Isavasya 9 Translation Fantasia

andhantamaḥ praviśanti ye’vidyāmupāsate, tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u vidyāyāgṁratāḥ. (

अन्धम् – blinding; तमः – darkness; प्रविशन्ति – enter; ये – who; अविद्याम् – avidyā (see commentary for details); उपासते – worship; ततः – than that; भूयः – greater; इव – as though; ते – they; तमः – darkness; ये – who; उ – verily; विद्यायाग्म् – in vidyā (see commentary for details); रताः – devoted, engaged in

They who worship avidyā alone fall into blindening darkness, and they, who worship vidyā alone fall, as though, into even a greater darkness.

In this stanza, the ṛṣi has opened up the problem and he is to summarise his conclusions in the following three mantras.

Those who are following the path of upāsanā or introvert life, who meditate deeply, seeking nothing but the all-pervading Reality seem to fall as though into a still greater darkness because such hasty and unprepared meditators may overdo the negation aspect of the technique of meditation and reach a destination of blind non-existence! In this connection, the term ‘as though a greater darkness’ is very significant; it is not really darkness.

The context here would demand that we take vidyā to be the ‘higher meditation’, and avidyā to be ‘all sādhanās’ that prepare one, by exhausting one’s existing vāsanās, to have a peaceful mind that can readily be brought to the seat of meditation. 

~Chinmayananda

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.

All manifestation proceeds by the two terms, Vidya and Avidya, the consciousness of Unity and the consciousness of Multiplicity. They are the two aspects of the Maya, the formative self-conception of the Eternal. Unity is the eternal and fundamental fact, without which all multiplicity would be unreal and an impossible illusion. The consciousness of Unity is therefore called Vidya, the Knowledge.

Those who are devoted entirely to the principle of multiplicity and division and take their orientation away from oneness enter into a blind darkness of Ignorance. To turn away from the progression towards Oneness is to turn away from existence and from light.

Those who are devoted entirely to the principle of indiscriminate Unity and seek to put away from them the integrality of the Brahman, also put away from them knowledge and completeness and enter as if into a greater darkness. They enter into some special state and accept it for the whole, mistaking exclusion in consciousness for transcendence in consciousness.

~Aurobindo

They enter into blind darkness who worship Avidya (ignorance and delusion); they fall, as it were, into greater darkness who worship Vidya (knowledge).

Those who follow or "worship" the path of selfishness and pleasure (Avidya), without knowing anything higher, necessarily fall into darkness; but those who worship or cherish Vidya (knowledge) for mere intellectual pride and satisfaction, fall into greater darkness, because the opportunity which they misuse is greater.

~Paramananda

Into a blind darkness they enter who are devoted to ignorance (rituals); but into a greater darkness they enter who engage in knowledge [of a deity] alone.

BLIND DARKENESS: It is characterized by an absence of knowledge because it is opposed to knowledge. IGNORANCE: The word avidya in the text signifies karma, or ritualistic action, such as the Agnihotra sacrifice. GREATER DARKNESS: The result of meditation on the deities without any ritual leads to a greater darkness. KNOWLEDGE: The word knowledge here means knowledge or contemplation of a deity. It does not signify Supreme Knowledge.

The following interpretation of the text is adapted from Sankara's com:mmentary: "The first verse of the Isa Upanishad refers to devotion to the Knowledge of Brahman through renunciation of all desires. The second verse lays down devotion to action (rituals) for those who are ignorant, desirous of a long life on earth, and incapable of cultivating devotion to Knowledge." Verse nine condemns ignorant people with a view to harmonizing work with knowledge of a deity.

~Nikhilananda

Note: There are three interpretations presented here: Shankara via Nikhilananda (Vedic ritual and meditation); Aurobindo (Integral Yoga); Chinmayananda (BMI Advaita).