Īśo 17: Śrī Īśopaniṣad

This temporary material body is certainly a foreign dress. In the Bhagavad-gītā [2.20] it is clearly said that after the destruction of the material body, the living entity is not annihilated, nor does he lose his identity. The identity of the living entity is never, therefore, impersonal or without form; but on the contrary, it is the material dress which is formless, and which takes a shape according to the form of the indestructible person. No living entity is originally formless, as is wrongly supposed by persons with a poor fund of knowledge. Here also in Mantra Seventeen of Śrī Īśopaniṣad, the principle is supported that the living entity exists after the annihilation of the material body.

In the material world there is wonderful workmanship by material Nature in the matter of creating different varieties of bodies for the living beings, in terms of their propensities for sense gratification. The one who wanted to taste stool is given a material body which is quite suitable, for eating—that of a hog. Similarly, the tiger has such a body that it can live by enjoying the blood of other animals, and by eating their flesh.

The human being is not meant for eating stool or flesh, because the shape of the teeth is different. Nor does he have any desire to taste stool, even in the most aboriginal state of life. Human teeth are so made that they can chew and cut fruit and vegetables, with two canine teeth so that one can eat flesh also.

The material bodies of all animals and men are foreign to the living entity, and change according to the desire of the being for sense gratification. In this cycle of evolution one changes bodies one after another: from aquatic life—when the world was full of water—to vegetable life, from vegetable life to worm life, from worm life to bird life, from bird life to animal life, and from animal life to the human form.

The highest development of life is this human form when it is possessed of a full sense of spiritual knowledge, and the highest development of spiritual sense is described in this mantra of the Veda: one should give up this material body to be turned into ashes, and allow the living air to merge into the eternal reservoir of air. The living being's activities are performed within the body by movements of different kinds of air, and this is called, in sum, the prāṇa-vāyu. The yogis generally study to control the airs of the body, and the, soul is supposed to rise, up from one circle of air to another till it rises onto the brahma-randhra, or highest circle of air. Then the perfect yogi can transfer himself to any planet he likes. The process is to give up one material body and then enter into another body, and the, highest perfection of such a bodily change is possible when the living entity is able to give up this material body altogether, as is suggested in this mantra. He may then enter into the spiritual atmosphere, where he develops a completely different quality of body—a spiritual body—which never has to meet death or change.

Here in the material world one has to change his body, forced by material Nature on account of his different desires for sense gratification. These desires are represented in the various species of life, from the, germs to the most perfect material bodies, those of Brahmā and the demigods. All of these have bodies of matter in different shapes, and the intelligent person sees oneness not in the variety of bodies, but in the spiritual identity.

The spiritual spark which is the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord is the same either in the, body of a hog or in the body of a demigod. There are different bodies according to the pious and vicious activities of the living entity. The human body is highly developed, with full consciousness of the constitution of the body; and the most perfect man, according to the Vedic scriptures [Bg. 7.19], surrenders unto the Lord after many, many births of culturing knowledge. The culture of knowledge reaches perfection only when the knower comes to the point of surrendering unto the Supreme Lord, called Vāsudeva. But even after attaining knowledge in the matter of one's spiritual identity, unless he comes to the point of knowing that the living entities are eternal parts and parcels of the Whole, and that they can never become the Whole, one has to fall down again into the material atmosphere, even after having become one with the Brahma-jyoti.

The Brahma-jyoti emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord is full of spiritual sparks. The spiritual sparks being individual identities with the full sense of existence, sometimes desire to become the enjoyers of the senses, and thus they are given places in the material world to become false lords, under the dictation of the senses. This sense of over-lordship is the material disease of the living being, and under the spell of such sense enjoyment he transmigrates through the different shapes of body manifested in the material world. The sense of becoming one with the Brahma-jyoti is not, therefore, mature knowledge. The sense of surrendering unto the Lord completely, and developing the sense of spiritual service is the highest perfectional stage.

In this mantra the living entity prays to enter into the spiritual Kingdom of God after relinquishing the material body and the material air. The devotee prays to the Lord to remember his activities and the sacrifices he has performed, now before his material body is turned into ashes. This prayer is made at the time of death, with full consciousness of his past deeds and of the ultimate goal. One who is completely under the rules of material law remembers the heinous activities performed during the existence of his material body, and therefore he gets another material body after death. The Bhagavad-gītā [8.6] confirms this truth. It states that at the time of death, the mind carries with it the propensities of the dying animal, and the next life is obtained in terms of that mental state.

Unlike the simple animals, who have no developed mind, the human being can remember the activities of his passing life like dreams at night, and therefore his mind remains surcharged with material desires, and he cannot enter into the spiritual kingdom with a spiritual body. The devotees, however, by practice of devotional service to the Lord, develop a sense of love for Godhead. And even if at the time of death a devotee does not remember his godly service, the Lord does not forget him. This prayer is to remind the Lord about the devotee's sacrifices, but even if there is no reminder, the Lord does not forget the devotional service of the pure devotee.

The Lord clearly describes His intimate relationship with His devotees in the Gītā [9.30-34]. Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākur explains the Gītā's verses in this connection:

One should accept a devotee who is on the right path of the saints, even though such a devotee may seem of loose character. One should try to understand the real import of the words "loose character." A conditioned soul has to act in double functions, namely one for the maintenance of the body, and again for self realization. Social status, mental development, cleanliness, austerity, nourishment and the struggle for existence, are all for the maintenance of the body. And the self realization part of his activities is executed in his occupation as a devotee of the Lord, and he performs action in that connection also. These two different functions go along parallel lines because a conditioned soul cannot give up the maintenance of the body. The proportion of activities for maintenance of the body decreases, however, in proportion to the increase in devotional service. And as long as the proportion of devotional service does not come to the right point, there is a chance for an occasional exhibition of worldliness. But it should be noted that such worldliness cannot continue for any length of time because, by the grace of the Lord, such imperfections will come to an end very shortly. Therefore, the path of devotional service is the only right path. Being on the right path, even an occasional occurrence of worldliness does not hamper one in the advancement of self realization.

And, in the Gītā Itself, Kṛṣṇa says:

One who is engaged in devotional service, despite the most abominable action, is to be considered saintly because he is rightly situated. Very shortly does he become righteous, and attain to lasting peace. O son of Kuntī, it is My promise that My devotee will never perish. O son of Pṛthā, anyone who will take shelter in Me, whether a woman or a merchant or born in a low family, can yet approach the Supreme Destination. How much greater then are the Brāhmaṇas, the righteous, the devotees and saintly kings! In this miserable world, these are fixed in devotional service to the Lord. Engage in My service, and surrender unto Me. Completely absorbed in Me, surely will you come to Me. (Gītā, IX/30-34)

Such facilities of devotional service are denied the impersonalists because they are attached to the Brahma-jyoti feature of the Lord. They can neither penetrate the Brahma-jyoti, as is suggested in the previous mantras, nor do they believe in the Personality of Godhead. Their business is mostly concerned with semantics, the jugglery of words of mental creation. As such the impersonalists pursue fruitless labor, as is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā in the Twelfth Chapter [5].

All the facilities suggested in this mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad can easily be obtained by constant contact with the Personal feature of the Absolute Truth. Devotional service to the Lord consists essentially of nine transcendental activities on the part of the devotee:

1. hearing about the Lord,
2. glorifying the Lord,
3. remembering the Lord,
4. serving the Lotus Feet of the Lord,
5. worshiping the Lord,
6. offering prayers to the Lord,
7. serving the Lord,
8. friendly association with the Lord,
9. surrendering everything unto the Lord.

These nine principles of devotional service, either in sum total or one by one, can help the devotee to be constantly in touch with God, and therefore at the end of life it is easy for the devotee to remember the Lord. By adopting only one of these nine principles it was possible for the following renowned devotees of the Lord to achieve the highest perfection:

1. By hearing only, Mahārāj Parīkṣit, the hero of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, achieved the desired result.
2. Just by glorifying the Lord, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, achieved his perfection.
3. By praying, Akrūra achieved the desired result.
4. By remembering, Prahlāda Mahārāj achieved the desired result.
5. By worshiping, Pṛthu Mahārāj achieved perfection.
6. By serving the Lotus Feet of the Lord, the Goddess of Fortune, Lakṣmī, achieved perfection.
7. By personal service to the Lord, Hanuman achieved the desired result.
8. By friendship, Arjuna achieved the result.
9. By surrendering everything that he had, Mahārāj Bali achieved the desired result.

Actually, the explanation of this mantra and of practically all the mantras of the Vedic hymns is summarized in the Vedānta-sūtras; and then again they are properly explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the mature fruit of the Vedic tree of wisdom. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam this particular mantra is explained in the questions and answers of Mahārāj Parīkṣit and Gosvāmī Śukadeva at the very beginning of their meeting. As hearing and chanting of the science of God is the basic principle of devotional life, so the complete Bhāgavatam is heard by Mahārāj Parīksit and chanted by Gosvāmī Śukadeva. Mahārāj Parīkṣit enquired from Śukadeva because Śukadeva was a greater spiritual master than any great yogi or transcendentalist of his time.

Mahārāj Parīkṣit's question was, "What is the duty of every man, specifically at the time of death?"

The answer by Gosvāmī Śukadeva was that everyone who is desirous of being free from all anxieties should always hear about and glorify the Personality of Godhead, Who is the Supreme Director of everything, the Extinguisher of all difficulties, and the Supersoul of all living entities. [Bhāg. 2.1.5]

So-called human society is generally engaged at night in the matter of sleeping or sex indulgence. And during the daytime men are engaged in earning money as much as possible, or else in shopping for the family maintenance. People have very little time to talk about the Personality of Godhead or to make any enquiries about Him. They have dismissed the case of God's existence in so many ways, especially by declaring Him to be impersonal-that is, without any sense perception. But in the Vedic literature, whether the Upaniṣads or the Vedānta-sūtras or the Bhagavad-gītā or the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in every scripture it is declared that the Lord is the sentient Being, supreme over all other living entities. And His glorious activities are identical with Himself. One should therefore not indulge in hearing and speaking of the rubbish activities of worldly politicians and the so-called big men of society, but should so mold his life that not a second is wasted without engagement in godly activities. Śrī Īśopaniṣad directs us towards such activities.

Unless one is accustomed to this devotional practice, what will he remember at the time of death when the body is dislocated, and how can he pray to the Almighty Lord to remember his sacrifices? Sacrifice means sacrificing the interest of the senses. One has to learn this art by employing the senses in the service of the Lord during one's lifetime, so that one can utilize the result at the time of death.