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