinaḥ dehād vimucyamānasya kim atra pariśiṣyate etad vai tat
When that incorporated (Brahman), who dwells in the body, is torn away and freed from the body, what remains then? This is that.
na prāṇena nāpānena martyo jīvati kaścana itareṇa tu jīvanti yasminn etāv upāśritau
No mortal lives by the breath that goes up and by the breath that goes down. We live by another, in whom these two repose.
hanta ta idaṃ pravakṣyāmi guhyaṃ brahma sanātanam yathā ca maraṇaṃ prāpya ātmā bhavati gautama
Well then, O Gautama, I shall tell thee this mystery, the old Brahman, and what happens to the Self, after reaching death.
yonim anye prapadyante śarīratvāya dehinaḥ sthāṇum anye 'nusaṃyanti yathākarma yathāśrutam
Some enter the womb in order to have a body, as organic beings, others go into inorganic matter, according to their work and according to their knowledge.
ya eṣa supteṣu jāgarti kāmaṃ kāmaṃ puruṣo nirmimāṇaḥ tad eva śukraṃ tad brahma tad evāmṛtam ucyate tasmiṃl lokāḥ śritāḥ sarve tad u nātyeti kaścana etad vai tat
He, the highest Person, who is awake in us while we are asleep, shaping one lovely sight after another, that indeed is the Bright, that is Brahman, that alone is called the Immortal. All worlds are contained in it, and no one goes beyond. This is that.
agnir yathaiko bhuvanaṃ praviṣṭo rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo babhūva ekas tathā sarvabhūtāntarātmā rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo bahiś ca
As the one fire, after it has entered the world, though one, becomes different according to whatever it burns, thus the one Self within all things becomes different, according to whatever it enters, and exists also without.
vāyur yathaiko bhuvanaṃ praviṣṭo rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo babhūva ekas tathā sarvabhūtāntarātmā rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo bahiś ca
As the one air, after it has entered the world, though one, becomes different according to whatever it enters, thus the one Self within all things becomes different, according to whatever it enters, and exists also without.
sūryo yathā sarvalokasya cakṣur na lipyate cākṣuṣair bāhyadoṣaiḥ ekas tathā sarvabhūtāntarātmā na lipyate lokaduḥkhena bāhyaḥ
As the sun, the eye of the whole world, is not contaminated by the external impurities seen by the eyes, thus the one Self within all things is never contaminated by the misery of the world, being himself without.
eko vaśī sarvabhūtāntarātmā ekaṃ rūpaṃ bahudhā yaḥ karoti tam ātmasthaṃ ye 'nupaśyanti dhīrās teṣāṃ sukhaṃ śāśvataṃ netareṣām
There is one ruler, the Self within all things, who makes the one form manifold. The wise who perceive him within their Self, to them belongs eternal happiness, not to others.
nityo 'nityānāṃ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṃ yo vidadhāti kāmān tam ātmasthaṃ ye 'nupaśyanti dhīrās teṣāṃ śāntiḥ śāśvatī netareṣām
There is one eternal thinker, thinking non-eternal thoughts, who, though one, fulfils the desires of many. The wise who perceive him within their Self, to them belongs eternal peace, not to others.
tad etad iti manyante 'nirdeśyaṃ paramaṃ sukham kathaṃ nu tad vijānīyāṃ kim u bhāti vibhāti vā
They perceive that highest indescribable pleasure, saying, This is that. How then can I understand it? Has it its own light, or does it reflect light?
na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṃ nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto 'yam agniḥ tam eva bhāntam anu bhāti sarvaṃ tasya bhāsā sarvam idaṃ vibhāti
The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings, and much less this fire. When he shines, everything shines after him; by his light all this is lighted."