The Story of Creation and Prajnanam Brahma

The Aitareya Upanishad comes from the Rigveda. It says: in the beginning there was only the Self, nothing else at all. It thought, 'Let me create the worlds.' And it created the worlds. Then it thought, 'Let there be guardians of the worlds.' So it shaped a cosmic Person, and from him the gods such as Agni, Vayu and Surya came forth.

But the gods needed a home to live in. The Self brought them a cow. The gods said, 'This is not enough for us.' It brought a horse: 'This is not enough either.' At last it brought a human being. Delighted, the gods said, 'This is truly well made!' Indeed, the human being is praised as the finest creation.

Then each god took its place in the human body. Agni became speech and entered the mouth. Vayu became breath and entered the nose. Surya became sight and entered the eyes. The directions became hearing and entered the ears. The Moon became the mind and entered the heart. Hunger and thirst asked for a place too, and were given a share among these gods; that is why, when an offering is made to any god, hunger and thirst share in it.

Then the Self thought, 'How will this body go on without me?' It opened the crown of the head and entered the body itself. So the senses within us are powers of the gods, but the one who drives them, the awareness sitting behind them all, is the Self.

At the end the Upanishad asks: who is this Self by which we see, hear, smell, speak and taste? The answer: it is prajnana, pure consciousness. Everything (gods, humans, animals, trees, mountains) is guided by consciousness and rests in consciousness. And this is the famous Mahavakya: 'Prajnanam Brahma', consciousness is Brahman.