The Upanishads are the last part and culmination of the Vedas (Rig, Sama, Yajur and Athrava) and so are called “Vedanta” (the end or the distillation of wisdom). They are known as the jnana kanda, the section of the Veda that deals with knowledge – knowledge of the ultimate reality. They are considered as sruti, or that which is heard. Traditionally they are considered to be apaurusheya, which means they were revealed to enlightened seers who saw and heard these truths in the depths of their awakened consciousness. The Upanishads are also thought to be nitya-true for all time, all places and all people.
The Isha Upanishad, which many regard as the first of the Upanishads, is found in the Sukla Yajur-Veda. It is one of the shortest, consisting of only 18 verses. The Sanskrit verse called the Peace Invocation precedes the Isha as well as the other Upanishads belonging to the Sukla Yajur-Veda (two of which, the Brihadaranyaka and Paramhansa – we will explore in our joint study group).
The Isha begins with a celebration of the awakening of the Self, a state of unbounded pure being singing out “I am totality.” This verse is very profound in meaning and significance; it concentrates within a few lines the entire thought of the Upanishads. It reveals at once the grasp, the sweep and the scope of that thought:
That is full; this is full. From fullness, fullness comes out. Taking fullness from fullness, What remains is fullness. Om peace, peace, peace
The invisible (Brahman) is the Full; the visible (the world) too is full. From the Full (Brahman), the Full (the visible universe) has come. The Full (Brahman) remains the same, even after the Full (the visible universe) has come out of the Full (Brahman).
Purnamamadah purnamidam Purnat purnamudacyate; Purnasya purnamadaya Purnamevavasiyate,
Om santih, santih, santih
The Isa Upanishad commences with the declaration that the universe is spiritual through and through:
Isavasyamidam sarvam
It then goes on to wish that all human beings may be fortunate enough to live a full life understanding the divine presence of the Lord in everything. The Upanishads called this all pervading reality by the name of Brahman or Atman.
The very first verse of this Upanishad is substantiated and authenticated by every other Upanishad. The Upanishads synthesize the knowledge of the “within” with the knowledge of the “without”, in a total comprehension of reality. From this total viewpoint there is neither inside nor outside. Reality knows neither ‘outside’ not ‘inside’; it is ever full. These relative concepts are helpful in our approach to understanding the total reality…..the unity behind the manifold, which is not perceptible to the senses.
The Bhagavad Gita, which came later, also refers to this state of fullness of Being;
In Chapter II.70
Like the ocean, which becomes filled Yet remains unmoved and stands still as the waters enter it, He whom all desires enter and who remains unmoved Attains peace; not so the man who is full of desire.
The attainment of this fullness marks the summit of spiritual life where rituals are left behind.
Slokas (verses) 1-8 exhorts the seeker: The first verse is one of the most important. It states:
Everything here, whatever moves In this world of change is pervaded by the Lord (Brahman). Enjoy it by way of relinquishing it; Cease to covet the wealth of anyone
Isavasyamidam sarvam yatkinca jagatyam jagat; Tena tyaktena bhunjithah, ma gradah kasya svid dhanam-
The whole universe, it tells us, is filled with the spirit of pure being, ultimate reality (the Divine, Brahman). Our experiences of the manifold, of the world of the senses, must be seen in the light of this abiding truth. A bubble rises on water, plays for an instant on the surface, and disappears. Whence did it come, what was it, and where did it go? From water it came; having come, it is water still; and unto water it returns at the end. The real nature of the momentary existence, the bubble, is water. Similarly, Brahman (the Divine) is the real nature of this world. Change is here, death is here, in every phase of life; there is no steady base here on which we can build the structure of our life. Look deeper exhorts the Upanishad. Go deep into the consciousness beneath the surface of body, senses and mind. Relax into that consciousness and you will see the deathless in the midst of death, the changeless in the midst of change, the One in the midst of many.
This is the one great message of the Upanishads, the message of the immortal and imperishable Self behind the mortal and the perishable.
As the first verse of the Isha says, renounce whatever is not real. In the language of Vedanta, there must be both a negation and an affirmation, if we are to enjoy this world.
Tena tyaktena bhunjitha – renounce and enjoy.
This world is worth enjoying and we should enjoy it with zest, says the Upanishad.
Through renunciation and detachment, we become identified with the immortal divine Brahman, which is the Self of all. We see with our eyes and mind purified, that this universe is permeated and sustained by Brahman. We renounce all that our small separatist ego has conjured up. Do not covet says this first verse of the Isha. Enjoy what you have gained by your honest labor….”with that learn to delight your mind and heart”. Thus the renunciation is not a mere negation; it is a negation leading to a higher affirmation. It does not say we should not earn money or position but we must do it with detachment, without exploitation, because only then can we truly enjoy the fruits of our labor. When life is lived ethically and morally it brings about a steady and purified mind. This in turn brings about an inner growth of strength and spiritual understanding and prepares us for a life of fulfillment (purnata); the goal of life itself.
The second verse asks us to live a full span of life, to work with a deep interest in life and its affairs, but to do so with a new outlook, an outlook based on our own real nature. Overcoming laziness and indifference, we must work, and fill our long lives with good, useful actions, but all this must be done in the light of the divine, and we mortals must find paths for becoming immortal in this very life. (The Bhagavad Gita mentions Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga and Jnana yoga).
Nevertheless, in order to understand this truth, which alone can make our lives joyful and worth living, we have to cultivate a spirit of inquiry. “The greatest truths do not lie on the surface of the ocean, but the pearls in its depths” said Sri Ramakrishna. The Upanishads are a storehouse of these pearls of wisdom.
Finding these pearls is no easy task and it requires yoking intelligence and will to a higher purpose. The Upanishads tell us that there is a way to go through a full life by placing ourselves in touch with the abiding reality behind all passing phenomena.
Fundamental to our spiritual progress is what we do and how we do it. Every action, every opportunity must be a means of freeing ourselves from our bondage of suffering, which we ourselves create by clinging on to passing, changing phenomena including changing self images. Clutching at the shadows of sensory experiences, taking them to be the whole of reality, we ignore our immortal dimension.
The parable of Sri Ramakrishna – ‘ we all live in samsara (the world), but the world should not live in us. A boat should be on water, but water should not be in the boat; for that is dangerous for the boat’.
The secret of spiritual progress is to cultivate awareness of the Atman (the divine nature within) in and through all of our life’s experiences. It is this awareness which marks the difference between the purely worldly human being and the spiritual seeker.
Verse 3 warns the spiritual aspirant of the darkness and sorrow that envelop those who attempt to pass through life in ignorance of the Atman (their own divine nature).
The next five verses describe the nature of the Atman, that divine Spirit which, as the Self of all, is in you and in me, which envelops everything in this world, in and through which we act, perceive, think and feel.
Verses 9-14
The language of these verses is exceedingly obscure. (These verses have been explained by various commentators from their own knowledge and experience). In this blog text I am utilizing the explanation given by the Vedanta Society literature and talks). One way to understand these verses is to focus on the two paths that ensnare human beings. One is a purely worldly life giving no importance to the divine Atma within. The other is to pursue a withdrawal from the world and pursue dry and fruitless lines of thought, resting contently with theoretical knowledge.
Here is one way to look at these passages. Sanskrit is a language of nuance, and depending on the context the words can have multiple meanings. Here ‘avidya’ and ‘vidya‘ are to be understood in the correct perspective. Strictly speaking, this pure consciousness (Atma) gets identified with changing ephemeral things of the body, senses and the mind. This identification ensnares human beings to limited images of themselves which are subject to birth, growth, decay and death. The other snare is retreating to meditation only thereby not engaging in life’s activities and viewing their learning and scholarship as an end in itself.
Verse 14 explains how to reconcile and use both to realize our own immortal nature.
Manifest and unmanifest_______ He who knows both together, Crosses beyond death through the unmanifest And attains immortality through the manifest.
He who knows the true Self (Pure Being-Atman– Brahman) and the changing perishable world of Becoming) both together, overcomes death through ‘vinasa’, and achieves immortality through ‘sambhuti’. The word ‘vinasa‘ means destruction, that which is subject to death (i.e. the world of Becoming). ‘Sambhuti’ is to be understood as pure Being or Atman–Brahman.
These verses seek to resolve the opposition between our outer life and our inner life, between the demand for action and the call of contemplation. The human mind has a tendency to oscillate between extremes. A purely worldly life exhausts us by endless phenomenal pursuits of changing objects, wealth and success. As we get older or are faced with major adversities, we look for meaning, mental peace and freedom from suffering. What this Upanishad says is that Vidya and Avidya are two aspects of the same reality. A limited understanding is that Avidya affirms the world as a self-sufficient reality and that Vidya affirms God as an unseen distant reality. When true knowledge arises, says the Isa Upanishad, this opposition is overcome. No aspect of knowledge or experience is ignored.
This Upanishad culminates with the understanding that “Life in the world and life in the spirit are not incompatible. Work or action is not contrary to knowledge of God (Atman-Brahman), but indeed, if performed without attachment, is a means to it. ………. Renunciation is renunciation of the ego, of selfishness, of our limited understanding,— not of life. The end of both action and renunciation is to know the Self within and the Brahman without, and to realize that identity.
As the Bhagavad Gita states in Chapter II.38
Holding pleasure and pain to be alike, Likewise gain and loss, victory and defeat, Then engage in battle! Thus you shall not incur evil.
This is the gift of a true and robust philosophy for the human mind. The criterion of its truth is the spirit of freedom and fearlessness, love and service that it imparts to human life.
Verses 15-18
These are an invocation to God- to reveal the light of the Supreme Brahman to the human being as he/she leaves earthly existence.
“Let my life merge into the immortal Brahman…….into pure joy. Deliver us from evil, who bow and pray again and again.
The Self is Brahman, and Brahman is all Om shanti shanti shanti
Excerpts from: Vedanta Society literature and talks. The Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran, The Upanishads by Valerie Roebuck, The Upanishads by Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes, The Upanishads – Breath of the Eternal by Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Manchester. The Bhagavad Gita by Winthrop Sargeant
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