Question

‘Asato ma sad-gamaya;

Tamaso ma jyotir-gamaya;

Mrtyor-ma amrutam gamaya.’

This universal prayer for enlightenment is from:

1. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
2. Bhagavad Gita
3. Ramayana
4. Rig Veda

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

• The Pavamana Mantra also known as pavamāna abhyāroha, is an ancient Indian mantra introduced in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad. 
• The mantra was originally meant to be recited during the introductory praise of the soma sacrifice by the patron sponsoring the sacrifice.
• This is true prayer—the seeker’s admission of his sense of limitedness and his heartfelt cry for assistance in transcendence.
• It is not a prayer for the things of the world. It is not a pray for food, shelter, health, partnership, riches, success, fame, glory, or even for heaven.
• One who recites these three mantras has realized that such things are full of holes, soaked in pain, and, even in abundance, will forever leave him wanting.
• It is in this full understanding that one turns to this prayer.
• The first line—asato ma sadgamaya—means, “Lead me from the asat to the sat.” In fact, it is best to not translate sat (nor its negative counterpart asat) for, as with many Sanskrit words, sat has many meanings, and not only are most of them applicable here, their deliberate combined import provides a depth that no one of them could hold independently. These co-applicable meanings include existence, reality, and truth.
• The second line—tamaso ma jyotirgamaya—means “Lead me from darkness to light.” When the Vedas refer to darkness and light, they mean ignorance and knowledge, respectfully. This is so because ignorance, like darkness, obscures true understanding. And in the same way that the only remedy for darkness is light, the only remedy for ignorance is knowledge. The knowledge spoken of here is again the knowledge of one’s true nature.

Hence, the correct answer is Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.