Upanishads · Mahā 3.21
॥
Devanāgarī
चित्तं कारणमर्थानां तस्मिन्सति जगत्त्रयम् तस्मिन्क्षीणे जगत्क्षीणं तच्चिकित्स्यं प्रयत्नतः
Transliteration (IAST)
cittaṃ kāraṇamarthānāṃ tasminsati jagattrayam tasminkṣīṇe jagatkṣīṇaṃ taccikitsyaṃ prayatnataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
चित्तम् कारणम् अर्थानाम्cittam kāraṇam arthānāmthe mind is the cause of things; consciousness is the source of objects
तस्मिन् सति जगत्-त्रयम्tasmin sati jagat-trayamwhile it is, the three worlds are; so long as it exists — there is the triple world
तस्मिन् क्षीणे जगत् क्षीणम्tasmin kṣīṇe jagat kṣīṇamwhen it is spent, the world is spent; when it has run dry, the world too has run dry
तत् चिकित्स्यम् प्रयत्नतःtat cikitsyam prayatnataḥit is to be treated with diligence; it is what should be cured with care
Translation
“The mind is the cause of things: while it is, the three worlds are; when it is spent, the world is spent. It is the mind that must be diligently treated.”
Version
fa457b8165f0 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here the book's chief practical proposition is stated, and stated in four words.
The mind is the cause. The mind is — the three worlds are; the mind has run dry — the world has run dry.
It is important not to take this as a claim that the universe does not exist outside my head. The speech is of the world as that with which I deal: the field of desires, fears, claims. The three worlds are the arrangement in which there is an up and a down, a better and a worse, somewhere to strive and something to shun. All of that is the mind's work.
And therefore the verse's last word is the most precious: cikitsya — “to be treated”. Not “to be destroyed”.
The mind is called sick, not an enemy. An enemy is killed; the sick are treated. And treated prayatnataḥ — “with care, diligently”, as one treats long and patiently.
Vaiṣṇava thought holds to precisely this word. The mind is not switched off; the mind is put on other food.