विज्ञानम् ब्रह्म इति व्यजानात् विज्ञानात् हि एव खलु इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते विज्ञानेन जातानि जीवन्ति विज्ञानम् प्रयन्ति अभिसंविशन्ति इति तत् विज्ञाय पुनः एव वरुणम् पितरम् उपससार अधीहि भगवः ब्रह्म इति तम् होवाच तपसा ब्रह्म विजिज्ञासस्व तपस् ब्रह्म इति सः तपस् अतप्यत सः तपस् तप्त्वा
vijñānam brahma iti vyajānāt vijñānāt hi eva khalu imāni bhūtāni jāyante vijñānena jātāni jīvanti vijñānam prayanti abhisaṃviśanti iti tat vijñāya punaḥ eva varuṇam pitaram upasasāra adhīhi bhagavaḥ brahma iti tam hovāca tapasā brahma vijijñāsasva tapas brahma iti saḥ tapas atapyata saḥ tapas taptvā
He discerned: "Discernment is Brahman: for out of discernment these beings are born, by discernment, being born, they live, into discernment they pass and enter." Having discerned this, he came again to his father Varuṇa: "Venerable one, teach me Brahman." He said to him: "By austerity seek to discern Brahman: austerity is Brahman." He kindled austerity; having kindled austerity…
0a80e6df946b · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:50:25 PM UTC
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The fourth step: vijñānaṁ brahmeti — "discernment is Brahman": not the stream of thoughts but the discriminating clarity itself, the light of judgement by which the mind itself is judged. And the test fits once more: beings are born of discernment (every creation is an act of distinguishing: "let there be light — and He divided the light from the darkness"), live by it (a life without discrimination perishes at the first step) and enter into it.
The subtlety of this step is that here the best come to a halt: the intelligence that judges the mind seems the last instance — who judges the judge? Philosophy rarely rises higher; Bhṛgu will rise: there is a layer deeper than judgement. Which? The one for whose sake all judging is done: joy. Discrimination is always "for the sake of"; the last "for the sake of" of discrimination itself is bliss, and it is deeper than its servant.
For the fifth — and last — time it sounds: tapasā brahma vijijñāsasva. The father's persistence equals the son's: four true answers are not bought off with praise, four incompletenesses are not punished with reproach. Such is Varuṇa's school: to trust a pupil's fire more than one's own formulations.