Īśo 6: Śrī Īśopaniṣad

Here is an explanation of the Mahābhāgavata, the great personality who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are three stages of realizing the presence of the Supreme Lord: The kaniṣṭha adhikārī, the person who is in the lowest stage of realization of the Lord, goes to one place of worship, such as a temple, church, or mosque, in terms of his particular type of religious faith, and worships there in terms of the scriptural injunctions. Such devotees think that the Lord is there at the place of worship and nowhere else. Such devotees cannot recognize who is in what position in the devotional line, or in terms of realization of the Supreme Lord. They follow the routine formulas and sometimes quarrel among themselves, estimating one particular type of worship better than another. These kaniṣṭha adhikārīs, in the lowest stage of devotion, are called materialistic devotees, or those just trying to transcend the material boundary to reach the spiritual plane.

Next above these kaniṣṭha adhikārīs are the madhyam adhikārīs, the devotees who are in the intermediate stage of devotional service. These madhyam adhikārīs observe four principles in relation to the Supreme Lord, which are as follows:

1. They see, first of all, the Supreme Lord;
2. They see next the devotees of the Lord;
3. They see also the innocent, who have no knowledge about God; and at last,
4. They see the atheists who have no faith in the Lord, and who hate those in the devotional line.

The madhyam adhikārī devotee behaves differently toward the different above-mentioned four principles. He adores the Lord, considering Him the object of love, and he makes friendship with those who are in the devotional line. He tries to awaken the dormant love of Godhead in the hearts of the innocent people, but he does not approach the atheists who deride at the very Name of the Lord.

Above the madhyam adhikārī there is the uttama adhikārī devotee, who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord. He does not make any particular discrimination between the atheist and the theist, but sees in every one of them the part and parcel of God. He knows that there is no difference between a vastly learned Brāhmaṇa and a dog in the street, because both of them are of the Lord, though in different embodiments due to the different qualities of material action. The Brāhmaṇa particle of the Supreme Lord has not misused the little independence given him by the Lord, but the dog particle has misused his independence, and thus he has been punished by the law of Nature, being encaged in the ignorant form of a dog. Without considering the respective actions of the Brāhmaṇa and the dog, the uttama adhikārī tries to do good to both. Such a learned devotee of the Lord is not misled by the material bodies of the Brāhmaṇa and the dog, but he is attracted by the spiritual spark within the respective entities.

Those who imitate an uttama adhikārī in terms of the sense of oneness or fellowship, but who behave in terms of bodily relationships, are false philanthropists. Therefore the concept of universal brotherhood must be learnt from the uttama adhikārī devotee of the Lord, and not from a foolish person who has no proper vision of the individual soul and of the Supersoul—the plenary expansion of the Supreme Lord, Which dwells everywhere.

In this mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad it is clearly mentioned that one should observe, or see. This means one must follow the previous ācārya, the perfected Teacher. Anupaśyati is the exact Sanskrit word used in this connection. Anu means by following, and paśyati means to observe. One should not try to see things as he does with the naked eye. The naked eye cannot see anything properly, due to its material defectiveness. One cannot see properly unless one has heard from a superior source. And the highest source is the Vedic wisdom spoken by the Lord Himself. This truth is coming in disciplic succession from the Lord to Brahmā, from Brahmā to Nārada, from Nārada to Vyāsa, and from Vyāsa to many of His disciples. Formerly there was no necessity of recording the message of the Vedas because people of earlier ages were more intelligent and had sharper memories, and they could follow instructions simply by hearing once from the mouth of a bona fide spiritual master.

At present there are many commentaries on the revealed Scriptures, but most of them are not in the line of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Who originally taught the Vedic wisdom. The final, most perfect and sublime work of Śrīla Vyāsadeva is the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Which is the correct commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. Similarly, there is the Bhagavad-gītā, Which is spoken by the Lord Himself and Which was recorded by Vyāsadeva. These are the more important of the many revealed Scriptures, and any commentary which does not conform to the principles of the Gītā or the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is unauthorized. There is complete symmetrical agreement between the Upaniṣads, Vedānta, the Vedas, the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore, no one should try to reach any conclusion about the Vedas without being instructed by members of the line of Vyāsadeva, or at least those who believe in the Personality of Godhead and His diverse energies.

Only one who is already in the liberated status, according to the Bhagavad-gītā [18.54], can become an uttama adhikārī devotee, and can see everyone or every living being as his own brother. This cannot be seen by politicians who are always after some material gain. Imitation of this liberated status is to serve the outward body (for fame, or some such reward) but is not service to the spirit soul. Such imitators have no information of the Spiritual World. The uttama adhikārī sees the spirit soul of an entity, and serves him as spirit, which includes matter automatically.