Isha Upanishad () is one of the greatest Upanishads in Vedic literature,

comprising of only 18 beautiful shlokas! We will start with the that

precedes the . Shanti mantras are typically recited at the beginning and
end of most Upanishads.... I often refer to them as Shloka 0. They are supposed to
calm the mind of the reciter and create the environment suitable for absorbing the
knowledge that follows.

[Audio]

Shanti Mantra

Om, That is Full, This also is Full, From Fullness comes that Fullness,
Taking Fullness from Fullness, Fullness Indeed Remains.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace!

You may also replace the term "Full" above with "Infinite" or "Perfect" if it makes
more sense.

My understanding:
The indefinite term Idam meaning That is used in the Upanishads to designate the
InvisibleAbsolute, because no word or name can fully define It. A finite object, like a
table or a tree, can be defined; but God, who is infinite and unbounded, cannot be
expressed by finite language. Therefore the Rishis or Divine Seers, desirous not to
limit the Unlimited, chose the indefinite term That to designate the Absolute. In
the light of true wisdom the phenomenal and the Absolute are inseparable. All
existence is in the Absolute; and whatever exists, must exist in It; hence all
manifestation is merely a modification of the ONE Supreme Whole, and neither
increases nor diminishes It. The Whole therefore remains unaltered. Gist: since each
one of us has emanated from the same Perfect Supreme Being, we are all in true
essence "Perfect" as well!

[Audio]

Shloka 01

Enveloped by the Lord must be This All.

Each thing that moves in the world.
With that renounced, enjoy yourself.
Do not covet wealth of another.

My understanding:
The ONE unifying Lord (also known as Brahman) pervades the entire
universe...there is not a single patch or atom within which it resides not. Knowing
this, the wise one rejects all the material objects (which belongs to the Lord), and
instead focuses entirely on the Lord, who is the substratum of those objects (and
the universe). Thus having realized the Lord, one then feels no need for the objects
and enjoys oneself always fully immersed in the Lord.

[Audio]

Shloka 02

In the world, one should desire to live a hundred years, but only by performing
actions.
Thus, and in no other way, can man be free from the taint of actions.

My understanding:
If a man still clings to long life and earthly possessions, and is therefore unable to
follow the path of Selfknowledge (Gnana marga) as prescribed in the first shloka,
then he may follow the path of right action (Karma marga). Karma here means
"righteous" actions performed without selfish motive, for the sake of the Lord alone.
When a man performs actions clinging blindly to his lower desires, then his actions
bind him to the plane of ignorance or the plane of birth and death; but when the
same actions are performed with surrender to God, they purify and liberate him.

[Audio]

Shloka 03

In to the worlds of the asuras, devils, enveloped in blinding darkness,

Verily do those people go after death who are slayers of the Atman, the Self.

My understanding:
In this verse we are warned as to what happens to us if we ignore/forget/neglect the
Self (Atman), and live merely trivial lives (running after bodily pleasures, objects,
relationships, etc.). Life lived without the consciousness of our divine nature is trivial
and it can only bring darkness and sorrow. Here the Upanishad shows that the only
hell is absence of knowledge. As long as man is overpowered by the darkness of
ignorance, he is the slave of Nature and must accept whatever comes as the fruit of
his thoughts and deeds. When he strays into the path of unreality (maya or non-
self), the Sages declare that he destroys himself; because he who clings to the
perishable body and regards it as his true self must experience death many times.

[Audio]

Shloka 04

The Self is one. It is unmoving: yet faster than the mind. Thus moving faster, It is
beyond the reach of the senses.
Ever steady, It outstrips all that run. In It the all-pervading air supports the activities
of living beings.

My understanding:
This verse explains the character of the Atman or Self which is infinite, immortal,
and without limitation. How, then, can it be expressed? A finite object can be taken
from one place and put in another, but it can only occupy one space at a time. The
Atman, however, is present everywhere. Wherever the mind can go, the Atman is
already there before it. A thing which we experience with the senses can be
described by certain attributes, i.e., length, breadth, height, weight, colour, etc. All
definition is limitation, for by defining a thing we limit it; by stating that a thing is of
such and such quality we imply also that it is not of such and such other quality. So
an unlimited cannot be defined at all because we cannot say where it begins or
ends and thus becomes demarcated from other things.
The idea of ksha or space is the closest that comes to describing it. When we try
to define space, however, we also face difficulties; as it implies vastness/immensity.
But we cannot give it any kind of location; as space is, on the contrary, the very
basis of the concept of location! Space is here as well as there, it is inside as well as
outside. In Vedantic language, therefore, space or ksha is taken as the nearest
symbol of the Infinite and the Absolute, Brahman or the Atman.

[Audio]

Shloka 05

It moves, yet it moves not. It is distant, yet it is near.

It is within all, yet it is outside all this.

My understanding:
This verse, like the previous one, reiterates the character of Atman via the use of
paradoxes. When identified as the "Prakriti" or "Shakti" (Divine Nature/Energy)
which forms the changing visible universe, It is perceived to be moving; while when
realizing It as the "Purush" or "Brahman" (Atman) which is the unmanifested, It is
ever steady. It is near to those who have the power to understand It, for It dwells in
the heart of every one; but It seems far to those whose mind is covered by the
clouds of sensuality and selfdelusion. It is within, because It is the innermost Soul
of all creatures; and It is without/outside as the essence of the whole external
universe, covering it like the allpervading ksha (space).

[Audio]

Shloka 06

The wise man, who realizes all beings as not distinct from his own Self,
And his own Self as the Self of all beings, does not, by virtue of that perception,
hate anyone.

My understanding:
Grief and delusion come to us as a result of thinking of ourselves as this limited
body and mind. Thus identifying ourselves with the "not-Self" aspect of our
personality, we feel helpless, limited and cut-off from others. All these proceed
directly from the delusion of separateness. All morality, ethics and spirituality, tell
us that we are basically ONE. Jesus said: Love your neighbour as yourself. The
Upanishads add: For you are your neighbour. If you inspect closely, you will realize
that your life is occuring entirely in your mind....all your perception of the senses
that create your story of the world is feeding into your mind and in fact, could
potentially be created by your mind! So, it is very much possible that the entire
world with all its things and beings is simply a projection of your mind, and hence an
extension of your own being, The Self (Atman).
Once you look at life this way, where is the possibility of hating another thing or
being in this world? All revulsion arises only when one sees anything bad as distinct
from one's own Self. To one who sees his pure Self alone as continuous, there is no
other object which could excite the feeling of revulsion.

[Audio]

Shloka 07

When to the knower, all existence ("Bhutas") become one with his own Self,
What delusion, what grief, is there when he sees this oneness?

My understanding:
When, on account of ignorance, a person regards himself as a finite psycho-physical
(mind-body) entity and takes multiplicity to be real, he feels the desire to possess
something in the outer world and acts to that end. He grieves when he loses what
he loves or when he comes in contact with what he hates. With the realization of
oneness, the sense of diversity vanishes and the cause of misery is removed. Where
is the need to possess anything when you are "everything"; when you are
"complete" in every sense of the word? This Knowledge itself is Liberation. The
knower, though living in a body, is free from attachment and aversion, pain and
pleasure, and the other pairs of opposites.
This basic non-separateness, is the theme of modern scientific thought as well. The
greatest discovery of science, is this sense of oneness between things and forces in
nature, and between nature and man. Physics discovers inter-connection between
terrestrial and celestial phenomena. It reduced the world's multifarious substances
into 92 natural elements, and those to a few fundamental particles. Biology
discovers linkages between living organisms, and between these and their natural
environments. One organism is linked with another in a life-continuum. Where the
surface view sees differences, the deeper scientific view discovers linkages. The
Theory of Evolution has become today cosmic in scope, and presents the grand
design of all science.
Thus we can see ancient Vedanta and modern science converging. This has been
the faith of Vedanta, the faith that unity in variety is the plan of nature and that
man can approach this unity from the outside (science) as well as from inside
(spirit).

[Audio]

Shloka 08

He (the Self) is all-pervading, magnificent, bodiless, spotless, without muscles, pure,

untouched by sin.
He is allseeing, allknowing, transcendent, and uncreated. He has duly allotted to
the eternal cosmic powers (Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh) their respective duties.

My understanding:
This verse further describes the qualities of Atman. The Atman being
unmanisfested, it is impossible to describe it in any language of the world, but the
Upanishad nevertheless makes an attempt. The Atman is the substratum of all that
exists, hence it exists everywhere; it is radiant, the light behind all light; it is without
any name or form (like space); it is without any defects or imperfections; and it is
unaffected by any law, including the law of karma (principle of cause and effect),
and hence sinless. The Atman is the witness of "All That Is"; it is verily Knowledge
itself; and it is Eternal (birthless and deathless). All creation (and destruction) takes
place within this Atman. It is also important to know that the Atman is beyond the
trigunas/tridevas (Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh), as it is the one that is also the
basis of these cosmic powers and the one who has allotted these forces their
respective duties.
Frankly, to me, trying to describe the infinite using a finite language seems like an
exercise in futility! All words eventually fail in conveying the Atman....hence
Upanishads resort to using (meaning "That"), or as in this specific verse,
(meaning "He") to refer to it. The only way to "truly" know Atman is to realize it; to
become it; to experience it.

[Audio]

Shloka 09

They enter into blinding darkness who worship Avidya (ignorance and delusion).
Into still greater darkness, as it were, do they enter who delight in Vidya
(knowledge).

My understanding:
Here Avidya signifies Karma or "work" or ritualistic action; for such action is opposed
to knowledge. The message is that those who are continually performing rituals
alone, fall into blinding darkness. If you inspect life carefully, you will realize that all
acts of studying (acquiring skills), getting a job, running a business, earning money,
getting married, raising a family, going on vacations, running after bodily pleasures,
taking care of elders and offsprings, performing charity, going to temples, etc. are
just mere rituals! Where is the real joy in all this which ultimately ends in the same
ever so mundane suffering and slow death that you witness all around you? If one
makes these rituals the goal, they have simply wasted away their life.
And the word Vidya here means knowledge or contemplation of a deity; it does not
signify Supreme Knowledge of the Atman as discussed in the earlier verses. Thus it
says that the result of meditation/worship of the deities without any "work" leads to
a greater darkness. Again, it does not take a genius to see that if a person is
exclusively devoted to worship or pursuit of knowledge and in that process neglects
the required duties (taking care of the body, family, etc.), that cannot lead to
liberation, as such behavior is fraught with selfishness, which is in direct opposition
to the goal of a devotee.

[Audio]

Shloka 10

One result they say is obtained by Vidya, and another result, they say, is obtained
by Avidya.
Thus have we heard from the wise ones who explained it to us.

My understanding/translation:
By Vidya (knowledge/worship), heaven or Devaloka (plane of the deities) is attained,
where one will dwell for a long time (but not permanently) enjoying intense material
pleasures. By Avidya (karma/ritualistic action), a lower heaven or Pitriloka (plane of
the ancestors) is attained, where one reaps the results of their actions and quickly
comes back to earth to resume the journey of their spiritual evolution. We have
heard this by those wise men who taught us both Knowledge and Karma.
It is to be noted that neither of the above results are capable of giving us Absolute
Immortality, as they are both temporary. Those who come back from the lower
heaven perhaps quickly realize the transitory nature of material pleasures; but
those dwelling in the higher heaven, deluded by the enjoyment of more intense
pleasures, remain oblivious of the final spiritual goal for a longer time.
One may wonder why Avidya is signified with Karma in the above verses? That's
because Karma implies the intent of "doership" and the sense of doership is the
highest ignorance. In actuality, all that happens in one's life is enacted by
(Divine Nature) through the instruments of one's inborn nature, conditioning and
circumstances; but through ignorance, the foolish man thinks that he is the doer.
This doership is the cause of the results of the Karma being set in motion, and once
this false sense goes away, there is no "Karma" bound and hence, no seeds for
future effect is sown.

[Audio]

Shloka 11

He who knows both Vidya and Avidya together,

Overcomes death through Avidya and experiences immortality by means of Vidya.

My understanding/translation:
Neither Vidya (Knowledge) nor Avidya (Karma) alone can lead to the ultimate goal,
but when taken together they carry one to the Highest. Karma/work/service done
with unselfish motive purifies the mind by cultivating humility, pure love, sympathy,
tolerance and mercy (refer to shloka 2). This annihilates the sense of separateness,
helps develop a broad and liberal outlook on life, which enables man to perceive his
undying nature (which is oneness with all existence). From this he gains inevitably a
knowledge of Self; and when he knows Himself to be ONE with the Supreme and
Indestructible Whole, he realizes his immortality.
Avidya is regarded as an essential prerequisite for spiritual life. Man cannot rise to
spiritual enlightenment if he has not first through Avidya (ignorance or worldly
knowledge) become conscious of himself as a separate ego. This Avidya creates the
conditions for its own transformation via the cycle of cause and effect, which makes
man alternate repeatedly between joy and suffering. If you think of yourself to be on
the spiritual path today, please reflect on this in your own life and see if it is true or
not? Haven't we all experienced deep unfulfillment in our lives at some point or
another that has caused us to seek the Higher Truth? If you never experienced any
suffering through your sense of ego, why would you ever be on this path?
All the great saints and gnanis that I have ever come across in my life have lived
this truth pointed by this verse. Their ignorance early on in life has led them to seek
the truth, and the truth has set them free. And even after having realized the
truth/Self, they continued to perform selfless service to all of humanity until the
death of their physical bodies. Thus they learnt to balance both Vidya and Avidya
and use it to their advantage at all times!
Here's another way to illustrate this journey from Avidya to Vidya:
Good/bad Karma (with doership)Alternating Joy and SufferingSeeking for Higher
TruthSelfless Karma (with doership)Humility and purityKnowledgeSelfless
Karma (without doership)Moksha

[Audio]

Shloka 12

Into deep darkness do they enter who worship the Asambhuti

(unborn/unmanifested).
Into still greater darkness, as it were, do they enter who delight in Sambhuti
(born/manifested).

My understanding/translation:
They fall into blind darkness who worship the unmanifested (unborn Prakriti). This
state of non-manifestation prior to the creation of names and forms, when the three
gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas - remain in equilibrium, is often referred to as
Hiranyagarbha (the golden egg) in Vedic literature. It is a representation of all
unborn potentialities (both good and evil). It is what was there just prior to "The Big
Bang" which created the entire universe. The pursuit of this unmanifested pure
Being, is fraught with dangerous consequences, as this is a path of
(separation from the world) or inaction, and will land all but the sturdiest of seekers
into a life of frustration, unfulfillment and suffering.
They fall into greater darkness who worship Prakriti (manifested Hiranyagarbha, or
visible world), which is the seed of all desire and Karma. This is the path of
materialism and is the product of a shallow philosophy where visible reality is taken
to be all there is. It has its own relevance; but if followed too consistently and for
too long, it will lead to even greater darkness and sorrow.

[Audio]

Shloka 13

By the worship of the manifested, one end is attained; by the worship of the
unmanifested, another.
Thus have we heard from the wise ones who explained it to us.

My understanding/translation:
The scriptures say that whatever a person worships, he eventually becomes.
The person who believes that the world of objects and senses is all there is,
worships the manifested (Prakriti or visible world), characterized by ignorance, and
remains merged in for untold years (endless cycle of birth and death).
And the person who takes the visible world as unreal (Maya) and completely denies
it, worships the unmanifested (Hiranyagarbha or invisible pure being), and obtains
supernatural powers (or "siddhis", specifically "Anima"). Anima siddhi includes the
ability to reduce oneself to the size of an atom, to make oneself light as feather, and
to pervade the entire universe, which are also characteristics of Hiranyagarbha.
These powers can either be used for further progress, or can also have the potential
to derail the person from the path due to excessive pride from their use, and trap
the person back again in the realm of Prakriti.

[Audio]

Shloka 14

He who knows the manifested and the unmanifested both together,

Overcomes death through unmanifested and achieves immortality through
manifested.

My understanding/translation:
Please note that Hiranyagarbha is the same as unmanifested Prakriti and Prakriti is
the same as manifested Hiranyagarbha, one being the outcome of the other. In
other words, the visible outer world is simply a manifestation or projection of the
invisible inner world.
The wise men declare that only the one who has a coordinated understanding of
both the visible and the invisible, of matter and spirit, of activity and that which is
behind activity, can achieve the Highest goal. Through worship of the unmanifested,
one attains various supernatural powers and triumphs over the limitations/mortality
of earthly life by getting absorbed in Hiranyagarbha. And through worship of the
manifested, while recognizing the invisible cause in all visible forms and seeing "The
Pure Being" in every form, one attains immortality by getting absorbed in Prakriti.
Thus the wise ones ask us to lead our life in the manifested world with a spirit of
non-attachment with the mind centered in the unmanifested. We must live in this
world without being choked by it. We must center our thoughts in the constant
remembering that the eternal is the soul of the temporal.

[Audio] [2]

Shloka 15

By the lid of the golden orb is the face of the Truth hidden;
Please remove it, O Pushan (Nourisher of the world), so that I who am devoted to
Truth, may see it.

My understanding/translation:
Pushan, meaning the nourisher, is another name for the Sun. The Sun is often used
as a symbol of the Infinite/Brahman in Vedic literature. The Supreme Gayatri Mantra
is a prime example of this. The Vedic thinkers concluded that if there is a God in the
universe, it is the Sun. What God or Gods imagined by the mind of man can
compare in glory and majesty with this all-nourishing and all-controlling and visible
entity in the sky, the source of all light and life in this world? So they invoked the
visible Sun as God and worshipped it. As their search for the truth progressed, it
revealed subtler and subtler depths of the gross surface reality of man and nature,
the reality of the invisible.
Hence this prayer to the Sun: I am not satisfied with appearances, I am not
interested in thy golden orb. I know that there is a truth hidden behind that golden
orb; there is the true Sun, the cosmic spiritual person, behind the visible Sun, and I
want to see Him and realize my relationship with Him, says the devotee. The
expression golden orb represents the attractive physical aspects of things. I have
been seeing the perishable beauty of external aspects of things, including that of
the Sun, all my life; I now want to see the imperishable beauty of the Sun, which is
but a symbol of the spiritual beauty of its true form. I am Satyadharma one
whose only passion/religion is the Truth.



[Audio]

Shloka 16

O Nourisher, O lonely traveler of the heavens, O controller of all, O son of Prajapati;

withdraw your rays and gather up your burning effulgence;
So that through your grace I may see your blessed and glorious form. The Purusha
(Effulgent Being) who dwells within you, I am He.

My understanding/translation:
In our daily life we see the physical realities of beings and things around us, but we
hardly develop the capacity to go beyond the physical. We constantly jostle against
each other, but rarely enter into each other.
The seeker, therefore, seeks to probe into the Truth behind the Sun and behind
himself. He feels that the effulgence of the familiar Sun is nothing compared to the
effulgence of the spiritual reality that lies hidden in its depths. If the external
effulgence is auspicious, the inner effulgence is most auspicious. We are
naturally charmed by the body of a person, its youth and beauty; and the visible
and the tangible hold our attention and interest. But when our vision becomes
penetrating, a new dimension of the persons beauty reveals itself, more attractive
and elevating than the physical aspects. But few have the time or the capacity to
penetrate the body and go into the soul of things, the cosmic reality of which the
Sun is but a symbol, and which is the origin, sustenance, and final resting place of
the whole universe. He prays from the bottom of his heart that the deity may
graciously reveal to him his true and most auspicious form .
Having perceived It, he proclaims: Now I see that that Effulgent Being and I are one
and the same, and my delusion is destroyed. Or as Jesus famously said, I and my
Father are One.

[Audio]

Shloka 17

The vital forces in me are about to merge in the immortal Prana (the cosmic
energy);
Then this (mortal) body shall be reduced to ashes. Om! O mind! Remember your
(good) deeds, remember.

My understanding/translation:
The human body, according to Indian spiritual thought, is the best instrument
nature has designed for the end purpose of evolution, namely, the manifestation of
the indwelling Divine Self. Having used his body for this high purpose throughout his
life, and finding the body worn out and unfit for further use, the devotee now says:
May my lifebreath go to the allpervading and immortal cosmic energy, and let
this body be burned to ashes. Om! O mind, remember your deeds! O mind,
remember, remember your deeds! Remember! Seek not fleeting results as the
reward of your actions, O mind! Strive only for the Imperishable.
This shloka is often chanted at the hour of death to remind one of the perishable
nature of the body and the eternal nature of the Soul. When the clear vision of the
distinction between the mortal body and the immortal Soul dawns in the heart, then
all craving for physical pleasure or material possession drops away; and one can
say, let the body be burned to ashes so that the Soul may attain its freedom; for
death is nothing more than the castingoff of a wornout garment. It is also believed
that whatever thought a man entertains while leaving his body, he achieves after
death. This makes the moment of death a moment of creative crisis. Hence it is the
time to concentrate the mind on positive thoughts, on thoughts of virtue and above
all, on the Divine.



[Audio]

Shloka 18

O Agni (Bright Being)! Lead us to blessedness by the good path. O Lord! Thou
knowest all our deeds;
Destroy all evil and delusion in us. We salute thee with our words again and again.

My understanding/translation:
This shloka describes a seeker who is a follower of Karma (or Avidya as described
in shloka 9-11) and seems to be unaware of the lofty spiritual ideas and sentiments
of the earlier verses of this Upanishad, or, if aware, not sure of his spiritual strength
to live in that atmosphere. So he resorts to the lower goal and prays for a passage
to Heaven.
Agni, meaning fire, is here used in technical sense; it is not the fire that we are
familiar with, but the primordial divine energy that sustains this universe. The
scriptures also consider Agni as the intermediary god through whom offerings to the
other gods are made. He prays: I do not need to tell you about my actions and
about my spiritual assets as there is no secret hidden from you. Take me, therefore,
by the bright northern path which leads to heaven. And if I am not considered fit
enough yet, please make me fit, by destroying any residual sin that may still be in
me. Heavy with sin, man cannot make spiritual progress as sin makes for
gravitation towards the earth and lower life forms. Then he finally yields up his soul
to God in an inward salutation saying: The body is too weak to offer formal
salutation; so please accept it given only in speech.
Please note: for the person who has realized the Self as described in shloka 4-8,
there is no need to ask for anything or to remind the god about the deeds done
during the life; as realizing the Self coincides with the cessation of all sense of
doership and ends all perception of limitations. Think about it, why will a person
who has truly realized that he is immortal and limitless and whose very nature is
bliss ever desire anything (let alone heaven) or be concerned about death and
rebirth? For such a person, life is a blessing and a joy every moment, come what
may!


[Audio]