ईशावास्योपनिषद-A translatory annotation in English.

A submission-

The present piece of writing is an humble endeavour to explain in english the shlokas of the ईशावास्योपनिषद . It is based on the explanation in hindi in the Book 

titled"ईशादि नौ उपनिषद्" published by the Gita Press.  

I shall deem my labour amply repaid if it is found of some use to the English-reading people having interest in knowing what is troved in our ancient scriptures. 

I am aware of the fact that to translate any text can never be without the risk of being erroneous. Likewise to strive for the mirror image of any text through any translatory endeavour is too naive and sometimes ridiculous also.So my objective is simply to ensure that the essence of this pious literary work remains intact even in this translatory endeavour at hand.

However, in course of the instant attempt all errors & omissions(e&m) are entirely mine and the same may unhesitatingly be held as a result of my incompetence to deal with the subject-matter like this. Nevertheless my specious knowledge of this godly subject and defective skill of translation of my understanding couldn't prevent me from undertaking this task. The reason for this is that the instant attempt is also borne out of my love to go for a venture like this. One more thing to submit is that the reader may not find my annotations in strict accordance with what is there in the Hindi explanation as given in the above mentioned text; nevertheless I have endeavoured to keep the crux of the explanation intact and uncompromised to the best of my capacity. Hence learned readers while reading this love-work will go on forgiving me as and when they find any fault with this explanatory annotation.

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Introduction- Ishawasyopnishad is the 40 th Chapter of Shukla-Yajurveda. It is believed to be the first Upanishad. Godly and spiritual knowledge in fineness is beautifully incorporated in this upnishad which consists of 18 shlokas.

                          

                            शांतिपाठ

ऊं पूर्णमद: पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते।

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते।।

ऊं=सच्चिदानंदघन; अद:=वह परब्रह्म;पूर्णम्=सब प्रकार से पूर्ण है;इदम्=यह (जगत भी); पूर्णम्=पूर्ण (ही) है;(क्योंकि)पूर्णात्=उस पूर्ण से हीं; पूर्णम्=यह पूर्ण;उदच्यते=उत्पन्न हुआ है; पूर्णस्य=पूर्ण के; पूर्णम्=पूर्ण को;आदाय=निकाल लेने (भी); पूर्णम्=पूर्ण;एव=ही;अवशिष्यते=बच रहता है.

 

               (Invocatory Propitiation)

Obeisance to That which is all Truthful, all Soulful,all Blissful condensed together representing the whole universe and even beyond and That is What may be called parabrahma (परब्रह्म); The Absolute.This Absolute (परब्रह्म) is "Complete" or "Full" in all senses or meanings of the word. This Fullness or Completeness is simply incapable of being imagined let alone described.The World that we see,hear or feel from all our senses has come out of this Fullness only and that too without any reduction or shrinkage in the size, character, glory and halo of that Fullness; It remains as it was; quite unchanged and undiminished.

 Can we imagine a number other than Zero or Infinity having these mathematical attributes? And don't zero and infinity symbolise manifestation of all that cannot be described with precision or perfection? We are aware that any mathematical operations between zero and zero or infinity and infinity results only in indeterminacy . 

This Indeterminate and All Pervasive Character of God or Supreme Power is sought to be hinted only in the above Shloka which has beautifully attempted to describe the indescribable that 'He' is. 

ईशा वास्यमिद्ंसर्वं यत्किंच जगत्यां जगत्।

तेन त्यक्तेन भुंजीथा मा गृध: कस्य स्विद् धनम्।।१।।

जगत्याम्=अखिल ब्रह्माण्ड में; यत् किं च=जो कुछ भी; जगत्=जड़ चेतन स्वरूप जगत् है;इदम्=यह;सर्वम्=समस्त;ईशा=ईश्वर से;वास्यम्=व्याप्त है;तेन=उस ईश्वर को साथ रखते हुए; त्यक्तेन=त्यागपूर्वक; भुंजीथा:=(इसे) भोगते रहो;मा गृध:=(इसमें) आसक्त होओ; (क्योंकि)धनम्=धन-भोग्य-पदार्थ;कस्य स्वित्=किसका है अर्थात् किसी का नहीं है।।१।।

 This entire world,nay universe is filled with and driven by that energy whose reservoir is with 'Him'. He is All Controlling, All Supporting, All Enveloping-Encapsulating and Ultimate Cause and Source of all existence, whether living or non living.

 The Lord described above epitomizes everything and everyone.He is not against worldly possessions but has only counselled for the welfare of ours that these possessions are to be used with utmost sense of detachment as they are not to not to stay with us permanently. We are not the owners of these wordly possessions; in fact their Ownership is with Him and merely possession is with us, that too for a limited 'period of time'!

So O dear mortal man! Don't Covet the ownership of these possessions you have temporarily.While always remembering Me as the ultimate owner of all power and possessions; keep your riches & royalty, belongings & possessions what you may appear to have at the moment by luck, labour or providence in the capacity of a trustee only and make only valid use of them without attachments. Valid use of one's possessions is yoga (योग) whereas rash,invalid,indecent or oppressive use of them is bhog (भोग).

 Therefore,the enjoyments of these possessions should be with a genuine sense of detachment. For riches keep on changing guards.Nothing is more foolish than to believe that it is going to stay with us permanently.

कुर्वन्नेवेह कर्माणि जिजीविषेच्छत्ंसमा:।

एवं त्वयि नान्यथेतोऽस्ति न कर्म लिप्यते नरे।।२।।

इह=इस जगत् में;कर्माणि=शास्त्रनियत कर्मों को,कुर्वन्=(ईश्वरपूजार्थ) करते हुए भी;एव=ही;शतम् समा:=सौ वर्षों तक;जिजीविषेत्=जीने की इच्छा करनी चाहिए; एवम्=इस प्रकार (त्याग भाव से, परमेश्वर के लिए); कर्म=किये जानेवाले कर्म;त्वयि=तुझ;नरे=मनुष्य में;न लिप्यते=लिप्त नहीं होंगे;इत:=इससे(भिन्न); अन्यथा=अन्य कोई प्रकार अर्थात् मार्ग; न अस्ति=नहीं है (जिससे कि मनुष्य कर्म-बन्धन से मुक्त हो सके)।।२।।

              Almighty God is the real Doer. He also holds this mundane world and of course He is the real Reliever of our pain and suffering also. But we can come out of our pain and suffering only when we learn to link ourselves with all powerful, all merciful God for our actions bind us in the most subtle way. Our activities are often accompanied with our attachments that stand as the root cause of our pain and suffering.The only way of freeing ourselves from this bondage of action is prescribed in the above Shloka. The Shloka counsels us that there is nothing wrong to desire for a life span of 100 years if that life is spent beseeching Him through our service oriented actions that fall upon us every now and then as a duty to be discharged.We must agree that the purpose of life is never limited to satiation of wordly cravings through this or that way. Far from it; the purpose of life is to seek peace with ourselves. This peace is behind every lasting happiness that all of us restlessly search for.

 The only way to achieve this noble objective is not renunciation of actions but renunciation of attachments for results that we expect from these actions. Our deeds done in that way will lose the capacity to bind us.There is no other way or choice than to go for doing our acts as stated above if we really want to liberate ourselves from the bondage of our actions.

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 The next verse is about the outcomes of not heeding to the teachings of the previous two verses. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृता:।

तांस्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चात्मनो जना:।।३।।

असुर्या:=असुरों के;(जो) नाम=प्रसिद्ध;लोका:=नाना प्रकार की योनियां एवं नरकरूप लोक हैं;ते=वे सभी; अन्धेन तमसा=अज्ञान तथा दुःख-क्लेशरूप महान अंधकार से;आवृता:=आच्छादित हैं;ये के च=जो कोई भी;आत्महन:=आत्मा की हत्या करनेवाले;जना:=मनुष्य हों;ते=वे;प्रेत्य=मरकर;तान्=उन्हीं भयंकर लोकों को;अभिगच्छन्ति=बार-बार प्राप्त होते हैं।।३।।

         In the above Shloka, It has been counselled that if people fail themselves to perform their duty and give to themselves wholly under the control of sensual pleasures then it simply amounts to killing their souls. Such people, after they die, repeatedly take birth in inferior species to find hellish abode in lesser worlds where complete darkness prevails and which is full of affliction,pain and misery.

Upon reflective scrutiny, it will become apparently clear that if any action of ours is solely driven to fulfill our sensual and material satisfaction, it, ultimately turns out to be counter-productive in the long run. It may not surprise us if that long run result becomes afterwards a continuous source of pain, affliction and suffering till the end of our life also.

Hence the above Shloka cautions us against doing something out of sheer attachments. There cannot be any other view when it is said that to take birth as a human being is a godly gift. It is the reward of our good deeds of past lives. So what should be our objective? Should it be to spoil ourselves through only material indulgences? Sages and seers are sensible enough to make their very lives an instrument to serve others.

If we can't do so; at least what we can and must do is to orient our daily consumatory actions in such a way that it doesn't hurt others and if possible make them of some definite use to others also that is to make it service oriented. Let's dispel darkness and spread light around us by way of our deeds. This could be by filling happiness and smile in the lives around us. That should be the purpose of our living .

------------------------------------------------------------------- For simple understanding the next two verses highlight the unimaginable-miraculous characteristics & deeds of omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent almighty.

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अनेजदेकं मनसो जवीयो नैनद्देवा आप्नुवन् पूर्वमर्षत्।

तद्धावतोऽन्यानत्येति तिष्ठत्तस्मिन्नपो मातरिश्वा दधाति।।४।।

तत्=वे परमेश्वर;अनेजत्=अचल;एकम्=एक;(और) मनस:=मन से (भी);जवीय:=अधिक तीव्र गति युक्त हैं;पूर्वम्=सब के आदि;अर्षत्=ज्ञानस्वरूप या सबके जानने वाले हैं;एनत्=इन परमेश्वर को;देवा:=इन्द्रादि देवता भी;न आप्नुवन्=नहीं पा सके या जान सके हैं;तिष्ठत्=स्वयं स्थित रहते हुए ही;अत्येति=अतिक्रमण कर जाते हैं;तस्मिन्=उनके होने पर ही-उन्ही की सत्ता शक्ति से;मातरिश्वा=वायु आदि देवता;अप:= जलवर्षा आदि क्रिया;दधाति=सम्पादन करने में समर्थ होते हैं.

   

            He, is the Lord of lords-the Ultimate Cause-the Supreme of all of what & where our mind and thought process cannot reach. 

We can trace the elements of "Cause" in the "Work (effect)" but vice versa is not possible always.

So His "Movement" without any "Move" should not surprise anyone. He is immovable yet can reach the "territory" where our mind what we call 'मन' cannot. He is ahead of as well as behind one and all at the same time. Even the entire collective wisdom, knowledge, skill of all the living and non living spirit & matters held together in the whole of this universe cannot surpass His attributes which are simply limitless in all forms and senses.

Even gods,seers and sages have not been able to know Him in full.For 'limited ones' cannot gaze the limitless.It is beyond their collective imagination. The reason is stated in the very start by citing cause-effect example. The entire universe is Creation of His. So how come that creation is able to visualise the Cause? He is 'Knowable' only to the extent He graciously permits us. 

Lesser gods like Indra,Varun,Vaayu etc. get empowered from His Omnipotent Grace and Glory only. So enabled by His Grace and Glory; they perform their duties as In-charges of rain, light, wind etc.and other life- sustaining attributes of nature.In violation of His gracious will, cooperation and command all these lesser gods stand powerless to act as incharge as aforesaid.

तदेजति तन्नैजति तद् दूसरे तद्वन्तिके।

तदन्तरस्य सर्वस्य तदु सर्वस्यास्य बाह्यत:।।५।।

तत्=वे;एजति=चलते हैं;तत्=वे;न एजति=नहीं चलते;तत्=वे;दूसरे=दूर से भी दूर हैं;तत्=वे;उ अन्तिके=अत्यंत समीप हैं;तत्=वे;अस्य=इस; सर्वस्य=समस्त जगत् के;उ बाह्यत:=बाहर भी हैं.

                The Lord Supreme incorporates in Him the existence or presence of all the mutually exclusive attributes at the same moment and at the same spot or place. Be it actions, appearances, character, qualities, quantities and all that which are subject of human range of thoughts. So when about Him is said that He moves and does not move; or He is Within, Inside as well as Outside. He is immensely 'Far Away' and 'Very Very Close' at the same moment. One should not disbelieve this.

 That is; He consists of,at the same moment, all that could be expressed as pair of opposites.

 The reason for this is that the very time and space are creation of His. Any temporal quality, character, nature in this world, rather universe, are only functions of time and space. 

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In the next two verses we are led to understand the position and characteristics of the great ones who know the almighty to any extent as described in above Shlokas.

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यस्तु सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मन्येवानुपश्यति।

सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं ततो न विजुगुप्सते।।६।।

तु=परंतु;य:=जो मनुष्य;सर्वाणि=सम्पूर्ण;भूतानि=प्राणियों को;आत्मनि==परमात्मा में;एव=ही;अनुपश्यति=निरंतर देखता है;च=और; सर्वभूतेषु=सम्पूर्ण प्राणियों में;आत्मानम्=परमात्मा को (देखता है);तत:=उसके पश्चात (वह कभी भी);न विजुगुप्सते=किसी से घृणा नहीं करता.

A person of unwavering wisdom and unflinching devotion cannot help seeing his adorable god in every living being. The result is that he cannot hate or envy with anyone.To him everything and everyone is manifestation of almighty god. Therefore, he respects with obeisance all beings- living and non-living without an iota of affectation.He doesn't demonstrate unduly this feeling of his.Also all his desires transform into actions that intend to serve and make one & all happy.

यस्मिन् सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मैवाभूद् विजानत:।

तत्र को मोह: क: शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यत:।।७।।

यस्मिन्=जिस स्थिति में; विजानत:=परमेश्वर को भलिभांति जानने वाले महापुरुष के अनुभव में; सर्वाणि=सम्पूर्ण;भूतानि=प्राणी; आत्मा=एकमात्र परमात्मस्वरूप;एव=ही;अभूत्= हो चुकते हैं;तत्र=उस अवस्था में;एकत्वम्=एकमात्र परमेश्वर का;अनुपश्यत:=निरन्तर साक्षात्कार करने वाले पुरुष के लिए;क:=कौन सा; मोह:=मोह(रह जाता है और);क:=कौन सा;शोक:=शोक.(अर्थात वह शोक-मोह से सर्वथा रहित, आनन्द परिपूर्ण हो जाता है)

      When one recognises his god present in all the living beings, he then happens to acquire godly vision. Having attained this state of existence how come ignorance(अविद्या) in the form of delusion, illusion,affliction, sorrow, attachments and the likes can find shelter in him! That is,it is simply an impossibility for these traits to make a residence in his within.

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In the next verse is explained the fruits (effect) of knowing and seeing god in the ways described in the above Shlokas.

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स पर्यगाच्छुक्रमकायमव्रणमस्नाविर्ं 

शुद्धमपापविद्धम्।

कविर्मनीषी परिभू: स्वम्भूर्याथातथ्यतोऽर्थान् व्यदधाच्छाश्वतीभ्य: समाभ्य:।।८।।

स:=वह महापुरुष;शुक्रम्=परम तेजोमय;अकायम्=सूक्ष्म शरीर से रहित;अव्रणम्=क्षतरहित;अस्नाविरम्=शिराओं से रहित अर्थात् स्थूल पांचभौतिक शरीर से रहित;शुद्धम्=अप्राकृत दिव्य सच्चिदानंदस्वरुप; अपापविद्धम्=शुभाशुभकर्म-सम्पर्कशून्य परमेश्वर को;पर्यगात्=प्राप्त हो जाता है;(जो)कवि:= सर्वद्रष्टा; मनीषी=सर्वज्ञ एवं ज्ञानस्वरूप; परिभू:=सर्वोपरि विद्यमान एवं सर्वनियन्ता;स्वयम्भू:=स्वेच्छा से प्रकट होने वाले हैं (और);शाश्वतीयभ्य:=अनादि;समाभ्य:काल से;याथातथ्यत:=सब प्राणियों के कर्मानुसार यथायोग्य;अर्थात्=सम्पूर्ण पदार्थों की;व्यदधात्=रचना करते आए हैं.

        That great one who sees and knows the almighty in the way described above soon integrates himself with Him. That is the almighty owns him. He, the almighty is the ultimate and all powerful God who is pure and without any form. That God is not a normal human or anyone made up of flesh, blood,vein etc. housing a multitude of impurities.That God incarnates Himself out of His own volition to do such acts as pleases Him. He alone is the supreme controller who,since time immemorial, has ordained everything to take shape and happen according to His wishes notwithstanding the passionate actions being/having been done on part of the lesser mortals like us. The simple reason for that is our actions do not bind him and so are the fruits of those actions as they too are in His control.

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The following three verses explain distinctively the crux differentiating wisdom and ignorance. By wisdom we intend to mean Vidya (विद्या) embodying true knowledge that leads to Godly attainments; whereas ignorance(अविद्या)suggests that which result from attachment driven actions focused to get sensual and material pleasures.

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अंधं तम: प्रविशन्ति येऽविद्यामुपासते।

ततो भूय इव ते तमो य उ विद्याया्ं रता:।।९।।

ये=जो मनुष्य; अविद्याम्=अविद्या की;उपासते=उपासना करते हैं,(वे);अन्धम्=अज्ञानस्वरूप;तम:=घोर अन्धकार में;(और) ये=जो मनुष्य;विद्यायाम्=विद्या में;रता:=रत हैं अर्थात् ज्ञान के मिथ्याभिमान में मत्त हैं;ते=वे;तत्:=उससे;उ=भी;भूय: इव=मानो अधिकतर;तम:=अन्धकार में (प्रवेश करते हैं)

          The above Shloka envisages two types of people. 

The first category refers to such type of persons as are given to perform only those actions that simply grant them wordly pleasures and creature comforts. These people, by beseeching ignorance (अविद्या) through their material pleasure-seeking actions are destined to land in the region which is governed by sheer darkness. That is they,after their death, get birth in such species that clamour with one another in the stark dark of the Hades i.e.lower worlds.

The second category is even more interesting to know about. Such class of people abdicate their actions enjoined by duties as laid out in the scriptures. They do so under the notion that they fancy that they are a accomplished lot having attained supreme knowledge(ज्ञान). Acting under the false notion of this attainments they don't hesitate to indulge in such acts being contrary to the teachings of the scriptures. This category of people is destined to meet even more suffering and affliction than the those of the first category by way of being born in the hell where toture of ultimate description is all that one sees around.

अन्यदेवाहुर्विद्ययान्यदाहुरविद्यया।

इति शुश्रुम धीराणां ये नस्तद् विचचक्षिरे।।१०।।

विद्यया=ज्ञान के यथार्थ अनुष्ठान से;अन्यत् एव=दूसरा ही फल;आहु:=बतलाते हैं;(और)अविद्यया=कर्मों के यथार्थ अनुष्ठान से;अन्यत्=दूसरा (ही)फल;आहु:=बतलाते हैं;इति=इस प्रकार; (हमने) धीराणाम्=(उन)धीर पुरूषों के;शुश्रुम=वचन सुने हैं;ये=जिन्होंने;न:=हमें;तत्=उस विषय को;विचचक्षिरे=व्याख्या करके भलिभांति समझाया था.

                

In the previous verse the effect of practising hypocrisy in the name of attainments of supreme knowledge has been told.

 However, the best fruit of practising true knowledge is altogether different from what has been described in the previous verse.

 The best fruits of such practice of true knowledge are the acquisition of the capacity to distinguish eternal from ephemerals. The person practising true knowledge becomes detached from all means that lead to achieve material and sensual satisfaction.Wordly pleasures and acquisition don't govern their activities.In contrast to those who practice hypocrisy and conceit under the garb of false notion of having attained true knowledge; the thought and behaviour of a genuine practitioner of true knowledge are solely directed to god realisation without any affectation of sorts. The acts of genuine practitioner of true knowledge is never to impress anyone. He hides his achievements of such practice from the common public gaze.

              Similarly, the true actions that yield best fruits or results has the characteristics that include the complete absence of the feeling or notion of doership in all actions. All such actions are free from lust, lure or envy. Rather they are directed to serve others for the pleasure of almighty and nothing else. Performing actions guided by the tendency to serve others for seeking pleasure of God incinerate all sins born out of lust, lure and attachments.

Thus we have heard these two from the tradition of the learned ones qualified to make such distinction between the characteristics of real knowledge and real actions explained together yet separately.

विद्यां चाविद्यां च यस्तद् वेदोभय्ं सह।

अविद्यया मृत्युं तीर्त्वा विद्ययामृतमश्नुते।।११।।

य:=जो मनुष्य;तत् उभयम्=उन दोनों को;(अर्थात्) विद्याम्=ज्ञान के तत्व को;च=और;अविद्याम्=कर्म के तत्व को;च=भी;सह=साथ-साथ;वेद=यथार्थत: जान लेता है;अविद्यया=(वह) कर्मों के अनुष्ठान से;मृत्युम्=मृत्यु को;तीर्त्वा=पार करके;विद्यया=ज्ञान के अनुष्ठान से;अमृतम्=अमृत को;अश्नुते=भोगता है अर्थात् अविनाशी आनन्दमय परब्रह्म पुरूषोत्तम को प्रत्यक्ष प्राप्त कर लेता है.

               The mystery of actions and inaction is hard to understand.Even people of great wisdom fail on this aspect of our deeds. Those who are yet to get the real understanding of action-inaction dichotomy but wrongly believe that it is well within their understanding begin to suppose that actions are simply obstacles in the attainment of supreme knowledge. Such people, under this false notion of having understood the proposition, diplorably even give up all of their duty driven actions also. This sort of giving up of duty driven actions does not yield them the freedom from the vicious cycle of birth and death.

So is the destiny of the people who don't understand the essence of true knowledge but at the same time they think that they have attained it. Such people begin to consider themselves above the rules of spiritual or wordly conduct. Therefore, they either start doing and endorsing all the actions of their personal likings contrary to societal & scriptural norms or resign in favour of complete inaction under the theory that all actions are merely a load to be dispensed with.

Hence the only way to escape this wrong notion on both the counts causing self- harm is to duly perform accordingly after the real understanding of the two that is 'actions' and 'knowledge' 

Therefore,it has been said in the above Shloka that he who truly understands these two elements by their very substances never fails in performing his scripturally ordained actions as is sanctioned by his varnashram or is permitted by the prevailing situation.

 Performance of any action by that person of proper understanding is without any sense of doership and the same is also free from anger-attachment or envy.By this true understanding his conduct also becomes free from the stain of lust for results. This understanding and consequential conduct makes his life-journey pleasant and by the grace of God he effortlessly swims across the ocean of mortal world to gets unified with the ultimate supreme(ब्रह्म).

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In the following three verses are explained substantially the essence of that which is eternal and that which is perishable. These are referred in the following shlokas as "sambhuti" and "asambhuti". The meaning of asambhuti is that which perishes with the passage of time. A little reflection would suggest that these include all our lesser gods, mortal ancestors,all living species and all items of pleasure providing consumption materials.

Likewise, the word "sambhuti" means that whose existence, presence & power is full and beyond time and space and that which occupies the whole world and beyond. Needless to say only all powerful God is the Supreme Lord. He is the ultimate cause of creation of this world, its present position and future destruction.

The striver can get the best fruit of his efforts only when he begins to appreciate as to how one should worship gods, ancestors and all living ones including humans. The verse below aims at making the striver enabled to understand this properly otherwise any devotion carried wrongly can lead to abject downslide.

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अन्धं तम: प्रविशन्ति येऽसम्भूतिमुपासते।

ततो भूय इव ते तमो य उ सम्भूत्यांरता:।।१२।।

ये=जो मनुष्य;असम्भूतिम्=विनाशशील देव-पितर-मनुष्य आदि की;उपासते=उपासना करते हैं;(ते)=वे; अन्धम्=अज्ञानरूप;तम:=घोर अन्धकार में;प्रविशन्ति=प्रवेश करते हैं;(और)ये=जो;सम्भूत्याम्=अविनाशी परमेश्वर में;रता:=रत हैं अर्थात् उनकी उपासना के मिथ्याभिमान में मत्त हैं;ते=वे;तत:=उनसे;उ=भी;भूय:इव=मानो अधिकतर;तम:=अन्धकार में (प्रवेश करते हैं)

There are many who are given to enjoyments associated with the lustful pleasure of women, sons & siblings,kith & kin,money& matter, fame& glory, power & pelf etc. These people are always seen beseeching & propitiating lesser gods and ancestors through their desire driven worship so that their sensual pleasure materials and possessions keep on multiplying. The purpose of such worship of the perishables in the form of lesser gods, ancestors and mortals is therefore nothing but born out of passionate desire to keep one's items of sensual enjoyments intact,protected and multiplying.

The outcome of such worship of the perishables as said above is that the worshipper too, happens to take birth in these species of the personables only. That is what is meant by worshipping the perishables(असम्भूतिम्)lead to landing in the region governed by steep darkness.

But then there's yet another category of people who are pretenders. Pretenders in the sense that to the outside world they present themselves as adept that is someone who has attained spirituality to the full. Their conduct is so misleading that innocent ones even consider these hypocrite adepts as incarnation of God. Out of this reverential feeling the innocent ones start worshipping the very feet of these hypocrites who do not have the slightest compunction to befool the naive and innocent people. In quite some cases these posers convince the innocent ones against all religious belief and practice as laid out in our Shastra and they themselves proclaim as God leave alone and incarnation etc.

These category of false posers meet even greater affliction by being led to the hell reigned by extreme affliction and basest torture.

अन्यदेवाहु: सम्भवादन्यदाहुरसम्भवात्।

इति शुश्रुम धीराणां ये नस्तद्विचचक्षिरे।।१३।।

सम्भवात्=अविनाशी ब्रह्म की उपासना से;अन्यत् एव= दूसरा ही फल;आहु:=बतलाते हैं;(और) असम्भवात्=विनाशशील देव-पितर-मनुष्य आदि की उपासना से; अन्यत्=दूसरा (ही)फल;आहु:=बतलाते हैं; इति=इस प्रकार; (हमने) धीरानाम्=(उन)धीर पुरूषों के;शुश्रुम=वचन सुने हैं;ये=जिन्होंने;न:=हमें,तत्=उस विषय को;विचचक्षिरे=व्याख्या करके भलीभांति समझाया था.

  

Worshipping the Formless, Eternal, Undecaying, Indescribable, Indestructible Immortal, Absolutely Brahma (ब्रह्म) stands to mean worshipping the God of gods Lord Purushottam alone who alone is all- powerful, all- knowing,all-supporting,all- encompassing. He,only,is the real Doer, Holder and Reliever. The wise worship Him through numerous ways that include remembering out of pure love and affection his spiritual names and face. They relish remembering His playful sports and joyful banter and of course Gracious Deeds to the relief to the oppressed. The nine forms of worship viz Shravan (Listening His glorious deeds) and Kirtan(singing His songs of devotion),Paadsevan(massaging the feet of the Lord), Smaran(remembering Him through Chanti ng His holy names),Archan(adoring Him) Vandan( to bow before Him in Obeisance),Dasya(present oneself as his retinue),Sakhya(seeking His company as a Friend of Him),Atmanivedan(Self-Surrender) enable a devotee or striver to please the Lord and subsequently the striver qualifies to be owned by the Lord.Hence,Worshipping the Absolute this way naturally leads the striver to the attainment of Indescribable-Undecaying Absolute(परब्रह्म पुरुषोत्तम).

Similarly, the worship of perishable gods,ancestors and mortal living beings stands to mean serving gods,ancestors, Brahmins through pious offerings as ordained by the Shastra and Lord Purushottam.This also includes serving parents,teacher, preceptors, learned ones and last but not the least the poor and destitutes by way of fulfilling their needs and expectations to the best of one's zeal capacity as if they were Lord Purushottam themselves personified differently in such roles.This type of worship of gods, ancestors and mortal ones leads to the purification of heart of the worshipper and removes all impurities of his heart & mind and at the same time it bears the fruits of winning the heart of the Lord Purushottam also who gets pleased by such acts of the striver. This fruit is completely different from that which comes out of the worship of gods, ancestors mortal ones done with a sense of attachments and material desires.

Thus we have heard these two aspects of worship from the tradition of the learned ones who are qualified to make such distinction between the characteristics of fruits of worshipping the Eternal-Undecaying (Lord Purushottam) and that of worshipping the perishables in the form of gods, ancestors and mortal ones.

सम्भूति च विनाशं च यस्तद् वेदोभय्ं सह।

विनाशेन मृत्युं तीर्त्वा सम्भूत्यामृतमश्नुते।।१४।।

य:=जो मनुष्य; तत् उभयम्=उन दोनों को;(अर्थात्) सम्भूतिम्=अविनाशी परमेश्वर को;च=और;विनाशम्=विनाशशील देवादि को;च=भी;सह=साथ-साथ;वेद=यथार्थत:जान लेता है;विनाशेन=(वह)विनाशशील देवादि की उपासना से; मृत्युम्=मृत्यु को;तीर्त्वा=पार करके;सम्भूत्या=अविनाशी परमेश्वर की उपासना से; अमृत=अमृत को;अश्नुते=भोगता है अर्थात् अविनाशी आनन्दमय परब्रह्म पुरुषोत्तम को प्रत्यक्ष प्राप्त कर लेता है.

                  As explained the word Sambhuti means that which has been in existence since time immemorial;that which is undecaying;that which is Indescribable;that which is beyond imagination and that which is eternal. Needless to say all these attributes find themselves expressed in Lord Purushottam only who is The Lord of lords who is almighty, all-powerful, all- pervading,all-encompassing,all- encapsulating, all-supporting, Aggregate Souls of all souls.

And Asambhuti refers to all that is subject to decay or perish with time. These, as also explained,are lesser gods, ancestors and all mortal beings including humans. Also all items of sensual consumption and material pleasures do qualify as asambhuti for reasons of these being subject to decay and disappear with time 

To understand them that is sambhuti and asambhuti properly and worshipping these according to its real intent and import is both gratifying and rewarding not only in this world which is ocean of birth and death but in that world also which is the abode of Sri Hari who by His own hand feed the striver the nectar of His Grace and Compassion. Worshipping this way the two that is sambhuti and asambhuti frees the striver from the chain of further birth and rebirth.

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The verse below hints as to how the striver/devotees during last phase of his worshipping life should address his beloved Lord Sri Hari. Every devotee or striver should pray to Him with the help of the following Shloka.

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हिरण्यमयेन पात्रेण सतस्यापिहितं मुखम्।

तत्वों पूषन्नपावृणु सत्यधर्माय दृष्टये।।१५।।

पूषन्=हे सबका भरण-पोषण करने वाले परमेश्वर;सत्यस्य=सत्यस्वरूप आप सर्वेश्वर का;मुखम् =श्रीमुख; हिरण्मयेन=ज्योतिर्मय सूर्यमण्डलरुप;पात्रेण=पात्र से; अपिहितम्=ढ़का हुआ है; सत्यधर्माय=आपकी भक्तिरूप सत्यधर्म का अनुष्ठान करने वाले मुझको;दृष्टये=अपने दर्शन कराने के लिए; तत्=उस आवरण को;त्वम्=आप; अपावृणु=हटा लीजिए.

O my Lord Purushottam! The whole of this universe gets sustenance from the grace that you endow without any distinction or differentiation upon All- big & small, important & unimportant, weak & strong, animate & inanimate. It is You who is behind all food and drink that all get sustenance from.

 O my Lord Purushottam! I hold the belief that I am your devotee having reposed everything on You. So you are my first and last hope. 

O Lord ! I am incapacitated to see your beautiful face for you have covered the same with the golden platter(Sun) radiating brilliance. You know my eyes cannot withstand that brilliance. But since I hold myself to be your devotee you must be kind enough to remove that platter emanating effulgence and radiance. Also for my sake, please cause all such impediments removed that makes You invisible for my ordinary eyes.O God! I have been anxiously waiting for such removals of those hindrances so that I could enjoy seeing You in person having all the aura of your beautiful glorious face. 

पूषन्नेकर्षे तम सूर्य प्राजापत्य व्यूह रश्मीन् समूह।

तेजो यत्ते रूपं कल्याणतमं यत्ते पश्यामि योऽसावसौ पुरूष: सोऽहस्मि।।१६।।

पूषन्= से भक्तों का पोषण करनेवाले; एकर्षे=से मुख्य ज्ञानस्वरूप; तम= से सबके नियंता; सूर्य=से भक्तों या ज्ञानियों के परम लक्ष्यरूप; प्राजापत्य=हे प्रजापति के प्रिय; रश्मीन्= इन रश्मियों को ; व्यूह=एकत्र कीजिए या हटा लीजिए; तेज:=इस तेज को; समूह= समेट लीजिए या अपने तेज में मिला लीजिए; यत् =जो; ते=आपका;कल्याणतमम्=अतिशय कल्याणमय; रूपम्=दिव्य स्वरूप है; तत्=उस;ते=आपके दिव्य स्वरूप को; पश्यामि=मैं आपकी कृपा से देख रहा हूं;य:=जो;असौ=वह(सूर्य का आत्मा) है;असौ=वह; पुरुष:=परम पुरुष (आपका ही स्वरूप है);अहम्=मैं (भी);स:अस्मि=वही हूं.

      

      O Lord Purushottam! You are the caretaker of those who find in You their only hope. You are the embodiment of true knowledge and wisdom,the bestower of happiness, salvation and grace.You generously give everything that a craver can all imagine to seek from You. The very tradition of the Great ones having true knowledge (ज्ञानी) begins with You. You are without limits,unbounded by any thoughts or imagination.Though the shastras affirm that You can't be known by any stretch of human knowledge and imagination even then I believe that it is Only You Who by Your sheer grace and not otherwise can let Your lovers know You or Your True-Self. And that too only to such extent as pleases You. You are the Ultimate with Whom rests the power that Regulates,Controls and Governs one and all.

Whatever small & little knowledge and wisdom that I may have by your grace, I am led to feel that You are the Soul of the whole universe. This brilliant Sun is just a part of that universe You have created without any effort.I have also been led to feel by your grace my Self-Soul,though infinitestimally tiny in comparison yet is qualitatively the same as Yours.

Now O my Lord!Right now I can see you from my mind's eye only. I entreat You that please be kind enough to collect for me all the heat and dazzling rays of this burning Sun and merge the same within You and reveal directly Your True-Self to my ordinary eyes.

   वायुरनिलममृतमथेदं भस्मान्त्ं शरीरम्।

ओम् क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मरण क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मर ।।१७।।

अथ=अब; वायु:=ये प्राण और इन्द्रियां;अमृतम्= अविनाशी;अनिलम्=समष्टि वायु-तत्व में; (प्रविशतु)=प्रविष्ट हो जायं; इदम्=यह स्थूल शरीर;भस्मान्तम्=अग्नि में जलकर भस्मरूप;(भूयात)=हो जाय; ओम्= से सच्चिदानंदघन; क्रतो= यज्ञमय भगवन्; स्मर=(आप मुझ भक्त को) स्मरण करें; कृतम्= मेरे द्वारा किए हुए कर्मों का; स्मर= स्मरण करें;क्रतो=हे यज्ञमय भगवन्; स्मर= (आप मुझ भक्त को) स्मरण करें;कृतम्=(मेरे कर्मों को);स्मर=स्मरण करें.

             The deeds of an individual count in this world as well as in that world which is abode of Bhagwan Sri Hari. The striver now prays to Sri Bhagwan that O my Lord! I am eager to relinquish this physical body of mine which is made of flesh, blood & bones. Since I yearn to serve as retinue of Yours; let my all bodies; right from causal(कारण शरीर) to Subtle(सूक्ष्म शरीर) to physical(स्थूल शरीर) be consigned to flame so that I may be able to reach You to integrate with You. But this is not going to happen unless you accept and own me. So be kind enough to remember me and my deeds. For I know that even at the last part of the journey of my life if You gracefully remember me and my actions & deeds; the same will serve as a passport to reach your Param Dham. 

अग्नि नय सुपथा राये अस्मान विश्वानि देव वयुनानि विद्वान।

युयोध्यस्मज्जुहुराणमेनो भूयिष्ठां ते नम‌उक्तिं विधेयक।।१८।।

आग्नेय= हे अग्नि के अधिष्ठातृ देवता!; अस्मान्= हमें; परम धनरूप परमेश्वर की सेवा में पहुंचाने के लिए;सुपथा=सुन्दर शुभ मार्ग से;नय=(आप) ले चलिए;

देव=हे देव; (आप हमारे)विश्वानि=सम्पूर्ण; वयुनानि=कर्मों को; विद्वान=जानने वाले हैं; (अतः)अस्मत्=हमारे;जुहुराणम्=इस मार्ग के प्रतिबन्धक ; एन:=जो पाप हों (उन सबको);युयोधि=आप दूर कर दीजिए;ते आपको;भूयिष्ठाम्=बार-बार;नम‌उक्तिम्=नमस्कार के वचन;विधेम्= हम कहते हैं-बार-बार नमस्कार करते हैं.

          The striver now earnestly requests the Lord of Fire saying; O lord of fire! please get me to the abode of Sri Bhagwan since all my deeds in this world were aimed at reaching his Param Dham where I could serve him as His retinue. You know me and my deeds of devotion or lack of it better. I suppose I have spent my mundane life chanting gracious names of my Lord and seeing Him in my meditation. However, If any of my deeds or action here is to pose as obstacle or impediments in reaching me to my Lord the same may be removed from that destined path. I bow before you and at the same time shall stand obliged and shall ever pray for this benign and favourable act on your part. 

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          Thus ends Ishawasyopnishad.

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‌R.R.Prabhakar.

18.04.2021.