Īśo 13: Śrī Īśopaniṣad

In this mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad the system of hearing from the undisturbed authorities is confirmed. Unless one hears from the bona fide ācārya, who is never disturbed by the changes of the material world, one cannot have the real key to transcendental knowledge. The bona fide spiritual master, who has also heard the, Śruti mantras, or Vedic knowledge, from his undisturbed ācārya, never manufactures or presents anything which is not mentioned in the Vedic literature. In the Bhagavad-gītā [9.25] it is clearly said that the worshipers of the Pitṛs, or fore-fathers, reach the forefathers, the gross materialists who make plans to remain here in this world remain here, and the devotees of the Lord, who worship none but Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Cause of all causes, reach Him in His Abode in the spiritual sky.

Here also in Śrī Īśopaniṣad, it is said that different results are achieved by different modes of worship. If we worship the Supreme Lord, certainly we will reach the Supreme Lord in His eternal Abode, and if we worship demigods like the Sun and Moon, we can reach these respective planets without any doubt. And if we want to remain here on this wretched planet with our planning commissions and our stop-gap political adjustments, we can certainly do that also.

Nowhere in authentic scriptures is it said that whatever you do and whatever you worship you will ultimately reach the same goal. Such foolish theories are offered by self-made masters who have no connection with the paramparā, the bona fide system of disciplic succession. The bona fide spiritual master cannot say that for everyone who has his own mode of worship—be it worship of the demigods or of the Supreme—it leads to the same goal. For a common man it is very easy to understand that a person starting by train from Bombay can reach the destination for which he has purchased his ticket, and nowhere else. A person who has purchased a ticket for Calcutta can reach Calcutta. But contemporary so-called masters preach that, whatever spiritual ticket you may purchase, it will take you to the Supreme Goal. Such mundane and compromising offers attract many foolish creatures to become puffed up with their manufactured methods of spiritual realization, but the Vedic instruction doesn't uphold them. Unless one has received knowledge from the bona fide spiritual master—one who is in the recognized line of disciplic succession—one cannot have the real thing as it is. The Bhagavad-gītā [4.2] says:

Thus, O chastiser of the foe, the yoga principles [of the Gītā] were known to the great kings. But, the paramparā system being broken, these principles appear now to be lost.

When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was present in this world, the bhakti-yoga principles defined in the Bhagavad-gītā [4.3] had become distorted, and so the Lord had to re-establish the disciplic system, beginning with Arjuna, who was the most confidential friend and devotee of the Lord. The Lord clearly said to Arjuna that it was because he was His devotee and friend that the principles of the Gītā were understandable to him. In other words, no one can understand the Gītā who is not a devotee and friend of the Lord. This means that only one who follows the path of Arjuna can understand the Gītā.

At the present moment there are many interpreters of this sublime dialogue who have nothing to do with Arjuna or Lord Kṛṣṇa. They interpret the verses of the Bhagavad-gītā in their own ways, and postulate all sorts of rubbish in the name of the Gītā. Such interpreters believe neither in Śrī Kṛṣṇa nor in His eternal Abode. So, then, what can they explain about the Bhagavad-gītā?

The Gītā [7.20, 23] clearly says that only those who have lost their senses worship the demigods. Kṛṣṇa ultimately advises that one should give up all other ways and modes of worship, and fully surrender unto Him only [18.66]. Those persons who are cleansed of all sinful reactions can have such unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord. Others will continue hovering over the material sphere with their paltry ways of worship, and thus will be misled from the real path, under the false impression that all paths lead to the same goal.

In this mantra the Sanskrit word sambhavāt, worship of the Supreme Cause, is very significant. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Original Personality of Godhead, and everything that exists has emanated from Him. In the Gītā [10.8] the Lord explains Himself. He says there That He is the Creator of everyone, including Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva. And because these three principal deities of the material world are created by the Lord, He is the Creator of all that exists in the material and spiritual worlds.

In the Atharva-veda it is similarly said that One Who existed before the creation of Brahmā and One Who enlightened Brahmā with Vedic knowledge, is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. "The Supreme Person desired to create the living entities, and thus Nārāyaṇa created all the beings. From Nārāyaṇa, Brahmā was born. Nārāyaṇa created all the Prajāpatis. Nārāyaṇa created Indra. Nārāyaṇa created the eight Vasus. Nārāyaṇa created the eleven Rudras. Nārāyaṇa created the twelve Ādityas." This Nārāyaṇa being the plenary manifestation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa and Kṛṣṇa are one and the same.

There are later readings also which say that the same Supreme Lord is the Son of Devakī. His childhood with Devakī and Vasudeva and His identity with Nārāyaṇa have also been confirmed by Śrīpad Śaṅkarācārya, even though Śaṅkara does not belong to the Vaiṣṇava, or personalist, cult. There are still other readings, also in the Atharva Veda, such as this: "Only Nārāyaṇa existed in the beginning, and there was no existence of Brahmā or Śiva, nor of Agni, the fire, nor of water. There were no stars, there was no Sun, no Moon. He does not remain alone. He creates as He desires."

"In the Mokṣa-dharma it is said: "I created the Prajāpatis and the Rudras. They have not complete knowledge of Me because they are also covered by My illusory energy."

"In the Varāha Purāṇa it is said: "Nārāyaṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from Him the four-headed Brahmā became manifested, as also did Rudra, who later became omniscient."

Thus all Vedic literature will confirm this view that Nārāyaṇa or Kṛṣṇa is the Cause of all causes. In the Brahma-saṁhitā [5.1] also it is said that the Supreme Lord is Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He is "Govinda," the Delighter of every living being, and He is the Primeval Cause of all causes. The really learned person will know all this by the evidence of great sages and the Vedas, and will thus decide to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa as all-in-all.

Persons are called buddha, or really learned, who fasten themselves only to the worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This conviction can he established when one hears the transcendental message from the undisturbed ācārya, with faith and love. One who has no faith in, or love for, Lord Kṛṣṇa cannot be convinced of this simple truth. Such faithless persons are described in the Bhagavad-gītā as mūḍhas, foolish as the ass. It is said that the mūḍhas deride the Personality of Godhead because they don't have complete knowledge from the undisturbed ācārya. One who is disturbed by the whirlpool movements of the material energy is not qualified to become an ācārya.

Before hearing the Gītā, Arjuna was disturbed by this whirlpool-the reaction of family, society and community affection-and thus he wanted to become a philanthropist and a nonviolent man of the world. But when he became buddha, by hearing the Vedic knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā from the Supreme Person, lie changed his decision and became a worshiper of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Who had Himself designed the Battle of Kurukṣetra. Arjuna worshiped the Lord by fighting with his so-called relatives, and thus became a pure devotee of the Lord. Such achievements are possible only by worshiping the real Kṛṣṇa and not by worshiping some fabricated "Kṛṣṇa" inaugurated by foolish men who are without knowledge of the intricacies of the science of Kṛṣṇa described in the Gītā and in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

According to the Vedānta-sūtra, the Sambhūta is the source of birth and sustenance, and the reservoir after annihilation. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the natural commentary upon the Vedānta-sūtras by the same author, comments that the source of all emanations is not a dead stone, but is abhijñaḥ, or fully conscious. Therefore, the Primeval Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in the Gītā [7.26] that He is fully conscious of the past, the present and the future; and no one, including demigods such as Śiva and Brahmā, knows Him fully. Those who are disturbed by the tides of material existence cannot know Him fully. Such half-educated spiritual masters try to make some compromise, and make the mass of human beings the object of worship. They do not know that such worship of the masses is not possible, nor are the masses perfect. This is something like pouring water on the leaves of the tree, instead of watering the root. The natural process of worship is to pour water on the root of the tree from which the leaves grow. But today's disturbed leaders become more attracted by the leaves than the root, and therefore, in spite of perpetually watering the leaves, all is drying up for want of nourishment.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad advises us to pour water on the root, the Source of all germination. Worshiping the mass population by rendering bodily service which can never be perfect is less important than service to the soul. The soul is the root generating different types of bodies in terms of the law of karma, or material reaction. To serve only the human being by medical aids, social amenities and educational facilities, while cutting the throats of poor animals in slaughterhouses, does not add up to any valid service to the living beings.

The living being is perpetually suffering from the material disease of birth, death, old age and disease, in different types of body. The human form of life is a chance to get out of this entanglement of material existence. This can be done simply by re-establishing the lost relationship of the living entity with the Supreme Lord. And the Lord comes personally to teach us this philosophy of surrender unto the Supreme, the Sambhūtam. Real service to humankind is to teach surrender unto the Supreme Lord, and to worship Him only, with full love and energy. That is the instruction of Śrī Īśopaniṣad in this mantra.

The simple way to worship the Supreme Lord in this age of disturbance is to hear and chant about His great activities. The mental speculators, however, think of the activities of the Lord as imaginary, and therefore they refrain from any such hearing process, and invent some jugglery of words, without any substance, to divert the attention of the poor innocent mass of people. Instead of hearing the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they prefer to advertise themselves by inducing their followers to sing about the pseudo-spiritual master. In modern times, the number of such pretenders has increased in considerable numbers, and it has become a problem for the pure devotees of the Lord to save the mass of people from the unholy propaganda of these pretenders and imitation incarnations of God.

The Upaniṣads indirectly draw our attention to the Primeval Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the Bhagavad-gītā, which is the summary of all Upaniṣads, directly points out Śrī Kṛṣṇa. One should, therefore, hear about Kṛṣṇa as He is in the Gītā or in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [1.2.17], and that will gradually help him in cleansing his mind of all contaminated things. The Bhāgavatam says: "By hearing the activities of the Lord, one draws the attention of the Lord towards the devotee. And the Lord, being situated in the heart of every living being, helps the devotee by giving him proper direction." The Bhagavad-gītā [10.10] also confirms this.

This inner direction by the Lord cleanses the heart of the devotee of all dirty things which are produced by the material modes of passion and ignorance. The non-devotees are under the direction of passion and ignorance. By passion one cannot become detached from material affinity, and by ignorance one cannot know what he actually is, and what the Lord is. Thus, in the state of passion, there is no chance for self realization however much one may play the false part of a religionist. For a devotee, by the grace of the Lord, the modes of passion and ignorance are removed, and he at once becomes situated in the quality of goodness, the sign of a perfect Brāhmaṇa. This stage of brahminical qualification can be earned by anyone and everyone, provided he follows the path of devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. The Bhāgavatam [2.4.18] says that any lowborn living entity can be made purified under the guidance of a pure devotee of the Lord, because the Lord is so extraordinarily powerful.

The first sign of brahminical qualification is that the candidate becomes happy, and becomes enthusiastic in the matter of devotional service to the Lord. This unveils before him, automatically, all about the science of God. And, thus knowing the science of God, he gradually becomes loosened from his material attachments, and his doubtful mind becomes crystal clear, by the grace of the Lord. In this stage only can one become a liberated soul and see the Lord in every step of life. That is the perfection of sambhavāt, as described in this mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad.