याज्ञवल्क्येति होवाच, कतिभिरयमद्य ब्रह्मा यज्ञं दक्शिणतो देवताभिर्गोपायतीत्य्; एकयेति; कतमा सैकेति; मन एवेत्य्, अनन्तं वै मनः, अनन्ता विश्वे देवाः, अनन्तमेव स तेन लोकं जयति ॥ ९ ॥
yājñavalkyeti hovāca, katibhirayamadya brahmā yajñaṃ dakśiṇato devatābhirgopāyatīty; ekayeti; katamā saiketi; mana evety, anantaṃ vai manaḥ, anantā viśve devāḥ, anantameva sa tena lokaṃ jayati || 9 ||
9. ‘Yājñavalkya,’ said he, ‘through how many gods does this Brahman from the right protect the sacrifice to-day?’ ‘Through one.’ ‘Which is that one?’ ‘The mind. The mind is indeed infinite, and infinite are the Viśvadevas. Through this meditation the aspirant wins an infinite world.’
‘Yājñavalkya,’ said he, etc., is to be explained as before. Through how many gods does this priest called Brahman from the right, sitting in his particular seat, protect the sacrifice? The plural number in ‘gods’ is merely for the sake of conformity. To explain: The priest protects the sacrifice through one god only; so one who knows this should not put a question using the plural. But because the plural number was used in the questions and answers in the two preceding paragraphs—‘Through how many?’ ‘Through three.’ ‘How many?’ ‘Three’—here too the plural is used in the question; or the plural form is used in order to puzzle the opponent. ‘Through one,’ replied Yājñavalkya; the god through whom the Brahman protects the sacrifice from his seat on the right is one. ‘Which is that one?’ The mind is that god; it is through the mind, through meditation, that the Brahman does his function. ‘The mind and speech are the two ways of a sacrifice; the Brahman rectifies one of them (speech) through the mind (or silence),’ so says another Śruti (Ch. IV. xvi. 1-2). Therefore the mind is that god, and through it the Brahman protects the sacrifice. And that mind is indeed infinite, because of its modifications. The word ‘indeed’ signifies that it is a well-known fact. Everybody knows that the mind is infinite. The gods identify themselves with its infinity: And infinite are the Viśvadevas; for another Śruti says, ‘In which (mind) all the gods become one,’ etc. Through this meditation the aspirant wins an infinite world, because of the similarity as regards infinitude.