Wisdom of the Rishis: The Three Upanishads: Ishavasya, Kena & Mandukya

By Sri M

The Isavasya proclaims the all pervasiveness of the totality of consciousness which is here called Isha, the Lord and urges one to let go the narrow and self-centered identity we are caught up in and rejoice in the flow of the infinite wholeness of Life. The word Kena means who. This Upanishad concerns itself with the question of ones ID. Is the

• Language: English
• Publisher: Magenta Press & Publication Pvt Ltd
• Release date: Jun 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9789382585978

Sri M

Sri M was born in Tiruvananthapuram, Kerala. At the age of nineteen and a half, attracted by a strange and irresistible urge to go to the Himalayas, he left home. At the Vyasa Cave, beyond the Himalayan shrine of Badrinath, he met his Master and lived with him for three and a half years, wandering freely, the length and breadth of the snow clad Himalayan region. What he learnt from his Master Maheshwarnath Babaji, transformed his consciousness totally. Back in the plains, he, as instructed by his Master, lived a normal life, working for a living, fulfilling his social commitments and at the same time preparing himself to teach all that he had learnt and experienced. At a signal from his Master he entered the teaching phase of his life. Today, he travels all over the world to share his experiences and knowledge. Equally at home in the religious teachings of most major religions, Sri M, born as Mumtaz Ali Khan, often says "Go to the core. Theories are of no use" Sri M is married and has two children. He leads a simple life - teaching and heading the Satsang Foundation, a charitable concern promoting excellence in education. At present he lives in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, just three hours from Bangalore.

Book preview

he Ishavasya Upanishad, which is also known as Ishopanishad, is one of the smallest of the Upanishads. Yet, it is one of the most important Upanishads. From time immemorial sages have not only gained wisdom through their study but have also understood and experienced the Truth, and then given their experiences in the form of the Upanishads.

It would be better if a small introduction is given to the very meaning of the word, ‘Upanishad,’ before commencing study of the Ishavasya Upanishad.

The Upanishads are the Jnana-kanda – the ‘wisdom-section’ – of the four Vedas: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. Each has three portions – first the Samhitas, second the Brahmanas, and finally the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. The Samhitas are generally hymns sung in praise of Gods; the Brahmanas generally deal with the ritualistic performance of ceremonies; then we have the Aranyakas and the Upanishads.

The Upanishads as well as the Aranyakas were taught in forest-hermitages, not because the rishis were afraid to live in cities, but because being away from the mad rush of civilization provided an atmosphere conducive to the understanding of the scriptures. And so, they are called Aranyakas because they were taught in the forest-academies of the Rishis who lived with their students in the ambience of beautiful woods, mountains and rivers.

The Upanishads are also called ‘Vedanta’ because they come at ‘the end of the Vedas’ – Veda antah; that is one view. The other view is that if you have studied the Upanishads, you have finished the study of all the Vedas. Therefore, it is also ‘Vedanta’ – ‘the end of the Vedas.’ One view is factual and the other philosophical.

What does the word Upanishad mean? The word Upanishad has been divided into three parts: upa – ni – shad. ‘Upa’ means ‘to go closer, to move closer, to move nearer to.’ So in this case, it means ‘to move nearer to the truth’ in the philosophical context. In the practical context, ‘to move nearer to the teacher’ means, to give attention to what is being said. When you say, ‘move nearer to somebody,’ it means dissolve the obstacles which are between you and that somebody, so that the listening takes place properly, without reservations.

The last syllable, ‘shad,’ indicates, ‘to sit.’ When you sit down physically, it means that you are ready to listen. Of course, there were great sages who could meditate standing, but for most people, sitting is associated with settling down physically, in the mental frame of, ‘O.K., I’ve done my work, now let me sit down, relax and try to understand the deeper aspects of reality.’ This ‘sittingdown’ is shad. But when one physically sits down and the mind wanders, thinks about something else, then that cannot be called shad. There is a deeper meaning to shad – ‘the settling down of the mind.’ The mind needs to be completely receptive to what is being said.

Now the syllable ‘ni’, which connects upa and shad – indicates the level of sitting. Ni Means ‘sitting down at a level lower than that of the teacher,’ which of course is not a physical level but a mental level. This ni means that the student or the listener realizes there are things to be learnt, things of which he knows little, and therefore decides, ‘Let me listen to somebody who knows.’ That, in some way, curtails the egotistic feeling that comes up often when we listen, which says, ‘I know that, I know what he is saying, I know everything.’ So, this ni indicates the humility required to listen and understand. It is not necessary that we should always bow down to the teacher or fall at his feet. These are only external marks of respect which may or may not be genuine. Humility means the understanding or awareness that one does not know at all, or that perhaps there is more to know.

Confucius has this wonderful example. He asks, When you use a bowl, do you use the empty space or the walls that surround it? You use the space, because without the space nothing can be received. If it is already full, nobody can give you anything.

So, this sitting down in voluntary humility, not imposed humility, and listening in the mood of ‘let me understand what is being said’ – that somewhat defines ni.

So, bringing all the three parts – upa-ni-shad – together means that the teacher and the student, or the speaker and the listener sit down together, with the intention of moving closer to the Supreme Truth. This is done with complete humility on both sides and with complete intent to listen and understand, putting away all the obstacles to listening. This is the meaning of the word Upanishad.

One of the shanti mantras of another Upanishad defines this clearly:

Sahanavavatu sahanaubhunaktu saha veeryam karavavahai

Tejasvinavadhitamastu ma vidvishavahai.

‘Let both the student and the teacher co-operate; together be protected, together be nourished.’ The word used is, ‘together.’ ‘Let us not quarrel among each other’ – ma vidvishavahai.

The shanti mantra, the invocatory verse of the Ishavasya Upanishad, may, on the face of it, sound confusing or even meaning- less. The mantra is:

Purnamadah purnamidam purnat purnamudachyate

Purnasya purnamaadaya purnamevavashishyate.

If we translate as well as we can into English it would read thus:

Purnamadah: ‘That is complete.’

Purnamidam: ‘This is complete’.

Purnamadah purnamidam ‘That is complete, this is complete.’

Purnat purna mudachyate – ‘From that completeness comes this completeness’ or ‘That completeness is the source of this completeness.’

Purnasya purnamaadaya – ‘If we take away this completeness from that completeness...’

Purnamevavashishyate: ‘Only completeness remains.’

Like all Upanishadic statements, this too does not have only one shade of meaning. That is why there have been several translators and commentators of the Upanishads, and each person has approached it stressing that particular point that appeals to him, or one that would interest a certain section of his students.

One of the philosophical interpretations of purnamadah purnamidam, especially because it comes in the beginning of the Ishavasya Upanishad, is that the Supreme Reality, which has been variously described in the Upanishad as the Supreme Brahman, Para Brahman, The Ultimate Truth, is ‘that Supreme Reality which is Complete’. This means it is purna, because it is always full; it does not crave for anything; it is by itself independent and self-existing, permanent, remaining when everything else perishes. It is that Supreme Reality which knows no darkness but only effulgence, which is nirmala – free of impurities or imperfections. Therefore it is perfect, complete, and