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Îsâ-Upanishad · 1 of 2 · tr. F. Max Müller

Îsâ, Section 1a

p. 308 p. 309 VÂ G ASANEYI-SA M HITÂ-UPANISHAD, SOMETIMES CALLED Î S ÂVÂSYA OR Î S Â-UPANISHAD p. 310 p. 311 VÂ G ASANEYI-SA M HITÂ-UPANISHAD. 1. ALL this, whatsoever moves on earth, is to be hidden in the Lord (the Self). When thou hast surrendered all this, then thou mayest enjoy. Do not covet the wealth of any man! 2. Though a man may wish to live a hundred years, performing works, it will be thus with him; but not in any other way: work will thus not cling to a man. 3. There are the worlds of the Asuras 1 covered with blind darkness. Those who have destroyed their self (who perform works, without having arrived at a knowledge of the true Self ), go after death to those worlds. 4. That one (the Self), though never stirring, is swifter than thought. The Devas (senses) never reached it, it walked 2 before them. Though standing still, it overtakes the others who are running. Mâtarisvan (the wind, the moving spirit) bestows powers 3 on it. p. 312 5. It stirs and it stirs not; it is far, and likewise near 1 . It is inside of all this, and it is outside of all this. 6. And he who beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, he never turns away from it 2 . 7. When to a man who understands, the Self has become all things, what sorrow, what trouble can there be to him who once beheld that unity? 8. He 3 (the Self) encircled all, bright, incorporeal, scatheless, without muscles, pure, untouched by evil; a seer, wise, omnipresent, self-existent, he disposed all things rightly for eternal years. 9. All who worship what is not real knowledge (good works), enter into blind darkness: those who delight in real knowledge, enter, as it were, into greater darkness. 10. One thing, they say, is obtained from real knowledge; another, they say, from what is not knowledge. Thus we have heard from the wise who taught us this 4 . 11. He who knows at the same time both knowledge and not-knowledge, overcomes death through not-knowledge, and obtains immortality through knowledge. 12. All who worship what is not the true cause, p. 313 enter into blind darkness: those who delight in the true cause, enter, as it were, into greater darkness. 13. One thing, they say, is obtained from (knowledge of) the cause; another, they say, from (knowledge of) what is not the cause. Thus we have heard from the wise who taught us this. 14. He who knows at the same time both the cause and the destruction (the perishable body), overcomes death by destruction (the perishable body), and obtains immortality through (knowledge of ) the true cause. 15. The door of the True is covered with a golden disk 1 . Open that, O Pûshan, that we may see the nature of the True 2 . 16. O Pûshan, only seer, Yama (judge), Sûrya (sun), son of Pra g âpati, spread thy rays and gather them! The light which is thy fairest form, I see it. I am what He is (viz. the person in the sun) 3 . 17. Breath 4 to air, and to the immortal! Then this my body ends in ashes. Om! Mind, remember! Remember thy deeds! Mind, remember!
Themes
Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The text explicitly states that the Self is hidden in the Lord and covered by a golden disk.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

The Self is described as bright and incorporeal, and the seeker asks to see the nature of the True through light.

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Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

Verse 3 describes specific afterlife destinations (worlds of Asuras) for those who destroy their self.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

Salvation and immortality are explicitly linked to knowledge of the true Self rather than works or wealth.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

The text asserts that the Lord (Self) is hidden within all things and inside of all this.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

Verse 6 describes the seer who beholds all beings in the Self and never turns away from it.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The text uses apparent contradictions such as the Self being far and near simultaneously.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The passage includes a direct address to Pûshan (the sun) in verse 15.

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Renunciation Of Wealthethics

The spiritual danger of attachment to material possessions; wealth as a spiritual obstacle.

Verse 1 explicitly commands not to covet the wealth of any man.

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Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

The passage emphasizes understanding and beholding the Self as the path to liberation.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

Verse 6 states that he who beholds all beings in the Self never turns away from it, indicating non-dual unity.

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