art of the chapter Brahman only is spoken of;
how then can it be supposed that in the intermediate part all at once
the air should be referred to? The immediately preceding passage runs as
follows, 'That only is called the Bright, that is called Brahman, that
alone is called the Immortal. All worlds are contained in it, and no one
goes beyond it.' That the Brahman there spoken of forms the topic of our
passage also, we conclude, firstly, from proximity; and, secondly, from
the circumstance that in the clause, 'The whole world trembles in
pra/n/a' we recognise a quality of Brahman, viz. its constituting the
abode of the whole world. That the word pra/n/a can denote the highest
Self also, appears from such passages as 'the pra/n/a of pra/n/a'
(B/ri/. Up. IV, 4, 18). Being the cause of trembling, moreover, is a
quality which properly appertains to the highest Self only, not to mere
air. Thus Scripture says, 'No mortal lives by the pra/n/a and the breath
that goes down. We live by another in whom these two repose' (Ka. Up.
II, 5 5). And also in the passage subsequent to the one under
discussion, ('From terror of it fire burns, from terror the sun burns,
from terror Indra and Vayu, and Death as the fifth run away,') Brahman,
and not the air, must be supposed to be spoken of, since the subject of
that passage is represented as the cause of fear on the part of the
whole world inclusive of the air itself. Thence we again conclude that
the passage under discussion also refers to Brahman, firstly, on the
ground of proximity; and, secondly, because we recognise a quality of
Brahman, viz. its being the cause of fear, in the words, 'A great
terror, a raised thunderbolt.' The word 'thunderbolt' is here used to
denote a cause of fear in general. Thus in ordinary life also a man
strictly carries out a king's command because he fearfully considers in
his mind, 'A thunderbolt (i.e. the king's wrath, or threatened
punishment) is hanging over my head; it might fall if I did not carry
out his command.' In the same manner this whole world inclusive of fire,
air, sun, and so on, regularly carries on its manifold functions from
fear of Brahman; hence Brahman as inspiring fear is compared to a
thunderbolt. Similarly, another scriptural passage, whose topic is
Brahman, declares, 'From terror of it the wind blows, from terror the
sun rises; from terror of it Agni and Indra, yea, Death runs as the
fifth.'--That Brahman is what is referred to in our