page_title: Shvetashvatara Upanishad
section_title: One Deva (God), the self within all beings – Sixth Adhyāya
hierarchical_section_title: Shvetashvatara Upanishad / Contents / One Deva (God), the self within all beings – Sixth Adhyāya
caption_attribution_description: A swan glides gracefully across the lake in the last of the evening sun.............
context_page_description: The Shvetashvatara Upanishad is an ancient Sanskrit text embedded in the Yajurveda. It is listed as number 14 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. The Upanishad contains 113 mantras or verses in six chapters.
  The Upanishad is one of the 33 Upanishads from Taittiriyas, and associated with the Shvetashvatara tradition within Karakas sakha of the Yajurveda. It is a part of the "black" Yajurveda, with the term "black" implying "the un-arranged, motley collection" of content in Yajurveda, in contrast to the "white" Yajurveda where Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Isha Upanishad are embedded.
  The chronology of Maitrayaniya Upanishad is contested, but generally accepted to be a late period Upanishadic composition. The text includes a closing credit to sage Shvetashvatara, considered the author of the Upanishad. However, scholars believe that while sections of the text shows an individual stamp by its style, verses and other sections were interpolated and expanded over time; the Upanishad as it exists now is the work of more than one author.
context_section_description: The sixth chapter of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad opens by acknowledging the existence of two competing theories: of Nature as the primal cause, and Time as the primal cause. Verse 6.1 declares these two theories as "completely wrong". It is Deva (God, Brahman) that is the primal cause, asserts the text, and then proceeds to describe what God is and what is God's nature. He is the knower, the creator of time, the quality of everything, the Sarva-vidyah (सर्वविद्यः, all knowledge), states Shvetashvatara Upanishad. This God, asserts the text, is one, and is in each human being and in all living creatures. This God is the soul (Atman) veiled inside man, the inmost self inside all living beings, and that the primal cause is within oneself. The Upanishad, states it as follows (abridged),
  Let us know that highest great lord of lords, the highest deity of deities, the master of masters,
  
  his high power is revealed as manifold, as inherent, acting as force and knowledge.
  
  There is no master of his in the world, no ruler of his, not even a sign of him,
  
  He is the cause, the lord of the lords of the organs, and there is of him neither parent nor lord.
  
  He is the one God, hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the self within all beings,
  
  watching over all works, dwelling in all beings, the witness, the perceiver, the only one, free from qualities.
  
  The wise who perceive Him dwelling within their self, to them belongs eternal happiness and serenity, not to others,
  
  He who knows this God as primal cause, through Sāṁkhya (reason, reflection) and Yoga (self-discipline), achieves Mukti (freedom, moksha).
  — Shvetashvatara Upanishad 6.7-6.13
caption: Swan (Haṁsa, हंस) is the frequently used symbolic term for the Highest Self (Soul) in Vedic literature, and is used in verses 6.15-6.16 of Shvetashvatara Upanishad to discuss Moksha.[79]
exif: {"Image Make": "FUJIFILM", "Image Model": "X10", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "350", "Image YResolution": "350", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Digital Photo Professional", "Image DateTime": "2012:05:22 20:52:34", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "148", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "884", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8567", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/300", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:05:22 20:52:34", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:05:22 20:52:34", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "16/5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "829/100", "EXIF ApertureValue": "5", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "151/20", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "2", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "142/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3367", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2315", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "4554", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "4554", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}