Īśo 10: Śrī Īśopaniṣad

The culture of knowledge can be practically conducted in the following way, as is advised in the Bhagavad-gītā (Thirteenth Chapter). There it is said that:

1. One should become a perfect gentleman himself, and learn to give proper respect to persons other than himself.

2. One, should not pose himself as a religionist simply for name, and fame.

3. One should not become a source of anxiety to others by the actions of his body, mind or words.

4. One should learn forbearance, even if there is provocation from others.

5. One should learn to avoid duplicity in his dealings with others.

6. One must have a bona fide spiritual master who can lead him gradually to the stage of spiritual realization, and to such an ācārya or spiritual master he must submit himself with service and relevant questions.

7. One must follow the regulative principles enjoined in the revealed Scriptures, in order to approach the platform of self realization.

8. One must be fixed up in the tenets of the revealed Scriptures.

9. One should completely refrain from practices which are detrimental to the interest of self realization.

10. One should not accept more than what he requires for the maintenance of the body.

11. One should not falsely identify himself with the material covering of the gross body nor consider as his own those who are related with his body.

12. One should always remember that so long as he has a material body, he must face the miseries of repeated birth, death, old age, and disease. There is no use in making plans to get rid of these miseries of the material body. The best thing is to find out the means by which one may regain his spiritual identity.

13. One should not be attached to more than the necessities of life required for spiritual advancement.

14. One should not be more attached to wife, children and home than is ordained in the revealed Scriptures.

15. One should not be happy or distressed in regard to the desirables and undesirables created by the mind.

16. One should become an unalloyed devotee of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and serve Him with rapt attention.

17. One should develop a feeling for residing in a secluded place with a calm and quiet atmosphere favorable for spiritual culture, and thus avoid congested places where the nondevotees congregate.

18. One should become a scientist or philosopher, and make research into spiritual knowledge—not material knowledge—recognizing that spiritual knowledge is permanent, whereas material knowledge ends with the death of the body.

These eighteen items form a gradual process for developing real knowledge. Except for these eighteen items, all other items whatever are grouped within the category of nescience. Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākur, a great ācārya, said that all the forms of material knowledge are merely external features of the illusory energy, and by culturing them one becomes no better than an ass. Here in Śrī Īśopaniṣad the same principle is repeated. Material advancement of knowledge means actually converting a human being to the status of an ass. Some materialistic politicians, under cover of spiritual garments, do decry the present system of civilization as satanic, but unfortunately they do not care for the culture of real knowledge which is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, and therefore they cannot change the satanic situation.

In the modern setup of things, even a boy thinks himself self-sufficient, and pays no respect to elderly men. Thus, due to the wrong type of education imparted by our universities, boys all over the world have become the cause of headache to the elderly people. Therefore Śrī Īśopaniṣad warns very strongly that the culture of nescience is different from that of knowledge. The universities are, so to speak, centers of nescience only, and therefore the scientists are busy discovering lethal weapons to wipe out the existence of other countries.

University students today are not given instructions on the regulative principles of brahmācārya, the spiritual process of life, nor do they have any faith in the respective scriptural injunctions. Religious principles are taught for the sake of name and fame only, and not for the matter of practical action. Therefore there is animosity not only in the social and political fields, but in the field of religion as well.

Nationalism in different parts of the world has also developed on account of this nescient education of the people. They have no information that this tiny earth is just a lump of matter floating in immeasurable material space along with many other lumps. In comparison to the vastness of space, these material lumps are like dust particles in the air. Because God has kindly made these lumps of matter complete in themselves, they are perfectly equipped with all necessary arrangements for floating on in space. Our sputnik drivers are very proud of their achievements, but they do not look to the Supreme Driver of these greater, more gigantic sputniks called planets.

There are innumerable suns occupying space, with innumerable arrangements of planetary systems. We small creatures, as the infinitesimal parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are trying to dominate these unlimited planets by repeated birth and death, but are generally frustrated by old age and disease. This span of human life is scheduled for about 100 years, although it is gradually decreasing to the limit of 20 or 30 years of life. Thanks to the culture of nescient education, befooled men have created their own nationalisms within these planets in order to grasp at sense enjoyment for these few 20 or 30 years. Such foolish people are drawing up various plans to make some demarked portion of earth as perfect as possible, which is ultimately ridiculous. And for this purpose each and every nation has become a source of anxiety for the others. More than 50% of their energy is spoiled in defense measures, with no caring for the real culture of knowledge, and they are falsely proud of becoming advanced in both material and spiritual knowledge.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad warns of this faulty mode of education, and the Bhagavad-gītā gives instructions as to the development of real knowledge. In this mantra there is a hint that the instruction of vidyā, knowledge, must be gained from the dhīra. Dhīra means undisturbed, not disturbed by material illusion. No one can be undisturbed unless and until he has perfect spiritual realization. When one is perfectly spiritually realized he has no more hankering for anything acquired, nor does he lament for anything lost. Such a dhīra has realized that the material body and mind which he has acquired by chance material association are foreign elements, and therefore he simply makes the best use of a bad bargain.

The material body and mind are bad bargains for the spiritual living entity. The living entity has different functions in the living world, but this material world is dead. As long as the living spiritual sparks manipulate the dead lumps of matter, the dead world appears to be a living world. But actually it is the living souls, the parts and parcels of the Supreme Living Being, which move the world. The dhīras are those who have come to know all these facts by hearing of them from superior authorities, and who have realized them by following the regulative principles.

To follow the regulative principles, one must go under the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master. The transcendental message comes down from the spiritual master to the disciple with the regulative principles, and not in the hazardous way of nescient education. One can become a dhīra only by such submissive hearing from the Personality of Godhead. The perfect disciple must be like Arjuna, and the spiritual master must be as good as the Lord Himself. These are the, processes of learning vidyā, knowledge, from the dhīra, the undisturbed.

Adhīra, one who has not undergone the training of a dhīra, cannot be an instructive leader. Modern politicians who pose themselves as dhīras are themselves adhīras. One cannot expect perfect knowledge from them. They are busy with their own remuneration in dollars and pounds. How can they lead the mass of people to the right path of self realization? One must hear submissively from the dhīra in order to get actual education in life.