Sri Isopanisad Mantra 1
Here is my commentary on the first mantra of Sri Isopanisad. As before, comments are greatly appreciated.
The first mantra of Sri Isopanisad is actually the most perfect form of ethics. It serves to remind us that everything is part and parcel of, and thereby owned and controlled by the Lord. There is nothing that truly belongs to "us" because there is no genuine distinct "us". As indicated previously, we too are part and parcel of the Lord. There are certain things which are required for created beings to survive. Through the mercy of Lord Sri Krishna, we are offered those things; however, we must be careful not to become greedy and demand more than is our due.
As created being living in this world of maya, we have certain defects, which Srila Prabhupada lists in his purport as follows:
1. we will make mistakes
2. we are subject to illusion
3. we have a propensity to cheat others
4. our senses are imperfect
While these defects live within us, we are unable to possess or transmit perfect knowledge. Therefore, we buy into the illusions of this world and do what is necessary to survive and find happiness. For many people, however, this desire to do what is necessary to survive leads us towards error and mistaken belief. Most of the things we believe are necessary are not necessary and do not lead to genuine happiness. Yet we listen to the imperfect knowledge of this world and allow ourselves to do harmful things in the pursuit of illusion. Lord Sri Krishna, however, is all perfect, and none of the deficiencies of creation exist within Him, therefore only perfect knowledge is known and transmitted through the Lord. This teaching of the Sri Isopanisad is taken from the Yajur Veda, which makes it divine, transcendent knowledge. As a result, when the text speaks to us about who is the true owner and controller of all things, we may accept that as absolute, since it comes directly from the voice of the Lord, through disciplic succession, without alteration. It is not subject to the whims of human error.
Continuing with mantra one, we see that Krishna is everything, the complete whole, containing everything within our experience, and without. All things therefore are the potencies of Krishna, including us. Remember that as stated in Bhagavad-Gita, we are not God, but we are part and parcel of God. In essence, we are like an appendage of God, which can be used to control all things, hence Krishna is always in control. Our illusory desire for sense gratification makes us forget this basic fact. We believe that we are the "doer" of things when the ultimate "doer" is Krishna, we are simply one of the instruments through which He works. We may fight against this, but in the end, all will have to come to this realization. Through Bhakti, we are taught that the way to God is through loving devotion and service, so the completeness of our lives will only be realized through service to the Complete Whole. Part of this service is offering the fruits of our actions to the Lord, part of it is by purifying what we keep. This gets us to the key element of this first mantra. Everything belongs to the Lord, and no one is a true proprietor or owner or controller of anything except Lord Sri Krishna. In His mercy, He allows individuals to take that which is necessary and useful, but as indicated, "one should only accept those things which are set aside by the Lord as his quota." We should not be greedy and take what is not ours to take, we should not constantly strive towards sense gratification. Krishna is the supreme enjoyer, and so genuine enjoyment will only be felt by offering up those enjoyments to the Lord, and then basking in His enjoyment.
As created beings in this realm, we require food and shelter, and Lord Sri Krishna offers these to us, but each is given what is needed, but should be understood as a gift. We are not the owner of these things, only the Lord is proprietor of all. We build a house made of wood and stone, and think ourselves superior to the animals. We have created this home, it is mine. Yet we are only using what was granted to us for this purpose. We cannot create wood or stone. It is a gift. We simply use that gift for our purposes, but must remember to whom that wood and stone truly belongs. In terms of food, the cow eats grass and straw. Humans cannot and should not eat those things. From this consumption, the cow produces milk, which the cow cannot then drink, but it is intended for human consumption. So each is given what is needed, and each should accept only what is offered.
Of course, human beings are in some ways superior to other animals in that they have the capacity to knowledge and understanding and therefore also morality. An animal simply follows instinct and cannot be harmed by what it does. An animal cannot sin; but humans are capable of acquiring sin and harming themselves through wrongful action. Even when one acts in ignorance. It is worth remembering that humans must eat, yet everything that is eaten is alive. One can avoid doing harm by avoiding the killing and eating of animals, but even vegetable matter is alive, so one must purify the food by offering it to the Lord. This is the meaning of prasadam. Food is not for my sense gratification, but instead I prepare what is enjoyed by the Lord as laid out in Bhagavad-Gita, and offer that food to Lord Krishna. In accepting this offering, the food is purified and we can consume it sin-free. It is no longer harmful. Instead we can enjoy that food through the enjoyment of the Lord. We participate in the enjoyment of the Complete Whole. As indicated in Bhagavad-Gita 3.13, "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."
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Comment by Tamohara dasa, Bh.S. just now Delete Comment
"Of course, human beings are in some ways superior to other animals in that they have the capacity to knowledge and understanding and therefore also morality. An animal simply follows instinct and cannot be harmed by what it does. An animal cannot sin; but humans are capable of acquiring sin and harming themselves through wrongful action." - Dr. A.S. Prabhu from essay above
T dasa;
trnad api sunicena, taroro api sahisnuna.... A blade of grass in all its humbleness never acts contrary to the will of Nature, nor does it engage in tirades of ego and selfishness. Yet, we, the supposedly superior Humans, have not conquered our personal greed and demands to ourself control the world, and so we often act contrary to nature and even against our own best health and interests, due to our contrarian seperatist cowboy mentalities. So, in reality, we really are lower than the blade of grass, which never acts out of crass foolishness or in opposition to the Will of Godhead.
Fortunately, by yoking our consiousness to that of Godhead, by connecting with the Great Computor, our current limited understandings and awarenesses become unlimited and worthwhile ; by giving up egotistic demands, and opening our hearts and minds to prospects of eternal self awareness, then lower things can be shucked off like the husk surrounding a sweet coconut inside. By hearing from the Sources who are indeed connected, as it were, to the all-pervading spiritual energies of Godhead Supersoul, ie directly in communication, by realization of mystic realities beyond mundane time, we can also "hear" from that Source, who passes knowledge down to us via the chain oft teachers and the holy scriptures, and also through the realized mouths of the connected saints.
The process of diksha internally and formally connects one to this Source, by contract, otherwise difficult to obtain, like an honorary degree. The paper may not be required to perform brain surgery, but generally, one is not allowed to do it until one has the paper in hand or is apprenticed to a recognized master, such as our Srila Prabhupada, and/or is accepting otherwise a bonafide connected representative of Godhea. ( there being many, but curiously yet there is a shortage!)
It is interesting that the thing that is meant to elevate us is also what lowers us. As you you say, humans are lower than the blade of grass because our language and intellect allows us to develop egos that wish to act for themselves. Yet, it is because of that intellect that we can discover the Absolute Truth and let go of that false ego.
Nice, A.S. Prabhu, free will is apparent and supports the whole philosophical presentation of Isopanisad. There are options and choices, we are not hopelessly bound to suffer, neither can we be so proud to think we are perfect and infallible; we can lose our position in the spiritual sky by excess pride or ego or offenses to others. Generally once one has realized their spiritual original nature , that does not happen, but, sometimes....
The mind can be the best friend or an enemy. The mind is the operating system of the body, subject to many influences of an animalistic nature. The intelligence can hear from sources of high knowledge, or mundane sources. The spiritual or high knowledge will deliver one, as one then can train the mind to aspire for spiritual activities and desires, by sadhana, or regular training, whereas one who has no such knowledge, will then be obliged to act upon imperfect reasoning and revelations, and is subject to the dictates of the untrained animal-like mind.
Yes, it is most curious; the powers and faculties of our spiritual nature can also be used to facilitate self-pleasuring through adoption of so many artificial and false scenarios, in which we become absorbed and lose our identities, for a while, sometimes for a very long while!
It is the applied will to allow ourselves to be caught up in the temporary dream-like forms and desires related to satisfying the senses of those forms, that elevates or degrades us. Yes, we have God-given rights to act as we please, and bodies to facilitate fulfilling those desires, but if we have good association and see good examples, then we can choose rightly.
This proves that we are not ultimately God, but infinitesimal portions equal in quality but minute in powers relative to the Infinite. Otherwise, how is it that we become caught up in temporary disatisfying states, almost as if against our wills? It is because our situation as jivas is marginal, we can go to the spiritual side, or we can fall into material realities, same soul, same capacities, but one side elevates, and the other degrades our Self. There are great Powers that can control us if we place ourselves in their realm.