14) This cosmic body (atman) is the honey (effect) of all beings and all beings are the honey (effect) of this cosmic body. Likewise, the bright, immortal being who is in the cosmic body and the bright, immortal being identified with the individual self are both honey. These four are but this Self. The Knowledge of this Self is the means to Immortality; this underlying unity is Brahman; this Knowledge of Brahman is the means of becoming all.

The Cosmic Being is feeding upon the individual and the individual is feeding upon the Cosmic. They are inter-related like the mother and the child and co-related with each other in an organic unity. The Atman that we are speaking of is the Atman of all beings. Rather it is not the Atman of all beings; but it is the Atman, which is all beings, ultimately. It is the Lord of all beings.

15) And verily this Self is the Ruler of all beings, the King of all beings. Just as all the spokes are held together in the hub and rim of a wheel of a chariot, so are all beings, all gods, all worlds, all organs and all these individual creatures are held together in this Self.

Everything is controlled by the very existence and presence of the Atman, without any movement on Its part. It is the Emperor of all. As the spokes are connected to the hub of a wheel, everything visible or invisible is connected to this Aman. All beings, whatever can be conceived of or not conceived of, all celestials, gods, all the worlds that can be conceived of in any level of manifestation, everything that is vital and real, everything, all beings, whatever is, in any form, are located in this Atman, in the same way as every spoke is located in the hub of the wheel.

This is the Madhu-Vidya in essence - the contemplation of all things by the contemplation of anything.

16) This, verily, is the honey (madhu—doctrine) which Dadhyach, versed in the Atharva—Veda, taught the Asvins. The Mantra (the rishi) perceived this and said: "O Asvins in human form, I will disclose that terrible deed of yours, called damsa, which you performed out of greed, as the thunder—cloud discloses the approaching rain. I will disclose the honey (madhu—doctrine), which Dadhyach, versed in the Atharva—Veda, taught you through the head of a horse."

17) This, verily, is the honey (madhu—doctrine) which Dadhyach, versed in the Atharva—Veda, taught the Asvins. The Mantra (the rishi) perceived this and said: "O Asvins, you fixed a horse's head on Dadhyach, versed in the Atharva—Veda, who, O terrible ones, wishing to be true to his promise, taught you the ritualistic meditation on the honey (madhu—doctrine) connected with the sun and also the secret (spiritual) meditation on it."

There is an interesting story behind this knowledge. It is supposed to be a very secret knowledge which is not to be imparted to all people. And Indra got this knowledge from Sage Dadhyan. Greedy that he was, he did not want others to know this. He wanted to have this knowledge only for himself. He had told his Guru - 'if you tell this to anybody else, I will cut off your head.' He was a very strange disciple, and the Guru said nothing. He kept quiet. Indra desired to be the only knower of it. Such a great secret it is!

Then two other gods known as the Asvinis - the twin celestial physicians,­ wanted to have this knowledge. They knew that this Guru knows this - the Madhu-Vidya. So they came and said: "Will you teach us Madhu-Vidya?"

The Guru Dadhyan Atharvana Rishi said: "You know the danger behind my telling what I know? I will lose my head." "Why?" they asked. He told them: "This is what happened. That foolish Indra, I taught him something, and this threat is the gratitude he gave me. He says: "If I tell this to anybody else, he will sever my head. So, if I tell you, my head will go." "Oh, you do not bother about it," the twins said, "We shall look to it. We shall take care of this matter. You do not be afraid of losing your head."

"How are you going to save me?"

"You start teaching. Then, we cut off your head. Then, we will bring the head of a horse and place it on the trunk of your body, and you speak through the horse's mouth. Then Indra will get angry and cut off your head. But what he will cut off is the horse's head only. Afterwards he will go away and we will replace your real head and join it so that you become all right. Thereby you would not have lost anything."

That was a very good idea. Then Sage Dadhyan began to speak and the Asvins cut off his head and kept it safe somewhere in secret. Then they brought the head of a horse from somewhere, fixed it on the sage's trunk and gave it life. Immediately the horse started speaking the Madhu-Vidya, and through the mouth of the horse this wisdom has come.

Indra got enraged on seeing that the sage had started imparting the Madhu-Vidya. He went and cut off that head he found on the sage's neck - the horse's head. Then the Asvinis came and put back the original head on the sage and made him whole again.

So, this is the interesting story behind the Vidya called Madhu-Vidya. But whatever the story is behind this enunciation of the Vidya, it is a brilliant statement of the Upanishad telling us that everything is organically related to everything else. The purpose of the story is to praise the Knowledge of Brahman, which enabled the Asvins, who committed a terrible deed, to escape its harmful consequence.

18) This, verily, is the honey (madhu—doctrine) which Dadhyach, versed in the Atharva—Veda, taught the Asvins. The Mantra (rishi) perceived this and said: "He (the Lord) made bodies with two feet; He made bodies with four feet. Having first become a bird (the subtle body), He, the Supreme Person, entered the bodies. On account of His dwelling in all bodies (pur), He is called the Person (Purusha). There is nothing that is not covered by Him, nothing that is not pervaded by Him."

This, the Dhadhyan Atharvana Rishi spoke, and in conclusion, he said: "This Being which is responsible for the inter-connectedness of things has become, what you call, the living and the non-living; the visible and the invisible; the creatures which are two-footed and those that are four-footed. He became the subtle body and then the gross body by means of a subtle instrument known as the Linga Sarira or Sukshma Sarira. The very Being became the vital consciousness of all physical bodies, and He is present in everybody. The Body that is Universal and the body that is particularized - there is nothing that it is not enveloping. Everything is covered up by That - idam sarvam” implying the non-duality of the Self.