BU 3.9.28 - mighty tree

Excerpt from the book 'Upanishads' - A new translation by Patrick Olivelle

- Brhadaranyaka Upanishad - 

Man is like a mighty tree-
    that's the truth.
His body hairs are its leaves, 
His skin is its outer bark.
Blood flows from his skin,
As sap from the bark of a tree.
Blood flows when the skin is pricked,
As sap, when the bark is slit.

His flesh is the sapwood;
His sinews are the fibres -
    that's certain.
His bones are the heartwood;
And his marrow resembles the pith.

A tree when it's cut down,
Grows anew from its root;
From what root does a mortal man grow,
When he is cut down by death?

Do not say, 'From the seed';
For it's produced from him
    while he is still alive;
And like a tree
    sprouting from a seed,
It takes birth at once,
    even before he dies.

A tree, when it's uprooted,
will not sprout out again;
From what root does a mortal man grow,
When he is cut down by death?

Once he's born,
    he can't be born again.
Who, I ask,
    will beget him again?

Perception, bliss, brahman,
The gift of those who give,
The highest good - 
    awaits those who know this
    and stand firm.

~~
Very thoughtful and thought provoking. A great comparison to a tree.

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