This is the Lord of all, this is the omniscient, this is the inner controller, this is the source of all; indeed it is the origin and the dissolution of beings.

This mantra describes Prājña — the third quarter of Oṃ — in its highest aspects. What in deep sleep appears as mere “contentless rest” is, seen correctly, the deepest dimension of Being.

Sarveśvara: Lord (īśvara) of all (sarva). It is not a separate god, but the inherent governing principle of everything that exists.

Sarvajña: the one who knows all (jña = to know). Not accumulated knowledge but the underlying conscious capacity of all possible experience.

Antaryāmin: the one who resides (āmin) within (antar). The inner controller, not external. It is not a force imposing order from without, but the inherent intelligence that sustains every process.

Yoni: the matrix, the source from which everything emerges. Like space allows the existence of objects without being an object itself, so Prājña is the “space” of consciousness from which all states arise.

Prabhavāpyau (prabhava = origin; apyaya = dissolution): everything emerges from this state and returns to it. The universes of waking and dream condense and dissolve into the ocean of deep sleep.

This is the “theistic” vision of the Upaniṣad: recognizing that the foundation of one’s own existence is at once personal (the most intimate) and universal (the principle of all).