Commentary on Mantra 11 of Sri Isopanisad:
I am frequently asked how I can hold the views expressed in Sri Isopanisad consistently and still teach in the academic world. How can one such as myself be a devotee of Sri Krsna and yet participate in the world of nescience on a regular basis? Vedic scripture has an answer for every question, and Mantra 11 helps answer this one.
Prabhupada’s translation is very telling: “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” (p.75) So, in order to transcend to our ultimate state, it is relevant to understand both the Absolute and the temporal; both the genuine knowledge and the nescience.
Originally, of course, everything was one. There was simply the Godhead, but then Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personification of the Godhead expands Himself as Lord Vishnu, and from the navel of Lord Vishnu grew the universe and all of its 8.400.000 forms of life. Since that moment of creation humans have sought immortality and permanence. There seems to be something within us that recognizes the perfection of permanence. The ancient philosophers of Greece and Rome as well as the Middle East sought this permanence just as much as the Vedic philosophers of India.
Temporality and impermanence is part of the created world in which we currently reside, but our true self does not really belong in this world. Yet humans seek to prolong life in this material world because it is what they know, what they are familiar with. The material world pulls one in until one loses sight of one’s true nature. One begins to fear death as one fears the dark. It is unknown and therefore scary. It is to be avoided. So humans seek permanence in this material world, but no one has ever achieved it.
In the Sumerian culture, the Epic of Gilgamesh tells of the warrior king Gilgamesh who attempted to find immortality only to discover in the end that death must claim us all. It is as Plato said in the Timaeus; all that is born must surely die. That is the nature of this world. The material world is a world of flux where one faces the sufferings of old age, disease, and death. These cannot be avoided by any created being. Even Lord Brahma, the first created being, while having an incredibly vast lifespan, is still limited. Only the Godhead is immortal and permanent.
All of the nescience of the past has worked towards eliminating the sufferings of the world. It tries to take away old age, disease, and death. But the nescience always fails, as it must. That is the nature of the created world. Its laws are cruel, but Lord Krsna is merciful and kind. We will have that immortality and permanence we seek in His presence when we return to Godhead. However to properly understand this one must understand both the nature of the material world and the Absolute. This is how it serves us, at least for a time, to be involved in the world of nescience. One must understand this world in order to transcend beyond it.
Srila Prabhupada explains in his lengthy commentary on mantra 11 that “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 (p. 77).” The Vedic scriptures contain all of the relevant wisdom necessary for this journey. The conditioned soul has given himself over to the material world, and forgotten his true relationship with God. He has accepted himself as this physical body and seeks to glorify the physical, but through the study of scripture he is able to discover the true self. Without the Vedic scriptures we would be lost in this sea of despair, but thanks to the mercy of the divine, we have been left a roadmap to guide us home.
Those who follow the way of avidya seek only sense gratification in this world, and even when looking to the scriptures see only sense gratification after death as the end result, but this is not the purpose of religion. The purpose of religion is self-realization. Because we live in this material world, we must accept a basic economy; however, we should only accept those things which are our due. We should not strive for more and more, as this fever leads us away from vidya. One should not physically work and strive for wealth or power, one should exercise restraint, and pursue self-realization. Spend your time studying the scriptures, and learn about the Absolute Truth in the step by step program lined out in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Follow the 18 principles as laid out in mantra 10, and engage in devotional service to the Lord. “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 (p.82).” The remaining mantras of Sri Isopanisad will further illustrate this point.
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--Śrī Chaitanẏa-charitāmṛta: Madhẏa-līlā 23.9-13
"If, by good fortune, a living entity develops faith in
Kṛṣṇa, that living entity begins to associate with
devotees. When one is encouraged in devotional service by the
association of devotees, one becomes free from all unwanted
contamination by following the regulative principles and chanting and
hearing. When one is freed from all unwanted contamination, one
advances with firm faith. When firm faith in devotional service
awakens, a taste for hearing and chanting also awakens. After taste
is awakened, a deep attachment arises, and from that attachment the
seed of love for Kṛṣṇa grows in the heart. When that
ecstatic emotional stage intensifies, it is called love of Godhead.
Such love is life's ultimate goal and the reservoir of all pleasure."