Upaniṣads · Jābāladarśana 7.4
॥
Devanāgarī
तत्सर्वं ब्रह्मणे कुर्यात्प्रत्याहारः स उच्यते । अथवा नित्यकर्माणि ब्रह्माराधनबुद्धितः
Transliteración (IAST)
tatsarvaṃ brahmaṇe kuryātpratyāhāraḥ sa ucyate | athavā nityakarmāṇi brahmārādhanabuddhitaḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
तत् सर्वं ब्रह्मणे कुर्यात्tat sarvaṃ brahmaṇe kuryātall that let him do for brahman
प्रत्याहारः सः उच्यतेpratyāhāraḥ saḥ ucyatethat is called withdrawal
अथवा नित्य-कर्माणिathavā nitya-karmāṇior else, one's ordinary duties
ब्रह्म-आराधन-बुद्धितःbrahma-ārādhana-buddhitaḥwith the understanding of worshiping brahman
Traducción
"…all that let him do for brahman; that is called withdrawal. Or else, one's ordinary duties, with the understanding of worshiping brahman…"
Versión
61eeb48b5e8b · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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Here is a definition worth counting the best in the whole book: withdrawal of the senses is to do everything for Him. The word aradhana, "worship, pleasing," is from a-radh, "to propitiate, to please"; and from the same root comes the name Radha, "the one who pleases" — the very one who, in Vaishnava tradition, belongs to the foremost of the devoted. It is worth examining why this definition is so good, and better than the two preceding.
The first definition — withdrawing the senses by force — wars against nature and hence is unstable. The second — seeing everything as brahman — requires a change of seeing, which is not in our power. The third requires neither. It leaves deeds, senses, and objects all in their places, and changes only the addressee.
This is why it is performable today, not after long practice. A person cannot, by command, stop wanting; but he can, doing what he does, do it for someone, and this is accessible to anyone at any minute. The Vaishnava side rests on exactly this, and its whole bhakti-yoga is, in substance, the unfolding of this definition. The Gita ends by setting out the very same: "dedicate deeds to Me, turn to Me, take refuge in the union of understanding, be constantly turned toward Me" (18.57).
Let us add what follows from this and lifts the chief burden of all the preceding khandas. If doing for Him is withdrawal of the senses, then postures, breath, and locks all become non-obligatory: they become one of the possible methods, not the sole road.