This excerpt from the Taittiriya Upanishad (Brahmanda Valli, Section Eight) articulates a cosmology of ānanda—bliss—as a fundamental and hierarchical expression of Consciousness itself. Through an ascending scale of joy, from human to divine, the text reveals bliss not as mere emotion or pleasure, but as a core characteristic of Undifferentiated Consciousness. The passage ultimately collapses the distinction between embodied self and cosmic source, pointing to the unitary nature of reality: that the Atman (spiritual ego) within and the radiant source (symbolized by the sun) are one. For the Lightning Path, this teaching aligns directly with the understanding that the Fabric of Consciousness is inherently blissful, and that reconnection involves recovering and stabilizing this native state of being.

Taittiriya Upanishad

Brahmanda Valli - Section Eight

From fear of him the wind blows. From fear of him the sun rises. From fear they take flight: Agni and Indra and death, the fifth.

Here is the inquiry concerning bliss:

Let there be a youth, a good youth— well studied, most nimble, steadfast and strong. Let this whole earth, filled with wealth, be his. That is a single measure of bliss for mankind.34

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of mankind is a single measure of bliss for human gandharvas,35 also for a person who knows the Veda36 and is not smitten by desire.

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of human gandharvas is a single measure of bliss for celestial gandharvas, also for a person who knows the Veda and is not smitten by desire.

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of celestial gandharvas is a single measure of bliss for the fathers in their long-enduring world, also for a person who knows the Veda and is not smitten by desire.

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of the fathers in their long-enduring world is a single measure of bliss for those who are gods by birth, also for a person who knows the Veda and is not smitten by desire.

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of the gods by birth is a single measure of bliss for those who became gods through their good deeds, also for a person who knows the Veda and is not smitten by desire.

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of the gods through good deeds is a single measure of bliss for the [highest] gods, also for a person who knows the Veda and is not smitten by desire.

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of the [highest] gods is a single measure of bliss for Indra, also for a person who knows the Veda and is not smitten by desire.

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of Indra is a single measure of bliss for , also for a person who knows the Veda and is not smitten by desire.

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of is a single measure of bliss for , also for a person who knows the Veda and is not smitten by desire.

That which is a hundred times greater than the bliss of is a single measure of bliss for , also for a person who knows the Veda and is not smitten by desire.

He who is here in the person and he who is there in the sun—he is one.

He who knows this, passing beyond this world, attains the self which consists of food, attains to the self which consists of breath, attains to the self which consists of mind, attains to the self which consists of intelligence, attains to the self which consists of bliss.