Isha Upanishad - Summary

Isha Upanishad - Summary
Based on the notes of Sri Aurobindo

The central theme of Isha Upanishad (IU) is absolute, complete and very firm reconciliation of the apparent opposites of enjoyment and renunciation, action and inaction, Unity of Lord and Multiplicity of Action, Truth and Illusion (Maya), Vidya and Avidya. IU draws its inspiration from the Vedic thought. At a later stage, the thought process drifted towards down grading of this World, Enjoyment, Action, Multiplicity, Birth and Avidya (Ignorance). As against this the higher preferred status was given to the exact opposite of them. God, Renunciation, Inaction, One, Cessation of Birth, Vidya (Knowledge) were given exalted status. This trend went to the extreme level resulting in the idea of the world being illusion – Maya, Unreal, a snare, trap, hopeless burden imposed by the soul on himself under the influence of seduction of desires. It was advocated to ‘cast aside’ this world altogether in order to get out of this ‘trap’. At end of this road we reach a point wherein ‘cut the knot’ of this great mystery altogether and once and for all set oneself free. This was indeed a very ‘violent’ method.

As against this backdrop, let us examine how IU tackles this issue. IU does not cut these knots – even thought it appeared that it (i.e. the cutting of the knots) was the only feasible solution). Instead, it holds these extreme ends of the threads of thought and un-knot them, disengage them, remove the tangles, release them and then place them side by side. While doing all this no compromise whatsoever is made to the law of truth of being. It should also be noted that in this process of reconciliation of the extreme viewpoints, IU has not down-graded or up-graded any one of them. On the other hand, it has shown the inter-dependence of these diverse view-points.

We need to have very high level of renunciation. At the same time we should also have total enjoyment in this world. While advocating the complete and willful acceptance action in this world, the equal emphasis is also laid on the absolute freedom of the soul from any attachment to its works. Complete and total Unity is prescribed as the goal. However, this Unity must incorporate in it the whole gamut of the multiplicity of movement in the world.

We should note that IU is very serious in this line of thought about the reconciliation of the opposites. Take for example the statement “By the Ignorance having crossed over death by the knowledge one enjoys Immortality”. It appears that the position of Vidya(knowledge) is
put very high above that of Avidya (Ignorance). Life in this world is given the inferior status over that of the life after death. Now have a look at the other statement : “By dissolution having crossed over death by birth one enjoys Immortality” This statement asserts that the deathless stage of immortality is to be achieved in the birth and not in death. This statement balances the earlier statement. The immortality is to be found in this life itself and not somewhere beyond life. This is very much similar to the early Vedic thought which laid great emphasis on the current state of embodied human being for achieving the diverse objectives of existence and non-existence, death and life and immortality. These objectives are to be achieved as fully realizable, possessed and enjoyed in this life itself without having to renounce life and bodily existence. This thought has never passed out of our philosophy. However, it has become more secondary and a sort of ‘side product’. This thought was superseded by the more and more dominant philosophy of ‘cutting’ the knot as explained above – to renounce life altogether, to extinguish all desires, to seek solution in after-life.

IU has successfully taken up these opposites one by one and reconciled them harmoniously and integrally into a whole solution. It has elaborated upon following pair of opposites :
1 The Conscious Lord and phenomenal Nature
2 Renunciation and Enjoyment
3 Action in Nature and Freedom in the Soul
4 The One stable Brahman and the multiple Movement
5 Being and Becoming
6 The Active Lord and the indifferent Akshara Brahman
7 Vidya and Avidya
8 Birth and Non-Birth
9 Works and Knowledge

Shrikant Vasudeo Soman