Isa Upanishad

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The Lord, intent on the regeneration of the world, communicated Vedas

through Hiranyagarbha and Hiranyagarbha, in turn, passed Them on to

his ten Manasa-puthras, including Athri and Marichi. From them, the

Vedas spread among humanity, handed down from one generation to

another. As time passed, ages accumulated and continents moved, some

Vedas got lost, or were neglected as too difficult for comprehension,

and only Four have survived into modern times. These Four were taught

by Vedavyasa, the greatest among the exponents of the Vedas, to his

disciples, in the Dwaparayuga.

When Vyasa was thus expounding the Vedas, engaged in spreading the

sacred scripture, one disciple of his, Yajnavalkya by name, incurred

his wrath and as a punishment, he had to regurgitate the Yajurveda

that he had already learned, into the custody of his guru and leave

the place, to take refuge in Suryadeva, the treasure-house of the

Vedas. Just then, the Rishis who revere the Vedas, flew into the

place in the shape of Thiththiri birds and ate up the regurgitated

Yajurveda. That particular section of the Veda is

called "Thaithiriyam".

Meanwhile Suryadeva was pleased with the devotion and steadfastness

of the unfortunate Yajnavalkya. He assumed the form of a Vaji or

Horse and blessed the sage with renewed knowledge of the Yajurveda.

The sections thus taught by the Vaji came to be called 'Vajasaneyi'.

The Yajurveda as promoted by Vedavyasa is called Krishnayajurveda and

that handed down by Yajnavalkya as the Suklayajurveda. In these, the

first few chapters are Mantras connected with the Karmakanda and the

last few sections deal with Jnanakanda.

The Isavasya Upanishad is concerned with this Jnanakanda. Since the

opening mantra of this Upanishad starts with the words, 'Isavasyam',

the Upanishad is called by that name.

Isavaasyamidam sarvam yathkinchajagathyaam jagath

Thena thyakthena bhunjeethaah, maa gridhah kasyaswid-dhanam

"All things of this world, the transitory, the evanescent, are

enveloped by the Lord who is the real Reality of each. Therefore they

have to be used with reverent renunciation, without covetousness or

greed for they belong to the Lord and not to any one person". That is

what this sloka means.

That is to say, the Universe is the Immanence of the Lord, His Form,

His Body. It is wrong to take the Universe and its Lord as different.

It is a delusion, a product of the imagination of man. Just as your

image under the water is not different from you, the Universe (which

is His Image produced on your Ignorance) is the same as He.

So long as man has this delusion, he cannot visualise the Reality

immanent in him; on the other hand, he will slide into wrong

thoughts, words and deeds. A piece of sandalwood if kept in water

will produce a bad smell; but, if it is taken out and rubbed into

paste, the former perfume will return. When the authority of the

Vedas and Sastras is repeated and when discrimination is sharpened on

the practice of Dharmakarmas, the evil smell of wrong and wickedness

will vanish and the pure innate perfume of the Atma will emerge. Then

the duality of doer and enjoyer will disappear; then, you reach the

stage called Sarvakarmasanyas, the withdrawal from all activity. In

this Upanishad, this type of Sanyas is described as the pathway to

Liberation or Moksha.

The sanyasa which involves the destruction of the three urges (for a

mate, for progeny and for wealth) is very difficult to attain without

purity of the chiththa or mind.

In this Upanishad, the means for getting this is declared in the

second Manthra. That is to say: carry out the Agnihothra etc.

prescribed in the Sastras, believe that for liberation one has to be

actively engaged in such work and get convinced that no sin can cling

so long as one is so engaged. Work without the desire for the fruit

thereof slowly cleanses impurities like the crucible of the

goldsmith. The pure mind is Jnana; it is the consummation of

detachment.

If you are able to divest yourselves of desire when you are doing

work, no impurity can touch you. You know the "Chilliginji" seeds

when dropped into muddy water have the power of separating the dirt

and depositing it at the bottom; the seeds too sink to the bottom,

and slip out of sight! In the same way, those who are adepts in doing

Karma without attachment will have their minds perfectly cleansed and

the results of their acts will also lose effectiveness and sink to

the bottom.

Out of the 18 mantras in this Upanishad only the first two deal

directly with the problem of Liberation and its solution. The other

sixteen elaborate this solution and serve as commentaries thereon.

The Atma never undergoes any modification; yet it is faster than any

mind! That is the mystery and the miracle; it appears to experience

all states, but it has no growth, decline or change. Though it is

everywhere it is not perceivable by the senses; it is because of its

underlying existence and ever-present immanence that all growth, all

activities, all changes take place. Cause and effect act and react on

account of the Basic stratum of the Atmic reality. The very

word, 'Isa' carries this meaning. The Atma is near and far, inside

and outside, still and moving. He who knows this truth is worthy of

the name Jnani.

The ignorant can never grasp the fact of Atmic immanence. Those who

are conscious can see things and can feel their presence near them.

Those who have lost awareness will search for the lost jewels though

they actually wear them at the moment. Though one may know all

things, he conceives the Atma as existing in some un-approachable,

unreachable place on account of loss of consciousness. But the Jnani,

who is aware, sees the Atma in all beings and all beings as Atma: He

sees all beings as the same, and perceives no distinction or

difference. So he saves himself from duality.

The Isavasya makes this great Truth clear to all. The Jnani who has

tasted that vision will not be agitated by the blows of fortune or

the enticements of the senses. He sees all beings as himself, having

his own innate identity; he is free from bondage, from Dharma and

Adharma, and the needs and urges of the body. He is "Swayamprakaasa".

So, the Jiva-rupa is not his genuine form, no, not even the gross and

the subtle bodies called the Sthula and the Sukshma sariras.

That is why in the first mantra of the Isavasya, the Jnana-nishta

characterised by the absence of craving of any sort is expounded.

This is the primary Vedartha; but, those who have cravings will find

it difficult to get stabilised in that Nishta or state of mind. For

such, the second manthra prescribes a secondary means, the

Karmanishta. The rest of the manthras elaborate and support these two

nishtas - based on Jnana and Karma. Karma-nishta has Desire and

Delusion as the cardinal urges; Jnana-nishta has Vairagya, the

conviction that the world is not Atma, that is to say, not true, and

therefore, it is profitless to have any dealings with it. Such an

attitude to Vairagya is the gateway to Jnana-nishta. From the third

to the eighth manthra, the real nature of the Atma is depicted,

through the condemnation of the Avidya, which prevents the

understanding of the Atma.

Thus the Isavasya teaches the lesson of renunciation through the

first manthra and the lesson of 'liberating activity' (through Karma

devoid of Raga and Dwesha) in the second manthra. In the fourth and

fifth manthra, it speaks of Atmathathwa and later of the fruits of

the knowledge of that Atmathathwa. In the ninth manthra, the path of

progressive liberation or Karmamukthi (useful for those who are too

weak to follow the path of total renunciation but who are adepts in

acts that are conducive to moral development and inner purification)

is laid down; this is the path which co-ordinates all Karma on the

principle of Upasana. Those who are engaged in acts contrary to Vidya

are full of Ajnana, it says; those who confine themselves to the

study and practice of divine forms are even worse, for their desire

is for powers and skills. Vidya leads to Deva-loka, Karma leads to

Pithr-loka, it is said. So, the Jnana that results in

Atmasakshathkara or Self-realisation is something quite distinct from

these, no attempt to co-ordinate the two can succeed.

Of course, one should not engage in anything opposed to the Sastras;

and all actions are classed as Avidya, in the ultimate analysis. At

best, Karma can help only to cleanse the mind and the Upasana of Gods

can lead to single-mindedness. The Upasana has to rise to the level

of the worship of the Cosmic Divinity, the Hiranyagarbha; it has to

ripen and develop into Jivanmukthi, before the end of this life.

The Devatha-Jnana and the Karma-nishta have both to be complementary

and co-ordinated; then, one can escape the round of birth and death

and become Divine.

 

-- Sri Sathya Sai Baba

 

Hari Aum !!!