4. Taittirīya Upaniṣad 1

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4. Taittirīya Upaniṣad 1

First revision: May 25, 2026

Last change: Sep.21, 2026

Searched, gathered, rearranged, translated, and compiled by Apirak Kanchanakongkha.

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The Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa says, “Formerly nothing existed, neither heaven nor atmosphere nor earth.”

Śaṁkara, in his introduction to the Taittirīya Upaniṣads, says, “Knowledge of Brahman is called 'Upaniṣad' because in the case of those who devote themselves to it, the bonds of conception, birth, decay, etc., become unloosed, or because it destroys them altogether, or because it leads the pupil very near to Brahman, or because therein the highest God is seated.” See Pandit, March 1872, p. 254.
“Now answer us a further question: Agni, Vāyu, Āditya, Kāla (time), which is breath (Prāṇa), Anna (food), Brahmā, Rudra, Viṣṇu. Thus, some meditate on him, some on another. Say, which of these is the best for us? And he said to them: “These are but the chief manifestations of the highest, the immortal, the incorporeal Brahman. … Brahman, indeed, is all this, and a man may meditate on, worship, or discard also those which are its manifestations.” (i. 5).
The polytheistic conceptions were too deeply rooted in the Indian consciousness to be easily overthrown. The many gods were subordinated to the One. Without Brahman, Agni cannot burn a blade of grass, Vāyu cannot blow a whip of straw. “For fear of him, the winds, the clouds, and death perform their office.”
“Brahmaṇaḥ kośo’si, (ब्रह्मणः कोशोऽसि)” - "Brahmaṇaḥ kośo’si medhayā pihitaḥ (ह्मणः कोशोऽसि मेधया पिहितः)" is a powerful Sanskrit mantra from the Taittirīya Upaniṣads.
Translation: "You are the sheath (or container) of Brahman, concealed by intellect."
Meaning: It is a prayer addressing one's own body-mind, recognizing it as a vessel for the supreme, universal consciousness (Brahman). This inner divinity is hidden or covered by worldly knowledge and limited understanding (medha).
The phrase is part of the Medha Suktam (a hymn invoking wisdom, memory, and concentration from the Vedas). It is chanted to awaken and clarify one's intellect so the inner truth can shine through.
It is also recognized that the Vedic knowledge is much inferior to the true divine insight (ii.).

The ancient tree whose roots grow upward and whose branches go downward, developed on Sep.10, 2026.

“There is that ancient tree whose roots grow upward and whose branches go downward. That is the bright, Brahman, the immortal; all worlds are contained in it, and no one goes beyond it.” (i, 10).
This difference of view has resulted in a good deal of discussion about the interpretation of ānanda in the Upaniṣads. Śaṁkara squarely says that ānandamaya, by its suffix maya, indicates that it is only a phenomenal effect. Unless it were different from Ātman, there can be no talk of reasoning about it. If it were pure Brahman, it would be inappropriate to give it form and attribute to it head, limbs, as the Taittirīya Upaniṣad does. If ānanda were Brahman, there would be no separate mention of Brahman as the supporting tail of ānanda.⁰¹

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^01. Brahma puccham pratiṣṭhā.
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The lower things are farther away from the simple being than the higher ones, so much so that the ānandamaya of the Upaniṣads, the concrete Brahman of Rāmānuja, the Īśvara of Śaṁkara, is the nearest to it. Nothing nearer can be thought. The supreme Brahman of ānanda at the level of Vijñāna or self-consciousness becomes the personal Īśvara with a voluntary limitation. God or self is the ground of unity, and matter or not-self becomes the principle of plurality. (i. 5; S.B. and R.B. On V.S., i. 1. 6.).
The two, the objective and the subjective, the Brahman and the Ātman, the cosmic and the psychical principles, are looked upon as identical. Brahman is Ātman. (i. 5).

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