Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 3.6
॥
Devanāgarī
मनसोत्पद्यते बिन्दुर्यथा क्षीरं घृतात्मकम् । न च बन्धनमध्यस्थं तद्वै कारणमानसम्
Transliteration (IAST)
manasotpadyate binduryathā kṣīraṃ ghṛtātmakam | na ca bandhanamadhyasthaṃ tadvai kāraṇamānasam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मनसा उत्पद्यते बिन्दुःmanasā utpadyate binduḥfrom mind arises the point
यथा क्षीरं घृत-आत्मकम्yathā kṣīraṃ ghṛta-ātmakamas milk, consisting of ghee
न च बन्धनम्-अध्य-स्थंna ca bandhanam-adhya-sthaṃand not abiding in the midst of bonds
तत् वै कारण-मानसम्tat vai kāraṇa-mānasamthat indeed is the causal mind
Translation
"From mind arises the point, as milk consisting of ghee; and not abiding in the midst of bonds, — that indeed is the causal mind".
Version
33eed4d627d0 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A simile is given: yatha kshiram ghrita-atmakam, "as milk, consisting of ghee." This simile is constant in Indian books and denotes hidden presence: ghee is in the milk, but unseen, until it is churned. The image is good and deserves unpacking, for it explains much.
Ghee already exists in the milk; it is not brought in or produced — it is extracted. And so churning does not create, but reveals; of the churning itself it was discussed when reading the second chapter (2.42). The Vaishnava side uses this image constantly, and in the same direction. Love for God is not created by exercise; it exists in the soul by its nature and is only covered over. The Chaitanya-charitamrita says directly: "pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of living beings; it is not something obtained from somewhere outside" (2.22.107).
This position changes the whole outlook on the matter. If love must be produced, then everything depends on the strength of the effort; if it must be revealed, then the matter is to remove what covers it — and this is a different kind of work, requiring different means. It is worth adding that the simile with milk has a limit worth naming too. Butter is churned from milk by anyone who takes it up; but what is spoken of here, by the testimony of this same book, is not won by practice (2.5). So the churner here is not one alone.