स होवाच गार्ग्यः, य एवासावादित्ये पुरुष एतम् एवाहं ब्रह्मोपास इति; स होवाचाजात्शत्रुः, मा मैतस्मिन्संवदिष्ठाः, अतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजेति वा अहमेतमुपास इति; स य एतमेवमुपास्तेऽतिष्ठाः सर्वेषां भूतानां मूर्धा राजा भवति ॥ २ ॥
sa hovāca gārgyaḥ, ya evāsāvāditye puruṣa etam evāhaṃ brahmopāsa iti; sa hovācājātśatruḥ, mā maitasminsaṃvadiṣṭhāḥ, atiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājeti vā ahametamupāsa iti; sa ya etamevamupāste’tiṣṭhāḥ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ mūrdhā rājā bhavati || 2 ||
2. Gārgya said, ‘That being who is in the sun, I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajātaśatru said, ‘Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as all-surpassing, as the head of all beings and as resplendent.’ He who meditates upon him as such becomes all-surpassing, the head of all beings and resplendent.
When the King was thus eager to listen and turned towards him, Gārgya said, The being who identifies himself both with the sun and the eye, and who having entered the body through the eye resides in the heart as the ego, the experiencer and agent— that being I meditate or look upon as Brahman in this aggregate of body and organs. Therefore I ask you to meditate upon that being as Brahman.’ Thus addressed, Ajātaśatru replied stopping him by a gesture of the hand, ‘Please don’t talk about him, this Brahman, as something to be known.’ The repetition of the negative particle is for stopping further speech. ‘When both of us know the same Brahman, you insult me by trying to make me out as ignorant. Hence please don’t discuss this Brahman. If you know of any other Brahman, you should tell me of that, and not of what I already know. If, however, you think that I know only Brahman, but not his particular attributes nor the results of meditating upon them, please don’t think so, for I know all that you speak of. How? All-surpassing, who exists surpassing all beings; also the head of all beings; and resplendent, being endowed with resplendence. I meditate upon the Brahman with these attributes as the agent and experiencer in this aggregate of body and organs.’ And one who meditates upon such conditioned Brahman obtains results accordingly. He who meditates upon him as such becomes all-surpassing, the head of all beings and resplendent, for the results must correspond with the particular attributes meditated upon. As the Śruti says, ‘One becomes exactly as one meditates upon Him’ (Ś. X. v. 2. 20).