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Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Isvayasa 16 Translation Fantasia

pūşannekarşe yama sūrya prājāpatya vyūha raśmin samūha, tejo yatte rūpaṁ

kalyāņatamam tatte paśyāmi yo'sāvasau puruṣaḥ so'hamasmi.

पूषन् O! Pūsan; एकर्षे Controller; सूर्य O! sole seer; यम Ο! O! Sūrya; प्राजापत्य O! Son of rays; समूह Thy; रूपम् gather form; that; ते - thy; this; असौ this; पुरुषः Prajāpati; व्यूह - disperse; रश्मीन् up; तेजः - light; यत् what; ते कल्याणतमम् most auspicious; तत् पश्यामि - (I) see; यः who; असौ Puruşa; सः - he; अहम् - I; अस्मि am

O! Pūşan (sun, nourisher), O! sole seer, O! controller of all, O! Sūrya, O! son of Prajāpati, disperse Thy rays and gather up Thy burning light, I behold Thy glorious form, the Puruşa within Thee, He am I.

It is to be noted that Lord Sun was the Guru of Sage Yājñavalkya, the compiler of the Śukla Yajurveda Samhitā; and Īśāvāsyopaniṣad belongs to it. The samhita itself was taught to him by Lord Sun. The Sun is the greatest nourisher, disinfector, the 'great filler' who fills life with flavour. 'By Thy grace may I reach nearer the Iśa who indwells everywhere, including Thee,' seems to be here, the cry of the heart at meditation.

Before this final experience of oneness 'He am I', we have been shown how there is a lower state of realisation that 'I behold Thy glorious form', wherein the ego still remains, experiencing a divine exaltation. This state is called savikalpa samādhi. This precedes the final stage of the total end of the ego when the seeker rediscovers himself to be the sought the supreme Self. This stage of experience of oneness is called the nirvikalpa samādhi.

~Chinmayananda

O Pushan! O Sun, sole traveller of the heavens, controller of all, son of Prajapati, withdraw Thy rays and gather up Thy burning effulgence. Now through Thy Grace I behold Thy blessed and glorious form. The Purusha (Effulgent Being) who dwells within Thee, I am He.

Here the sun, who is the giver of all light, is used as the symbol of the Infinite, giver of all wisdom. The seeker after Truth prays to the Effulgent One to control His dazzling rays, that his eyes, no longer blinded by them, may behold the Truth. Having perceived It, he proclaims: "Now I see that that Effulgent Being and I are one and the same, and my delusion is destroyed." By the light of Truth he is able to discriminate between the real and the unreal, and the knowledge thus gained convinces him that he is one with the Supreme; that there is no difference between himself and the Supreme Truth

~Paramananda

O Nourisher, lone Traveller of the sky! Controller! O Sun, Offspring of Prajapati! Gather Your rays; withdraw Your light. I would see, through Your grace, that form of Yours which is the fairest. I am indeed He, that Purusha, who dwells there.

PURUSHA: Lit., Person. It also refers to the Godhead, who lies in the hearts of all, or who fills the whole universe with life and consciousness.

~Nikhilananda

Isvayasa 15 Translation Fantasia

hiranmayena pātreņa satyasyāpihitam mukham,

tattvam pūşannapāvṛņu satyadharmāya dıştaye. (15)

हिरण्मयेन - golden; पात्रेण by the vessel (which acts like a lid); सत्यस्य - of Truth; अपिहितम् covered; मुखम् face; तत् - that; त्वम् you; पूषन् O Sun; अपावृणु - do open; सत्यधर्माय - the practitioner of Truth; दृष्टये for beholding

The face of Truth is covered by a golden lid; remove, O Sun that (covering) for me, the practitioner of Truth, so that I may behold It.

It is interesting to note that there are two recensions for this Upaniṣad; the Kāṇva and Mādhyandina. According to the latter this is the last mantra, while the Upaniṣad, as it stands, full with its 18 mantras, is acceptable in the Kāṇva reading.

Prayer in Vedānta is only an attempt of the ego centre to attune itself to the supreme Consciousness in the individual. Addressing the supreme Consciousness, the ego centre in the individual is chanting this mantra.

The Sun is the centre of the entire universe, itself motionless and inactive and yet by its very presence, it balances the entire movement of the universe around it. Being the nourisher and the source of all energy in the cosmos, it represents in the seeker's inner world - the nourisher and illuminator - the Atman.

As Śrī Śańkara says, it is certainly the last prayer of the dying individual but the individual meant here is the ego centre. We are not to understand it, that it is literally a prayer of the dying old man on his death bed. It is the last prayer of the active spiritual seeker in his meditation seat when he, in his divine effort, is shaking off the last vestige of ego which is lingering to veil the Self in him.

~Chinmayananda

The door of the Truth is covered by a golden disc. Open it, O Nourisher! Remove it so that I who have been worshipping the Truth may behold It.

Referring to the manifestation of Brahman in the sun. The sun is often used as a symbol of Brahman. "That which is Truth is that sun." (Br. Up. V. v. 1-4.) Here the sun includes earth, heaven, and the interspace and is known also by the name of Vyariti. The sun is personified, with earth, heaven, and the interspace as its head, two arms, and two feet. The worship prescribed in this and the following verses is the symbolic worship of Brahman through the sun.

~Nikhilananda

The face of the Supreme Truth is covered by a golden disc. O Pushann, O Surya, O controller of everything, remove this golden disc that covers your face, so that I, who love the Truth, may perceive It!

This ‘golden disc’ that covers the face of Truth is the captivating glamour and glitter of the world. Often, most of us are carried away by the shining ‘golden disc.’ So this prayer is, ‘I can do nothing about this golden-disc except plead; please remove it O Pushann, O Controller, so that I may see you as you are, as the Real Truth!’

Since Pushann also means Surya, the Sun-God, the ‘golden disc’ could also figuratively refer to the golden color of the sun when it rises in the morning and sets in the evening. ‘Remove that golden disc so that I may see your face.’ It also means, ‘Remove all the attributes so that I may see you as the Attributeless Supreme Being.’ This is the second interpretation.

The second part of this prayer, which is, ‘I, who am the lover of Truth,’ is important. If one is not the lover of ‘Truth’ then one can be happy with that golden disc alone. One does not want to look beyond it.

~Sri M

Saturday, February 28, 2026

Suite Turiyam

1. Dark Side of the Sun (a)

Consciousness-existence transcends space-time.

It is one without a second and a second in no time.

It doesn't have a reason. It transcends all rhyme.

2. Dark Side of the Sun (b)

I am of that order of the principle of existence.

I know the ground of consciousness like the back of my mind.

I am here transcending space. I am right now beyond time.

3. Song of Isvara

Brahman lives at the crossroads of Saguna and Nirguna.

That Great Square where the power of Maya veils and unveils!

This is where the Gita and Mandukya coexist. Om.

4. Seasons

Memories are like dreams remembered.

The Fourth of July. The Fifth of November.

This blessed eve of meteorological spring.

5. To Turiyam

The Quantum Controller of Maya is Isvara. Isvara is the God of Universal Consciousness! Turiyam is the Godhead. Aum.

~sr16

Song of Isvara

Brahman lives at the crossroads of Saguna and Nirguna.

That Great Square where the power of Maya veils and unveils!

This is where the Gita and Mandukya coexist. Om.

~rj33

In the Dark Side of the Sun

Consciousness-existence transcends space-time.

It is one without a second and a second with no time.

It doesn't have a reason. It transcends all rhyme.

I am of that order of the principle of existence.

I know the ground of consciousness like the back of my mind.

I am here transcending space. I am right now beyond time.

~rj32

Friday, February 27, 2026

Mandukya 2025 TOC

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Dayananda on Jijnasu & Jnani (BG7:16)

caturvidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛtino’rjuna ārto jijñāsurarthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha (16)

caturvidhāḥ – four-fold; janāḥ – people; sukṛtinaḥ – who do good actions; mām – me; bhajante – worship; arjuna – O Arjuna!; ārtaḥ – the one in distress; arthārthī – the one who seeks security and pleasure; jijñāsuḥ – the one who desires to know; ca – and; jñānī – the one who knows; bharatarṣabha – O the foremost in the clan of Bharata!

Arjuna, the foremost in the clan of Bharata! People given to good actions, who worship me are four-fold–the distressed, the seeker of security and pleasure, the one who desires to know (me), and the one who knows (me).

The jijñāsu is not invoking Īśvara’s grace for simple accomplishments. He wants to know the truth of Īśvara, the ultimate cause of everything. And this jijñāsu is a great devotee. He does not use Bhagavān as an accomplice for his small pursuits. He wants to know who is Īśvara and as a bhakta he invokes Īśvara’s grace for this.

Knowledge of Īśvara is nothing but knowledge of ātmā. Īśvara, the cause of everything, happens to be in essence, oneself. If Īśvara were other than ātmā, he would be anātmā, and therefore, inert. The only conscious being is ātmā, and Īśvara is not separate from it.

This seeming difference between Īśvara and the individual is due to upādhi, as we have seen. There is only one reality which the jijñāsu wants to know. He is a devotee because he seeks the help of Īśvara and performs prayerful actions to earn this help.

When one is a jijñāsu one necessarily becomes a jñānī, the one who knows the truth of Lord Viṣṇu, Parameśvara, as oneself. Such a person is a real bhakta.

The jñānī’s devotion is what we call sādhya-bhakti. There are two types of bhakti. One is sādhana-bhakti, a devotion to Īśvara as a means. This is the devotion of a jijñāsu. But the bhakti of one who understands Īśvara, who recognises the truth of Īśvara as ātmā, is sādhya-bhakti. It is a bhakti that has fulfilled itself in the form of parama-prema-svarūpa-bhakti, absolute love.

This is the devotion of a jñānī. For him, the bhakti has fulfilled itself. So, how can we call him a bhakta? He is still a bhakta if we consider a bhakta as someone who is in union with Īśvara. For a jñānī, Īśvara is aparokṣa, immediate. It is the only difference, and it is a great difference.

For a jijñāsu, however, there is a possibility of Īśvara becoming aparokṣa and for the jñānī, he is aparokṣa because Īśvara, the cause of everything, is non-separate from ātmā. Even though Īśvara is the ātmā of everyone, it is only the jñānī who appreciates it. Only he has an intellect subtle enough to recognise what is true for everyone. And the jñānī is distinguished here among the bhaktas as a fulfilled bhakta. The jijñāsu is going to be fulfilled.

Bhakti, devotion, is any type of union between jīva and Īśvara. By a proper action or even a thought you are uniting yourself to Īśvara. But jñānī does not try to make a bridge between jīva and Īśvara. Gaining the knowledge, he finds that he is always united. There is only one thing–Īśvara, that is ātmā. There is no second thing at all to unite with. So, he is nitya-yukta, always united.

There are four kinds of virtuous men who worship me, Arjuna: the man in distress, the man who seeks power, the man who seeks wisdom, and the sage. ~Bhagavad Gita 7:16 (tr-Stephen Mitchell)

Monday, February 23, 2026

Isavasya 1 Translation Fantasia

ishavasyam idam sarvam yat kincha jagatyaam jagat

tena tyaktena bhunjitha ma gridhah kasya svid dhanam.

ईशावास्यमिदगं् (ईशा-वास्यम्, ईशा-आवास्यमd) – indwelling or clothing of the Lord; [वास् – to dwell, वस – to clothe]; इदम्d – this; सर्वम् – all; यत्-किञ्च – whatever; जगत्याम् – in the universe; जगत् – moving world; तेन – by Him; त्यक्तेन – by abandonment, by that which is left; भुञ्जीथाः – (you) may enjoy; मा – do not; गृधः – covet; कस्य-स्वित् – whose, anybody’s; धनम् – wealth

That Supreme Being pervades everything here.

That which moves and That which does not move.

Therefore, let go and rejoice!

Whose wealth is this anyway?

The Upanishad says, ‘Ishavasyam idam sarvam’ – ‘that Supreme Being pervades everything here.’ Yat kincha jagatyam jagat – ‘That which moves and That which does not move.’ Actually, the word jagat, which we call the world, comes from the root, ‘to move.’ Tena tyaktena bhunjitha – ‘therefore, let go and rejoice! Let go!’ Don’t get caught up in this circus. Let go and enjoy yourself – rejoice! Ma gridhah kasya svid dhanam – Whose wealth is this anyway?

~Sri M

All this, whatsoever exists in the universe, should be covered by the Lord. Having renounced (the unreal), enjoy (the Real). Do not covet the wealth of any man.

The word "enjoy" is also interpreted by the great commentator Sankaracharya as "protect," because knowledge of our true Self is the greatest protector and sustainer.

~Paramananda

All this, whatever moves in this universe, including those that move not, is indwelt or pervaded or enveloped or clothed by the Lord. That renounced, thou shouldst enjoy. Covet not anybody’s wealth.

The word vāsyam is a pregnant sound in Sanskrit with unlimited suggestiveness and innumerable meanings. It may be used to mean ‘to be clothed’, ‘to be worn as garment’, ‘to be inhabited’, ‘to be enveloped,’ or ‘to be pervaded.’ And here in this context, all these meanings are applicable. The great ṛṣi exclaims that ‘all this’ that we are perceiving through our sense organs or by the intervention of our mind and intellect – all this – is indwelt by the Spirit which is the Lord of the world of perception.

‘That renounced’ (tena tyaktena) – This is the effective part, the technique to experience the Lord that ‘envelopes all this’ (īśāvāsyam idagṁ sarvam). Identified with the beauty of a sculpture, many a time, we fail to notice the material with which it is made. Very rarely are you recognising the paper on which these words are printed – you are seeing the ideas through the word meanings, and not the colour of the white paper. And yet, you know that these printed words are impossible to be read if the paper were black in colour! To see the colour of the paper is to ignore the words. To renounce the enchantments of and hunger for the names and forms is to recognise the Lord, the Infinite. ~

~Chinmayananda

ALL THIS-whatever exists in this changing universe-should be covered by the Lord. Protect the Self by renunciation. Lust not after any man's wealth.

This universe, from the standpoint of Absolute Reality, is nothing but the Lord. That it is perceived as a material entity is due to ignorance. One should view the universe, through the knowledge of nonduality, as Atman alone.

~Nikhilananda

Everthing in this ever-changing universe is pervaded by that Supreme Being. Surrender up your world. Be supported by that understanding. Don't seek after material wealth.

All is Brahman. Let go of thinking otherwise. Take refuge in that truth alone. The material world has nothing more to offer.

~Isa Upanishad 1 (tx-aumdada)

Isavasya 2 Translation Fantasia

kurvanneveha karmāṇi jijīviṣecchatagṁsamāḥ,

evaṁ tvayi nānyatheto’sti na karma lipyate nare.

कुर्वन् – performing; एव् – alone; इह – here (in this world); कर्माणि – work, deeds; जिजीविषेत् – should desire to live; शतग्ं – a hundred; समाः – years; एवम् – thus; त्वयि (सति) – while you are; न – not; अन्यथा – the other; इतः – for; अस्ति – is; न – not; कर्म – deed; लिप्यते – is attached; नरे – in the man

Performing verily, work in this world one should desire to live a full hundred years. This alone is right, for there is no other right path. Action never clings to a man of this temperament.

The Masters of the scriptures declare that if any given individual generation of a given period of history has not the required tendency of unaction to pursue the path of knowledge as described in the previous stanza, they should immediately take to a dynamic and conscious programme of activity, and should steadily walk the path of action. Here, the second stanza is dedicated to extol the path of karma.

In case you are not able to live the life of God-vision achieved through renunciation, then have certainly the desire to live a full hundred years of productive, selfless work.

~Chinmayananda

If one should desire to live in this world a hundred years, one should live performing Karma (righteous deeds). Thus thou mayest live; there is no other way. By doing this, Karma (the fruits of thy actions) will not defile thee.

If a man still clings to long life and earthly possessions, and is therefore unable to follow the path of Self-knowledge (Gnana-Nishta) as prescribed in the first Mantram (text), then he may follow the path of right action (Karma-Nishta). Karma here means actions performed without selfish motive, for the sake of the Lord alone.

~Paramananda

In this world, perform your rightful work as a means to no end but living out your allotted 100 years or so. No other way exists where actions do not tie a person down.

While in this world, practice karma yoga, even if it takes 100 years. To do so otherwise binds you to a figment of imagination.

~Isa Upanishad 2 (tx-aumdada)

Isavasya 3 Translation Fantasia

asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ, tāgṁste pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātmahano janāḥ.

असुर्याः – demoniac, sunless; नाम – really; ते – those; लोकाः – people (lit. world); अन्धेन तमसा – by blinding darkness (gloom); आवृता – covered; ताग्म् – to those; ते – they; प्रेत्य – after death; अभिगच्छन्ति – go to; ये के च – whosoever; आत्म-हनः – killers of the Self; जनाः – people

Sunless are those worlds, and enveloped in blinding gloom to which all those people who are slayers of their own souls go, departing from here.

Now a doubt may arise as to what would be the destiny of those who are not following either the path of meditation or the path of action? What would happen to them and their pilgrimage, is explained in this particular stanza. The Upaniṣad Master declares that having been born as a man, an individual (or society or community or nation) who refuses to live either the ‘life of meditation’ or ‘the life of intense and continuous activity’, is to be considered as committing suicide. Such a nation must necessarily come to fall into an abyss of darkness and despair. The individual (or the community) should thereafter, certainly, come to experience a terrible fall in its cultural and spiritual eminence.

~Chinmayananda

After leaving their bodies, they who have killed the Self go to the worlds of the Asuras, covered with blinding ignorance.

What does it mean "to kill the Self?" How can the immortal Soul ever be destroyed? It cannot be destroyed, it can only be obscured. Those who hold themselves under the sway of ignorance, who serve the flesh and neglect the Atman or the real Self, are not able to perceive the effulgent and indestructible nature of their Soul; hence they fall into the realm where the Soul light does not shine. Here the Upanishad shows that the only hell is absence of knowledge.

~Paramananda