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Rig Veda · Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rig Veda · 33 mantras

ऐतरेयोपनिषद्

Aitareya Upanishad

Aitareyopaniṣad

Central theme: Creation, the Self that became all

Mahavakya

प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म

Prajñānaṁ brahma

“Consciousness is Brahman.”

— Aitareya 3.1.3

Summary

Three short chapters from the Aitareya Aranyaka. The first describes creation: in the beginning the Self alone existed; it brought forth the worlds and the cosmic being (purusha). The second describes the three births of the Self (semen, in the womb, in the world). The third concludes with the mahavakya "Prajnanam Brahma" — consciousness is Brahman. Compact and dense.

Key concepts

  • ●Cosmogony — the Self alone
  • ●Three births of the Self
  • ●Prajnanam Brahma mahavakya

Famous verse

Aitareya 3.1.3

प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म

Prajñānaṁ brahma

Consciousness is Brahman.

Takeaway

Consciousness is not in you. You are in it.

All 10 principal Upanishads

IshaKenaKathaPrashnaMundakaMandukyaTaittiriyaAitareyaChandogyaBrihadaranyakaSvetasvataraKaushitakiMaitriYoga TattvaYoga KundaliniDhyana BinduAdvaya TarakaNarayanaPaingalaGanapatiDeviGarbhaJabala DarshanaTripuraAtmaAmritabinduParamahamsaTejobinduVarahaRama TapaniyaNrisimha TapaniyaGopala TapaniyaShandilyaNada BinduBrahmaKaivalyaSubalaJabaliYogachudamaniAkshamalaPaingalaAdvayatarakaKalisantaranaShandilyaMahanarayanaKatha RudraSarvasaraVajrasuchikaMahaNarada Parivrajaka