Narayana Upanishad

Rig Veda

Note: This text takes a Vaishnava perspective. In this sub-tradition, Narayana is synonymous with "God".

Narayana willed: Let me create beings. Note: This is a reference to the Formless Divine.
From Narayana arose
- Prana or Life Force.
- Then came the mind (awareness) and the senses. Here: Narayana is termed Purusha or Supreme Being; a reference to the Divine in Form.
- Then arose space, air, light (fire), water, and earthy matter.
- Then came all the deities, Devas (nobles), and other forms.
From Narayana arose all wisdom. For He is the one who creates, sustains, and dissolves all.
Those who understand this (cosmology) have mastered the essence of the Rig Veda.

Narayana is
- The Eternal, as well as all the Divine Forms.
- Time and all spatial orientations.
- The External and Internal (Divine).
Whatever has existed and will exist is Narayana.
Stainless and spotless with the purity of wisdom is Narayana.
Beyond impermanence and beyond description is Narayana.
That One Non-Dual Divine is Narayana.
Those who realize this (nature of the divine) become Narayana Himself and have mastered the essence of the Yajur Veda.

The Eight-Syllabled Mantra: om namo nārāyaṇāya
One who recites this mantra is blessed with both material and spiritual opulence.
Those who repeat this mantra until it becomes internalized (surrender to the divine) have mastered the essence of the Sama Veda.

Narayana is Pranava or Om.
The Inner Divine is represented by the three syllables A, U, and M.
Om and A-U-M are the same because A+U+M produces the "One" sound Om.
Similarly, Narayana reached through devotion is indeed the Inner Divine, as articulated philosophically.
Recognizing this "One" and chanting Om liberates us from the bondage of life and death.
Those who have experienced this Oneness (both in their hearts and minds) have mastered the essence of the Atharva Veda.

This Upanishad captures the essence of Vedic literature. As a result, anyone who learns this Upanishad earns the merit of learning all of the Vedas.
The one who internalizes these teachings attains Union with Narayana Himself.