I remember I have read somewhere that Mahatma Gandhi remarked that if the whole body of Indian philosophy were lost beyond trace and only Isavasya Upanishad were to remain, the entire philosophy can be reconstructed on the basis of this Upanishad. An American biographer of the Mahatma was advised by him to study the Upanishad in detail if he wanted to familiarize himself with the ancient Indian Philosophy. I remember it distinctly because it was this advice which I came across while reading the biography that prompted me to attempt a study of this great Upanishad. I am aware I am nothing before the great immortal work. My understanding of the Upanishad is so meagre that I cannot think of offering any learned exposition, I venture to place before you in all humility only a few ideas from what little I have been able to grasp of it.
It is one of the shortest Upanishads comprising just eighteen mantras. An attempt is made below to explain the concepts contained in some of them.
It starts with the Santi Patha:This immortal verse has a deep meaning. At the most basic level it can be said that it talks of the Universal Self and the Individual Self. The Atman or the Self that is there in each and every being is from Brahman or the Universal self. Brahman is undefined, changeless and unlimited. All the manifested things and beings come from the supreme Brahman, but the Brahman Himself remains unchanged. It is with Salutations to this Universal Self or Brahman that the Upanishad starts.
We are prone to think that the world consists of what we can perceive with our senses and our mind. We fail to realize that what we so perceive is but very little and that there is a lot beyond it. We live with the delusion of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ and are blind to the fact that nothing belongs to any one person for ever. The first verse of Isavasya Upanishad draws us to this fact and gives the message of how we have to conduct ourselves.
God pervades everything and in that sense everything is His. What comes to our lot is assigned by God Almighty for our use without getting attached to it. We should shed the feeling of belongingness for the things and persons of the world as they are but transitory. Real joy does not occur when one owns things in a selfish way. It
eÉoÉ qÉæÇ jÉÉ iÉoÉ WûËU lÉÌWû AoÉ WûËU Wæû qÉæÇ lÉÉÌWû eÉoÉ AlkÉåUÉ ÍqÉOû aÉrÉÉ SÏmÉMü jÉåUåMüqÉÉÌWû ~ MüoÉÏUWhen ‘I’ was there, God was not there. When ‘I’ is effaced God is there. When darkness is dispelled, there is no need of a lamp. comes when they are given away in a spirit of renunciation. If we develop this attitude it automatically follows that we do not covet others’ wealth. As everything is pervaded by God, we should not
covet the property that belongs to others.It is normal tendency that every living being wants to live. Though the stark fact of death stares at us in the face it is hard for us to be convinced of the fact that one day or the other we are sure to die. There is nothing wrong in nurturing the desire that one should live a full life of a hundred years. But if one lives a life full of worldly attachments without any high aims, it is just staying alive. Then how should we aspire to live a life of a hundred years?
By performing actions alone one should aspire to live here for a hundred years. There is no other way whereby the effects of actions do not cling to him.
What is the use of living a long life entangled in the cobwebs of worldly affairs we, on our own build around ourselves? Accumulation of material wealth and developing attachments to
I see advertisements for active young men, as if activity were the whole of a young man’s capital.Merely to come into the world the heir of a fortune is not to be born, to be still born, rather. To be supported by the charity of friends, or a government pension – provided you continue to breathe – by whatever fine synonyms you describe these relations, is to go into the almshouse.
~ Henry David Thoreau ~ people and temporal objects bring only worry and sorrow ultimately. Living such a life is nothing more than existing dragging the burden of cares and burdens like a worn out coat behind. So, as long as a person is alive he should actively continue to perform noble actions without longing for any personal aggrandizement. He should live a full life deriving bliss (Ananda) for himself by being useful to others and by relentlessly striving to build a better society.
We see some people among us striving to lead ideal lives, constantly trying to ennoble themselves, cultivating virtues, never swerving from the path of righteousness and practising charity with compassion. They abide by their conscience. They are friends of their own selves. But there are some others who waste away the precious lives they are blessed with. They deviate from the path of righteousness and give in to vices of various kinds. They silence their conscience and degrade themselves. Those who kill their Self are their own enemies. These great ideas are expressed in the following Mantra:
What is the nature of the Self nurturing which blessed souls get liberated and those who kill It are thrown into worlds of darkness? We get an idea of this great Self in the mantras that follow:
The Self is unmoving one and moves faster than the mind. Senses are incapable of overtaking It. Remaining stationary It overtakes all the things that move. It supports and runs all the activities.
Although it is encased in the body, mind can conceive anything situated far away. In other words, mind can travel very fast. Brahman or Self or pure Consciousness travels faster than the mind. All the activities of the manifested world are started and monitored by the Self (whom we may call God the Almighty, Omnipresent, Omniscient)
God, the Creator of all this universe cannot be defined or described on the criteria we adopt for accounting manifested things – movement, nearness or distance, size and so on are the criteria using which we give an account of the things that we want to describe. These criteria are not enough – they are not applicable to describe Brahman or The Supreme Self. As Brahman is supreme It is stationary and at the same time It moves. It is near and It is far away. It is inside everything, at the same time It is outside everything. (Another interpretation is that, If you elevate yourself as enunciated in the forgoing verses, God or Self in you or near you. If you slay your Self God is outside and away from you.)
The really blessed man is he who sees God or Brahman or his own Self in everything and in everybody. He who perceives God as pervading all finds no occasion to despise anybody. One of the most fundamental tenets of Indian philosophy is enunciated in these two Mantras:
To such a man who sees all beings in himself and his own self in all beings, there will neither be delusion nor sorrow. He sees the One Self in all.
Delusion, grief and hatred are the outcomes of ignorance that makes one see plurality in God’s creation. If we are blind to the basic principle of the all-pervading nature of the Self we differentiate between things and persons, look at them as belonging to us or as not ours. Such ignorance leads to illusion which results in revulsion and sorrow. The enlightened man who sees all things in himself and himself in all things comes to be endowed with the great quality of equanimity.
The next Mantra gives a description of the traits of Brahman or the supreme Self.The Self pervades all; It is radiant and formless, without any blemishes; It is indivisible, pure and unaffected by evil, all-seeing, all-knowing, transcendent and self-existent. It oversees the actions of all beings for ever.
***What we see with our outer eye is illusion; what we see with our inner eye is the Reality. Those that are illusory are attractive and tempting. We often see that a blatant lie is more impressive than a stark truth. As John Keats has pointed out, “Truth lies behind a pile of illusions.” A very enamouring and captivating shield (that can be called Maaya) covers the face of Truth. The devout seeker of truth can reach it only when the misguiding and misleading cover is removed. In this Mantra the seeker of Truth prays to the God of Sun to remove that cover to enable him to find the truth.
This Mantra is highly remarkable for its depth of thought and beautiful poetic expression. It is a prayer to the Sun God (Pushan) offered by a seeker of knowledge (Truth). The Sun dispels darkness and brings in the brightness of dawn with his radiant rays. And by supplying energy it is He who keeps the world going. Hence the Prayer is offered to him.
Any thing really valuable is not available just for the asking. It seems to be remote from the one who desires to attain it. It requires tremendous effort to overcome the obstacles and achieve it. Very often the obstacles and diversions appear to be very attractive; they tempt us and try to drive us away from the path of realization of Truth. Using excellent poetic imagery this Mantra depicts the fact that the
The most precious line “Tattvam Pooshan Apaavrinu” is the guiding principle of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, one of the forerunning premier educational institutions in our country. It exhorts the students to seek ultimate knowledge undeterred by hindrances and tempting deversions.
I had the privilege of working in Kendriya Vidyalaya sangathan for 25 years. I have always been extremely inspired by this brilliant Prayer. It is my ardent prayer to Lord Almighty that the institution always lives up to this lofty ideal.
Ultimate Truth remains hidden in a golden vessel. The prayer to the Sun who sustains all in this world is that He should remove the outer cover for the seeker to get it. Here, golden vessel is not to be taken to mean a precious costly object, in a worldly way. We have plenty of instances in all cultures to illustrate that gold for its own sake is a great temptation and greed for it leads one finally to ruin and degradation. The message is that we have to shun such temptations however fascinating they are to attain the high level of realization of Truth.
***Towards the end of the Upanishad there is another exquisite Prayer. It is to God Agni (God of fire).
Agni! Lead me by the right and virtuous path to the results of my actions. Wean me away from the fault of deceit. I offer myriads of ardent Prayers to You.
Thus, Isavaasya Upanishad offers us the most fundamental tenets of Indian philosophy. They are:• Nothing ultimately belongs to us. Things are given to us for our use. We should use them without developing any lasting attachment for them.
• One should aspire to live a hundred years performing actions in an uninvolved manner.All the sacred texts of our traditional lore preach us the maxims of ideal life on the basis of these fundamental principles. For instance, most of the teachings of The Bhagavadgita are directly based on Isavaasya Upanishad.