penance, austerity) and created two principles: Rayi (matter, feminine) and Prana (spirit, masculine), thinking that "these together will couple to produce for me creatures in many ways". The sun is the spirit, matter is the moon, asserts Prashna Upanishad. Sun ascends the highest, alone in splendor, warms us, is the spirit of all creatures. He is Aditya, illuminates everything, states the first Prashna, and has two paths - the northern and the southern. Those who desire offspring follow the guidance of sun's southern path, while those who seek the Self take the northern path, one of knowledge, brahmacharya, tapas and sraddha. The first chapter of Prashna Upanishad includes a number of symbolic mythological assertions. For example, it states that sun is ultimately the giver of rain and races in sky in the "chariot with seven wheels and six spokes". This symbolism is also found in more ancient Vedic literature, and the seven wheels are: half years, seasons, months, half months, days, nights and muhurtas (मुहूर्त, a Vedic era division of time equaling 48 minutes and one muhurta was asserted to be 1/30 of a day). The six spoke symbolism refers to the Vedic practice of describing sun as having six seasons, in contrast to five seasons for earth. The first section ends with verses 1.15 and 1.16 asserting that ethical living is necessary to realize the Atman-Brahman: Satya (truthfulness), Brahmacharya (chastity, celibacy if unmarried, fidelity if married), Tapas (austerity, meditation, perseverance), no Anrta (अनृत, falsehood, lying, deception, cheating) no Jihma (जिह्म, moral crookedness, ethical obliqueness with an intent to not do the right thing), and no Maya (माया, dissimulation, delusion, guile). What is a living being? - Second Prashna The second Prashna starts with three questions, "how many Deva (gods, deities, powers) uphold a living being? how many manifest their power thus? and who is the best?". The question is significant because it explicitly expresses gods to be residing in each living being and in nature, to support life. This is widely interpreted by scholars, given the context of answer that follows, to reflect the extant belief that deities express themselves in human beings and creatures through sensory organs and capabilities. The second significant aspect of the question is its structural construct, wherein the teacher is called Bhagavan, reflecting the Vedic culture of veneration and respect for teachers. The Upanishad thus suggests multiple contextual meanings of the word Bhagavan. Such