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Thursday, March 5, 2026

B. Isa Selected Translations

1. 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? (M)

2. If a man wishes to live a hundred years on this earth, he should live performing action. For you, who cherish such a desire and regard yourself as a man, there is no other way by which you can keep work from clinging to you. (N)

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

4. That One, though motionless, is swifter than the mind. The senses can never overtake It, for It ever goes before. Though immovable, It travels faster than those who run. By It the all-pervading air sustains all living beings. (P)

5. The Ᾱtman moves and It moves not; It is far and It is near; It is within all this, and It is also outside all this. (C)

6. He who sees all beings in the Self itself, and the Self in all beings, feels no hatred by virtue of that realization. (G)

7. To the seer, all things have verily become the Self: what delusion, what sorrow, can there be for him who beholds that oneness? (N)

8. He, the Ᾱtman, is all-pervading, bright, bodiless, scatheless, without muscles, pure, unpierced by evils, wise, omniscient, transcendent and self-existing. He alone allotted respective functions and duties to the various eternal Creators. (C)

9. Into a blind darkness they enter who follow after the Ignorance, they as if into a greater darkness who devote themselves to the Knowledge alone. (A)

10. One thing, they say, is verily obtained from vidyā, another thing they say from avidyā; thus we have heard from the wise who explained that to us. (C)

11. Knowledge and ignorance, he who knows the two together crosses death through ignorance and attains life eternal through knowledge. (R)

12. Into blinding darkness enter those who worship the unmanifest and into still greater darkness, as it were, enter those who delight in the manifest! (M)

13. One thing, they say, is verily obtained from the worship of the manifest. Another thing, they say, from the worship of the unmanifest; thus have we heard from the wise who have explained that to us. (C)

14. He who worships the impersonal God and the personal God together, overcomes death through the worship of the personal and obtains immortality through the worship of the impersonal. (C)

15. 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. (N)

"Īśāvāsyopaniṣad had two recensions: Kāņva and Madhyandina. The former recension has the entire eighteen mantras, but in the Mādhyandina, the fifteenth stanza here is the concluding mantra." ~C

16. 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. (P)

17. May my life-breath go to the all-pervading and immortal Prana, and let this body be burned to ashes. Om! O mind, remember thy deeds! O mind, remember, remember thy deeds! Remember! (P)

18. O Fire, lead us by the good path for the enjoyment of the fruit of our action. You know, O god, all our deeds. Destroy our sin of deceit. We offer, by words, our salutations to you. (N)

Translators
A: Aurobindo
C: Chinmayananda
G: Gambhirananda
M: Sri M
N: Nikhilananda
P: Paramananda
R: Radhakrishnan

Isavasya 18 Translation Fantasia

agne naya supathā rāye asmān viśvāni deva vayunāni vidvān,

yuyodhyasmajjuhurāṇameno bhūyisthām te nama uktim vidhema.

अग्ने - O Agni; नय lead; सुपथा by a good path; राये - wealth; अस्मान् - us; विश्वानि all; देव- O God; वयुनानि ways; विद्वान् - knower; युयोधि – remove; अस्मत् - from us; जुहुराणम् - crookedly attracting; एनः - sin; भूयिष्ठाम् -best; ते - to you; नम उक्तिम् - prayer; विधेम – offer

O Agni! Lead us on to 'wealth' by a good path, as Thou knowest, O God, all the many ways. Remove the crooked attraction of sin from us. We offer Thee our best salutations.

Let bhaktas understand that true Vedānta is no enemy to them; let true Vedāntins come to feel ashamed of themselves when they cry down bhakti in the name of their sacred faith, the religion of Vedānta. At the time of the Vedas, Agni was the God; here the prayer is an invocation to Agni devatā - the fire God.

Here, in this stanza, Lord Agni has been invoked to lead us to wealth. The materialist need not understand that this wealth means the sterling or the dollar! It is not the wealth of the economist that is meant here, but it is the riches of the spiritual seeker that is in the mind of the rsis. Wealth is thus to be understood as standing for bliss or mukti or beatitude. The seeker's death bed request is only for the attainment of the supreme felicity. The rest of the expressions are amply self-evident.

~Chinmayananda

O god Agni, knowing all things that are manifested, lead us by the good path to the felicity; remove from us the devious attraction of sin. To thee completes speech of submission we address.

There is in and behind all our errors, sins and stumblings a secret Will, tending towards Love and Harmony, which knows where it is going and prepares and combines our crooked branchings towards the straight path which will be the final result of their toil and seeking. The emergence of this Will and that Light is the condition of immortality.

This Will is Agni. Agni is in the Rig-veda, from which the closing verse of the Upanishad is taken, the flame of the Divine Will or Force of Consciousness working in the worlds. He is described as the immortal in mortals, the leader of the journey, the divine Horse that bears us on the road, the "son of crookedness" who himself knows and is the straightness and the Truth. Concealed and hard to seize in the workings of this world because they are all falsified by desire and egoism, he uses them to transcend them and emerges as the universal in Man or universal Power, Agni Vaishwanara, who contains in himself all the gods and all the worlds, upholds all the universal workings and finally fulfils the godhead, the immortality. He is the worker of the divine Work. It is these symbols which govern the sense of the two final verses of the Upanishad.

~Aurobindo

O Fire, lead us by the good path for the enjoyment of the fruit of our action. You know, O god, all our deeds. Destroy our sin of deceit. We offer, by words, our salutations to you.

FIRE: During Vedic times twice-born householders worshipped fire and offered their oblations in it. Fire was considered as the intermediary god through whom oblations to the other gods were made.

The following is adapted from Sankara's commentary: "Some take exception to our interpretation of these verses. We shall now try briefly to answer their objections. The objector asks why one should not, by knowledge, mean the Knowledge of the Supreme Self, and by immortality, the ultimate Liberation. The Upanishad here explicitly lays down, they say, the injunction to pursue together the Knowledge of the Supreme Self and ritualistic worship. The words of scripture are the final authority. Though Knowledge and ignorance (ritualistic worship) are said to produce contradictory results, yet this objection cannot stand in view of the clear statement of the Upanishad referred to above.

"To this objection we answer that Knowledge and ignorance cannot, by any means, be reconciled, because they are contradictory both as to their nature and as to their ultimate result. The cause of ignorance is false identification of Atman with the body and the rest, but true Knowledge is completely different. The result of ignorance is entanglement in the world, and that of Knowledge, liberation from the world. Therefore they cannot be harmonized. It cannot be contended that Knowledge and rituals may be pursued alternately, because no sooner does a man attain Self-Knowledge than his identification of the Self with the body disappears."

~Nikhilananda

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 a man wishes to live a hundred years on this earth, he should live performing action. For you, who cherish such a desire and regard yourself as a man, there is no other way by which you can keep work from clinging to you.

A person attached to his human body and desirous of enjoying on earth his full span of life should devote himself to religious duties and other unselfish actions; if not, he will engage in evil action. It is clear that this verse does not apply to the illumined person, who is not attached to material things and is indifferent about the length of his life. According to Sankara the discipline of Self-Knowledge and the way of worldly enjoyment are totally incompatible. A sannyasin, seeking Self-Knowledge, is indifferent to both life and death.

~Nikhilananda

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)