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 Manthras
connected with the Karmakanda and the last few sections deal with
Jnanakanda.
The Isavasya Upanishad is concerned with this Jnanakanda. Since
the opening manthra 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 manthras 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 manthra 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.