Isavasya Upanishad – 4

Mantras 9 to 14

In earlier blog, ‘Isavasya Upanishad 2’, we saw that Mantras 9 to 18 are a commentary on Mantra 2, that talks about Pravritti marga or Karma marga.  Here karmas are sastra vihita karmani, religious karmas as prescribed in sastras.  These karmas can be kayika, physical, vachika, verbal, or manasa, mental, either individually or in combination. Of these the kayika karmas like puja, yajna and vachika karmas like chanting, nama japa are called karmas, while manasa karma like dhyanam is called upasana. Mere karma alone is called kevala karma and mere upasana alone is called kevala upasana, while the combination of both karma and upasana is called karma upasana samuchaya. In the three Mantras 9, 10 &11, upanishad wants to glorify karma upasana samuchaya over kevala karma and kevala upasana.  This it does through nahi nindha stuthi  i.e by praising the combination and criticising the other two. But it does not mean the other two are devalued as they have their own value by themselves.  In these three Mantras, Upanishad employs the term ‘vidya’ for upasana and ‘avidya’, for karma.  Further it classifies higher worlds like Swarga and above as darker worlds because though they are materially brighter, the material pleasures act as a deterrent for developing the urge for spiritual advancement.  The higher the world, the more refined the sensual pleasures and more darker it is classified.  Now let us see Mantra 9:

Andham tamah pravisanti ye avidyam upasate I

Tatoh bhooya iva te tamoh ye u vidyaayaam rathah. II (Mantra 9)

“They who worship avidya alone fall into blinding darkness and they who worship vidya alone fall as though into an even greater darkness”. 

In the light of the explanation seen earlier this Mantra is to be interpreted as follows: Those who do kevala karma like agnihotra and other ritualistic karmas go to higher loka where there is no motivation for getting spiritual enlightenment and they are subject to continuation of the cycle of birth and death and the life of struggle and samsara at the exhaustion of their punya phala. As regards those who do kevala upasana the condition is no better; only they go to still higher loka where they  exhaust their punya enjoying more refined sensual pleasures, but lesser will be the inclination for getting spiritual enlightenment.  This Mantra is the part of nahi ninda stuthi where the kevala karma and kevala upasana are crticised only for the glorification of the combination, karma upasana samuchaya, to come later in Mantra 11.  In Mantra 10, it is stated that benefits that result from kevala karma and kevala upasana are different, revealing each of them has a purpose though different.  It is also said in this Mantra that this is what has been heard from the wise men who taught them i.e. their gurus.  This shows it is the traditional knowledge handed down through guru-sishya lineage.

Mantra 11,that glorifies samuchaya is:

Vidyam cha avidyam cha yastatvedobhayam saha I

Avidyaya mrityum teertva vidyaya amritam ashnute. II (Mantra 11)

 “He who worships both vidya and avidya together overcomes death through avidya and obtains immortality through vidya” 

Here not only ‘vidya’ and ‘avidya’  but also ‘mrityu’ and ‘amritam’ also are to be interpreted to arrive at the meaning of the Mantra. ‘Mrityu’ is to be interpreted as ‘Svabhika karma’, instinctive action, i.e action which is not governed by dharma but influenced by their likes and dislikes only.  ‘Amritam’ is to be interpreted as krama mukthi and not as videha mukthi.  Krama mukthi, is liberation gained from Brahma Loka at the time of pralaya after getting enlightenment in Brama Loka, while videha mukthi is liberation attained at the time of death here itself, without travelling to any other loka. So this Mantra is to be interpreted as: – one who does karma upasana samuchaya attains chiththa suddhi, a purified mind that abides by dharma and ethics, and after death goes to Brahma Loka and attains krama mukthi.  Thus karma upasna samuchaya is glorified over kevala karma and kevala upasana.

In the three Mantras, 12, 13 and 14 a similar approach is made as in 9, 10 and 11, to glorify the combination of two upasanas over the two individual upasanas i.e. upasana dwaya samuchaya over kevala upasana. The two upasanas mentioned here are sambhoothi upasana and asambhoothi upasana. sambhoothi  referring to Hiranyagarbha which is samashti sukshma sareera, collective subtle body which is also referred to as vinaasam in Mantra 14, being subject to change.  asambhoothi  refers to  Prakrithi  which is samashti karana sareera. Mantra 12 is:

Andham tamah pravisanti ye asambhootimupaasate I

tato bhooya iva te tamo ya u sambhootyaam ratah II (Mantra 12)

They enter into blinding darkness who do only the Prakrithi upasana; but into even greater darkness they enter who do Hiranyagarbha upasana alone.

The interpreted meaning of Mantra 12 is: - Those who do Prakrithi upasana alone, go to higher loka but they are subject to continuation of the cycle of birth and death and the life of struggle and samsara at the exhaustion of their punya phala as there is no motivation for getting spiritual enlightenment there.  As regards those who do Hiranyagarbha upasana alone, they go to still higher loka, but still are subject to continuation of the cycle of birth and death and the life of struggle and samsara at the exhaustion of their punya phala as sensual pleasures are more refined here and the motivation for getting spiritual enlightenment is lesser. This is the criticism part of kevala upasana.  The glorification of the combination, upasana dwaya samuchaya, comes in Mantra 14. But before that in Mantra 13, each of these upasanas individually is stated to confer separate but distinct benefit and this statement is also attributed to their gurus as in Mantra 10.  Mantra 14 is: 

Sambhootim cha vinaasham cha yah tat veda ubhayam saha I

Vinaashena mrityum teertvaa Sambhootyaa amritam ashnute. II (Mantra 14)

He who worships both Prakriti and Hiranyagarbha together, overcomes death by the worship of Hiranyagarbha and obtains immortality through worship of Prakriti.

The word ‘amritam’ in this Mantra is interpreted as Prakrithi laya, where the Jiva continues in Brahma Loka until pralaya and in pralaya goes into unmanifest condition to be born again in next creation.  In krama mukthi one attains liberation, while in Prakrithi laya one has to continue the cycle of birth and death until liberation. The word ‘mrityu’ is interpreted as limitations and ‘mrityum teertvaa’ as overcoming limitations through acquisition of animadhi ashta siddhis, eight siddhis like anima.  The ashta siddhis are:

1)    Anima, power to shrink one’s size, 

2)     Mahima, power to enlarge one’s size,

3)    Garima, power to make oneself heavy,

4)    Lahima, power to make oneself light,

5)    Prapthi, power to reach anywhere,

6)    Prakamiya, power to get and enjoy in one’s place objects one wants,

7)    Vashitva, power  to exercise control over all objects, organic and inorganic,

8)    Ishitva, power to create and destroy at will objects.

So the meaning of the Mantra with all the interpretations is: - “One, who does the combination of Hiranyagarbha upasana and Prakrithi upasana, acquires animadhi ashta siddhis through Hiranyagarbha upasana and attains Prakrithi laya through Prakrithi upasana”.  This is the glorification of the combination of upasanas over individual upasanas.

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