Śrī Īśopaniṣad — 7
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
Except for the madhyama-adhikārī and uttama-adhikārī discussed above, no one can correctly see the spiritual position of a living being. The living entities are qualitatively one with the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a fire are qualitatively one with the fire. Yet sparks are not fire as far as quantity is concerned, for the quantity of heat and light present in the sparks is not equal to that in fire. The mahā-bhāgavata, the great devotee, sees oneness in the sense that he sees everything as the energy of the Supreme Lord. Since there is no difference between the energy and the energetic, there is the sense of oneness. Although from the analytical point of view heat and light are different from fire, there is no meaning to the word “fire” without heat and light. In synthesis, therefore, heat, light and fire are the same. In this mantra the words ekatvam anupaśyataḥ indicate that one should see the unity of all living entities from the viewpoint of the revealed scriptures. The individual sparks of the supreme whole (the Lord) possess almost eighty percent of the known qualities of the whole, but they are not quantitatively equal to the Supreme Lord. These qualities are present in minute quantity, for the living entity is but a minute part and parcel of the supreme whole. To use another example, the quantity of salt present in a drop is never comparable to the quantity of salt present in the complete ocean, but the salt present in the drop is qualitatively equal in chemical composition to all the salt present in the ocean. If the individual living being were equal to the Supreme Lord both qualitatively and quantitatively, there would be no question of his being under the influence of the material energy. In the previous mantras it has already been discussed that no living being – not even the powerful demigods – can surpass the Supreme Being in any respect. Therefore ekatvam does not mean that a living being is equal in all respects to the Supreme Lord. It does, however, indicate that in a broader sense there is one interest, just as in a family the interest of all members is one, or in a nation the national interest is one, although there are many different individual citizens. Since the living entities are all members of the same supreme family, their interest and that of the Supreme Being are not different. Every living being is the son of the Supreme Being. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.5) , all living creatures throughout the universe – including birds, reptiles, ants, aquatics, trees and so on – are emanations of the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord. Therefore all of them belong to the family of the Supreme Being. There is no clash of interest. The spiritual entities are meant for enjoyment, as stated in the Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.12): ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt . By nature and constitution, every living being – including the Supreme Lord and each of His parts and parcels – is meant for eternal enjoyment. The living beings who are encaged in the material tabernacle are constantly seeking enjoyment, but they are seeking it on the wrong platform. Apart from the material platform is the spiritual platform, where the Supreme Being enjoys Himself with His innumerable associates. On that platform there is no trace of material qualities, and therefore that platform is called nirguṇa. On the nirguṇa platform there is never a clash over the object of enjoyment. Here in the material world there is always a clash between different individual beings because here the proper center of enjoyment is missed. The real center of enjoyment is the Supreme Lord, who is the center of the sublime and spiritual rāsa dance. We are all meant to join Him and enjoy life with one transcendental interest and without any clash. That is the highest platform of spiritual interest, and as soon as one realizes this perfect form of oneness, there can be no question of illusion ( moha ) or lamentation ( śoka ). A godless civilization arises from illusion, and the result of such a civilization is lamentation. A godless civilization, such as that sponsored by the modern politicians, is always full of anxieties because it may be crushed at any moment. That is the law of nature. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) , no one but those who surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord can surpass the stringent laws of nature. Thus if we wish to get rid of all sorts of illusion and anxiety and create unity out of all diverse interests, we must bring God into all our activities. The results of our activities must be used to serve the interest of the Lord, and not for any other purpose. Only by serving the Lord’s interest can we perceive the ātma-bhūta interest mentioned herein. The ātma-bhūta interest mentioned in this mantra and the brahma-bhūta interest mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.54) are one and the same. The supreme ātmā, or soul, is the Lord Himself, and the minute ātmā is the living entity. The supreme ātmā, or Paramātmā, alone maintains all the individual minute beings, for the Supreme Lord wants to derive pleasure out of their affection. The father extends himself through his children and maintains them in order to derive pleasure. If the children obey the father’s will, family affairs will run smoothly, with one interest and a pleasing atmosphere. The same situation is transcendentally arranged in the absolute family of the Para-brahman, the Supreme Spirit. The Para-brahman is as much a person as the individual entities. Neither the Lord nor the living entities are impersonal. Such transcendental personalities are full of transcendental bliss, knowledge and life eternal. That is the real position of spiritual existence, and as soon as one is fully cognizant of this transcendental position, he at once surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Being, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. But such a mahātmā, or great soul, is very rarely seen because such transcendental realization is achieved only after many, many births. Once it is attained, however, there is no longer any illusion or lamentation or the miseries of material existence or birth and death, which are all experienced in our present life. That is the information we get from this mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad.
yasmin sarvāṇi bhūtānyātmaivābhūd vijānataḥ
tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka ekatvam anupaśyataḥ
Vedārka Dīdhiti Commentary
yasmin kale sarvāṇi bhūtāni ātmā eva abhūt vijānataḥ ekatvaṁ anupaśyataḥ tasya tasmin kale ko mohaḥ kaḥ śokaḥ sambhavati?
(“At that time, when one sees oneness between all beings and the Paramātmā, how can there be illusion or misery for that wise man who sees with equal vision?”)
PURPORT
Illusion and misery are principles that are opposite to knowledge. When they exist in the heart, knowledge cannot remain in that place. Just as all hatred disappears in connection with the Paramātmā, illusion and misery also vanish. Therefore, it is necessary to make a connection with the Paramātmā.
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of Īśa-upaniṣad mantra 7:
यस्मिन्सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मैवाभूद्विजानतः ।
तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यतः ॥ ७ ॥
yasminsarvāṇi bhūtānyātmaivābhūdvijānataḥ |
tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka ekatvamanupaśyataḥ || 7 ||
yasmin—in whom, ie, in the Supreme Self; sarvāṇi—all; bhūtāni—beings, (exist) the word tiṣṭhanti is understood here; He is their support; ātmā—the Supreme Self; eva—even, indeed; abhūt— was, existed, or exists inside those beings also; that the Supreme God is the controller of all beings by dwelling within them; vijānataḥ—who understands, (by differentiating the jīva from Īśvara) understanding; tatra—in those beings; kaḥ—what; mohaḥ—delusion; kaḥ—what; Śokaḥ grief. ekatvam—unity, the indissoluble and eternal relation between God and jīvas, as between attribute and substance, life and form; The unity of the Lord in all creatures and of all beings in one Lord. anuapaśyataḥ—experiencing, seeing, realising;
7. “That Supreme Self in whom all beings exist, has existed indeed within all beings (from eternity.)”—How can he who knows this have delusion or sorrow? For he realises the unity; (by which the Supreme is in all, and all in Him.)
Commentary: The Bhāṣya of Madhva (Madhvācārya):
(English translation of Madhva’s 13th-century commentary called the Īśāvāsyopaniṣadbhāṣya or Īśopaniṣadbhāṣya)
“That Supreme Self, in whom are ail creatures, is indeed that same Supreme Self, who exists, and has existed within all creatures too (from eternity).” This is the Truth. He who knows this truth, and sees the Supreme Self thus residing in all creatures as a unity, can have no delusion. That Atman in whom are all-creatures, is all pervading and is inside of all beings. He who thus sees Viṣnu everywhere, has no delusion nor sorrow, for he has known the truth.
Note.—The life-giving truth is this that in the Supreme Lord exist all beings, and He dwells in them all from eternity. He who has realised this truth and knows that the Lord is still a unity, existing in all and all existing in Him, transcends all sorrow and delusion. Both the words vijānataḥ and anupaśyataḥ have the same meaning, viz., vijānataḥ “Of him who knows.” That Supreme Self in whom stay all the beings, is the same Supreme Self who already was in those beings. As the support of all beings He exists in all beings from eternity. He who knows the Supreme Self thus—intellectually as well as by realisation—and also knows that though the beings are many, yet the Supreme Self in them is one,——and thus knows that the Lord is merciful and he, the devotee, is the object of His mercy——has no delusion and no grief. But how can this mere knowledge remove all grief, &c.? To this the commentator answers
“Since the knower of the Lord completely attains the Lord, hence takes place the cessation of all sorrow and delusion” thus says the Pippalāda Śruti. The last verse declared that the knower of Brahman becomes fearless; this verse makes an additional statement that such a knower has no delusion and sorrow.
Note.—In verse 6 it was declared that he who sees (i.e., knows) Brahman as the Support of all and pervading all, becomes fearless. The present verse is not a mere repetition of the same idea. It further states that the same knower of Brahman transcends sorrow and delusion. The same person who had become fearless on account of the knowledge of Brahman, becomes also free from delusion and grief as a result of the same knowledge. So there is no tautology. The last verse described the fruit of seeing Brahman as pervading all and the support of all. The present verse declares that something more is gained when this knowledge of Brahman becomes more specific, when his unity is perceived in all the diversity of the universe.
(But verse 5 also expressed the same idea that Brahman is the support of all and is All-pervading—for the phrase ‘He is far, he is near, He is outside, He is inside’ denotes the same thing. What was then the necessity of verse 6, which expresses the same proposition? This objection is next answered by the commentator.)
The repetition is for the sake of explaining the full significance of the All-pervading-ness of Brahman,
Article published on 22 November, 2020
Last Updated: 22 November, 2020
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Source: vedabase.io