Advaita Vedanta: Isa Upanishad
Translated and edited by Swami Nikhilananda
ALL THIS--WHATEVER exists in this changing universe--should be covered by the Lord (One should view the universe through the knowledge of non-duality, as Atman alone). Protect the Self (liberate the Self from grief, delusion, and other traits of samsara in which It has been entangled on account of ignorance) by renunciation. Lust not after any man's wealth. (1)
If a man wishes to live a hundred years on this earth, he should live performing action (devotion and other moral duties). For you, who cherish such desire and regard yourself as a man (one who is identified with his body and conscious of his human duties and moral responsibilities), there is no other way by which you can keep work from clinging to you (a person attached to his human body and desirous of of enjoying on earth his full span of life, should devote himself to religious duties and unselfish action, if not he will engage in evil action). (2)
Verily, those worlds of the asuras are enveloped in blind darkness; and thereto they all repair after death who are slayers of Atman (a person clinging to ignorance is described as a slayer of Atman). (3)
That non-dual Atman, though never stirring, is swifter than the mind. The devas (the senses) cannot reach It, for It moves ever in front. Though standing still, It overtakes others who are running. Because of Atman, Vayu (the first manifestation of the Absolute in the relative universe, also known as Hiranyagarbha and Prana, which sustains the whole universe by apportioning to other deities their respective function) apportions the activities of all. (4)
NOTE: It is well known that the mind, though encased in a body, can travel in the twinkling of an eye, and by its mere will, to such a distant place as the farthest heaven. But what does the mind find on reaching its destination? It finds the Self, or Atman already there. The drift of the text is that before one is conscious of any object, one must be conscious of oneself. Self-Knowledge must be admitted before the knowledge of any object. Further, the mind is a material thing. It cannot know an object without the light of Atman.
It moves and moves not; It is far and likewise near. It is inside all this and It is outside all this [omniscient and omnipotent]. (5)
The wise man beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings; for that reason he does not hate anyone. (6)
To the seer, all things have verily become the Self: What delusion, what sorrow, can there be for him who beholds that oneness? (7)
It is He who pervades all--He who is bright and bodiless, without scar or sinews, pure and by evil unpeirced; who is the Seer, omniscient, trascendant and uncreated. He has duly allotted to the eternal World-Creators (cosmic beings such as Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva; or possibly the Creators of different universes. They endure as long as the universe lasts, but are not absolutely eternal, like Brahman, which transcends time) their respective duties. (8)
Into a blind darkness they enter who are devoted to ignorance (rituals); but into a greater darkness they enter who engage in knowledge [of a deity] alone. (9)
One thing (Devaloka, the plane of Deities), they say, is obtained from knowledge; another (Pitriloka, plane of the Fathers), they say, from ignorance. Thus we have heard from the wise who have taught us this. (10)
He who is aware that both knowledge and ignorance should be pursued together, overcomes death (relative to a sense perceived world) through ignorance (ritualistic actions which reveal to the performer the other planes of existence unperceived by the senses) and obtains immortality (relative immortality enjoyed by the gods with whom devotes become identified through meditation) through knowledge. (11)
Into a blind darkness they enter who worship only the unmanifested prakriti (nature prior to the manifestation of names and forms); but into a greater darkness they enter who worship the manifested Hiranyagarbha. (12)
One thing (as a result of worshipping Hiranyagarbha, the devotee obtains such supernatural powers as the ability to reduce himself to the size of an atom, to make himself light as a feather, and to pervade the entire universe. These are characteristics of Hiranyagarbha), they say, is obtained from the worship of the manifested; another (absorption into prakriti), they say, from the worship of the unmanifested. Thus we have heard from the wise who taught us this. (13)
NOTE: The scriptures say that whatever a person worships he becomes after death. He who worships prakriti, characterized by nescience, remains merged in prakritifor untold years. And he who worships Hiranyagarbha, who is only manifestation of prakriti, obtains a corresponding result.
He who knows that both the unmanifested prakriti and the manifested Hiranyagarbha should be worshipped together, overcomes death by worship of Hiranyagarbha and obtains immortality (absorption into prakriti) through devotion to prakriti. (14)
NOTE: The result of combining the two kinds of worship described here in the text is, first the attainment of supernatural powers through devotion to Hiranyagarbha, and second, the attainment of immortality (relative) by merging in prakriti. The attainment of this immortality is the culmination of the efforts of a man or a god. It is the highest achievement in the relative universe.
The door of the Truth is covered by a golden disc. Open it, O nourisher! Remove it so that I who have been worshiping the Truth may behold it. (15)
O nourisher, lone Traveller of the sky, Controller! O Sun, offspring of Prajapati! Gather Your rays; withdraw Your light. I would see, through Your grace, that form of Yours which is the fairest. I am indeed He, that Purusha, who dwells there. (16)
Now may my breath return to the all-pervading, immortal Prana! May this body be burnt to ashes! Om. O mind, remember, remember all that I have done. (17)
O Fire, lead us by the good path for the enjoyment of the fruit of our action. You know, O gid, all our deeds. Destroy our sin of deceit. We offer, by words, our salutations to you. (18)