|
The god said--'Out of the will-power of the Supreme Being there originated a force whose exponents are the fifteen letters of the alphabet and from whom the universe has subsequently emanated. By worshipping that force, O goddess, I have come to know of all the knowables and I shall presently discuss the congery of Mantras that have arisen out of the five principal ones composed of the above said letters. These Mantras, O goddess, are the life and soul of all other Mantras. They form the backbone as it were, of the Vedas, Rik, Sam, Yajur, and the Arthava. The Mantras known as the Sadyajatas, etc., are but the different combinations of the above said forms revealed in the phonetic energy of the abovesaid five letters (Mantras). Through them the gods such as Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra, etc., have come into being. They are identical with the gods called Isha, Saptashikha...Whatever the limitations of an individual's temporal experience, they cannot fetter the immortal spirit and soul, which in sleep attain those realms of consciousness whose memories, because of the imperfections of the instrument, may filter but dimly into the waking mind, yet inevitably endure it and the entire life of the man. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then He (God) openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction.
|