Īśo 1: Śrī Īśopaniṣad

The Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down through the perfect, disciplic succession of spiritual masters beginning with the Lord Himself. The Vedic knowledge is received from the transcendental sources, and the first word was spoken by the Lord Himself. The words spoken by the Lord are called apauruṣeya, not delivered by any person of the mundane world. A living being of the mundane world has four defects, which are: 1. that he must commit mistakes, 2. he must sometimes be illusioned, 3. he must try to cheat others, and 4. he is endowed with imperfect senses. With these four principles of imperfection one cannot deliver perfect information in the matter of all-pervading knowledge. The Vedas are not known like that. The Vedic knowledge was originally imparted into the heart of Brahmā the first created living being, and Brahmā in his turn disseminated the knowledge to his sons and disciples, who have continued the process down through history.

The Lord being pūrṇam, or all-perfect, there is no chance of His being subjected to the laws of material Nature, while the living entities and inanimate objects are all controlled by the laws of Nature, and thus, ultimately, by the potency of the Lord. This Īśopaniṣad is a part of the Yajur Veda, and as such it contains information as to the proprietorship of all things that exist within the universe.

This point is confirmed by the Bhagavad-gītā, in the Seventh Chapter [4-5], where parā and aparā prakṛti are discussed: The elements of Nature—earth, fire, water, air, sky, mind, intelligence and ego—all belong to the inferior or material energy of the Lord, whereas the living being, the organic energy, is the superior energy, the parā prakṛti, of the Lord. Both the prakṛtis or energies are, emanations from the Lord, and ultimately He is the Controller of everything that exists. There is nothing in the universe which does not belong either to the parā or the aparā prakṛti, and therefore everything is under the proprietary right of the Supreme Being.

The Supreme Being, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, being the complete Person, has the complete and perfect intelligence to adjust everything by His different potencies. The Supreme Being is often compared with fire, and everything—organic and inorganic—is compared with the heat and light of the fire. The fire distributes energy in the form of heat and light, and likewise the Lord displays His energy in different ways. And He remains the ultimate Controller, Sustainer and Dictator over everything. He is full of all potencies, the Knower of every thing, the Benefactor of everyone, and is full of all inconceivable opulences: power, wealth, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation.

One should therefore be intelligent enough to know that except for the Lord no one is the proprietor of anything; one should accept only the things which are set aside by the Lord as his quota. The cow, for example, gives milk, but she does not drink the milk. Her milk is designated as food for the human being. The cow eats grass and straw but does not drink her own milk. Such is the arrangement of the Lord, and we should be satisfied with the things that have been very kindly set aside for us by Him. We should always consider to Whom the things that we possess actually belong.

Take, for example, our dwelling house, which is made of earth, wood, stone, iron, cement, and so many other material things. If we think in terms of Śrī Īśopaniṣad, then we must know that we cannot produce any of the, above-mentioned building materials ourselves. We can simply bring them together and transform them into different shapes by our labor. A laborer cannot claim to be the proprietor of a thing just because he has worked hard to manufacture it.

There is always this great quarrel between the laborers and the capitalists in present-day society. The quarrel has now taken an international shape, and the world is in danger. Men face each other in enmity just like cats and dogs snarling. Śrī Īśopaniṣad cannot give advice to the cats and dogs, but It delivers the message of Godhead to man through the bona fide ācāryas, or holy teachers. And the human race may take this Vedic wisdom from Śrī Īśopaniṣad: that no one should quarrel over material possessions. One must be satisfied by whatever privileges are given to him by the mercy of the Lord. There can be no peace if the communist or the capitalist or any other party claims to be the proprietor of the resources of Nature, which are entirely the property of the Lord.

The capitalist cannot curb down the communist simply by political maneuvering, nor can the communist defeat the capitalist simply by fighting for the stolen bread. If they do not recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then all the property which they claim to be their own is stolen, and therefore they shall be liable to punishment by the laws of Nature. The Bomb is in the hands of both the communists and the capitalists, and if both do not recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Lord, it is sure and certain that, ultimately, the Bomb will ruin both parties. Therefore, in order to save themselves, both must follow the instruction of Śrī Īśopaniṣad, and thus bring peace to the world.

Human beings are not meant for quarreling like cats and dogs. They must be intelligent enough to realize the importance of human life, and to realize the aim of human life. The Vedic literature is meant for humanity and not for cats and dogs. Cats and dogs can kill other animals for food and for that there is no question of sin on their part. But if a man kills an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste buds, he is responsible for breaking the laws of Nature, and therefore he must be punished.

There is a standard of life for human beings which cannot apply to the animals. The tiger does not eat rice, wheat or cow's milk because it has been given its quota of foodstuff in the shape of animal food. There are many animals and birds who are either vegetarian or non-vegetarian, but none of them transgress the laws of Nature as they have been ordained by the will of the Lord. Amongst the living beings—whether animals or birds or reptiles—there is strict adherence to the laws of Nature, and therefore there is no question of sin for them, nor are the Vedic instructions meant for them. Human life alone, then, is a life of responsibility.

It is also wrong to consider that simply by becoming a vegetarian one can save himself from transgressing the laws of Nature. Vegetables also have life. One life is meant to feed another living being, and that is the law of Nature. One should not be proud of being a strict vegetarian. The point is to recognize the Supreme Lord. The animals have no developed consciousness to recognize the Lord, but a human being is sufficiently intelligent to take lessons from the Vedic literature, and thereby know how the laws of Nature are working, and derive profit out of such knowledge. If a man neglects the instruction of the Vedic literature, his life is very risky. The human being is therefore required to recognize the authority of the Supreme Lord. He must be a devotee of the Lord. He must offer everything to the service of the Lord and partake of only the remnants of foodstuff offered to the Lord. That will make, him able to discharge his duty properly. In the Bhagavad-gītā [9.26] the Lord directly states that He accepts the vegetable foodstuffs from the hands of a pure devotee. Therefore a human being should not only become a strict vegetarian, but he should also be a devotee of the Lord, and offer to the Lord all his food, and only then partake of the prasādam, or mercy of God. Such a devotee can properly discharge the duty of human life. Those who do not do so are eating only sins, and thus will be subjected to the different types of distress which are the result of the various sins. [Bg. 3.13]

The root of sin is deliberate disobedience to the laws of Nature, through not recognizing the proprietorship of the Lord. Disobedience to the laws of Nature or disobedience to the order of the Lord will bring ruin to the human being. On the other hand, if one is sober and knows the laws of Nature, without being influenced by unnecessary attachment or abhorrence, he is sure to be recognized again by the Lord, and thus become eligible for going back to Godhead, back to the eternal Home.

[BTG 1956]