THE UPANISHADS Taittiriya and Chhandogya Translated from the Sanskrit with detailed Introduc- tions and with Notes and Explanations based on the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, the great Eighth- century Philosopher and Saint of India by SWAMI NIKHILANANDA Volume IV HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS - NEW YORKFirst Edition 1959 © SWAMI NIKHILANANDA 1959 Library of Congress catalog card number: 49-9558 Printed in Great BritainPREFACE THE PRESENT volume of the Upanishads contains translations of the Taittiriya and the Chhdndagya, The first volume, containing trans- lations of the Katha, Isa, Kena, and Mundaka, was published in New York jn 1949; and the second volume, comprising the SvetaSvatara, Prasna, and Méndukya, was published in New York in 1952. English editions of poth volumes appeared in 1951 and 1954, respectively. The third volume of the present series, containing the Ailareya and Brikadaranyaka, was published in New York in 1956. With the publication of the fourth volume, my rather ambitious undertaking to present before the English- reading public the wisdom contained in the eleven major Upanishads is, by God’s grace, completed. Like the other volumes, the fourth contains a faithful English trans- Jation of the texts and also notes and explanations based upon the commentary of Sankaracharya. This latter is the distinctive feature of the present edition, which, it is hoped, will help the reader to fathom the meaning of the profound and sometimes obscure statements of these scriptures. In the preparation of this volume I have consulted with benefit the English translation edited by F. Max Miller and the Bengali trans- lation by Swami Gambhirananda (Calcutta, The Udbodhan Office). It is a real pleasure to express my indebtedness to them both. As with the three previous volumes, I have received invaluable helpin preparing the present translation from the late Mrs. Elizabeth Davidson, and from Brahmachari Yogatmachaitanya and Mr. Joseph Campbell. To all of them I likewise express my gratitude. ‘As I have explained in the preface to the third volume, the use of capital and small letters in certain words and the question of gender always present difficulties to translators of the Hindu scriptures, No distinction is made in Sanskrit between capital and small letters, For instance, the word déman is written in the same way, whether it denotes the Supreme Self or Soul or the embodied self or soul. The difficulty becomes even greater when the word occurs in both senses in one and the same passage. I have used a capital s for self and soul, and a capital «for atman, when they denote Brahman, or Ultimate Reality. It has not however been possible to maintain this clear-cut distinction at all times, The same problem arises with gender. I have used the neuter Jt for the words Brahman and Atman when they signify Pure Spirit, beyond all distinctions, But I have used the masculine He when they refer to the Creator or some similar Being belonging to the realm of phenomena. v