Śrī Īśopaniṣad

Sri Isopanisad is the first (isa) of the Vedic Upanisads. Upa means near and anisad means sit down. So the Upanisads are narrations of disciples sitting down near an enlightened spiritual master, submitting their sincere inquiries about spiritual life and patiently hearing the answers. The Esoteric Teaching is so powerful because it is based on the original Vedic texts, not some third-hand misinterpretation like so many imitation spiritual paths. Sri Isopanisad, as the first of the 108 Upanisads written by Srila Vyasadeva, the original author of the Vedas, is a great place to start your exploration of the authentic Vedic texts.

Invocation

Everything we can know, or name, must be defined in relation to some central point. That point is the Absolute, and it is a semantic singularity that must exist for every ontological system and every world view.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 1

The Vedic wisdom of the Esoteric Teaching is perfect knowledge of everything spiritual. It is spoken by the Lord Himself to Brahma, the first created being, and then handed down through the disciplic succession of self-realized spiritual masters.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 2

It is natural to want to live forever, because we are eternal spiritual beings. According to the Vedas this is quite natural.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 3

Human consciousness is superior to animal consciousness because it can express the full range of the faculties of the soul, including the highest states of self-realization, spiritual bliss and love of Godhead.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 4

The Absolute is intellectually unfathomable. Even the most intelligent philosopher is unable to realize the Supreme Lord as the Absolute Personality of Godhead through mental speculation.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 5

Written by David Bruce Hughes

The Supreme Lord’s transcendental activities always seem paradoxical when viewed with mundane vision. But even the impossible becomes possible when executed by His inconceivable potencies.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 6

This mantra of Sri Isopanisad describes the consciousness of a perfectly self-realized soul. One who is truly spiritually advanced sees everything and everyone in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 7

This mantra of Sri Isopanisad introduces us to the point of view of the self-realized soul. In the beginning such clear and certain realization of the Absolute Truth may seem far off, but it is readily attainable through the guidance of the Esoteric Teaching.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 8

In this mantra, Sri Isopanisad reveals some of the transcendental qualities of the Personality of Godhead as directly perceived by the self-realized soul. The Supreme Lord is not formless, but His form is transcendental, or made from pure spiritual energy.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 9

Avidyā, ignorance, is dangerous, because an ignorant person has no idea of what they are, or the goal and purpose of human life. But Śrī Īśopaniṣad also warns that when vidyā or knowledge is based on a wrong platform or used for misguided purposes, it is even more dangerous.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 10

Cultivation of nescience results in increasing bondage and suffering in material existence. Cultivation of vidya, real knowledge, results in liberation from material existence and suffering.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 11

We should understand clearly what is knowledge (vidya), what is ignorance and what is nescience (avidya). When material knowledge and work are dedicated to supporting spiritual culture, then vidya and avidya are in balance, and we can attain the highest purposes of human life.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 12

Philosophers, theologians and even many Vedic ṛṣis, or mystics, attempt to discriminate the Absolute from the relative by their own speculative intellectual power. This inferior process can only reach a negative conception of the Absolute.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 13

The system of receiving the Esoteric Teaching is to hear from a spiritual Master Teacher who is undisturbed by the actions and reactions of the modes of material nature. We can receive the ontological key to realizing transcendental knowledge only from a sober self-realized person who is never disturbed by the temporary changes of the material world.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 14

Modern civilization has made much so-called advancement, including killer satellites and atomic weapons, by increasing material knowledge. But it cannot create freedom from old age, disease, death and rebirth in this world of suffering.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 15

Realization of the impersonal spiritual effulgence of the Lord is incomplete without realization of His personal form, because His personal aspect is the cause of the impersonal Brahman.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 16

In thismantra, Śrī Īśopaniṣad continues to emphasize the personal form of the Absolute Truth. As the first of the 108 Upaniāads written by the author of the Vedas Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Śrī Īśopaniṣad sets an important precedent for the interpretation of the subsequent Upaniṣads.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 17

The Esoteric Teaching states that when the material body dies, the spiritual living entity continues to exist in the same identity. The living entity is never impersonal or formless; actually, matter is impersonal and formless. The living entity is always personal and individual, with an eternal spiritual form.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad Mantra 18

The mantras of Śrī Īśopaniṣad describe the impersonal brahmajyoti feature of the Absolute as a dazzling covering over His ultimate aspect as the Personality of Godhead, and pray to Him to reveal His real face.

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