Isa Upanishad

THE PROMISE AND THE PATH – 5 – Personal Salvation vs. Transformation of the World

The two alternative translations of the first verse of the Isha Upanishad presented in the last four posts have contrasting implications owing to alternative meanings attached to ‘sarva’.  

The first translation translates ‘sarva’ as Siva/Krishna (see post 1 for details). This converts the verse into a message for personal salvation. The second translation takes ‘sarva’ to mean ‘all’. This converts the verse into a message about the transformation of the world. 

In this post, the implications of the two translations of the first verse of the Upanishad are discussed.

ईशावास्यमिदं सर्वं यत्किं च जगत्यां जगत् | तेन त्यक्तेन भुन्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम् ||

iishaavaasyamidam sarvam yatkim cha jagatyaam jagat , tena tyaktena bhunjiithaa maa gRdhah kasyasviddhanam

Translation I. PERSONAL SALVATION

“By means of the supreme spirit – will be perfumed This. 

To Siva/Krishna join further on the earth.

The world, through Him having surrendered to the Lord, you may enjoy/possess. 

Do not be greedy. Whose then is property?”

1. Here ‘This’ (idam) seems to be a reference to the soul of the seeker. Strictly ‘idam’ means ‘This’. ‘This’ or ‘enam’ (एनं) is the manner in which the Lord refers to the soul in Bhagavad Gita (2.19-29 passim). Such a mode of addressing is also intuitively plausible since compared to ‘That’ or Brahman, the Self is here at hand, even if not manifest.

2. ‘By means of the Supreme Spirit’ implies that the Supreme Spirit is here described an ‘agent’ of ‘perfuming’. This action is to take place in the future (will be), since ‘aavaasyam’ is a future passive participle of ‘aavaas’ (to perfume).

3. To ensure the ‘perfuming’ of the soul, one is advised to connect further or closer to ‘sarva’ i.e., Siva or Krishna (or possibly Vishnu). Of these deities, Siva is the meaning favoured by this writer in the light of later verses.

4. These ‘ishtas’ as it were, become the medium through whom one surrenders to the ‘Lord’ (ina, इन), presumably the Supreme Being.

5. The Supreme Being is to be regarded as the owner of all property, and the seeker may enjoy possession without greed, as a trustee. This last point, is common to the second translation as well.

Translation II. UNIVERSAL TRANSFORMATION

“Through Supreme Spirit is to be covered this all. 

Join further on earth the universe.

Through That having surrendered (to the) Lord, you may enjoy. 

Do not be greedy. Whose then is property?”

1. ‘This all’ or ‘all this’ refers to the manifest world. It includes relations between man and man as well as relations between man and the universe.

2. The envelopment of the world is to be in the future, since ‘vaasyam’ is the future passive participle of ‘vas’ (to cover or clothe).

3. The Supreme Spirit is to be the agent of this future envelopment of the world.

4. ‘That’ or the Supreme Spirit is the medium through which one surrenders to the ‘Lord’, presumably the supreme Being.

5. The Supreme Being is to be regarded as the owner of all property, and the seeker may enjoy possession without greed, as a trustee. This last point is also in the first translation.

WHY TWO TRANSLATIONS AND TWO MEANINGS?

1. It is the personal belief of this writer that Hindu scriptures have multiple meanings embedded in them. The purpose is to permit a multiplicity of approaches to life, and to the end of life. This plurality is expressed in the saying: Ekam sat, vipra bahuda vadanti (The Truth is one, the wise describe it differently).

2. Our analysis indicates that the first verse of the Isha Upanishad points both towards personal salvation and universal transformation.

3. This duality of objectives reflects the duality of social existence. As a social being, man must seek act on the world in such a way as to resolve its conficts ... to ‘join it further’ (yat-kim cha) as it were in harmony. As an individual, he or she must secure personal salvation. 

4. The first verse of Isha Upanishad sounds a warning that both must be pursued simultaneously. This warning is especially relevant to modern times. As the problems of the world become more acute and pressing, more and more attention is being paid to their solution. Yet there is no guarantee that they are tractable within our life, or even in the lives of the next generation. For this reason, all people should ‘walk on two legs’ – combine pursuit of personal salvation with the effort to bring harmony to the world.

5. It is this understanding that inspired a recent post of this author, “Meditation – The Prime Defense ...” in which it was suggested that -

“Install your gods, your ishtas, in your hearts through meditation. Spend at least half an hour daily meditating on your ishta - Siva, Vishnu, Devi, Ganesha, or Krishna. End the meditation by placing the fruits at the feet of Krishna.

He alone knows how to make sense of this sordid Nehruvite mess that free India has landed into. If He wills so, he will correct it. If He does not, it means that the end of time has come.

And if the end of time has come, your non-fruitive offering at His feet will be a silent prayer to sleep in Him or in your Ishta, when time ends.”

6. The pursuit for personal salvation should go hand in hand with the pursuit of global harmony.

The former recognises and goes behind the 'maya' of the Lord, the latter performs one's allotted role in the 'maya.