Nine Quotes from the Upanishads

"All the gods waited upon the Goddess (and asked): ‘Great Goddess, who art Thou ?’  She replied: I am essentially Brahman. From Me (has proceeded) the world comprising Prakriti and Purusha, the void and the Plenum. I am (all forms of) bliss and non-bliss. Knowledge and ignorance are Myself. Brahman and non-Brahman are to be known –says the scripture of the Atharvans. I am the five elements as also what is different from them. I am the entire world. I am the Veda as well as what is different from it. I am the unborn; I am the born. Below and above and around am I.  I move with Rudras and Vasus, with Adityas and Visvedevas. Mitra and Varuna, Indra and Agni, I support, and the two Asvins.  I uphold Soma, Tvastir, Pusan and Bhaga, The wide-stepping Vishnu, Brahma, Prajapati. To the zealous sacrificer offering oblation And pressing the Soma-juice do I grant wealth; I am the state, the Bringer of Wealth; Above it all, place I its protector. Whoso knows my essence in the water of the inner sea, Attains he the Goddess’s abode."  --Devi Upanishad 1-7

"The Mother of the Universe sustains Her abode –the Destroyer’s Face, the Circle of t The core of sounds, the span of time, The Eternal, half the lunar month; With sixteen (She sustains the core of their abode.  Or, worshipping the digit of desire in its man forms, Enthroned in the three cavernous homes and in Of the rounded breasts and face set in the sphe The man of desires gains that which he wants. Dressed fish, goat’s flesh, Cooked rice, pleasure of sex Who offers to the Goddess great, Merit and success for himself achieves."  --Tripura Upanishad 10-12

"Om. The Goddess was indeed one in the beginning. Alone she emitted the world-egg. (She) is known as Love’s Part (IM). (She) is known as the half-syllabic instant after OM.   Of Her was Brahma born; was Vishnu born; was Rudra born. All wind-gods were born, celestial minstrels, nymphs, semi-human beings playing on instruments, were born (of Her), all around. What is enjoyed was born; everything was born (of Her). Everything of Power was born (of Her). The egg-born, the sweat-born, the seed-born, the womb-born, whatever breathes here, the stationary as well as the moving, and man were born (of Her). "  --Bahvricha Upanishad 1-2

"Seated in the spotless lotus Coloured as its pollen heaps Bearing in her lotus palms Lotus pair and symbolled promise Of fear dispelled and boons bestowed; With jewelled crown and ornaments diverse Wondrously adorned –Let Sri, Mother of the world entire, Promote our fortunes ever."  --Saubhagya Lakshmi Upanishad I-3

"Faith, grasp, intelligence Thou art, Goddess of Speech, spouse of Brahma; Thy home, the tongue-tip of devout Souls; Thou the giver of virtues, Such as restraint of mind’s movements.   Obeisance to Thee, O Bhavani ! Whose tresses deck the crescent moon. Thou art the stream of nectar that Extinguishes samsara’s heat."  --Saraswati Rahasya Upanishad 40-41

"I am Brahman, ever manifest, pure, first, endless; there is no room for the slightest dallying with aught else’ –thus think, having become blemishless; achieve Nirvana (permanent peace) having purified and quietened all movements of the mind.  Know that none of the things seen here is there; it is all like ‘the city in the sky’ and ‘water in the desert’.   On the other hand, what is nowhere seen, at all, is not given (as an object); beyond the range of the sixth sense, mind, O sage --assimilate yourself to That.   Grasp: I am That which is the indestructible, infinite, Spirit, the Self of everything, integral, replete, abundant and partless."  --Annapurna Upanishad I-19-22

"Enthrone the supreme vidya, the Divinity in the heart –the Divinity styled Kama, the Primeval One; whose form is the Fourth; who transcends the Fourth, who exceeds all; who occupies all seats consecrated with holy spells; who is surrounded on all sides by deities seated on the main and subordinate seats; who pervades all parts (from Prana, vital breath, to naman, name); the deity who is replete with delight; who is in union with the supreme Spirit; who is in the heart; whose gift is immortality; who is complete and who is possessed of senses; who, forever, is uprisen; who comprises three groups; has three abodes, and is the supreme and most excellent Maya;." --Tripura Tapini I-39

"The supreme divinity, Lalita, is one’s own blissful Self.  Of all this the distinctive apprehension is the red glow. Perfection (ensues from) exclusive concentration of the mind. In the performance of meditation consist (various acts of) respectful service. The act of oblation is the merger in the Self of distinctions like I, Thou, Existence, non-Existence, the sense of duty and its negation, and the obligation worship."  --Bhavana Upanisad 27-31

"By Srirama’s (light of total liberation) presence enabled The universe She sustains; All embodied beings She brings forth, sustains and withdraws. Sita must be known; She is the first cause; As Om is She that cause, Declare the Brahman-knowers.   Now, therefore, inquiry into Brahman.  She here is all the Vedas; all the gods; all the worlds; all renown; all virtue; all ground, effect and cause; the great Beauty of the Lord of gods. She has a form which is different and yet the same. She is the essence of the intelligent and the inert. She is all, from Brahma to stocks and stones. She is embodied, owing to distinctions of attributes and activities. She assumes the forms of gods, sages, men and Gandharvas; of demons, fiends, spirits, ghosts, goblins, etc.; and of the elements, sense-organs, mind and the vital breaths.   That divine Being is threefold through Her power, namely the power of desire, the power of action, and the power of knowledge." --Sita Upanishad 7-11