Upaniṣads · Mahā 3.21
॥
Devanāgarī
चित्तं कारणमर्थानां तस्मिन्सति जगत्त्रयम् तस्मिन्क्षीणे जगत्क्षीणं तच्चिकित्स्यं प्रयत्नतः
Transliteración (IAST)
cittaṃ kāraṇamarthānāṃ tasminsati jagattrayam tasminkṣīṇe jagatkṣīṇaṃ taccikitsyaṃ prayatnataḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
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
Traducción
“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.”
Versión
fa457b8165f0 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
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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.