Upanishads · Varāha 3.21
॥
Devanāgarī
चित्तमूलं हि संसारस्तत्प्रयत्नेन शोधयेत् । हन्त चित्तमहत्तायां कैषा विश्वासता तव
Transliteration (IAST)
cittamūlaṃ hi saṃsārastatprayatnena śodhayet | hanta cittamahattāyāṃ kaiṣā viśvāsatā tava
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
चित्त-मूलं हि संसारःcitta-mūlaṃ hi saṃsāraḥthe root of the cycle is consciousness
तत् प्रयत्नेन शोधयेत्tat prayatnena śodhayetit, with diligence, let one purify
हन्त चित्त-महत्तायांhanta citta-mahattāyāṃalas, at the greatness of consciousness
का एषा विश्वासता तवkā eṣā viśvāsatā tavawhat is this trustfulness of yours?
Translation
"The root of the cycle is consciousness; let one purify it with diligence. Alas, at [such] greatness of consciousness — what is this trustfulness of yours?"
Version
1e338853e32f · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting is the exclamation hanta, "alas," and the question: ka esha vishvasata tava, "what is this trustfulness of yours?" That is, the teacher rebukes the pupil; and rebukes him for trusting his own mind. This detail is rare in these books and deserves noting: here is no exposition, but a living exchange with a reproach. Let us speak of the reproach itself, for it is to the point.
A person trusts his mind unconditionally: whatever the mind says is taken for his own opinion; whatever the mind wants is taken for his own desire. But the mind, by these books, is an instrument, and, moreover, an instrument corrupted by habit. The Vaishnava side sets against this trustfulness a rule worth citing, useful to anyone.
The rule states: the mind is not a friend in itself; and the Gita says: "the mind is a friend to one who has conquered it by himself; but for one who has not conquered it, the mind remains hostile, like an enemy" (6.6). Worth noting is that both positions are named there: the mind can be both friend and foe; and the difference is determined not by the mind, but by the one who possesses it. Let us add the method it uses to deal with this. Not struggle and not suspicion, but checking: everything the mind offers is compared with what is said in the books and with the teacher's word. Hence its practice insists so much on company: from within, the mind cannot be checked, for the checker is itself.