Sri Isopanisad

Table of Contents

Introduction

"Teachings of the Vedas"

[Delivered as a lecture by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on

October 6, 1969, at Conway Hall, London, England.]

Ladies and gentlemen, today's subject matter is the teachings of the Vedas. What are the
Vedas? The Sanskrit verbal root of veda can be interpreted variously, but the purport is
finally one. Veda means knowledge. Any knowledge you accept is veda, for the teachings
of the Vedas are the original knowledge. In the conditioned state, our knowledge is
subjected to many deficiencies. The difference between a conditioned soul and a liberated
soul is that the conditioned soul has four kinds of defects. The first defect is that he must
commit mistakes. For example, in our country, Mahatma Gandhi was considered to be a
very great personality, but he committed many mistakes. Even at the last stage of his life,
his assistant warned, "Mahatma Gandhi, don't go to the New Delhi meeting. I have some
friends, and I have heard there is danger." But he did not hear. He persisted in going and
was killed. Even great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, President Kennedy--there are
so many of them--make mistakes. To err is human. This is one defect of the conditioned
soul.
Another defect: to be illusioned. Illusion means to accept something which is not: maya.
Maya means "what is not." Everyone is accepting the body as the self. If I ask you what
you are, you will say, "I am Mr. John; I am a rich man; I am this; I am that." All these are
bodily identifications. But you are not this body. This is illusion.
The third defect is the cheating propensity.
Everyone has the propensity to cheat others. Although a person is fool number one, he
poses himself as very intelligent. Although it is already pointed out that he is in illusion and
makes mistakes, he will theorize: "I think this is this, this is this." But he does not even
know his own position. He writes books of philosophy, although he is defective. That is his
disease. That is cheating.
Lastly, our senses are imperfect. We are very proud of our eyes. Often, someone will
challenge, "Can you show me God?" But do you have the eyes to see God? You will
never see if you haven't the eyes. If immediately the room becomes dark, you cannot even
see your hands. So what power do you have to see? We cannot, therefore, expect
knowledge (veda) with these imperfect senses. With all these deficiencies, in conditioned
life we cannot give perfect knowledge to anyone. Nor are we ourselves perfect. Therefore
we accept the Vedas as they are.
You may call the Vedas Hindu, but "Hindu" is a foreign name. We are not Hindus. Our real
identification is varnasrama. Varnasrama denotes the followers of the Vedas, those who
accept the human society in eight divisions of varna and asrama. There are four divisions
of society and four divisions of spiritual life. This is called varnasrama. It is stated in the
Bhagavad-gita (4.13), "These divisions are everywhere because they are created by
God." The divisions of society are brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra. Brahmana refers to
the very intelligent class of men, those who know what is Brahman. Similarly, the
ksatriyas, the administrator group, are the next intelligent class of men. Then the vaisyas,
the mercantile group. These natural classifications are found everywhere. This is the
Vedic principle, and we accept it. Vedic principles are accepted as axiomatic truth, for
there cannot be any mistake. That is acceptance. For instance, in India cow dung is
accepted as pure, and yet cow dung is the stool of an animal. In one place you'll find the
Vedic injunction that if you touch stool, you have to take a bath immediately. But in
another place it is said that the stool of a cow is pure. If you smear cow dung in an impure
place, that place becomes pure. With our ordinary sense we can argue, "This is
contradictory." Actually, it is contradictory from the ordinary point of view, but it is not false.
It is fact. In Calcutta, a very prominent scientist and doctor analyzed cow dung and found
that it contains all antiseptic properties.
In India if one person tells another, "You must do this," the other party may say, "What do
you mean? Is this a Vedic injunction, that I have to follow you without any argument?"
Vedic injunctions cannot be interpreted. But ultimately, if you carefully study why these
injunctions are there, you will find that they are all correct.
The Vedas are not compilations of human knowledge. Vedic knowledge comes from the
spiritual world, from Lord Krsna. Another name for the Vedas is sruti. Sruti refers to that
knowledge which is acquired by hearing. It is not experimental knowledge. Sruti is
considered to be like a mother. We take so much knowledge from our mother. For
example, if you want to know who your father is, who can answer you? Your mother. If the
mother says, "Here is your father," you have to accept it. It is not possible to experiment to
find out whether he is your father. Similarly, if you want to know something beyond your
experience, beyond your experimental knowledge, beyond the activities of the senses,
then you have to accept the Vedas. There is no question of experimenting. It has already
been experimented. It is already settled. The version of the mother, for instance, has to be
accepted as truth. There is no other way.
The Vedas are considered to be the mother, and Brahma is called the grandfather, the
forefather, because he was the first to be instructed in the Vedic knowledge. In the
beginning the first living creature was Brahma. He received this Vedic knowledge and
imparted it to Narada and other disciples and sons, and they also distributed it to their
disciples. In this way, the Vedic knowledge comes down by disciplic succession. It is also
confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita that Vedic knowledge is understood in this way. If you
make experimental endeavor, you come to the same conclusion, but just to save time you
should accept. If you want to know who your father is and if you accept your mother as the
authority, then whatever she says can be accepted without argument. There are three
kinds of evidence: pratyaksa, anumana and sabda. Pratyaksa means "direct evidence."
Direct evidence is not very good because our senses are not perfect. We are seeing the
sun daily, and it appears to us just like a small disc, but it is actually far, far larger than
many planets. Of what value is this seeing? Therefore we have to read books; then we
can understand about the sun. So direct experience is not perfect. Then there is
anumana, inductive knowledge: "It may be like this"--hypothesis. For instance, Darwin's
theory says it may be like this, it may be like that. But that is not science. That is a
suggestion, and it is also not perfect. But if you receive the knowledge from the
authoritative sources, that is perfect. If you receive a program guide from the radio station
authorities, you accept it. You don't deny it; you don't have to make an experiment,
because it is received from the authoritative sources.
Vedic knowledge is called sabda-pramana. Another name is sruti. Sruti means that this
knowledge has to be received simply by aural reception. The Vedas instruct that in order
to understand transcendental knowledge, we have to hear from the authority.
Transcendental knowledge is knowledge from beyond this universe. Within this universe is
material knowledge, and beyond this universe is transcendental knowledge. We cannot
even go to the end of the universe, so how can we go to the spiritual world? Thus to
acquire full knowledge is impossible.
There is a spiritual sky. There is another nature, which is beyond manifestation and
nonmanifestation. But how will you know that there is a sky where the planets and
inhabitants are eternal? All this knowledge is there, but how will you make experiments? It
is not possible. Therefore you have to take the assistance of the Vedas. This is called
Vedic knowledge. In our Krsna consciousness movement we are accepting knowledge
from the highest authority, Krsna. Krsna is accepted as the highest authority by all classes
of men. I am speaking first of the two classes of transcendentalists. One class of
transcendentalists is called impersonalistic, Mayavadi. They are generally known as
Vedantists, led by Sankaracarya. And there is another class of transcendentalists, called
Vaisnavas, like Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu-svami. Both the Sankara-
sampradaya and the Vaisnava-sampradaya have accepted Krsna as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Sankaracarya is supposed to be an impersonalist who preached
impersonalism, impersonal Brahman, but it is a fact that he is a covered personalist. In his
commentary on the Bhagavad-gita he wrote, "Narayana, the Su-preme Personality of
Godhead, is beyond this cosmic manifestation." And then again he confirmed, "That
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, is Krsna. He has come as the son of Devaki
and Vasudeva." He particularly mentioned the names of His father and mother. So Krsna
is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by all transcendentalists. There is no
doubt about it. Our source of knowledge in Krsna consciousness is the Bhagavad-gita,
which comes directly from Krsna. We have published the Bhagavad-gita As It Is because
we accept Krsna as He is speaking, without any interpretation. That is Vedic knowledge.
Since the Vedic knowledge is pure, we accept it. Whatever Krsna says, we accept. This is
Krsna consciousness. That saves much time. If you accept the right authority, or source of
knowledge, then you save much time. For example, there are two systems of knowledge
in the material world: inductive and deductive. From deductive, you accept that man is
mortal. Your father says man is mortal, your sister says man is mortal, everyone says man
is mortal--but you do not experiment. You accept it as a fact that man is mortal. If you
want to research to find out whether man is mortal, you have to study each and every
man, and you may come to think that there may be some man who is not dying but you
have not seen him yet. So in this way your research will never be finished. In Sanskrit this
process is called aroha, the ascending process. If you want to attain knowledge by any
personal endeavor, by exercising your imperfect senses, you will never come to the right
conclusions. That is not possible.
There is a statement in the Brahma-samhita: Just ride on the airplane which runs at the
speed of mind. Our material airplanes can run two thousand miles per hour, but what is
the speed of mind? You are sitting at home, you immediately think of India--say, ten
thousand miles away--and at once it is in your home. Your mind has gone there. The
mind-speed is so swift. Therefore it is stated, "If you travel at this speed for millions of
years, you'll find that the spiritual sky is unlimited." It is not possible even to approach it.
Therefore, the Vedic injunction is that one must approach--the word "compulsory" is
used--a bona fide spiritual master, a guru. And what is the qualification of a spiritual
master? He is one who has rightly heard the Vedic message from the right source. And he
must practically be firmly established in Brahman. These are the two qualities he must
have. Otherwise he is not bona fide.
This Krsna consciousness movement is completely authorized from Vedic principles. In
the Bhagavad-gita Krsna says, "The actual aim of Vedic research is to find out Krsna." In
the Brahma-samhita it is also stated, "Krsna, Govinda, has innumerable forms, but they
are all one." They are not like our forms, which are fallible. His form is infallible. My form
has a beginning, but His form has no beginning. It is ananta. And His form--so many
multiforms--has no end. My form is sitting here and not in my apartment. You are sitting
there and not in your apartment. But Krsna can be everywhere at one time. He can sit
down in Goloka Vrndavana, and at the same time He is everywhere, all-pervading. He is
original, the oldest, but whenever you look at a picture of Krsna you'll find a young boy
fifteen or twenty years old. You will never find an old man. You have seen pictures of
Krsna as a charioteer from the Bhagavad-gita. At that time He was not less than one
hundred years old. He had great-grandchildren, but He looked just like a boy. Krsna, God,
never becomes old. That is His supreme power. And if you want to search out Krsna by
studying the Vedic literature, then you will be baffled. It may be possible, but it is very
difficult. But you can very easily learn about Him from His devotee. His devotee can
deliver Him to you: "Here He is, take Him." That is the potency of Krsna's devotees.
Originally there was only one Veda, and there was no necessity of reading it. People were
so intelligent and had such sharp memories that by once hearing from the lips of the
spiritual master they would understand. They would immediately grasp the whole purport.
But five thousand years ago Vyasadeva put the Vedas in writing for the people in this age,
Kali-yuga. He knew that eventually the people would be short-lived, their memories would
be very poor, and their intelligence would not be very sharp. "Therefore, let me teach this
Vedic knowledge in writing." He divided the Vedas into four: Rg, Sama, Atharva and Yajur.
Then he gave the charge of these Vedas to his different disciples. He then thought of the
less intelligent class of men--stri, sudra and dvija-bandhu. He considered the woman class
and sudra class (worker class) and dvija-bandhu. Dvija-bandhu refers to those who are
born in a high family but who are not properly qualified. A man who is born in the family of
a brahmana but is not qualified as a brahmana is called dvija-bandhu. For these persons
he compiled the Mahabharata, called the history of India, and the eighteen Puranas.
These are all part of the Vedic literature: the Puranas, the Mahabharata, the four Vedas
and the Upanisads. The Upanisads are part of the Vedas. Then Vyasadeva summarized
all Vedic knowledge for scholars and philosophers in what is called the Vedanta-sutra.
This is the last word of the Vedas.
Vyasadeva personally wrote the Vedanta-sutra under the instructions of Narada, his Guru
Maharaja (spiritual master), but still he was not satisfied. That is a long story, described in
Srimad-Bhagavatam. Vedavyasa was not very satisfied even after compiling many
Puranas and Upanisads, and even after writing the Vedanta-sutra. Then his spiritual
master, Narada, instructed him, "You explain the Vedanta-sutra." Vedanta means
"ultimate knowledge," and the ultimate knowledge is Krsna. Krsna says that throughout all
the Vedas one has to understand Him: vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham. Krsna says, "I
am the compiler of the Vedanta-sutra, and I am the knower of the Vedas." Therefore the
ultimate objective is Krsna. That is explained in all the Vaisnava commentaries on
Vedanta philosophy. We Gaudiya Vaisnavas have our commentary on Vedanta
philosophy, called Govinda-bhasya, by Baladeva Vidyabhusana. Similarly,
Ramanujacarya has a commentary, and Madhvacarya has one. The version of
Sankaracarya is not the only commentary. There are many Vedanta commentaries, but
because the Vaisnavas did not present the first Vedanta commentary, people are under
the wrong impression that Sankaracarya's is the only Vedanta commentary. Besides that,
Vyasadeva himself wrote the perfect Vedanta commentary, Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srimad-
Bhagavatam begins with the first words of the Vedanta-sutra: janmady asya yatah. And
that janmady asya yatah is fully explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Vedanta-sutra
simply hints at what is Brahman, the Absolute Truth: "The Absolute Truth is that from
whom everything emanates." This is a summary, but it is explained in detail in Srimad-
Bhagavatam. If everything is emanating from the Absolute Truth, then what is the nature
of the Absolute Truth? That is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Absolute Truth must
be consciousness. He is self-effulgent (sva-rat). We develop our consciousness and
knowledge by receiving knowledge from others, but for Him it is said that He is self-
effulgent. The whole summary of Vedic knowledge is the Vedanta-sutra, and the Vedanta-
sutra is explained by the writer himself in Srimad-Bhagavatam. We finally request those
who are actually after Vedic knowledge to try to understand the explanation of all Vedic
knowledge from Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-gita.

INVOCATION

TEXT

om purnam adah purnam idam

purnat purnam udacyate
purnasya purnam adaya
purnam evavasisyate

SYNONYMS

om--the Complete Whole; purnam--perfectly complete; adah--that; purnam--perfectly

complete; idam--this phenomenal world; purnat--from the all-perfect; purnam--complete
unit; udacyate--is produced; purnasya--of the Complete Whole; purnam--completely, all;
adaya--having been taken away; purnam--the complete balance; eva--even; avasisyate--is
remaining.

TRANSLATION

The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely

perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped
as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in
itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate
from Him, He remains the complete balance.

PURPORT
The Complete Whole, or the Supreme Absolute Truth, is the complete Personality of
Godhead. Realization of impersonal Brahman or of Paramatma, the Supersoul, is
incomplete realization of the Absolute Complete. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is
sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. Realization of impersonal Brahman is realization of His sat
feature, or His aspect of eternity, and Paramatma realization is realization of His sat and
cit features, His aspects of eternity and knowledge. But realization of the Personality of
Godhead is realization of all the transcendental features--sat, cit and ananda, bliss. When
one realizes the Supreme Person, he realizes these aspects of the Absolute Truth in their
completeness. Vigraha means "form." Thus the Complete Whole is not formless. If He
were formless, or if He were less than His creation in any other way, He could not be
complete. The Complete Whole must contain everything both within and beyond our
experience; otherwise He cannot be complete.
The Complete Whole, the Personality of Godhead, has immense potencies, all of which
are as complete as He is. Thus this phenomenal world is also complete in itself. The
twenty-four elements of which this material universe is a temporary manifestation are
arranged to produce everything necessary for the maintenance and subsistence of this
universe. No other unit in the universe need make an extraneous effort to try to maintain
the universe. The universe functions on its own time scale, which is fixed by the energy of
the Complete Whole, and when that schedule is completed, this temporary manifestation
will be annihilated by the complete arrangement of the Complete Whole.
All facilities are given to the small complete units (namely the living beings) to enable them
to realize the Complete Whole. All forms of incompleteness are experienced due to
incomplete knowledge of the Complete Whole. The human form of life is a complete
manifestation of the consciousness of the living being, and it is obtained after evolving
through 8,400,000 species of life in the cycle of birth and death. If in this human life of full
consciousness the living entity does not realize his completeness in relation to the
Complete Whole, he loses the chance to realize his completeness and is again put into
the evolutionary cycle by the law of material nature.
Because we do not know that there is a complete arrangement in nature for our
maintenance, we make efforts to utilize the resources of nature to create a so-called
complete life of sense enjoyment. Because the living entity cannot enjoy the life of the
senses without being dovetailed with the Complete Whole, the misleading life of sense
enjoyment is illusion. The hand of a body is a complete unit only as long as it is attached
to the complete body. When the hand is severed from the body, it may appear like a hand,
but it actually has none of the potencies of a hand. Similarly, living beings are part and
parcel of the Complete Whole, and if they are severed from the Complete Whole, the
illusory representation of completeness cannot fully satisfy them.
The completeness of human life can be realized only when one engages in the service of
the Complete Whole. All services in this world--whether social, political, communal,
international or even interplanetary--will remain incomplete until they are dovetailed with
the Complete Whole. When everything is dovetailed with the Complete Whole, the
attached parts and parcels also become complete in themselves.

Mantra One

TEXT
isavasyam idam sarvam
yat kinca jagatyam jagat
tena tyaktena bhunjitha
ma grdhah kasya svid dhanam

SYNONYMS

isa--by the Lord; avasyam--controlled; idam--this; sarvam--all; yat kinca--whatever;

jagatyam--within the universe; jagat--all that is animate or inanimate; tena--by Him;
tyaktena--set-apart quota; bhunjithah--you should accept; ma--do not; grdhah--endeavor
to gain; kasya svit--of anyone else; dhanam--the wealth.

TRANSLATION

Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the
Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set
aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they
belong.

PURPORT

Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down through the perfect disciplic
succession of spiritual masters, beginning with the Lord Himself. Since He spoke the first
word of Vedic knowledge, the source of this knowledge is transcendental. The words
spoken by the Lord are called apauruseya, which indicates that they are not delivered by
any mundane person. A living being who lives in the mundane world has four defects: (1)
he is certain to commit mistakes; (2) he is subject to illusion; (3) he has a propensity to
cheat others; and (4) his senses are imperfect. No one with these four imperfections can
deliver perfect knowledge. The Vedas are not produced by such an imperfect creature.
Vedic knowledge was originally imparted by the Lord into the heart of Brahma, the first
created living being, and Brahma in his turn disseminated this knowledge to his sons and
disciples, who have handed it down through history.
Since the Lord is purnam, all-perfect, there is no possibility of His being subjected to the
laws of material nature, which He controls. However, both the living entities and inanimate
objects are controlled by the laws of nature and ultimately by the Lord's potency. This
Isopanisad is part of the Yajur Veda, and consequently it contains information concerning
the proprietorship of all things existing within the universe.
The Lord's proprietorship over everything within the universe is confirmed in the Seventh
Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita (7.4-5), where para and apara prakrti are discussed. The
elements of nature--earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego--all belong to
the Lord's inferior, material energy (apara prakrti),whereas the living being, the organic
energy, is His superior energy (para prakrti). Both of these prakrtis, or energies, are
emanations from the Lord, and ultimately He is the controller of everything that exists.
There is nothing in the universe that does not belong to either the para or the apara
prakrti; therefore everything is the property of the Supreme Being.
Because the Supreme Being, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is the complete
person, He has complete and perfect intelligence to adjust everything by means of His
different potencies. The Supreme Being is often compared to a fire, and everything
organic and inorganic is compared to the heat and light of that fire. Just as fire distributes
energy in the form of heat and light, the Lord displays His energy in different ways. He
thus remains the ultimate controller, sustainer and dictator of everything. He is the
possessor of all potencies, the knower of everything and the benefactor of everyone. He is
full of inconceivable opulence, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation.
One should therefore be intelligent enough to know that except for the Lord no one is a
proprietor of anything. One should accept only those things that are set aside by the Lord
as his quota. The cow, for instance, gives milk, but she does not drink that milk: she eats
grass and straw, and her milk is designated as food for human beings. Such is the
arrangement of the Lord. Thus we should be satisfied with those things He has kindly set
aside for us, and we should always consider to whom those things we possess actually
belong.
Take, for example, our dwelling, which is made of earth, wood, stone, iron, cement and so
many other material things. If we think in terms of Sri Isopanisad, we must know that we
cannot produce any of these building materials ourselves. We can simply bring them
together and transform them into different shapes by our labor. A laborer cannot claim to
be a proprietor of a thing just because he has worked hard to manufacture it.
In modern society there is always a great quarrel between the laborers and the capitalists.
This quarrel has taken an international shape, and the world is in danger. Men face one
another in enmity and snarl just like cats and dogs. Sri Isopanisad cannot give advice to
the cats and dogs, but it can deliver the message of Godhead to man through the bona
fide acaryas (holy teachers). The human race should take the Vedic wisdom of Sri
Isopanisad and not quarrel over material possessions. One must be satisfied with
whatever privileges are given to him by the mercy of the Lord. There can be no peace if
the communists or capitalists or any other party claims proprietorship over the resources
of nature, which are entirely the property of the Lord. The capitalists cannot curb the
communists simply by political maneuvering, nor can the communists defeat the
capitalists simply by fighting for stolen bread. If they do not recognize the proprietorship of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all the property they claim to be their own is stolen.
Consequently they will be liable to punishment by the laws of nature. Nuclear bombs are
in the hands of both communists and capitalists, and if both do not recognize the
proprietorship of the Supreme Lord, it is certain that these bombs will ultimately ruin both
parties. Thus in order to save themselves and bring peace to the world, both parties must
follow the instructions of Sri Isopanisad.
Human beings are not meant to quarrel like cats and dogs. They must be intelligent
enough to realize the importance and 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 without
incurring sin, but if a man kills an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste buds,
he is responsible for breaking the laws of nature. Consequently he must be punished.
The standard of life for human beings cannot be applied to animals. The tiger does not eat
rice and wheat or drink cow's milk, because he has been given food in the shape of animal
flesh. Among the many animals and birds, some are vegetarian and others are
carnivorous, but none of them transgress the laws of nature, which have been ordained by
the will of the Lord. Animals, birds, reptiles and other lower life forms strictly adhere to the
laws of nature; therefore there is no question of sin for them, nor are the Vedic instructions
meant for them. Human life alone is a life of responsibility.
It is wrong, however, to think that simply by becoming a vegetarian one can avoid
transgressing the laws of nature. Vegetables also have life, and while it is nature's law that
one living being is meant to feed on another, for human beings the point is to recognize
the Supreme Lord. Thus one should not be proud of being a strict vegetarian. Animals do
not have developed consciousness by which 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
instructions of the Vedic literature, his life becomes very risky. A human being is therefore
required to recognize the authority of the Supreme Lord and become His devotee. He
must offer everything for the Lord's service and partake only of the remnants of food
offered to the Lord. This will enable him to discharge his duty properly. In the Bhagavad-
gita (9.26) the Lord directly states that He accepts vegetarian food from the hands of a
pure devotee. Therefore a human being should not only become a strict vegetarian but
should also become a devotee of the Lord, offer the Lord all his food and then partake of
such prasadam, or the mercy of God. Only those who act in this way can properly
discharge the duties of human life. Those who do not offer their food to the Lord eat
nothing but sin and subject themselves to various types of distress, which are the results
of sin (Bg. 3.13).
The root of sin is deliberate disobedience of the laws of nature through disregarding the
proprietorship of the Lord. Disobeying the laws of nature or the order of the Lord brings
ruin to a human being. Conversely, one who is sober, who knows the laws of nature, and
who is not influenced by unnecessary attachment or aversion is sure to be recognized by
the Lord and thus become eligible to go back to Godhead, back to the eternal home.

Mantra Two

TEXT

kurvann eveha karmani

jijivisec chatam samah
evam tvayi nanyatheto 'sti
na karma lipyate nare

SYNONYMS

kurvan--doing continuously; eva--thus; iha--during this span of life; karmani--work;

jijiviset--one should desire to live; satam--one hundred; samah--years; evam--so living;
tvayi--unto you; na--no; anyatha--alternative; itah--from this path; asti--there is; na--not;
karma--work; lipyate--can be bound; nare--unto a man.

TRANSLATION

One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes on working in that
way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no alternative to
this way for man.
PURPORT

No one wants to die: everyone wants to live as long as he can drag on. This tendency is
visible not only individually but also collectively in the community, society and nation.
There is a hard struggle for life by all kinds of living entities, and the Vedas say that this is
quite natural. The living being is eternal by nature, but due to his bondage in material
existence he has to change his body over and over. This process is called transmigration
of the soul or karma-bandhana, bondage by one's work. The living entity has to work for
his livelihood because that is the law of material nature, and if he does not act according
to his prescribed duties, he transgresses the law of nature and binds himself more and
more to the cycle of birth and death in the many species of life.
Other life forms are also subject to the cycle of birth and death, but when the living entity
attains a human life, he gets a chance to get free from the chains of karma. Karma,
akarma and vikarma are very clearly described in the Bhagavad-gita. Actions that are
performed in terms of one's prescribed duties, as mentioned in the revealed scriptures,
are called karma. Actions that free one from the cycle of birth and death are called
akarma. And actions that are performed through the misuse of one's freedom and that
direct one to the lower life forms are called vikarma. Of these three types of action, that
which frees one from the bondage to karma is preferred by intelligent men. Ordinary men
wish to perform good work in order to be recognized and achieve some higher status of
life in this world or in heaven, but more advanced men want to be free altogether from the
actions and reactions of work. Intelligent men well know that both good and bad work
equally bind one to the material miseries. Consequently they seek that work which will free
them from the reactions of both good and bad work. Such liberating work is described
here in the pages of Sri Isopanisad.
The instructions of Sri Isopanisad are more elaborately explained in the Bhagavad-gita,
sometimes called the Gitopanisad, the cream of all the Upanisads. In the Bhagavad-gita
(3.9-16) the Personality of Godhead says that one cannot attain the state of naiskarmya,
or akarma, without executing the prescribed duties mentioned in the Vedic literature. This
literature can regulate the working energy of a human being in such a way that he can
gradually realize the authority of the Supreme Being. When he realizes the authority of the
Personality of Godhead--Vasudeva, or Krsna--it is to be understood that he has attained
the stage of positive knowledge. In this purified stage the modes of nature--namely
goodness, passion and ignorance--cannot act, and he is able to work on the basis of
naiskarmya. Such work does not bind one to the cycle of birth and death.
Factually, no one has to do anything more than render devotional service to the Lord.
However, in the lower stages of life one cannot immediately adopt the activities of
devotional service, nor can one completely stop fruitive work. A conditioned soul is
accustomed to working for sense gratification--for his own selfish interest, immediate or
extended. An ordinary man works for his own sense enjoyment, and when this principle of
sense enjoyment is extended to include his society, nation or humanity in general, it
assumes various attractive names such as altruism, socialism, communism, nationalism
and humanitarianism. These "isms" are certainly very attractive forms of karma-bandhana
(karmic bondage), but the Vedic instruction of Sri Isopanisad is that if one actually wants
to live for any of the above "isms," he should make them God-centered. There is no harm
in becoming a family man, or an altruist, a socialist, a communist, a nationalist or a
humanitarian, provided that one executes his activities in relation with isavasya, the God-
centered conception.
In the Bhagavad-gita (2.40) Lord Krsna states that God-centered activities are so valuable
that just a few of them can save a person from the greatest danger. The greatest danger
of life is the danger of gliding down again into the evolutionary cycle of birth and death
among the 8,400,000 species. If somehow or other a man misses the spiritual opportunity
afforded by his human form of life and falls down again into the evolutionary cycle, he
must be considered most unfortunate. Due to his defective senses, a foolish man cannot
see that this is happening. Consequently Sri Isopanisad advises us to exert our energy in
the spirit of isavasya. Being so engaged, we may wish to live for many, many years;
otherwise a long life in itself has no value. A tree lives for hundreds and hundreds of
years, but there is no point in living a long time like trees, or breathing like bellows, or
begetting children like hogs and dogs, or eating like camels. A humble God-centered life is
more valuable than a colossal hoax of a life dedicated to godless altruism or socialism.
When altruistic activities are executed in the spirit of Sri Isopanisad, they become a form
of karma-yoga. Such activities are recommended in the Bhagavad-gita (18.5-9), for they
guarantee their executor protection from the danger of sliding down into the evolutionary
process of birth and death. Even though such God-centered activities may be half-
finished, they are still good for the executor because they will guarantee him a human
form in his next birth. In this way one can have another chance to improve his position on
the path of liberation.
How one can execute God-centered activities is elaborately explained in the Bhakti-
rasamrta-sindhu, by Srila Rupa Gosvami. We have rendered this book into English as The
Nectar of Devotion. We recommend this valuable book to all who are interested in
performing their activities in the spirit of Sri Isopanisad.

Mantra Three

TEXT

asurya nama te loka

andhena tamasavrtah
tams te pretyabhigacchanti
ye ke catma-hano janah

SYNONYMS

asuryah--meant for the asuras; nama--famous by the name; te--those; lokah--planets;

andhena--by ignorance; tamasa--by darkness; avrtah--covered; tan--those planets; te--
they; pretya--after death; abhigacchanti--enter into; ye--anyone; ke--everyone; ca--and;
atma-hanah--the killers of the soul; janah--persons.

TRANSLATION

The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds
of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.
PURPORT

Human life is distinguished from animal life due to its heavy responsibilities. Those who
are cognizant of these responsibilities and who work in that spirit are called suras (godly
persons), and those who are neglectful of these responsibilities or who have no
information of them are called asuras (demons). Throughout the universe there are only
these two types of human being. In the Rg Veda it is stated that the suras always aim at
the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Visnu and act accordingly. Their ways are as
illuminated as the path of the sun.
Intelligent human beings must always remember that the soul obtains a human form after
an evolution of many millions of years in the cycle of transmigration. The material world is
sometimes compared to an ocean, and the human body is compared to a solid boat
designed especially to cross this ocean. The Vedic scriptures and the acaryas, or saintly
teachers, are compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities of the human body are
compared to favorable breezes that help the boat ply smoothly to its desired destination.
If, with all these facilities, a human being does not fully utilize his life for self-realization, he
must be considered atma-ha, a killer of the soul. Sri Isopanisad warns in clear terms that
the killer of the soul is destined to enter into the darkest region of ignorance to suffer
perpetually.
There are swine, dogs, camels, asses, etc., whose economic necessities are just as
important to them as ours are to us, but the economic problems of these animals are
solved only under nasty and unpleasant conditions. The human being is given all facilities
for a comfortable life by the laws of nature because the human form of life is more
important and valuable than animal life. Why is man given a better life than that of the
swine and other animals? Why is a highly placed government servant given better
facilities than those of an ordinary clerk? The answer is that a highly placed officer has to
discharge duties of a higher nature. Similarly, the duties human beings have to perform
are higher than those of animals, who are always engaged in simply feeding their hungry
stomachs. Yet the modern soul-killing civilization has only increased the problems of the
hungry stomach. When we approach a polished animal in the form of a modern civilized
man and ask him to take interest in self-realization, he will say that he simply wants to
work to satisfy his stomach and that there is no need of self-realization for a hungry man.
The laws of nature are so cruel, however, that despite his denunciation of the need for
self-realization and his eagerness to work hard to fill his stomach, he is always threatened
by unemployment.
We are given this human form of life not to work hard like asses, swine and dogs but to
attain the highest perfection of life. If we do not care for self-realization, the laws of nature
force us to work very hard, even though we may not want to do so. Human beings in this
age have been forced to work hard like the asses and bullocks that pull carts. Some of the
regions where the asuras are sent to work are revealed in this verse of Sri Isopanisad. If a
man fails to discharge his duties as a human being, he is forced to transmigrate to the
asurya planets and take birth in degraded species of life to work hard in ignorance and
darkness.
In the Bhagavad-gita (6.41-43) it is stated that a man who enters upon the path of self-
realization but does not complete the process, despite having sincerely tried to realize his
relationship with God, is given a chance to appear in a family of suci or srimat. The word
suci indicates a spiritually advanced brahmana, and srimat indicates a vaisya, a member
of the mercantile community. So the person who fails to achieve self-realization is given a
better chance in his next life due to his sincere efforts in this life. If even a fallen candidate
is given a chance to take birth in a respectable and noble family, one can hardly imagine
the status of one who has achieved success. By simply attempting to realize God, one is
guaranteed birth in a wealthy or aristocratic family. But those who do not even make an
attempt, who want to be covered by illusion, who are too materialistic and too attached to
material enjoyment, must enter into the darkest regions of hell, as confirmed throughout
the Vedic literature. Such materialistic asuras sometimes make a show of religion, but
their ultimate aim is material prosperity. The Bhagavad-gita (16.17-18) rebukes such men
by calling them atma-sambhavita, meaning that they are considered great only on the
strength of deception and are empowered by the votes of the ignorant and by their own
material wealth. Such asuras, devoid of self-realization and knowledge of isavasya, the
Lord's universal proprietorship, are certain to enter into the darkest regions.
The conclusion is that as human beings we are meant not simply for solving economic
problems on a tottering platform but for solving all the problems of the material life into
which we have been placed by the laws of nature.

Mantra Four

TEXT

anejad ekam manaso javiyo

nainad deva apnuvan purvam arsat
tad dhavato 'nyan atyeti tisthat
tasminn apo matarisva dadhati

SYNONYMS

anejat--fixed; ekam--one; manasah--than the mind; javiyah--more swift; na--not; enat--this

Supreme Lord; devah--the demigods like Indra, etc.; apnuvan--can approach; purvam--in
front; arsat--moving quickly; tat--He; dhavatah--those who are running; anyan--others;
atyeti--surpasses; tisthat--remaining in one place; tasmin--in Him; apah--rain; matarisva--
the gods who control the wind and rain; dadhati--supply.

TRANSLATION

Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can
overcome all others running. The powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Although in
one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence.

PURPORT

Through mental speculation, even the greatest philosopher cannot know the Supreme
Lord, who is the Absolute Personality of Godhead. He can be known only by His devotees
through His mercy. In the Brahma-samhita (5.34) it is stated that even if a nondevotee
philosopher travels through space at the speed of the wind or the mind for hundreds of
millions of years, he will still find that the Absolute Truth is far, far away from him. The
Brahma-samhita (5.37) further describes that the Absolute Personality of Godhead has
His transcendental abode, known as Goloka, where He remains and engages
in His pastimes, yet by His inconceivable potencies He can simultaneously reach every
part of His creative energy. In the Visnu Purana His potencies are compared to the heat
and light that emanate from a fire. Although situated in one place, a fire can dis-tribute its
light and heat for some distance; similarly, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, although
fixed in His transcendental abode, can diffuse His different energies everywhere.
Although His energies are innumerable, they can be divided into three principal
categories: the internal potency, the marginal potency and the external potency. There are
hundreds and millions of subheadings to each of these categories. The dominating
demigods who are empowered to control and administer such natural phenomena as air,
light and rain are all classified within the marginal potency of the Absolute Person. Lesser
living beings, including humans, also belong to the Lord's marginal potency. The material
world is the creation of the Lord's external potency. And the spiritual sky, where the
kingdom of God is situated, is the manifestation of His internal potency.
Thus the different energies of the Lord are present everywhere. Although the Lord and His
energies are nondifferent, one should not mistake these energies for the Supreme Truth.
Nor should one wrongly consider that the Supreme Lord is distributed everywhere
impersonally or that He loses His personal existence. Men are accustomed to reach
conclusions according to their capacity for understanding, but the Supreme Lord is not
subject to our limited capacity for understanding. It is for this reason that the Upanisads
warn us that no one can approach the Lord by his own limited potency.
In the Bhagavad-gita (10.2) the Lord says that not even the great rsis and suras can know
Him. And what to speak of the asuras, for whom there is no question of understanding the
ways of the Lord? This fourth mantra of Sri Isopanisad very clearly suggests that the
Absolute Truth is ultimately the Absolute Person; otherwise there would have been no
need to mention so many details in support of His personal features.
Although the individual parts and parcels of the Lord's potencies have all the symptoms of
the Lord Himself, they have limited spheres of activity and are therefore all limited. The
parts and parcels are never equal to the whole; therefore they cannot appreciate the
Lord's full potency. Under the influence of material nature, foolish and ignorant living
beings who are but parts and parcels of the Lord try to conjecture about the Lord's
transcendental position. Sri Isopanisad warns of the futility of trying to establish the
identity of the Lord through mental speculation. One should try to learn of the
Transcendence from the Lord Himself, the supreme source of the Vedas, for the Lord
alone has full knowledge of the Transcendence.
Every part and parcel of the Complete Whole is endowed with some particular energy to
act according to the Lord's will. When the part-and-parcel living entity forgets his particular
activities under the Lord's will, he is considered to be in maya, illusion. Thus from the very
beginning Sri Isopanisad warns us to be very careful to play the part designated for us by
the Lord. This does not mean that the individual soul has no initiative of his own. Because
he is part and parcel of the Lord, he must partake of the initiative of the Lord as well.
When a person properly utilizes his initiative, or active nature, with intelligence,
understanding that everything is the Lord's potency, he can revive his original
consciousness, which was lost due to association with maya, the external energy.
All power is obtained from the Lord; therefore each particular power must be utilized to
execute the will of the Lord and not otherwise. The Lord can be known by one who has
adopted such a submissive service attitude. Perfect knowledge means knowing the Lord
in all His features, knowing His potencies and knowing how these potencies work by His
will. These matters are described by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gita, the essence of all the
Upanisads.

Mantra Five

TEXT

tad ejati tan naijati

tad dure tad v antike
tad antar asya sarvasya
tad u sarvasyasya bahyatah

SYNONYMS

tat--this Supreme Lord; ejati--walks; tat--He; na--not; ejati--walks; tat--He; dure--far away;
tat--He; u--also; antike--very near; tat--He; antah--within; asya--of this; sarvasya--of all;
tat--He; u--also; sarvasya--of all; asya--of this; bahyatah--external to.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but He is very near as well.
He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything.

PURPORT

Here is a description of some of the Supreme Lord's transcendental activities, executed by

His inconceivable potencies. The contradictions given here prove the inconceivable
potencies of the Lord. "He walks, and He does not walk." Ordinarily, if someone can walk,
it is illogical to say he cannot walk. But in reference to God, such a contradiction simply
serves to indicate His inconceivable power. With our limited fund of knowledge we cannot
accommodate such contradictions, and therefore we conceive of the Lord in terms of our
limited powers of understanding. For example, the impersonalist philosophers of the
Mayavada school accept only the Lord's impersonal activities and reject His personal
feature. But the members of the Bhagavata school, adopting the perfect conception of the
Lord, accept His inconceivable potencies and thus understand that He is both personal
and impersonal. The bhagavatas know that without inconceivable potencies there can be
no meaning to the words "Supreme Lord."
We should not take it for granted that because we cannot see God with our eyes the Lord
has no personal existence. Sri Isopanisad refutes this argument by declaring that the Lord
is far away but very near also. The abode of the Lord is beyond the material sky, and we
have no means to measure even this material sky. If the material sky extends so far, then
what to speak of the spiritual sky, which is altogether beyond it? That the spiritual sky is
situated far, far away from the material universe is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (15.6).
But despite the Lord's being so far away, He can at once, within less than a second,
descend before us with a speed swifter than that of the mind or wind. He can also run so
swiftly that no one can surpass Him. This has already been described in the previous
verse.
Yet when the Personality of Godhead comes before us, we neglect Him. Such foolish
negligence is condemned by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gita (9.11), where He says that the
foolish deride Him, considering Him a mortal being. He is not a mortal being, nor does He
come before us with a body produced of material nature. There are many so-called
scholars who contend that the Lord descends in a body made of matter, just like an
ordinary living being. Not knowing His inconceivable power, such foolish men place the
Lord on an equal level with ordinary men.
Because He is full of inconceivable potencies, God can accept our service through any
sort of medium, and He can convert His different potencies according to His own will.
Nonbelievers argue either that the Lord cannot incarnate Himself at all, or that if He does
He descends in a form of material energy. These arguments are nullified if we accept the
existence of the Lord's inconceivable potencies. Then we will understand that even if the
Lord appears before us in the form of material energy, it is quite possible for Him to
convert this energy into spiritual energy. Since the source of the energies is one and the
same, the energies can be utilized according to the will of their source. For example, the
Lord can appear in the form of the arca-vigraha, a Deity supposedly made of earth, stone
or wood. Deity forms, although engraved from wood, stone or other matter, are not idols,
as the iconoclasts contend.
In our present state of imperfect material existence, we cannot see the Supreme Lord due
to imperfect vision. Yet those devotees who want to see Him by means of material vision
are favored by the Lord, who appears in a so-called material form to accept His devotees'
service. One should not think that such devotees, who are in the lowest stage of
devotional service, are worshiping an idol. They are factually worshiping the Lord, who
has agreed to appear before them in an approachable way. Nor is the arca form fashioned
according to the whims of the worshiper. This form is eternally existent with all
paraphernalia. This can be actually felt by a sincere devotee, but not by an atheist.
In the Bhagavad-gita (4.11) the Lord says that how He treats His devotee depends on the
devotee's degree of surrender. The Lord reserves the right not to reveal Himself to anyone
and everyone but to show Himself only to those souls who surrender unto Him. Thus for
the surrendered soul He is always within reach, whereas for the unsurrendered soul He is
far, far away and cannot be approached.
In this connection, two words the revealed scriptures often apply to the Lord--saguna
("with qualities") and nirguna ("without qualities")--are very important. The word saguna
does not imply that when the Lord appears with perceivable qualities He must take on a
material form and be subject to the laws of material nature. For Him there is no difference
between the material and spiritual energies, because He is the source of all energies. As
the controller of all energies, He cannot at any time be under their influence, as we are.
The material energy works according to His direction; therefore He can use that energy for
His purposes without ever being influenced by any of the qualities of that energy. (In this
sense He is nirguna, "without qualities.") Nor does the Lord become a formless entity at
any time, for ultimately He is the eternal form, the primeval Lord. His impersonal aspect, or
Brahman effulgence, is but the glow of His personal rays, just as the sun's rays are the
glow of the sun-god.
When the child saint Prahlada Maharaja was in the presence of his atheist father, his
father asked him, "Where is your God?" When Prahlada replied that God resides
everywhere, the father angrily asked whether his God was within one of the pillars of the
palace, and the child said yes. At once the atheist king shattered the pillar in front of him
to pieces, and the Lord instantly appeared as Nrsimha, the half-man, half-lion incarnation,
and killed the atheist king. Thus the Lord is within everything, and He creates everything
by His different energies. Through His inconceivable powers He can appear at any place
in order to favor His sincere devotee. Lord Nrsimha appeared from within the pillar not by
the order of the atheist king but by the wish of His devotee Prahlada. An atheist cannot
order the Lord to appear, but the Lord will appear anywhere and everywhere to show
mercy to His devotee. The Bhagavad-gita (4.8) similarly states that the Lord appears in
order to vanquish nonbelievers and protect believers. Of course, the Lord has sufficient
energies and agents who can vanquish atheists, but it pleases Him to personally favor a
devotee. Therefore He descends as an incarnation. Actually, He descends only to favor
His devotees and not for any other purpose.
In the Brahma-samhita (5.35) it is said that Govinda, the primeval Lord, enters everything
by His plenary portion. He enters the universe as well as all the atoms of the universe. He
is outside in His virat form, and He is within everything as antaryami. As antaryami He
witnesses everything that is going on, and He awards us the results of our actions as
karma-phala. We ourselves may forget what we have done in previous lives, but because
the Lord witnesses our actions, the results of our actions are always there, and we have to
undergo the reactions nonetheless.
The fact is that there is nothing but God within and without. Everything is a manifestation
of His different energies, like the heat and light emanating from a fire, and in this way
there is a oneness among His diverse energies. Although there is oneness, however, the
Lord in His personal form still enjoys unlimitedly all the pleasures enjoyed minutely by the
tiny part-and-parcel living entities.

Mantra Six

TEXT

yas tu sarvani bhutany

atmany evanupasyati
sarva-bhutesu catmanam
tato na vijugupsate

SYNONYMS

yah--he who; tu--but; sarvani--all; bhutani--living entities; atmani--in relation to the

Supreme Lord; eva--only; anupasyati--observes in a systematic way; sarva-bhutesu--in
every living being; ca--and; atmanam--the Supersoul; tatah--thereafter; na--not;
vijugupsate--hates anyone.

TRANSLATION

He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His
parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything
or any being.
PURPORT

This is a description of the maha-bhagavata, the great personality who sees everything in
relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord's presence is realized
in three stages. The kanistha-adhikari is in the lowest stage of realization. He goes to a
place of worship, such as a temple, church or mosque, according to his religious faith, and
worships there according to scriptural injunctions. Devotees in this stage consider the Lord
to be present at the place of worship and nowhere else. They cannot ascertain who is in
what position in devotional service, nor can they tell who has realized the Supreme Lord.
Such devotees follow the routine formulas and sometimes quarrel among themselves,
considering one type of devotion better than another. These kanistha-adhikaris are
actually materialistic devotees who are simply trying to transcend the material boundary to
reach the spiritual plane.
Those who have attained the second stage of realization are called madhyama-adhikaris.
These devotees observe the distinctions between four categories of being: (1) the
Supreme Lord; (2) the devotees of the Lord; (3) the innocent, who have no knowledge of
the Lord; and (4) the atheists, who have no faith in the Lord and hate those in devotional
service. The madhyama-adhikari behaves differently toward these four classes of person.
He adores the Lord, considering Him the object of love; he makes friends with those who
are in devotional service; he tries to awaken the dormant love of God in the hearts of the
innocent; and he avoids the atheists, who deride the very name of the Lord.
Above the madhyama-adhikari is the uttama-adhikari, who sees everything in relation to
the Supreme Lord. Such a devotee does not discriminate between an atheist and a theist
but sees everyone as part and parcel of God. He knows that there is no essential
difference between a vastly learned brahmana and a dog in the street, because both of
them are part and parcel of the Lord, although they are encaged in different bodies on
account of the different qualities of their activities in their previous lives. He sees that the
brahmana particle of the Supreme Lord has not misused his little independence given him
by the Lord and that the dog particle has misused his independence and is therefore being
punished by the laws of nature by being encaged in the form of a dog. Not considering the
respective actions of the brahmana and the dog, the uttama-adhikari tries to do good to
both. Such a learned devotee is not misled by material bodies but is attracted by the
spiritual spark within them.
Those who imitate an uttama-adhikari by flaunting a sense of oneness or fellowship but
who behave on the bodily platform are actually false philanthropists. The conception of
universal brotherhood must be learned from an uttama-adhikari and not from a foolish
person who does not properly understand the individual soul or the Supreme Lord's
Supersoul expansion, who dwells everywhere.
It is clearly mentioned in this sixth mantra that one should "observe," or systematically
see. This means that one must follow the previous acaryas, the perfected teachers.
Anupasyati is the exact Sanskrit word used in this connection. Anu means "to follow," and
pasyati means "to observe." Thus the word anupasyati means that one should not see
things as he does with the naked eye but should follow the previous acaryas. Due to
material defects, the naked eye cannot see anything properly. One cannot see properly
unless one has heard from a superior source, and the highest source is the Vedic wisdom,
which is spoken by the Lord Himself. Vedic truths are coming in disciplic succession from
the Lord to Brahma, from Brahma to Narada, from Narada to Vyasa, and from Vyasa to
many of his disciples. Formerly there was no need to record the messages of the Vedas,
because people in earlier ages were more intelligent and had sharper memories. They
could follow the 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 disciplic succession coming from Srila Vyasadeva, who originally
compiled the Vedic wisdom. The final, most perfect and sublime work by Srila Vyasadeva
is Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is the natural commentary on the Vedanta-sutra. There is
also the Bhagavad-gita, which was spoken by the Lord Himself and recorded by
Vyasadeva. These are the most important revealed scriptures, and any
commentary that contradicts the principles of the Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam is
unauthorized. There is complete agreement among the Upanisads, Vedanta-sutra, Vedas,
Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, and no one should try to reach any conclusion
about the Vedas without receiving instructions from members of Vyasadeva's disciplic
succession, who believe in the Personality of Godhead and His diverse energies as they
are explained in Sri Isopanisad.
According to the Bhagavad-gita (18.54), only one who is already on the liberated platform
(brahma-bhuta) can become an uttama-adhikari devotee and see every living being as his
own brother. This vision cannot be had by politicians, who are always after some material
gain. One who imitates the symptoms of an uttama-adhikari may serve another's outward
body for the purpose of fame or material reward, but he does not serve the spirit soul.
Such an imitator can have no information of the spiritual world. The uttama-adhikari sees
the spirit soul within the material body and serves him as spirit. Thus the material aspect is
automatically served.

Mantra Seven

TEXT

yasmin sarvani bhutany

atmaivabhud vijanatah
tatra ko mohah kah soka
ekatvam anupasyatah

SYNONYMS

yasmin--in the situation; sarvani--all; bhutani--living entities; atma--the cit-kana, or spiritual

spark; eva--only; abhut--exist as; vijanatah--of one who knows; tatra--therein; kah--what;
mohah--illusion; kah--what; sokah--anxiety; ekatvam--oneness in quality; anupasyatah--of
one who sees through authority, or one who sees constantly like that.

TRANSLATION

One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord,
becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?
PURPORT

Except for the madhyama-adhikari and uttama-adhikari discussed above, no one can
correctly see the spiritual position of a living being. The living entities are qualitatively one
with the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a fire are qualitatively one with the fire. Yet
sparks are not fire as far as quantity is concerned, for the quantity of heat and light
present in the sparks is not equal to that in fire. The maha-bhagavata, the great devotee,
sees oneness in the sense that he sees everything as the energy of the Supreme Lord.
Since there is no difference between the energy and the energetic, there is the sense of
oneness. Although from the analytical point of view heat and light are different from fire,
there is no meaning to the word "fire" without heat and light. In synthesis, therefore, heat,
light and fire are the same.
In this mantra the words ekatvam anupasyatah indicate that one should see the unity of all
living entities from the viewpoint of the revealed scriptures. The individual sparks of the
supreme whole (the Lord) possess almost eighty percent of the known qualities of the
whole, but they are not quantitatively equal to the Supreme Lord. These qualities are
present in minute quantity, for the living entity is but a minute part and parcel of the
supreme whole. To use another analogy, the quantity of salt present in a drop is never
comparable to the quantity of salt present in the complete ocean, but the salt present in
the drop is qualitatively equal in chemical composition to all the salt present in the ocean.
If the individual living being were equal to the Supreme Lord both qualitatively and
quantitatively, there would be no question of his being under the influence of the material
energy. In the previous mantras it has already been discussed that no living being--not
even the powerful demigods--can surpass the Supreme Being in any respect. Therefore
ekatvam does not mean that a living being is equal in all respects to the Supreme Lord. It
does, however, indicate that in a broader sense there is one interest, just as in a family the
interest of all members is one, or in a nation the national interest is one, although there
are many different individual citizens. Since the living entities are all members of the same
supreme family, their interest and that of the Supreme Being are not different. Every living
being is the son of the Supreme Being. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (7.5), all living
creatures throughout the universe--including birds, reptiles, ants, aquatics, trees and so
on--are emanations of the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord. Therefore all of them
belong to the family of the Supreme Being. There is no clash of interest.
The spiritual entities are meant for enjoyment, as stated in the Vedanta-sutra (1.1.12):
ananda-mayo 'bhyasat. By nature and constitution, every living being--including the
Supreme Lord and each of His parts and parcels--is meant for eternal enjoyment. The
living beings who are encaged in the material tabernacle are constantly seeking
enjoyment, but they are seeking it on the wrong platform. Apart from the material platform
is the spiritual platform, where the Supreme Being enjoys Himself with His innumerable
associates. On that platform there is no trace of material qualities, and therefore that
platform is called nirguna. On the nirguna platform there is never a clash over the object of
enjoyment. Here in the material world there is always a clash between different individual
beings because here the proper center of enjoyment is missed. The real center of
enjoyment is the Supreme Lord, who is the center of the sublime and spiritual rasa dance.
We are all meant to join Him and enjoy life with one transcendental interest and without
any clash. That is the highest platform of spiritual interest, and as soon as one realizes
this perfect form of oneness, there can be no question of illusion (moha) or lamentation
(soka).
A godless civilization arises from illusion, and the result of such a civilization is
lamentation. A godless civilization, such as that sponsored by the modern politicians, is
always full of anxieties because it may be crushed at any moment. That is the law of
nature. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (7.14), no one but those who surrender at the lotus
feet of the Supreme Lord can surpass the stringent laws of nature. Thus if we wish to get
rid of all sorts of illusion and anxiety and create unity out of all diverse interests, we must
bring God into all our activities.
The results of our activities must be used to serve the interest of the Lord, and not for any
other purpose. Only by serving the Lord's interest can we perceive the atma-bhuta interest
mentioned herein. The atma-bhuta interest mentioned in this mantra and the brahma-
bhuta interest mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita (18.54) are one and the same. The
supreme atma, or soul, is the Lord Himself, and the minute atma is the living entity. The
supreme atma, or Paramatma, alone maintains all the individual minute beings, for the
Supreme Lord wants to derive pleasure out of their affection. The father extends himself
through his children and maintains them in order to derive pleasure. If the children obey
the father's will, family affairs will run smoothly, with one interest and a pleasing
atmosphere. The same situation is transcendentally arranged in the absolute family of the
Parabrahman, the Supreme Spirit.
The Parabrahman is as much a person as the individual entities. Neither the Lord nor the
living entities are impersonal. Such transcendental personalities are full of transcendental
bliss, knowledge and life eternal. That is the real position of spiritual existence, and as
soon as one is fully cognizant of this transcendental position, he at once surrenders unto
the lotus feet of the Supreme Being, Sri Krsna. But such a mahatma, or great soul, is very
rarely seen because such transcendental realization is achieved only after many, many
births. Once it is attained, however, there is no longer any illusion or lamentation or the
miseries of material existence or birth and death, which are all experienced in our present
life. That is the information we get from this mantra of Sri Isopanisad.

Mantra Eight

TEXT

sa paryagac chukram akayam avranam

asnaviram suddham apapa-viddham
kavir manisi paribhuh svayambhur
yathatathyato 'rthan vyadadhac chasvatibhyah samabhyah

SYNONYMS

sah--that person; paryagat--must know in fact; sukram--the omnipotent; akayam--

unembodied; avranam--without reproach; asnaviram--without veins; suddham--antiseptic;
apapa-viddham--prophylactic; kavih--omniscient; manisi--philosopher; paribhuh--the
greatest of all; svayambhuh--self-sufficient; yathatathyatah--just in pursuance of; arthan--
desirables; vyadadhat--awards; sasvatibhyah--immemorial; samabhyah--time.
TRANSLATION

Such a person must factually know the greatest of all, the Personality of Godhead, who is
unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated, the
self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling everyone's desire since time immemorial.

PURPORT

Here is a description of the transcendental and eternal form of the Absolute Personality of
Godhead. The Supreme Lord is not formless. He has His own transcendental form, which
is not at all similar to the forms of the mundane world. The forms of the living entities in
this world are embodied in material nature, and they work like any material machine. The
anatomy of a material body must have a mechanical construction with veins and so forth,
but the transcendental body of the Supreme Lord has nothing like veins. It is clearly stated
here that He is un-embodied, which means that there is no difference between His body
and His soul. Nor is He forced to accept a body according to the laws of nature, as we are.
In materially conditioned life, the soul is different from the gross embodiment and subtle
mind. For the Supreme Lord, however, there is never any such difference between Him
and His body and mind. He is the Complete Whole, and His mind, body and He Himself
are all one and the same.
In the Brahma-samhita (5.1) there is a similar description of the Supreme Lord. He is
described there as sac-cid-ananda-vigraha, which means that He is the eternal form fully
representing transcendental existence, knowledge and bliss. As such, He does not require
a separate body or mind, as we do in material existence. The Vedic literature clearly
states that the Lord's transcendental body is completely different from ours; thus He is
sometimes described as formless. This means that He has no form like ours and that He
is devoid of a form we can conceive of. In the Brahma-samhita (5.32) it is further stated
that with each and every part of His body He can do the work of the other senses. This
means that the Lord can walk with His hands, accept things with His legs, see with His
hands and feet, eat with His eyes, etc. In the sruti-mantras it is also said that although the
Lord has no hands and legs like ours, He has a different type of hands and legs, by which
He can accept all that we offer Him and run faster than anyone. These points are
confirmed in this eighth mantra through the use of words like sukram ("omnipotent").
The Lord's worshipable form (arca-vigraha), which is installed in temples by authorized
acaryas who have realized the Lord in terms of Mantra Seven, is nondifferent from the
original form of the Lord. The Lord's original form is that of Sri Krsna, and Sri Krsna
expands Himself into an unlimited number of forms, such as Baladeva, Rama, Nrsimha
and Varaha. All of these forms are one and the same Personality of Godhead. Similarly,
the arca-vigraha worshiped in temples is also an expanded form of the Lord. By
worshiping the arca-vigraha, one can at once approach the Lord, who accepts the service
of a devotee by His omnipotent energy. The arca-vigraha of the Lord descends at the
request of the acaryas, the holy teachers, and works exactly in the original way of the Lord
by virtue of the Lord's omnipotence. Foolish people who have no knowledge of Sri
Isopanisad or any of the other sruti-mantras consider the arca-vigraha, which is worshiped
by pure devotees, to be made of material elements. This form may be seen as material by
the imperfect eyes of foolish people or kanistha-adhikaris, but such people do not know
that the Lord, being omnipotent and omniscient, can transform matter into spirit and spirit
into matter, as He desires.
In the Bhagavad-gita (9.11-12) the Lord regrets the fallen condition of men with little
knowledge who deride Him because He descends like a man into this world. Such poorly
informed persons do not know the omnipotence of the Lord. Thus the Lord does not
manifest Himself in full to the mental speculators. He can be appreciated only in
proportion to one's surrender to Him. The fallen condition of the living entities is due
entirely to forgetfulness of their relationship with God.
In this mantra, as well as in many other Vedic mantras, it is clearly stated that the Lord
has been supplying goods to the living entities from time immemorial. A living being
desires something, and the Lord supplies the object of that desire in proportion to one's
qualification. If a man wants to be a high-court judge, he must acquire not only the
necessary qualifications but also the consent of the authority who can award the title of
high-court judge. The qualifications in themselves are insufficient for one to occupy the
post: it must be awarded by some superior authority. Similarly, the Lord awards enjoyment
to living entities in proportion to their qualifications, but good qualifications in themselves
are not sufficient to enable one to receive awards. The mercy of the Lord is also required.
Ordinarily the living being does not know what to ask from the Lord, nor which post to
seek. When the living being comes to know his constitutional position, however, he asks
to be accepted into the transcendental association of the Lord in order to render
transcendental loving service unto Him. Unfortunately, living beings under the influence of
material nature ask for many other things, and they are described in the Bhagavad-gita
(2.41) as having divided, or splayed, intelligence. Spiritual intelligence is one, but
mundane intelligence is diverse. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.5.30-31) it is stated that those
who are captivated by the temporary beauties of the external energy forget the real aim of
life, which is to go back to Godhead. Forgetting this, one tries to adjust things by various
plans and programs, but this is like chewing what has already been chewed. Nonetheless,
the Lord is so kind that He allows the forgetful living entity to continue in this way without
interference. Thus this mantra of Sri Isopanisad uses the very appropriate word
yathatathyatah, indicating that the Lord rewards the living entities just in pursuance of their
desires. If a living being wants to go to hell, the Lord allows him to do so without
interference, and if he wants to go back home, back to Godhead, the Lord helps him.
God is described here as paribhuh, the greatest of all. No one is greater than or equal to
Him. Other living beings are described here as beggars who ask goods from the Lord. The
Lord supplies the things the living entities desire. If the entities were equal to the Lord in
potency--if they were omnipotent and omniscient--there would be no question of their
begging from the Lord, even for so-called liberation. Real liberation means going back to
Godhead. Liberation as conceived of by an impersonalist is a myth, and begging for sense
gratification has to continue eternally unless the beggar comes to his spiritual senses and
realizes his constitutional position.
Only the Supreme Lord is self-sufficient. When Lord Krsna appeared on earth five
thousand years ago, He displayed His full manifestation as the Personality of Godhead
through His various activities. In His childhood He killed many powerful demons, such as
Aghasura, Bakasura and Sakatasura, and there was no question of His having acquired
such power through any extraneous endeavor. He lifted Govardhana Hill without ever
practicing weight-lifting. He danced with the gopis without social restriction and without
reproach. Although the gopis approached Him with a paramour's feelings of love, the
relationship between the gopis and Lord Krsna was worshiped even by Lord Caitanya,
who was a strict sannyasi and rigid follower of disciplinary regulations. To confirm that the
Lord is always pure and uncontaminated, Sri Isopanisad describes Him as suddham
(antiseptic) and apapa-viddham (prophylactic). He is antiseptic in the sense that even an
impure thing can become purified just by touching Him. The word "prophylactic" refers to
the power of His association. As mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita (9.30-31), a devotee
may appear to be su-duracara, not well behaved, in the beginning, but he should be
accepted as pure because he is on the right path. This is due to the prophylactic nature of
the Lord's association. The Lord is also apapa-viddham because sin cannot touch Him.
Even if He acts in a way that appears to be sinful, such actions are all-good, for there is no
question of His being affected by sin. Because in all circumstances He is suddham, most
purified, He is often compared to the sun. The sun extracts moisture from many
untouchable places on the earth, yet it remains pure. In fact, it purifies obnoxious things by
virtue of its sterilizing powers. If the sun, which is a material object, is so powerful, then we
can hardly begin to imagine the purifying strength of the all-powerful Lord.

Mantra Nine

TEXT

andham tamah pravisanti

ye 'vidyam upasate
tato bhuya iva te tamo
ya u vidyayam ratah

SYNONYMS

andham--gross ignorance; tamah--darkness; pravisanti--enter into; ye--those who;

avidyam--nescience; upasate--worship; tatah--than that; bhuyah--still more; iva--like; te--
they; tamah--darkness; ye--those who; u--also; vidyayam--in the culture of knowledge;
ratah--engaged.

TRANSLATION

Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the darkest region of
ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.

PURPORT

This mantra offers a comparative study of vidya and avidya. Avidya, or ignorance, is
undoubtedly dangerous, but vidya, or knowledge, is even more dangerous when mistaken
or misguided. This mantra of Sri Isopanisad is more applicable today than at any time in
the past. Modern civilization has advanced considerably in the field of mass education, but
the result is that people are more unhappy than ever before because of the stress placed
on material advancement to the exclusion of the most important part of life, the spiritual
aspect.
As far as vidya is concerned, the first mantra has explained very clearly that the Supreme
Lord is the proprietor of everything and that forgetfulness of this fact is ignorance. The
more a man forgets this fact of life, the more he is in darkness. In view of this, a godless
civilization directed toward the so-called advancement of education is more dangerous
than a civilization in which the masses of people are less "educated."
Of the different classes of men--karmis, jnanis and yogis--the karmis are those who are
engaged in the activities of sense gratification. In the modern civilization, 99.9 percent of
the people are engaged in the activities of sense gratification under the flags of
industrialism, economic development, altruism, political activism, and so on. All these
activities are more or less based on satisfaction of the senses, to the exclusion of the kind
of God consciousness described in the first mantra.
In the language of the Bhagavad-gita (7.15), people who are engaged in gross sense
gratification are mudhas--asses. The ass is a symbol of stupidity. Those who simply
engage in the profitless pursuit of sense gratification are worshiping avidya, according to
Sri Isopanisad. And those who play the role of helping this sort of civilization in the name
of educational advancement are actually doing more harm than those who are on the
platform of gross sense gratification. The advancement of learning by a godless people is
as dangerous as a valuable jewel on the hood of a cobra. A cobra decorated with a
valuable jewel is more dangerous than one not decorated. In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya
(3. 11.12), the advancement of education by a godless people is compared to decorations
on a dead body. In India, as in many other countries, some people follow the custom of
leading a procession with a decorated dead body for the pleasure of the lamenting
relatives. In the same way, modern civilization is a patchwork of activities meant to cover
the perpetual miseries of material existence. All such activities are aimed toward sense
gratification. But above the senses is the mind, and above the mind is the intelligence, and
above the intelligence is the soul. Thus the aim of real education should be self-
realization, realization of the spiritual values of the soul. Any education which does not
lead to such realization must be considered avidya, or nescience. And to culture such
nescience means to go down to the darkest region of ignorance.
According to the Bhagavad-gita (2.42, 7.15), mistaken mundane educators are known as
veda-vada-rata and mayayapahrta-jnana. They may also be atheistic demons, the lowest
of men. Those who are veda-vada-rata pose themselves as very learned in the Vedic
literature, but unfortunately they are completely diverted from the purpose of the Vedas. In
the Bhagavad-gita (15.15) it is said that the purpose of the Vedas is to know the
Personality of Godhead, but these veda-vada-rata men are not at all interested in the
Personality of Godhead. On the contrary, they are fascinated by such fruitive results as
the attainment of heaven.
As stated in Mantra One, we should know that the Personality of Godhead is the
proprietor of everything and that we must be satisfied with our allotted portions of the
necessities of life. The purpose of all Vedic literature is to awaken this God consciousness
in the forgetful living being, and this same purpose is presented in various ways in the
different scriptures of the world for the understanding of a foolish mankind. Thus the
ultimate purpose of all religions is to bring one back to Godhead.
But the veda-vada-rata people, instead of realizing that the purpose of the Vedas is to
revive the forgetful soul's lost relationship with the Personality of Godhead, take it for
granted that such side issues as the attainment of heavenly pleasure for sense
gratification--the lust for which causes their material bondage in the first place--are the
ultimate end of the Vedas. Such people misguide others by misinterpreting the Vedic
literature. Sometimes they even condemn the Puranas, which are authentic Vedic
explanations for laymen. The veda-vada-ratas give their own explanations of the Vedas,
neglecting the authority of great teachers (acaryas). They also tend to raise some
unscrupulous person from among themselves and present him as the leading exponent of
Vedic knowledge. Such veda-vada-ratas are especially condemned in this mantra by the
very appropriate Sanskrit words vidyayam ratah. Vidyayam refers to the study of the
Vedas because the Vedas are the origin of all knowledge (vidya), and ratah means "those
engaged." Vidyayam ratah thus means "those engaged in the study of the Vedas." The
so-called students of the Vedas are condemned herein because they are ignorant of the
actual purpose of the Vedas on account of their disobeying the acaryas. Such veda-vada-
ratas search out meanings in every word of the Vedas to suit their own purposes. They do
not know that the Vedic literature is a collection of extraordinary books that can be
understood only through the chain of disciplic succession.
One must approach a bona fide spiritual master in order to understand the transcendental
message of the Vedas. That is the direction of the Mundaka Upanisad (1.2.12). These
veda-vada-rata people, however, have their own acaryas, who are not in the chain of
transcendental succession. Thus they progress into the darkest region of ignorance by
misinterpreting the Vedic literature. They fall even further into ignorance than those who
have no knowledge of the Vedas at all.
The mayayapahrta-jnana class of men are self-made "Gods." Such men think that they
themselves are God and that there is no need of worshiping any other God. They will
agree to worship an ordinary man if he happens to be rich, but they will never worship the
Personality of Godhead. Such men, unable to recognize their own foolishness, never
consider how it is that God can be entrapped by maya, His own illusory energy. If God
were ever entrapped by maya, maya would be more powerful than God. Such men say
that God is all-powerful, but they do not consider that if He is all-powerful there is no
possibility of His being overpowered by maya. These self-made "Gods" cannot answer all
these questions very clearly; they are simply satisfied to have become "God" themselves.

Mantra Ten

TEXT

anyad evahur vidyaya-

nyad ahur avidyaya
iti susruma dhiranam
ye nas tad vicacaksire

SYNONYMS

anyat--different; eva--certainly; ahuh--said; vid-yaya--by culture of knowledge; anyat--

different; ahuh--said; avidyaya--by culture of nescience; iti--thus; susruma--I heard;
dhiranam--from the sober; ye--who; nah--to us; tat--that; vicacaksire--explained.

TRANSLATION
The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of knowledge and that
a different result is obtained from the culture of nescience.

PURPORT

As advised in Chapter Thirteen of the Bhagavad-gita (13.8-12), one should culture

knowledge in the following way:
(1) One should become a perfect gentleman and learn to give proper respect to others.
(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, by the
thoughts of his mind, or by his words.
(4) One should learn forbearance even in the face of provocation from others.
(5) One should learn to avoid duplicity in his dealings with others.
(6) One should search out a bona fide spiritual master who can lead him gradually to the
stage of spiritual realization, and one must submit himself to such a spiritual master,
render him service and ask relevant questions.
(7) In order to approach the platform of self-realization, one must follow the regulative
principles enjoined in the revealed scriptures.
(8) One must be fixed 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 he requires for the maintenance of the body.
(11) One should not falsely identify himself with the gross material body, nor should one
consider those who are related to his body to be his own.
(12) One should always remember that as long as he has a material body he must face
the miseries of repeated birth, old age, disease and death. There is no use in making
plans to get rid of these miseries of the material body. The best course 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 the revealed
scriptures
ordain.
(15) One should not be happy or distressed over desirables and undesirables, knowing
that such feelings are just created by the mind.
(16) One should become an unalloyed devotee of the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna,
and serve Him with rapt attention.
(17) One should develop a liking for residence in a secluded place with a calm and quiet
atmosphere favorable for spiritual culture, and one should avoid congested places where
nondevotees congregate.
(18) One should become a scientist or philosopher and conduct research into spiritual
knowledge, recognizing that spiritual knowledge is permanent whereas material
knowledge ends with the death of the body.
These eighteen items combine to form a gradual process by which real knowledge can be
developed. Except for these, all other methods are considered to be in the category of
nescience. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a great acarya, maintained that all forms of
material knowledge are merely external features of the illusory energy and that by
culturing them one becomes no better than an ass. This same principle is found here in
Sri Isopanisad. By advancement of material knowledge, modern man is simply being
converted into an ass. Some materialistic politicians in spiritual guise decry the present
system of civilization as satanic, but unfortunately they do not care about the culture of
real knowledge as it is described in the Bhagavad-gita. Thus they cannot change the
satanic situation.
In the modern society, even a boy thinks himself self-sufficient and pays no respect to
elderly men. Due to the wrong type of education being imparted in our universities, boys
all over the world are giving their elders headaches. Thus Sri Isopanisad very strongly
warns that the culture of nescience is different from that of knowledge. The universities
are, so to speak, centers of nescience only; consequently scientists are busy discovering
lethal weapons to wipe out the existence of other countries. University students today are
not given instructions in the regulative principles of brahmacarya (celibate student life), nor
do they have any faith in any scriptural injunctions. Religious principles are taught for the
sake of name and fame only and not for the sake of practical action. Thus there is
animosity not only in social and political fields but in the field of religion as well.
Nationalism has developed in different parts of the world due to the cultivation of
nescience by the general people. No one considers that this tiny earth is just a lump of
matter floating in immeasurable 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 necessities for floating in space. The drivers of our spaceships may be
very proud of their achievements, but they do not consider the supreme driver of these
greater, more gigantic spaceships called planets.
There are innumerable suns and innumerable planetary systems also. As infinitesimal
parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, we small creatures are trying to dominate these
unlimited planets. Thus we take repeated birth and death and are generally frustrated by
old age and disease. The span of human life is scheduled for about a hundred years,
although it is gradually decreasing to twenty or thirty years. Thanks to the culture of
nescience, befooled men have created their own nations within these planets in order to
grasp sense enjoyment more effectively for these few years. Such foolish people draw up
various plans to render national demarcations perfectly, a task that is totally impossible.
Yet for this purpose each and every nation has become a source of anxiety for others.
More than fifty percent of a nation's energy is devoted to defense measures and thus
spoiled. No one cares for the cultivation of real knowledge, yet people are falsely proud of
being advanced in both material and spiritual knowledge.Sri Isopanisad warns us of this
faulty type of education, and the Bhagavad-gita gives instructions as to the development
of real knowledge. This mantra states that the instructions of vidya (knowledge) must be
acquired from a dhira. A dhira is one who is not disturbed by material illusion. No one can
be undisturbed unless he is perfectly spiritually realized, at which time one neither hankers
nor laments for anything. A dhira realizes that the material body and mind he has acquired
by chance through material association are but foreign elements; 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 actual functions in the living, spiritual 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. Actually it is the living souls, the parts and parcels of the supreme living
being, who move the world. The dhiras have come to know all these facts by hearing them
from superior authorities and have realized this knowledge by following the regulative
principles.
To follow the regulative principles, one must take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master.
The transcendental message and regulative principles come down from the spiritual
master to the disciple. Such knowledge does not come in the hazardous way of nescient
education. One can become a dhira only by submissively hearing from a bona fide
spiritual master. Arjuna, for example, became a dhira by submissively hearing from Lord
Krsna, the Personality of Godhead Himself. Thus the perfect disciple must be like Arjuna,
and the spiritual master must be as good as the Lord Himself. This is the process of
learning vidya (knowledge) from the dhira (the undisturbed).
An adhira (one who has not undergone the training of a dhira) cannot be an instructive
leader. Modern politicians who pose themselves as dhiras are actually adhiras, and one
cannot expect perfect knowledge from them. They are simply busy seeing to their own
remuneration in dollars and cents. How, then, can they lead the mass of people to the
right path of self-realization? Thus one must hear submissively from a dhira in order to
attain actual education.

Mantra Eleven

TEXT

vidyam cavidyam ca yas

tad vedobhayam saha
avidyaya mrtyum tirtva
vidyayamrtam asnute

SYNONYMS

vidyam--knowledge in fact; ca--and; avidyam--nescience; ca--and; yah--a person who;

tat--that; veda--knows; ubhayam--both; saha--simultaneously; avidyaya--by culture of
nescience; mrtyum--repeated death; tirtva--transcending; vidyaya--by culture of
knowledge; amrtam--deathlessness; asnute--enjoys.

TRANSLATION

Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge
side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full
blessings of immortality.

PURPORT

Since the creation of the material world, everyone has been trying to attain a permanent
life, but the laws of nature are so cruel that no one has been able to avoid the hand of
death. No one wants to die, nor does anyone want to become old or diseased. The law of
nature, however, does not allow anyone immunity from old age, disease or death. Nor has
the advancement of material knowledge solved these problems. Material science can
discover the nuclear bomb to accelerate the process of death, but it cannot discover
anything that can protect man from the cruel hands of old age, disease and death.
From the Puranas we learn of the activities of Hiranyakasipu, a king who was very much
advanced materially. Wanting to conquer cruel death by his material acquisitions and the
strength of his nescience, he underwent a type of meditation so severe that the
inhabitants of all the planetary systems became disturbed by his mystic powers. He forced
the creator of the universe, the demigod Brahma, to come down to him. He then asked
Brahma for the benediction of becoming amara, by which one does not die. Brahma said
that he could not award the benediction because even he, the material creator who rules
all planets, is not amara. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (8.17), Brahma lives a long
time, but that does not mean he is immortal.Hiranya means "gold," and kasipu means "soft
bed." This cunning gentleman Hiranyakasipu was interested in these two things--money
and women--and he wanted to enjoy them by becoming immortal. He asked from Brahma
many benedictions in hopes of indirectly fulfilling his desire to become immortal. Since
Brahma told him that he could not grant the gift of immortality, Hiranyakasipu requested
that he not be killed by any man, animal, god or any other living being within the 8,400,000
species. He also asked that he not die on land, in the air or water, or by any weapon. In
this way Hiranyakasipu foolishly thought these guarantees would save him from death.
Ultimately, however, although Brahma granted him all these benedictions, he was killed by
the Personality of Godhead in the form of Nrsimha, the Lord's half-lion, half-man
incarnation, and no weapon was used to kill him, for he was killed by the Lord's nails. Nor
was he killed on the land, in the air or in the water, for he was killed on the lap of that
wonderful living being, Nrsimha, who was beyond his conception.
The whole point here is that even Hiranyakasipu, the most powerful of materialists, could
not become deathless by his various plans. What, then, can be accomplished by the tiny
Hiranyakasipus of today, whose plans are thwarted from moment to moment?Sri
Isopanisad instructs us not to make one-sided attempts to win the struggle for existence.
Everyone is struggling hard for existence, but the laws of material nature are so hard and
fast that they do not allow anyone to surpass them. In order to attain a permanent life, one
must be prepared to go back to Godhead.
The process by which one goes back to Godhead is a different branch of knowledge, and
it has to be learned from revealed Vedic scriptures such as the Upanisads, Vedanta-sutra,
Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. To become happy in this life and attain a
permanent blissful life after leaving this material body, one must study this sacred
literature and obtain transcendental knowledge. The conditioned living being has forgotten
his eternal relationship with God and has mistakenly accepted the temporary place of his
birth as all in all. The Lord has kindly delivered the above-mentioned scriptures in India
and other scriptures in other countries to remind the forgetful human being that his home
is not here in this material world. The living being is a spiritual entity, and he can be happy
only by returning to his spiritual home.
From His kingdom the Personality of Godhead sends His bona fide servants to propagate
this message by which one can return to Godhead, and sometimes the Lord comes
Himself to do this work. Since all living beings are His beloved sons, His parts and
parcels, God is more sorry than we ourselves to see the sufferings we are constantly
undergoing in this material condition. The miseries of this material world serve to indirectly
remind us of our incompatibility with dead matter. Intelligent living entities generally take
note of these reminders and engage themselves in the culture of vidya, or transcendental
knowledge. Human life is the best opportunity for the culture of spiritual knowledge, and a
human being who does not take advantage of this opportunity is called a naradhama, the
lowest of human beings.
The path of avidya, or advancement of material knowledge for sense gratification, is the
path of repeated birth and death. As he exists spiritually, the living entity has no birth or
death. Birth and death apply to the outward covering of the spirit soul, the body. Death is
compared to the taking off and birth to the putting on of outward garments. Foolish human
beings who are grossly absorbed in the culture of avidya, nescience, do not mind this
cruel process. Enamored with the beauty of the illusory energy, they undergo the same
miseries repeatedly and do not learn any lessons from the laws of nature.
Therefore the culture of vidya, or transcendental knowledge, is essential for the human
being. Sense enjoyment in the diseased material condition must be restricted as far as
possible. Unrestricted sense enjoyment in this bodily condition is the path of ignorance
and death. The living entities are not without spiritual senses; every living being in his
original, spiritual form has all the senses, which are now materially manifested, being
covered by the material body and mind. The activities of the material senses are perverted
reflections of the activities of the original, spiritual senses. In his diseased condition, the
spirit soul engages in material activities under the material covering. Real sense
enjoyment is possible only when the disease of materialism is removed. In our pure
spiritual form, free from all material contamination, real enjoyment of the senses is
possible. A patient must regain his health before he can truly enjoy sense pleasure again.
Thus the aim of human life should not be to enjoy perverted sense enjoyment but to cure
the material disease. Aggravation of the material disease is no sign of knowledge, but a
sign of avidya, ignorance. For good health, a person should not increase his fever from
105 degrees to 107 degrees but should reduce his temperature to the normal 98.6. That
should be the aim of human life. The modern trend of material civilization is to increase
the temperature of the feverish material condition, which has reached the point of 107
degrees in the form of atomic energy. Meanwhile, the foolish politicians are crying that at
any moment the world may go to hell. That is the result of the advancement of material
knowledge and the neglect of the most important part of life, the culture of spiritual
knowledge. Sri Isopanisad herein warns that we must not follow this dangerous path
leading to death. On the contrary, we must develop the culture of spiritual knowledge so
that we may become completely free from the cruel hands of death.
This does not mean that all activities for the maintenance of the body should be stopped.
There is no question of stopping activities, just as there is no question of wiping out one's
temperature altogether when trying to recover from a disease. "To make the best use of a
bad bargain" is the appropriate expression. The culture of spiritual knowledge
necessitates the help of the body and mind; therefore maintenance of the body and mind
is required if we are to reach our goal. The normal temperature should be maintained at
98.6 degrees, and the great sages and saints of India have attempted to do this by a
balanced program of spiritual and material knowledge. They never allow the misuse of
human intelligence for diseased sense gratification.
Human activities diseased by a tendency toward sense gratification have been regulated
in the Vedas under the principles of salvation. This system employs religion, economic
development, sense gratification and salvation, but at the present moment people have no
interest in religion or salvation. They have only one aim in life--sense gratification--and in
order to achieve this end they make plans for economic development. Misguided men
think that religion should be maintained because it contributes to economic development,
which is required for sense gratification. Thus in order to guarantee further sense
gratification after death, in heaven, there is some system of religious observance. But this
is not the purpose of religion. The path of religion is actually meant for self-realization, and
economic development is required just to maintain the body in a sound, healthy condition.
A man should lead a healthy life with a sound mind just to realize vidya, true knowledge,
which is the aim of human life. This life is not meant for working like an ass or for culturing
avidya for sense gratification.
The path of vidya is most perfectly presented in Srimad-Bhagavatam, which directs a
human being to utilize his life to inquire into the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is
realized step by step as Brahman, Paramatma and finally Bhagavan, the Personality of
Godhead. The Absolute Truth is realized by the broadminded man who has attained
knowledge and detachment by following the eighteen principles of the Bhagavad-gita
described in the purport to Mantra Ten. The central purpose of these eighteen principles is
the attainment of transcendental devotional service to the Personality of Godhead.
Therefore all classes of men are encouraged to learn the art of devotional service to the
Lord.
The guaranteed path to the aim of vidya is described by Srila Rupa Gosvami in his Bhakti-
rasamrta-sindhu, which we have presented in English as The Nectar of Devotion. The
culture of vidya is summarized in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.14) in the following words:

tasmad ekena manasa

bhagavan satvatam patih
srotavyah kirtitavyas ca
dhyeyah pujyas ca nityada

"Therefore, with one-pointed attention one should constantly hear about, glorify,
remember and worship the Personality of Godhead, who is the protector of the devotees."
Unless religion, economic development and sense gratification aim toward the attainment
of devotional service to the Lord, they are all simply different forms of nescience, as Sri
Isopanisad indicates in the following mantras.

Mantra Twelve

TEXT

andham tamah pravisanti

ye 'sambhutim upasate
tato bhuya iva te tamo
ya u sambhutyam ratah

SYNONYMS

andham--ignorance; tamah--darkness; pravisanti--enter into; ye--those who; asambhutim--

demigods; upasate--worship; tatah--than that; bhuyah--still more; iva--like that; te--those;
tamah--darkness; ye--who; u--also; sambhutyam--in the Absolute; ratah--engaged.
TRANSLATION

Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest region of
ignorance, and still more so do the worshipers of the impersonal Absolute.

PURPORT

The Sanskrit word asambhuti refers to those who have no independent existence.
Sambhuti is the Absolute Personality of Godhead, who is absolutely independent of
everything. In the Bhagavad-gita (10.2), the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna,
states:

na me viduh sura-gana
prabhavam na maharsayah
aham adir hi devanam
maharsinam ca sarvasah

"Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin or opulences, for in
every respect I am the source of the demigods and sages." Thus Krsna is the origin of the
powers delegated to demigods, great sages and mystics. Although they are endowed with
great powers, these powers are limited, and thus it is very difficult for them to know how
Krsna Himself appears by His own internal potency in the form of a man.
Many philosophers and great rsis, or mystics, try to distinguish the Absolute from the
relative by their tiny brain power. This can only help them reach the negative conception of
the Absolute without realizing any positive trace of the Absolute. Definition of the Absolute
by negation is not complete. Such negative definitions lead one to create a concept of
one's own; thus one imagines that the Absolute must be formless and without qualities.
Such negative qualities are simply the reversals of relative, material qualities and are
therefore also relative. By conceiving of the Absolute in this way, one can at the utmost
reach the impersonal effulgence of God, known as Brahman, but one cannot make further
progress to Bhagavan, the Personality of Godhead.
Such mental speculators do not know that the Absolute Personality of Godhead is Krsna,
that the impersonal Brahman is the glaring effulgence of His transcendental body, or that
the Paramatma, the Supersoul, is His all-pervading plenary representation. Nor do they
know that Krsna has His eternal form with its transcendental qualities of eternal bliss and
knowledge. The dependent demigods and great sages imperfectly consider Him to be a
powerful demigod, and they consider the Brahman effulgence to be the Absolute Truth.
But the devotees of Krsna, by dint of their surrendering unto Him and their unalloyed
devotion, can know that He is the Absolute Person and that everything emanates from
Him. Such devotees continuously render loving service unto Krsna, the fountainhead of
everything.
In the Bhagavad-gita (7.20, 23) it is said that only unintelligent, bewildered persons driven
by a strong desire for sense gratification worship the demigods for the temporary relief of
temporary problems. Since the living being is materially entangled, he has to be relieved
from material bondage entirely to attain permanent relief on the spiritual plane, where
eternal bliss, life and knowledge exist. Sri Isopanisad therefore instructs that we should
not seek temporary relief of our difficulties by worshiping the dependent demigods, who
can bestow only temporary benefit. Rather, we must worship the Absolute Personality of
Godhead, Krsna, who is all-attractive and who can bestow upon us complete freedom
from material bondage by taking us back home, back to Godhead.
It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita (7.23) that the worshipers of the demigods can go to the
planets of the demigods. The moon worshipers can go to the moon, the sun worshipers to
the sun, etc. Modern scientists are now venturing to the moon with the help of rockets, but
this is not really a new attempt. With their advanced consciousness, human beings are
naturally inclined to travel in outer space and to reach other planets, either by spaceships,
mystic powers or demigod worship. In the Vedic scriptures it is said that one can reach
other planets by any one of these three ways, but the most common way is by worshiping
the demigod presiding over a particular planet. In this way one can reach the moon planet,
the sun planet and even Brahmaloka, the topmost planet in this universe. However, all
planets in the material universe are temporary residences; the only permanent planets are
the Vaikunthalokas. These are found in the spiritual sky, where the Personality of
Godhead Himself predominates. As Lord Krsna states in the Bhagavad-gita (8.16):

abrahma-bhuvanal lokah
punar avartino 'rjuna
mam upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate

"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery
wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains My abode, O son of
Kunti, never takes birth again."Sri Isopanisad points out that one who worships the
demigods and attains to their material planets still remains in the darkest region of the
universe. The whole universe is covered by the gigantic material elements; it is just like a
coconut covered by a shell and half-filled with water. Since its covering is airtight, the
darkness within is dense, and therefore the sun and the moon are required for
illumination. Outside the universe is the vast and unlimited brahmajyoti expansion, which
is filled with Vaikunthalokas. The biggest and highest planet in the brahmajyoti is
Krsnaloka, or Goloka Vrndavana, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna
Himself, resides. Lord Sri Krsna never leaves Krsnaloka. Although He dwells there with
His eternal associates, He is omnipresent throughout the complete material and spiritual
cosmic manifestations. This fact has already been explained in Mantra Four. The Lord is
present everywhere, just like the sun, yet He is situated in one place, just as the sun is
situated in its own undeviating orbit.
The problems of life cannot be solved simply by going to the moon planet or to some other
planet above or below it. Therefore Sri Isopanisad advises us not to bother with any
destination within this dark material universe, but to try to get out of it and reach the
effulgent kingdom of God. There are many pseudo worshipers who become religionists
only for the sake of name and fame. Such pseudo religionists do not wish to get out of this
universe and reach the spiritual sky. They only want to maintain the status quo in the
material world under the garb of worshiping the Lord. The atheists and impersonalists lead
such foolish pseudo religionists into the darkest regions by preaching the cult of atheism.
The atheist directly denies the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the
impersonalists support the atheists by stressing the impersonal aspect of the Supreme
Lord. Thus far we have not come across any mantra in Sri Isopanisad in which the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is denied. It is said that He can run faster than anyone.
Those who are running after other planets are certainly persons, and if the Lord can run
faster than all of them, how can He be impersonal? The impersonal conception of the
Supreme Lord is another form of ignorance, arising from an imperfect conception of the
Absolute Truth.
The ignorant pseudo religionists and the manufacturers of so-called incarnations who
directly violate the Vedic injunctions are liable to enter into the darkest region of the
universe because they mislead those who follow them. These impersonalists generally
pose themselves as incarnations of God to foolish persons who have no knowledge of
Vedic wisdom. If such foolish men have any knowledge at all, it is more dangerous in their
hands than ignorance itself. Such impersonalists do not even worship the demigods
according to the scriptural recommendations. In the scriptures there are recommendations
for worshiping demigods under certain circumstances, but at the same time these
scriptures state that there is normally no need for this. In the Bhagavad-gita (7.23) it is
clearly stated that the results derived from worshiping the demigods are not permanent.
Since the entire material universe is impermanent, whatever is achieved within the
darkness of material existence is also impermanent. The question is how to obtain real
and permanent life.
The Lord states that as soon as one reaches Him by devotional service--which is the one
and only way to approach the Personality of Godhead--one attains complete freedom from
the bondage of birth and death. In other words, the path of salvation from the material
clutches fully depends on the principles of knowledge and detachment gained from
serving the Lord. The pseudo religionists have neither knowledge nor detachment from
material affairs, for most of them want to live in the golden shackles of material bondage
under the shadow of philanthropic activities disguised as religious principles. By a false
display of religious sentiments, they present a show of devotional service while indulging
in all sorts of immoral activities. In this way they pass as spiritual masters and devotees of
God. Such violators of religious principles have no respect for the authoritative acaryas,
the holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession. They ignore the Vedic injunction
acaryopasana--"One must worship the acarya"--and Krsna's statement in the Bhagavad-
gita (4.2) evam parampara-praptam, "This supreme science of God is received through
the disciplic succession." Instead, to mislead the people in general they themselves
become so-called acaryas, but they do not even follow the principles of the acaryas.
These rogues are the most dangerous elements in human society. Because there is no
religious government, they escape punishment by the law of the state. They cannot,
however, escape the law of the Supreme, who has clearly declared in the Bhagavad-gita
that envious demons in the garb of religious propagandists shall be thrown into the
darkest regions of hell (Bg. 16.19-20). Sri Isopanisad confirms that these pseudo
religionists are heading toward the most obnoxious place in the universe after the
completion of their spiritual master business, which they conduct simply for sense
gratification.

Mantra Thirteen

TEXT

anyad evahuh sambhavad

anyad ahur asambhavat
iti susruma dhiranam
ye nas tad vicacaksire

SYNONYMS

anyat--different; eva--certainly; ahuh--it is said; sambhavat--by worshiping the Supreme

Lord, the cause of all causes; anyat--different; ahuh--it is said; asambhavat--by worshiping
what is not the Supreme; iti--thus; susruma--I heard it; dhiranam--from the undisturbed
authorities; ye--who; nah--unto us; tat--about that subject matter; vicacaksire--perfectly
explained.

TRANSLATION

It is said that one result is obtained by worshiping the supreme cause of all causes and
that another result is obtained by worshiping what is not supreme. All this is heard from
the undisturbed authorities, who clearly explained it.

PURPORT

The system of hearing from undisturbed authorities is approved in this mantra. Unless one
hears from a bona fide acarya, 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 sruti-mantras, or Vedic knowledge, from his undisturbed
acarya, never presents anything that is not mentioned in the Vedic literature. In the
Bhagavad-gita (9.25) it is clearly said that those who worship the pitrs, or forefathers,
attain the planets of the forefathers, that the gross materialists who make plans to remain
here stay in this world, and that the devotees of the Lord who worship none but Lord
Krsna, the supreme cause of all causes, reach Him in His spiritual sky. Here also in Sri
Isopanisad it is verified that one achieves different results by different modes of worship. If
we worship the Supreme Lord, we will certainly reach Him in His eternal abode, and if we
worship demigods like the sun-god or moon-god, we can reach their respective planets
without a doubt. And if we wish to remain on this wretched planet with our planning
commissions and our stopgap political adjustments, we can certainly do that also.
Nowhere in authentic scriptures is it said that one will ultimately reach the same goal by
doing anything or worshiping anyone. Such foolish theories are offered by self-made
"spiritual masters" who have no connection with the parampara, the bona fide system of
disciplic succession. The bona fide spiritual master cannot say that all paths lead to the
same goal and that anyone can attain this goal by his own mode of worship of the
demigods or of the Supreme or whatever. Any common man can very easily understand
that a person can reach his destination only when he has purchased a ticket for that
destination. A person who has purchased a ticket for Calcutta can reach Calcutta, but not
Bombay. But the so-called spiritual masters say that any and all paths will take one to the
supreme goal. Such mundane and compromising offers attract many foolish creatures,
who become puffed up with their manufactured methods of spiritual realization. The Vedic
instructions, however, do not uphold them. Unless one has received knowledge from the
bona fide spiritual master who is in the recognized line of disciplic succession, one cannot
have the real thing as it is. Krsna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita (4.2):

evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata
yogo nastah parantapa

"This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and
the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was
broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost."
When Lord Sri Krsna was present on this earth, the bhakti-yoga principles defined in the
Bhagavad-gita had become distorted; therefore the Lord had to reestablish the disciplic
system beginning with Arjuna, who was the most confidential friend and devotee of the
Lord. The Lord clearly told Arjuna (Bg. 4.3) that it was because Arjuna was His devotee
and friend that he could understand the principles of the Bhagavad-gita. In other words,
only the Lord's devotee and friend can understand the Gita. This also means that only one
who follows the path of Arjuna can understand the Bhagavad-gita.
At the present moment there are many interpreters and translators of this sublime
dialogue who care nothing for Lord Krsna or Arjuna. Such interpreters explain the verses
of the Bhagavad-gita in their own way and postulate all sorts of rubbish in the name of the
Gita. Such interpreters believe neither in Sri Krsna nor in His eternal abode. How, then,
can they explain the Bhagavad-gita?
Krsna clearly says that only those who have lost their sense worship the demigods for
paltry rewards (Bg. 7.20, 23). Ultimately He advises that one give up all other ways and
modes of worship and fully surrender unto Him alone (Bg. 18.66). Only those who are
cleansed of all sinful reactions can have such unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord.
Others will continue hovering on the material platform 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 of Sri Isopanisad the word sam-bhavat, "by worship of the supreme cause,"
is very significant. Lord Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead, and everything that
exists has emanated from Him. In the Bhagavad-gita (10.8) the Lord says,

aham sarvasya prabhavo

mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah

"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The
wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all
their hearts."
Here is a correct description of the Supreme Lord, given by the Lord Himself. The words
sarvasya pra-bhavah indicate that Krsna is the creator of everyone, including Brahma,
Visnu and Siva. And because these three principal deities of the material world are
created by the Lord, the Lord is the creator of all that exists in the material and spiritual
worlds. In the Atharva Veda (Gopala-tapani Upanisad 1.24) it is similarly said, "He who
existed before the creation of Brahma and who enlightened Brahma with Vedic knowledge
is Lord Sri Krsna." Similarly, the Narayana Upanisad (1) states, "Then the Supreme
Person, Narayana, desired to create all living beings. Thus from Narayana, Brahma was
born. Narayana created all the Prajapatis. Narayana created Indra. Narayana created the
eight Vasus. Narayana created the eleven Rudras. Narayana created the twelve Adityas."
Since Narayana is a plenary manifestation of Lord Krsna, Narayana and Krsna are one
and the same. The Narayana Upanisad (4) also states, "Devaki's son [Krsna] is the
Supreme Lord." The identity of Narayana with the supreme cause has also been accepted
and confirmed by Sripada Sankaracarya, even though Sankara does not belong to the
Vaisnava, or personalist, cult. The Atharva Veda (Maha Upanisad 1) also states, "Only
Narayana existed in the beginning, when neither Brahma, nor Siva, nor fire, nor water, nor
stars, nor sun, nor moon existed. The Lord does not remain alone but creates as He
desires." Krsna Himself states in the Moksa-dharma, "I created the Prajapatis and the
Rudras. They do not have complete knowledge of Me because they are covered by My
illusory energy." It is also stated in the Varaha Purana: "Narayana is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, and from Him the four-headed Brahma was manifested, as well
as Rudra, who later became omniscient."
Thus all Vedic literature confirms that Narayana, or Krsna, is the cause of all causes. In
the Brahma-samhita (5.1) also it is said that the Supreme Lord is Sri Krsna, Govinda, the
delighter of every living being and the primeval cause of all causes. The really learned
persons know this from evidence given by the great sages and the Vedas, and thus they
decide to worship Lord Krsna as all in all. Such persons are called budha, or really
learned, because they worship only Krsna.
The conviction that Krsna is all in all is established when one hears the transcendental
message from the undisturbed acarya with faith and love. One who has no faith in or love
for Lord Krsna cannot be convinced of this simple truth. Those who are faithless are
described in the Bhagavad-gita (9.11) as mudhas--fools or asses. It is said that the
mudhas deride the Personality of Godhead because they do not have complete
knowledge from the undisturbed acarya. One who is disturbed by the whirlpool of material
energy is not qualified to become an acarya.
Before hearing the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna was disturbed by the material whirlpool, by his
affection for his family, society and community. Thus Arjuna wanted to become a
philanthropic, nonviolent man of the world. But when he became budha by hearing the
Vedic knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita from the Supreme Person, he changed his
decision and became a worshiper of Lord Sri Krsna, who had Himself arranged the Battle
of Kuruksetra. Arjuna worshiped the Lord by fighting with his so-called relatives, and in
this way he became a pure devotee of the Lord. Such accomplishments are possible only
when one worships the real Krsna and not some fabricated "Krsna" invented by foolish
men who are without knowledge of the intricacies of the science of Krsna described in the
Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.
According to the Vedanta-sutra, sambhuta is the source of birth and sustenance, as well
as the reservoir that remains after annihilation (janmady asya yatah). The Srimad-
Bhagavatam, the natural commentary on the Vedanta-sutra by the same author, maintains
that the source of all emanations is not like a dead stone but is abhijna, or fully conscious.
The primeval Lord, Sri Krsna, also says in the Bhagavad-gita (7.26) that He is fully
conscious of past, present and future and that no one, including demigods such as Siva
and Brahma, knows Him fully. Certainly half-educated "spiritual leaders" who are
disturbed by the tides of material existence cannot know Him fully. They try to make some
compromise by making the mass of humanity the object of worship, but they do not know
that such worship is only a myth because the masses are imperfect. The attempt by these
so-called spiritual leaders is something like pouring water on the leaves of a tree instead
of the root. The natural process is to pour water on the root, but such disturbed leaders
are more attracted to the leaves than the root. Despite their perpetually watering the
leaves, however, everything dries up for want of nourishment.Sri Isopanisad advises us to
pour water on the root, the source of all germination. Worship of the mass of humanity by
rendering bodily service, which can never be perfect, is less important than service to the
soul. The soul is the root that generates different types of bodies according to the law of
karma. To serve human beings by medical aid, social help and educational facilities while
at the same time cutting the throats of poor animals in slaughterhouses is no service at all
to the soul, the living being.
The living being is perpetually suffering in different types of bodies from the material
miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. The human form of life offers one a chance
to get out of this entanglement simply by reestablishing the lost relationship between the
living entity and the Supreme Lord. The Lord comes personally to teach this philosophy of
surrender unto the Supreme, the sambhuta. Real service to humanity is rendered when
one teaches surrender to and worship of the Supreme Lord with full love and energy. That
is the instruction of Sri Isopanisad 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 that the activities
of the Lord are imaginary; therefore they refrain from hearing of them and invent some
word jugglery without any substance to divert the attention of the innocent masses of
people. Instead of hearing of the activities of Lord Krsna, such pseudo spiritual masters
advertise themselves by inducing their followers to sing about them. In modern times the
number of such pretenders has increased considerably, and it has become a problem for
the pure devotees of the Lord to save the masses of people from the unholy propaganda
of these pretenders and pseudo incarnations.
The Upanisads indirectly draw our attention to the primeval Lord, Sri Krsna, but the
Bhagavad-gita, which is the summary of all the Upanisads, directly points to Sri Krsna.
Therefore one should hear about Krsna as He is by hearing from the Bhagavad-gita or
Srimad-Bhagavatam, and in this way one's mind will gradually be cleansed of all
contaminated things. Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.17) says, "By hearing of the activities of
the Lord, the devotee draws the attention of the Lord. Thus the Lord, being situated in the
heart of every living being, helps the devotee by giving him proper directions." The
Bhagavad-gita (10.10) confirms this: dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te.
The Lord's inner direction cleanses the devotee's heart of all contamination produced by
the material modes of passion and ignorance. Nondevotees are under the sway of
passion and ignorance. One who is in passion cannot become detached from material
hankering, and one who is in ignorance cannot know what he is or what the Lord is. Thus
when one is in passion or ignorance, there is no chance for self-realization, however much
one may play the part of a religionist. For a devotee, the modes of passion and ignorance
are removed by the grace of the Lord. In this way the devotee becomes situated in the
quality of goodness, the sign of a perfect brahmana. Anyone can qualify as a brahmana if
he follows the path of devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual
master. Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.4.18) also says:
kirata-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasa
abhira-sumbha yavanah khasadayah
ye 'nye ca papa yad-apasrayasrayah
sudhyanti tasmai prabhavisnave namah

Any lowborn person can be purified by the guidance of a pure devotee of the Lord, for the
Lord is extraordinarily powerful.
When one attains brahminical qualifications, he becomes happy and enthusiastic to
render devotional service to the Lord. Automatically the science of God is unveiled before
him. By knowing the science of God, one gradually becomes freed from material
attachments, and one's doubtful mind becomes crystal clear by the grace of the Lord. One
who attains this stage is a liberated soul and can see the Lord in every step of life. This is
the perfection of sambhava, as described in this mantra of Sri Isopanisad.

Mantra Fourteen

TEXT

sambhutim ca vinasam ca
yas tad vedobhayam saha
vinasena mrtyum tirtva
sambhutyamrtam asnute

SYNONYMS

sambhutim--the eternal Personality of Godhead, His transcendental name, form,

pastimes, qualities and paraphernalia, the variegatedness of His abode, etc.; ca--and;
vinasam--the temporary material manifestation of demigods, men, animals, etc., with their
false names, fame, etc.; ca--also; yah--one who; tat--that; veda--knows; ubhayam--both;
saha--along with; vinasena--with everything liable to be vanquished; mrtyum--death;
tirtva--surpassing; sam-bhutya--in the eternal kingdom of God; amrtam--deathlessness;
asnute--enjoys.

TRANSLATION

One should know perfectly the Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna and His transcendental
name, form, qualities and pastimes, as well as the temporary material creation with its
temporary demigods, men and animals. When one knows these, he surpasses death and
the ephemeral cosmic manifestation with it, and in the eternal kingdom of God he enjoys
his eternal life of bliss and knowledge.

PURPORT

By its so-called advancement of knowledge, human civilization has created many material
things, including spaceships and atomic energy. Yet it has failed to create a situation in
which people need not die, take birth again, become old or suffer from disease. Whenever
an intelligent man raises the question of these miseries before a so-called scientist, the
scientist very cleverly replies that material science is progressing and that ultimately it will
be possible to render man deathless, ageless and diseaseless. Such answers prove the
scientists' gross ignorance of material nature. In material nature, everyone is under the
stringent laws of matter and must pass through six stages of existence: birth, growth,
maintenance, production of by-products, deterioration and finally death. No one in contact
with material nature can be beyond these six laws of transformation; therefore no one--
whether demigod, man, animal or plant--can survive forever in the material world.
The duration of life varies according to species. Lord Brahma, the chief living being within
this material universe, lives for millions and millions of years, while a minute germ lives for
some hours only. But no one in the material world can survive eternally. Things are born
or created under certain conditions, they stay for some time, and, if they continue to live,
they grow, procreate, gradually dwindle and finally vanish. According to these laws, even
the Brahmas, of which there are millions in different universes, are all liable to death either
today or tomorrow. Therefore the entire material universe is called Martyaloka, the place
of death.
Material scientists and politicians are trying to make this place deathless because they
have no information of the deathless spiritual nature. This is due to their ignorance of the
Vedic literature, which contains full knowledge confirmed by mature transcendental
experience. Unfortunately, modern man is averse to receiving knowledge from the Vedas,
Puranas and other scriptures.
From the Visnu Purana (6.7.61) we receive the following information:

visnu-saktih para prokta

ksetrajnakhya tatha para
avidya-karma-samjnanya
trtiya saktir isyate

Lord Visnu, the Personality of Godhead, possesses different energies, known as para
(superior) and apara (inferior). The living entities belong to the superior energy. The
material energy, in which we are presently entangled, is the inferior energy. The material
creation is made possible by this energy, which covers the living entities with ignorance
(avidya) and induces them to perform fruitive activities. Yet there is another part of the
Lord's superior energy that is different from both this material, inferior energy and the
living entities. That superior energy constitutes the eternal, deathless abode of the Lord.
This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (8.20):

paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo

'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah
yah sa sarvesu bhutesu
nasyatsu na vinasyati

All the material planets--upper, lower and intermediate, including the sun, moon and
Venus--are scattered throughout the universe. These planets exist only during the lifetime
of Brahma. Some lower planets, however, are vanquished after the end of one day of
Brahma and are again created during the next day of Brahma. On the upper planets, time
is calculated differently. One of our years is equal to only twenty-four hours, or one day
and night, on many of the upper planets. The four ages of earth (Satya, Treta, Dvapara
and Kali) last only twelve thousand years according to the time scale of the upper planets.
Such a length of time multiplied by one thousand constitutes one day of Brahma, and one
night of Brahma is the same. Such days and nights accumulate into months and years,
and Brahma lives for one hundred such years. At the end of Brahma's life, the complete
universal manifestation is vanquished.
Those living beings who reside on higher planets like the sun and the moon, as well as
those on Martyaloka, this earth planet, and also those who live on lower planets--all are
merged into the waters of devastation during the night of Brahma. During this time no
living beings or species remain manifest, although spiritually they continue to exist. This
unmanifested stage is called avyakta. Again, when the entire universe is vanquished at
the end of Brahma's lifetime, there is another avyakta state. But beyond these two
unmanifested states is another unmanifested state, the spiritual atmosphere, or nature.
There are a great number of spiritual planets in this atmosphere, and these planets exist
eternally, even when all the planets within this material universe are vanquished at the
end of Brahma's life. There are many material universes, each under the jurisdiction of a
Brahma, and this cosmic manifestation within the jurisdiction of the various Brahmas is but
a display of one fourth of the energy of the Lord (ekapad-vibhuti). This is the inferior
energy. Beyond the jurisdiction of Brahma is the spiritual nature, which is called tripad-
vibhuti, three fourths of the Lord's energy. This is the superior energy, or para-prakrti.
The predominating Supreme Person residing within the spiritual nature is Lord Sri Krsna.
As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (8.22), He can be approached only by unalloyed
devotional service and not by the processes of jnana (philosophy), yoga (mysticism) or
karma (fruitive work). The karmis, or fruitive workers, can elevate themselves to the
Svargaloka planets, which include the sun and the moon. Jnanis and yogis can attain still
higher planets, such as Maharloka, Tapoloka and Brahmaloka, and when they become
still more qualified through devotional service they can enter into the spiritual nature,
either the illuminating cosmic atmosphere of the spiritual sky (Brahman) or the Vaikuntha
planets, according to their qualification. It is certain, however, that no one can enter into
the spiritual Vaikuntha planets without being trained in devotional service.
On the material planets, everyone from Brahma down to the ant is trying to lord it over
material nature, and this is the material disease. As long as this material disease
continues, the living entity has to undergo the process of bodily change. Whether he takes
the form of a man, demigod or animal, he ultimately has to endure an unmanifested
condition during the two devastations--the devastation during the night of Brahma and the
devastation at the end of Brahma's life. If we want to put an end to this process of
repeated birth and death, as well as the concomitant factors of old age and disease, we
must try to enter the spiritual planets, where we can live eternally in the association of
Lord Krsna or His plenary expansions, His Narayana forms. Lord Krsna or His plenary
expansions dominate every one of these innumerable planets, a fact confirmed in the sruti
mantras: eko vasi sarva-gah krsna idyah. eko 'pi san bahudha yo 'vabhati. (Gopala-tapani
Upanisad 1.3.21)
No one can dominate Krsna. It is the conditioned soul who tries to dominate material
nature and is instead subjected to the laws of material nature and the sufferings of
repeated birth and death. The Lord comes here to reestablish the principles of religion,
and the basic principle is the development of an attitude of surrender to Him. This is the
Lord's last instruction in the Bhagavad-gita (18.66): sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam
saranam vraja. "Give up all other processes and just surrender unto Me alone."
Unfortunately, foolish men have misinterpreted this prime teaching and misled the masses
of people in diverse ways. People have been urged to open hospitals but not to educate
themselves to enter into the spiritual kingdom by devotional service. They have been
taught to take interest only in temporary relief work, which can never bring real happiness
to the living entity. They start varieties of public and semi-governmental institutions to
tackle the devastating power of nature, but they don't know how to pacify insurmountable
nature. Many men are advertised as great scholars of the Bhagavad-gita, but they
overlook the Gita's message, by which material nature can be pacified. Powerful nature
can be pacified only by the awakening of God consciousness, as clearly pointed out in the
Bhagavad-gita (7.14).
In this mantra, Sri Isopanisad teaches that one must perfectly know both sambhuti (the
Personality of Godhead) and vinasa (the temporary material manifestation), side by side.
By knowing the material manifestation alone, one cannot be saved, for in the course of
nature there is devastation at every moment (ahany ahani bhutani gacchantiha yama-
layam). Nor can one be saved from these devastations by the opening of hospitals. One
can be saved only by complete knowledge of the eternal life of bliss and awareness. The
whole Vedic scheme is meant to educate men in this art of attaining eternal life. People
are often misguided by temporary attractive things based on sense gratification, but
service rendered to the sense objects is both misleading and degrading.
We must therefore save ourselves and our fellow man in the right way. There is no
question of liking or disliking the truth. It is there. If we want to be saved from repeated
birth and death, we must take to the devotional service of the Lord. There can be no
compromise, for this is a matter of necessity.

Mantra Fifteen

TEXT

hiranmayena patrena
satyasyapihitam mukham
tat tvam pusann apavrnu
satya-dharmaya drstaye

SYNONYMS

hiranmayena--by a golden effulgence; patrena--by a dazzling covering; satyasya--of the

Supreme Truth; apihitam--covered; mukham--the face; tat--that covering; tvam--Yourself;
pusan--O sustainer; apavrnu--kindly remove; satya--pure; dharmaya--unto the devotee;
drstaye--for exhibiting.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered by Your dazzling
effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.

PURPORT
In the Bhagavad-gita (14.27), the Lord explains His personal rays (brahmajyoti), the
dazzling effulgence of His personal form, in this way:

brahmano hi pratisthaham
amrtasyavyayasya ca
sasvatasya ca dharmasya
sukhasyaikantikasya ca

"I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable and eternal
and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness." Brahman, Paramatma and
Bhagavan are three aspects of the same Absolute Truth. Brahman is the aspect most
easily perceived by the beginner; Paramatma, the Supersoul, is realized by those who
have further progressed; and Bhagavan realization is the ultimate realization of the
Absolute Truth. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (7.7), where Lord Krsna says that
He is the ultimate concept of the Absolute Truth: mattah parataram nanyat. Therefore
Krsna is the source of the brahmajyoti as well as the all-pervading Paramatma. Later in
the Bhagavad-gita (10.42) Krsna further explains:

atha va bahunaitena
kim jnatena tavarjuna
vistabhyaham idam krtsnam
ekamsena sthito jagat

"But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of
Myself I pervade and support this entire universe." Thus by His one plenary expansion,
the all-pervading Paramatma, the Lord maintains the complete material cosmic creation.
He also maintains all manifestations in the spiritual world. Therefore in this sruti-mantra of
Sri Isopanisad, the Lord is addressed as pusan, the ultimate maintainer.
The Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, is always filled with transcendental bliss (ananda-
mayo 'bhyasat). When He was present at Vrndavana in India five thousand years ago, He
always remained in transcendental bliss, even from the beginning of His childhood
pastimes. The killings of various demons--such as Agha, Baka, Putana and Pralamba--
were but pleasure excursions for Him. In His village of Vrndavana He enjoyed Himself with
His mother, brother and friends, and when He played the role of a naughty butter thief, all
His associates enjoyed celestial bliss by His stealing. The Lord's fame as a butter thief is
not reproachable, for by stealing butter the Lord gave pleasure to His pure devotees.
Everything the Lord did in Vrndavana was for the pleasure of His associates there. The
Lord created these pastimes to attract the dry speculators and the acrobats of the so-
called hatha-yoga system who wish to find the Absolute Truth.
Of the childhood play between the Lord and His playmates, the cowherd boys, Sukadeva
Gosvami says in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.12.11):

ittham satam brahma-sukhanubhutya

dasyam gatanam para-daivatena
mayasritanam nara-darakena
sakam vijahruh krta-punya-punjah
"The Personality of Godhead, who is perceived as the impersonal, blissful Brahman by the
jnanis, who is worshiped as the Supreme Lord by devotees in the mood of servitorship,
and who is considered an ordinary human being by mundane people, played with the
cowherd boys, who had attained their position after accumulating many pious activities."
Thus the Lord is always engaged in transcendental loving activities with His spiritual
associates in the various relationships of santa (neutrality), dasya (servitorship), sakhya
(friendship), vatsalya (parental affection) and madhurya (conjugal love).
Since it is said that Lord Krsna never leaves Vrndavana-dhama, one may ask how He
manages the affairs of the creation. This is answered in the Bhagavad-gita (13.14-18):
The Lord pervades the entire material creation by His plenary part known as the
Paramatma, or Supersoul. Although the Lord personally has nothing to do with material
creation, maintenance and destruction, He causes all these things to be done by His
plenary expansion, the Paramatma. Every living entity is known as atma, soul, and the
principal atma who controls them all is Paramatma, the Supersoul.
This system of God realization is a great science. The materialistic sankhya-yogis can
only analyze and meditate on the twenty-four factors of the material creation, for they have
very little information of the purusa, the Lord. And the impersonal transcendentalists are
simply bewildered by the glaring effulgence of the brahmajyoti. If one wants to see the
Absolute Truth in full, one has to penetrate beyond the twenty-four material elements and
the glaring effulgence as well. Sri Isopanisad points toward this direction, praying for the
removal of the hiranmaya-patra, the dazzling covering of the Lord. Unless this covering is
removed so one can perceive the real face of the Personality of Godhead, factual
realization of the Absolute Truth can never be achieved.
The Paramatma feature of the Personality of Godhead is one of three plenary expansions,
or visnu-tattvas, collectively known as the purusa-avataras. One of these visnu-tattvas
who is within the universe is known as Ksirodakasayi Visnu. He is the Visnu among the
three principal deities--Brahma, Visnu and Siva--and He is the all-pervading Paramatma in
each and every individual living entity. The second visnu-tattva within the universe is
Garbhodakasayi Visnu, the collective Supersoul of all living entities. Beyond these two is
Karanodakasayi Visnu, who lies in the Causal Ocean. He is the creator of all universes.
The yoga system teaches the serious student to meet the visnu-tattvas after going beyond
the twenty-four material elements of the cosmic creation. The culture of empiric
philosophy helps one realize the impersonal brahmajyoti, which is the glaring effulgence of
the transcendental body of Lord Sri Krsna. That the brahmajyoti is Krsna's effulgence is
confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (14.27) as well as the Brahma-samhita (5.40):

yasya prabha-prabhavato jagad-anda-koti-

kotisv asesa-vasudhadi vibhuti-bhinnam
tad brahma niskalam anantam asesa-bhutam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

"In the millions and millions of universes there are innumerable planets, and each and
every one of them is different from the others by its cosmic constitution. All of these
planets are situated in a corner of the brahmajyoti. This brahmajyoti is but the personal
rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, whom I worship." This mantra from
the Brahma-samhita is spoken from the platform of factual realization of the Absolute
Truth, and the sruti-mantra of Sri Isopanisad under discussion confirms this mantra as a
process of realization. The Isopanisad mantra is a simple prayer to the Lord to remove the
brahmajyoti so that one can see His real face. This brahmajyoti effulgence is described in
detail in several mantras of the Mundaka Upanisad (2.2.10-12):

hiranmaye pare kose

virajam brahma niskalam
tac chubhram jyotisam jyotis
tad yad atma-vido viduh

na tatra suryo bhati na candra-tarakam

nema vidyuto bhanti kuto 'yam agnih
tam eva bhantam anu bhati sarvam
tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati

brahmaivedam amrtam purastad brahma

pascad brahma daksinatas cottarena
adhas cordhvam ca prasrtam brahmai-
vedam visvam idam varistham

"In the spiritual realm, beyond the material covering, is the unlimited Brahman effulgence,
which is free from material contamination. That effulgent white light is understood by
transcendentalists to be the light of all lights. In that realm there is no need of sunshine,
moonshine, fire or electricity for illumination. Indeed, whatever illumination appears in the
material world is only a reflection of that supreme illumination. That Brahman is in front
and in back, in the north, south, east and west, and also overhead and below. In other
words, that supreme Brahman effulgence spreads throughout both the material and
spiritual skies."
Perfect knowledge means knowing Krsna as the root of this Brahman effulgence. This
knowledge can be gained from such scriptures as Srimad-Bhagavatam, which perfectly
elaborates the science of Krsna. In Srimad-Bhagavatam, the author, Srila Vyasadeva, has
established that one will describe the Supreme Truth as Brahman, Paramatma or
Bhagavan according to one's realization of Him. Srila Vyasadeva never states that the
Supreme Truth is a jiva, an ordinary living entity. The living entity should never be
considered the all-powerful Supreme Truth. If he were the Supreme, he would not need to
pray to the Lord to remove His dazzling cover so that the living entity could see His real
face.
The conclusion is that one who has no knowledge of the potencies of the Supreme Truth
will realize the impersonal Brahman. Similarly, when one realizes the material potencies of
the Lord but has little or no information of the spiritual potencies, he attains Paramatma
realization. Thus both Brahman and Paramatma realization of the Absolute Truth are
partial realizations. However, when one realizes
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, in full potency after the removal of the
hiranmaya-patra, one realizes vasudevah sarvam iti: Lord Sri Krsna, who is known as
Vasudeva, is everything--Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. He is Bhagavan, the root,
and Brahman and Paramatma are His branches.
In the Bhagavad-gita (6.46-47) there is a comparative analysis of the three types of
transcendentalists--the worshipers of the impersonal Brahman (jnanis), the worshipers of
the Paramatma feature (yogis) and the devotees of Lord Sri Krsna (bhaktas). It is stated
there that the jnanis, those who have cultivated Vedic knowledge, are better than ordinary
fruitive workers, that the yogis are still greater than the jnanis, and that among all yogis,
those who constantly serve the Lord with all their energies are the topmost. In summary, a
philosopher is better than a laboring man, a mystic is superior to a philosopher, and of all
the mystic yogis, he who follows bhakti-yoga, constantly engaging in the service of the
Lord, is the highest. Sri Isopanisad directs us toward this perfection.

Mantra Sixteen

TEXT

pusann ekarse yama surya prajapatya

vyuha rasmin samuha
tejo yat te rupam kalyana-tamam
tat te pasyami yo 'sav asau purusah so 'ham asmi

SYNONYMS

pusan--O maintainer; eka-rse--the primeval philosopher; yama--the regulating principle;

surya--the destination of the suris (great devotees); prajapatya--the well-wisher of the
prajapatis (progenitors of mankind); vyuha--kindly remove; rasmin--the rays; samuha--
kindly withdraw; tejah--effulgence; yat--so that; te--Your; rupam--form; kalyana-tamam--
most auspicious; tat--that; te--Your; pasyami--I may see; yah--one who is; asau--like the
sun; asau--that; purusah--Personality of Godhead; sah--myself; aham--I; asmi--am.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the universe, O regulating principle,

destination of the pure devotees, well-wisher of the progenitors of mankind, please
remove the effulgence of Your transcendental rays so that I can see Your form of bliss.
You are the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, like unto the sun, as am I.

PURPORT

The sun and its rays are one and the same qualitatively. Similarly, the Lord and the living
entities are one and the same in quality. The sun is one, but the molecules of the sun's
rays are innumerable. The sun's rays constitute part of the sun, and the sun and its rays
conjointly constitute the complete sun. Within the sun itself resides the sun-god, and
similarly within the supreme spiritual planet, Goloka Vrndavana, from which the
brahmajyoti effulgence is emanating, the Lord enjoys His eternal pastimes, as verified in
the Brahma-samhita (5.29):

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending the cows
fulfilling all desires in abodes filled with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of wish-
fulfilling trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of
thousands of Laksmis, or goddesses of fortune."
The brahmajyoti is described in the Brahma-samhita as the rays emanating from that
supreme spiritual planet, Goloka Vrndavana, just as the sun's rays emanate from the sun
globe. Until one surpasses the glare of the brahmajyoti, one cannot receive information of
the land of the Lord. The impersonalist philosophers, blinded as they are by the dazzling
brahmajyoti, can realize neither the factual abode of the Lord nor His transcendental form.
Limited by their poor fund of knowledge, such impersonalist thinkers cannot understand
the all-blissful transcendental form of Lord Krsna. In this prayer, therefore, Sri Isopanisad
petitions the Lord to remove the effulgent rays of the brahmajyoti so that the pure devotee
can see His all-blissful transcendental form.
By realizing the impersonal brahmajyoti, one experiences the auspicious aspect of the
Supreme, and by realizing the Paramatma, or all-pervading feature of the Supreme, one
experiences an even more auspicious enlightenment. But by meeting the Personality of
Godhead Himself face to face, the devotee experiences the most auspicious feature of the
Supreme. Since He is addressed as the primeval philosopher and maintainer and well-
wisher of the universe, the Supreme Truth cannot be impersonal. This is the verdict of Sri
Isopanisad. The word pusan ("maintainer") is especially significant, for although the Lord
maintains all beings, He specifically maintains His devotees. After surpassing the
impersonal brahmajyoti and seeing the personal aspect of the Lord and His most
auspicious eternal form, the devotee realizes the Absolute Truth in full.
In his Bhagavat-sandarbha, Srila Jiva Gosvami states: "The complete conception of the
Absolute Truth is realized in the Personality of Godhead because He is almighty and
possesses full transcendental potencies. The full potency of the Absolute Truth is not
realized in the brahmajyoti; therefore Brahman realization is only partial realization of the
Personality of Godhead. O learned sages, the first syllable of the word bhagavan (bha)
has two meanings: the first is 'one who fully maintains,' and the second is 'guardian.' The
second syllable (ga) means 'guide,' 'leader' or 'creator.' The syllable van indicates that
every being lives in Him and that He also lives in every being. In other words, the
transcendental sound bhagavan represents infinite knowledge, potency, energy,
opulence, strength and influence--all without a tinge of material inebriety."
The Lord fully maintains His unalloyed devotees, and He guides them progressively on the
path toward devotional perfection. As the leader of His devotees, He ultimately awards the
desired results of devotional service by giving Himself to them. The devotees of the Lord
see the Lord eye to eye by His causeless mercy; thus the Lord helps His devotees reach
the supermost spiritual planet, Goloka Vrndavana. Being the creator, He can bestow all
necessary qualifications upon His devotees so that they can ultimately reach Him. The
Lord is the cause of all causes. In other words, since there is nothing that caused Him, He
is the original cause. Consequently He enjoys His own Self by manifesting His own
internal potency. The external potency is not exactly manifested by Him, for He expands
Himself as the purusas, and it is in these forms that He maintains the features of the
material manifestation. By such expansions, He creates, maintains and annihilates the
cosmic manifestation.
The living entities are also differentiated expansions of the Lord's Self, and because some
of them desire to be lords and imitate the Supreme Lord, He allows them to enter into the
cosmic creation with the option to fully utilize their propensity to lord it over nature.
Because of the presence of His parts and parcels, the living entities, the entire
phenomenal world is stirred into action and reaction. Thus the living entities are given full
facilities to lord it over material nature, but the ultimate controller is the Lord Himself in His
plenary feature as Paramatma, the Supersoul, who is one of the purusas.
Thus there is a gulf of difference between the living entity (atma) and the controlling Lord
(Paramatma), the soul and the Supersoul. Paramatma is the controller, and the atma is
the controlled; therefore they are in different categories. Because the Paramatma fully
cooperates with the atma, He is known as the constant companion of the living being.
The all-pervading feature of the Lord--which exists in all circumstances of waking and
sleeping as well as in potential states and from which the jiva-sakti (living force) is
generated as both conditioned and liberated souls--is known as Brahman. Since the Lord
is the origin of both Paramatma and Brahman, He is the origin of all living entities and all
else that exists. One who knows this engages himself at once in the devotional service of
the Lord. Such a pure and fully cognizant devotee of the Lord is fully attached to Him in
heart and soul, and whenever such a devotee assembles with similar devotees, they have
no engagement but the glorification of the Lord's transcendental activities. Those who are
not as perfect as the pure devotees--namely, those who have realized only the Brahman
or Paramatma features of the Lord--cannot appreciate the activities of the perfect
devotees. The Lord always helps the pure devotees by imparting necessary knowledge
within their hearts, and thus out of His special favor He dissipates all the darkness of
ignorance. The speculative philosophers and yogis cannot imagine this, because they
more or less depend on their own strength. As stated in the Katha Upanisad (1.2.23), the
Lord can be known only by those whom He favors, and not by anyone else. Such special
favors are bestowed upon His pure devotees only. Sri Isopanisad thus points to the favor
of the Lord, which is beyond the purview of the brahmajyoti.

Mantra Seventeen

TEXT

vayur anilam amrtam

athedam bhasmantam sariram
om krato smara krtam smara
krato smara krtam smara

SYNONYMS

vayuh--air of life; anilam--total reservoir of air; amrtam--indestructible; atha--now; idam--

this; bhasmantam--after being turned to ashes; sariram--body; om--O Lord; krato--O
enjoyer of all sacrifices; smara--please remember; krtam--all that has been done by me;
smara--please remember; krato--O supreme beneficiary; smara--please remember;
krtam--all that I have done for You; smara--please remember.
TRANSLATION

Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be merged with the totality
of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the
ultimate beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for You.

PURPORT

The temporary material body is certainly a foreign dress. The Bhagavad-gita (2.20) clearly
says 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 impersonal or formless;
on the contrary, it is the material dress that is formless and that takes a shape according
to the form of the indestructible person. No living entity is originally formless, as is wrongly
thought by those with a poor fund of knowledge. This mantra verifies the fact that the living
entity exists after the annihilation of the material body.
In the material world, material nature displays wonderful workmanship by creating
varieties of bodies for the living beings according to their propensities for sense
gratification. The living entity who wants to taste stool is given a material body that is quite
suitable for eating stool--that of a hog. Similarly, one who wants to eat the flesh and blood
of other animals may be given a tiger's body equipped with suitable teeth and claws. But
the human being is not meant for eating flesh, nor does he have any desire to taste stool,
even in the most aboriginal state. Human teeth are so made that they can chew and cut
fruit and vegetables, although there are two canine teeth so that primitive humans can eat
flesh if they so desire.
But in any case, the material bodies of all animals and men are foreign to the living entity.
They change according to the living entity's desire for sense gratification. In the cycle of
evolution, the living entity changes bodies one after another. When the world was full of
water, the living entity took an aquatic form. Then he passed 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 developed form is this human form when it is
possessed of a full sense of spiritual knowledge. The highest development of one's
spiritual sense is described in this mantra: One should give up the material body, which
will be turned to ashes, and allow the air of life to merge into the eternal reservoir of air.
The living being's activities are performed within the body through the movements of
different kinds of air, known in summary as prana-vayu. The yogis generally study how to
control the airs of the body. The soul is supposed to rise from one circle of air to another
until it rises to the brahma-randhra, the highest circle. From that point 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. But the highest perfection of such changes occurs only when the
living entity is able to give up the material body altogether, as suggested in this mantra,
and enter into the spiritual atmosphere, where he can develop a completely different type
of body--a spiritual body, which never has to meet death or change.
Here in the material world, material nature forces the living entity to change his body due
to his different desires for sense gratification. These desires are represented in the various
species of life, from
germs to the most perfected material bodies, those of Brahma and the demigods. All of
these living entities have bodies composed of matter in different shapes. The intelligent
man sees oneness not in the variety of the bodies but in the spiritual identity. The spiritual
spark, which is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, is the same whether he is in a body
of a hog or in the body of a demigod. The living entity takes on different bodies according
to his pious and vicious activities. The human body is highly developed and has full
consciousness. According to the Bhagavad-gita (7.19), the most perfect man surrenders
unto the Lord after many, many lifetimes of culturing knowledge. The culture of knowledge
reaches perfection only when the knower comes to the point of surrendering unto the
Supreme Lord, Vasudeva. Otherwise, even after attaining knowledge of one's spiritual
identity, if one does not come to the point of knowing that the living entities are eternal
parts and parcels of the whole and can never become the whole, one has to fall down
again into the material atmosphere. Indeed, one must fall down even if he has become
one with the brahmajyoti.
As we have learned from previous mantras, the brahmajyoti emanating from the
transcendental body of the Lord is full of spiritual sparks that are individual entities with the
full sense of existence. Sometimes these living entities want to enjoy their senses, and
therefore they are placed in the material world to become false lords under the dictation of
the senses. The desire for lordship is the material disease of the living being, for under the
spell of sense enjoyment he transmigrates through the various bodies manifested in the
material world. Becoming one with the brahmajyoti does not represent mature knowledge.
Only by surrendering unto the Lord completely and developing one's sense of spiritual
service does one reach the highest perfectional stage.
In this mantra the living entity prays to enter the spiritual kingdom of God after
relinquishing his material body and material air. The devotee prays to the Lord to
remember his activities and the sacrifices he has performed before his material body is
turned into ashes. He makes this prayer at the time of death, with full consciousness of his
past deeds and of the ultimate goal. One who is completely under the rule of material
nature remembers the heinous activities he performed during the existence of his material
body, and consequently he gets another material body after death. The Bhagavad-gita
(8.6) confirms this truth:

yam yam vapi smaran bhavam

tyajaty ante kalevaram
tam tam evaiti kaunteya
sada tad-bhava-bhavitah

"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that
state he will attain without fail." Thus the mind carries the living entity's propensities into
the next life.
Unlike the simple animals, who have no developed mind, the dying human being can
remember the activities of his life like dreams at night; therefore his mind remains
surcharged with material desires, and consequently he cannot enter into the spiritual
kingdom with a spiritual body. The devotees, however, develop a sense of love for
Godhead by practicing devotional service to the Lord. Even if at the time of death a
devotee does not remember his service to the Lord, the Lord does not forget him. This
prayer is given to remind the Lord of the devotee's sacrifices, but even if there is no such
reminder, the Lord does not forget the service rendered by His pure devotee.
The Lord clearly describes His intimate relationship with His devotees in the Bhagavad-
gita (9.30-34): "Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in
devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his
determination. He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti,
declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes. O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in
Me, though they be of lower birth--women, vaisyas [merchants] as well as sudras
[workers]--can attain the supreme destination. How much more this is so of the righteous
brahmanas, the devotees and the saintly kings. Therefore, having come to this temporary,
miserable world, engage in loving service unto Me. Engage your mind always in thinking
of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely
absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me."
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains these verses in this way: "One should regard a
devotee of Krsna to be on the right path of the saints, even though such a devotee may
seem to be su-duracara, 'a person of loose character.' One should try to understand the
real purport of the word su-duracara. A conditioned soul has to act for double functions--
namely 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. The self-realization part of one's activities is
executed in one's occupation as a devotee of the Lord, and one performs actions in that
connection also. One must perform these two different functions along parallel lines,
because a conditioned soul cannot give up the maintenance of his body. The proportion of
activities for maintenance of the body decreases, however, in proportion to the increase in
devotional service. 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 long 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. If one is on the right path, even an occasional occurrence of
worldliness does not hamper one in the advancement of self-realization."
The facilities of devotional service are denied the impersonalists because they are
attached to the brahmajyoti feature of the Lord. As suggested in the previous mantras,
they cannot penetrate the brahma-jyoti because they do not believe in the personality of
Godhead. Their business is mostly word jugglery and mental speculation. Consequently
the impersonalists pursue a fruitless labor, as confirmed in the Twelfth Chapter of the
Bhagavad-gita (12.5).
All the facilities suggested in this mantra can be easily obtained by constant contact with
the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. Devotional service to the Lord consists
essentially of nine transcendental activities: (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) enjoying friendly association
with the Lord, and (9) surrendering everything unto the Lord. These nine principles of
devotional service--taken all together or one by one--help a devotee remain constantly in
touch with God. In this way, at the end of life it is easy for the devotee to remember the
Lord. By adopting only one of these nine principles, the following renowned devotees of
the Lord were able to achieve the highest perfection: (1) By hearing of the Lord, Maharaja
Pariksit, the hero of Srimad-Bhagavatam, attained the desired result. (2) Just by glorifying
the Lord, Sukadeva Gosvami, the speaker of Srimad-Bhagavatam, attained his perfection.
(3) By praying to the Lord, Akrura attained the desired result. (4) By remembering the
Lord, Prahlada Maharaja attained the desired result. (5) By worshiping the Lord, Prthu
Maharaja attained perfection. (6) By serving the lotus feet of the Lord, the goddess of
fortune, Laksmi, attained perfection. (7) By rendering personal service to the Lord,
Hanuman attained the desired result. (8) Through his friendship with the Lord, Arjuna
attained the desired result. (9) By surrendering everything he had to the Lord, Maharaja
Bali attained the desired result.
Actually, the explanation of this mantra and of practically all the mantras of the Vedic
hymns is summarized in the Vedanta-sutra and properly explained in Srimad-
Bhagavatam. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the mature fruit of the Vedic tree of wisdom. In
Srimad-Bhagavatam this particular mantra is explained in the questions and answers
between Maharaja Pariksit and Sukadeva Gosvami at the very beginning of their meeting.
Hearing and chanting of the science of God is the basic principle of devotional life. The
complete Bhagavatam was heard by Maha-raja Pariksit and chanted by Sukadeva
Gosvami. Maharaja Pariksit inquired from Sukadeva because Sukadeva was a greater
spiritual master than any great yogi or transcendentalist of his time.
Maharaja Pariksit's main question was: "What is the duty of every man, specifically at the
time of death?" Sukadeva Gosvami answered:

tasmad bharata sarvatma

bhagavan isvaro harih
srotavyah kirtitavyas ca
smartavyas cecchatabhayam

"Everyone who desires to be free from all anxieties should always hear about, glorify and
remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme director of everything, the
extinguisher of all difficulties, and the Supersoul of all living entities." (Bhag. 2.1.5)
So-called human society is generally engaged at night in sleeping and having sex and
during the daytime in earning as much money as possible or else in shopping for family
maintenance. People have very little time to talk about the Personality of Godhead or to
inquire about Him. They have dismissed God's existence in so many ways, primarily by
declaring Him to be impersonal, that is, without sense perception. But in the Vedic
literature--whether the Upanisads, Vedanta-sutra, Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam--
it is declared that the Lord is a sentient being and is supreme over all other living entities.
His glorious activities are identical with Himself. One should therefore not indulge in
hearing and speaking of the rubbish activities of worldly politicians and so-called big men
in society but should mold his life in such a way that he can engage in godly activities
without wasting a second. Sri Isopanisad directs us toward such godly activities.
Unless one is accustomed to 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 denying 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. One
can utilize the results of such practice at the time of death.

Mantra Eighteen
TEXT

agne naya supatha raye asman

visvani deva vayunani vidvan
yuyodhy asmaj juhuranam eno
bhuyistham te nama-uktim vidhema

SYNONYMS

agne--O my Lord, as powerful as fire; naya--kindly lead; supatha--by the right path; raye--
for reaching You; asman--us; visvani--all; deva--O my Lord; vayunani--actions; vidvan--the
knower; yuyodhi--kindly remove; asmat--from us; juhuranam--all hindrances on the path;
enah--all vices; bhuyistham--most numerous; te--unto You; namah uktim--words of
obeisance; vidhema--I do.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, as powerful as fire, O omnipotent one, now I offer You all obeisances, falling
on the ground at Your feet. O my Lord, please lead me on the right path to reach You, and
since You know all that I have done in the past, please free me from the reactions to my
past sins so that there will be no hindrance to my progress.

PURPORT

By surrendering to the Lord and praying for His causeless mercy, the devotee can
progress on the path of complete self-realization. The Lord is addressed as fire because
He can burn anything into ashes, including the sins of the surrendered soul. As described
in the previous mantras, the real or ultimate aspect of the Absolute is His feature as the
Personality of Godhead, and His impersonal brahmajyoti feature is a dazzling covering
over His face. Fruitive activities, or the karma-kanda path of self-realization, is the lowest
stage in this endeavor. As soon as such activities even slightly deviate from the regulative
principles of the Vedas, they are transformed into vikarma, or acts against the interest of
the actor. Such vikarma is enacted by the illusioned living entity simply for sense
gratification, and thus such activities become hindrances on the path of self-realization.
Self-realization is possible in the human form of life, but not in other forms. There are
8,400,000 species, or forms of life, of which the human form qualified by brahminical
culture presents the only chance to obtain knowledge of transcendence. Brahminical
culture includes truthfulness, sense control, forbearance, simplicity, full knowledge and full
faith in God. It is not that one simply becomes proud of his high parentage. Just as being
born the son of a big man affords one a chance to become a big man, so being born the
son of a brahmana gives one a chance to become a brahmana. But such a birthright is not
everything, for one still has to attain the brahminical qualifications for himself. As soon as
one becomes proud of his birth as the son of a brahmana and neglects to acquire the
qualifications of a real brahmana, he at once becomes degraded and falls from the path of
self-realization. Thus his life's mission as a human being is defeated.
In the Bhagavad-gita (6.41-42) we are assured by the Lord that the yoga-bhrastas, or
souls fallen from the path of self-realization, are given a chance to rectify themselves by
taking birth either in the families of good brahmanas or in the families of rich merchants.
Such births afford higher chances for self-realization. If these chances are misused due to
illusion, one loses the good opportunity of human life afforded by the almighty Lord.
The regulative principles are such that one who follows them is promoted from the
platform of fruitive activities to the platform of transcendental knowledge. After many,
many lifetimes of cultivating transcendental knowledge, one becomes perfect when he
surrenders unto the Lord. This is the general procedure. But one who surrenders at the
very beginning, as recommended in this mantra, at once surpasses all preliminary stages
simply by adopting the devotional attitude. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (18.66), the
Lord at once takes charge of such a surrendered soul and frees him from all the reactions
to his sinful acts. There are many sinful re-actions involved in karma-kanda activities,
whereas in jnana-kanda, the path of philosophical development, the number of such sinful
activities is smaller. But in devotional service to the Lord, the path of bhakti, there is
practically no chance of incurring sinful reactions. One who is a devotee of the Lord
attains all the good qualifications of the Lord Himself, what to speak of those of a
brahmana. A devotee automatically attains the qualifications of an expert brahmana
authorized to perform sacrifices, even though the devotee may not have taken his birth in
a brahmana family. Such is the omnipotence of the Lord. He can make a man born in a
brahmana family as degraded as a lowborn dog-eater, and He can also make a lowborn
dog-eater superior to a qualified brahmana simply on the strength of devotional service.
Since the omnipotent Lord is situated within the heart of everyone, He can give directions
to His sincere devotees by which they can attain the right path. Such directions are
especially offered to the devotee, even if he desires something else. As far as others are
concerned, God gives sanction to the doer only at the risk of the doer. But in the case of a
devo-tee, the Lord directs him in such a way that he never acts wrongly. The Srimad-
Bhagavatam (11.5.42) says:

sva-pada-mulam bhajatah priyasya

tyaktanya-bhavasya harih paresah
vikarma yac cotpatitam kathancid
dhunoti sarvam hrdi sannivistah

"The Lord is so kind to the devotee who is fully surrendered to His lotus feet that even
though the devotee sometimes falls into the entanglement of vikarma--acts against the
Vedic directions--the Lord at once rectifies such mistakes from within his heart. This is
because the devotees are very dear to the Lord."
In this mantra of Sri Isopanisad, the devotee prays to the Lord to rectify him from within his
heart. To err is human. A conditioned soul is very often apt to commit mistakes, and the
only remedial measure to take against such unintentional sins is to give oneself up to the
lotus feet of the Lord so that He may guide one to avoid such pitfalls. The Lord takes
charge of fully surrendered souls; thus all problems are solved simply by surrendering
oneself unto the Lord and acting in terms of His directions. Such directions are given to
the sincere devotee in two ways: one is by way of the saints, scriptures and spiritual
master, and the other is by way of the Lord Himself, who resides within the heart of
everyone. Thus the devotee, fully enlightened with Vedic knowledge, is protected in
all respects.
Vedic knowledge is transcendental and cannot be understood by mundane educational
procedures. One can understand the Vedic mantras only by the grace of the Lord and the
spiritual master (yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau). If one takes shelter of a
bona fide spiritual master, it is to be understood that he has obtained the grace of the
Lord. The Lord appears as the spiritual master for the devotee. Thus the spiritual master,
the Vedic injunctions and the Lord Himself from within--all guide the devotee in full
strength. In this way there is no chance for a devotee to fall again into the mire of material
illusion. The devotee, thus protected all around, is sure to reach the ultimate destination of
perfection. The entire process is hinted at in this mantra, and Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.17-
20) explains it further:
Hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord is itself an act of piety. The Lord wants
everyone to hear and chant His glories because He is the well-wisher of all living entities.
By hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, one becomes cleansed of all undesirable
things, and then one's devotion becomes fixed upon the Lord. At this stage the devotee
acquires the brahminical qualifications, and the effects of the lower modes of nature
(passion and ignorance) completely vanish. The devotee becomes fully enlightened by
virtue of his devotional service, and thus he comes to know the path of the Lord and the
way to attain Him. As all doubts diminish, he becomes a pure devotee.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to Sri Isopanisad, the knowledge that brings one
nearer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.

The Journey of Self-Discovery

Table of Contents

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada