POST NUMBER 3
VALMIKI RAMAYANA
BALA KANDA
CHAPTER NUMBER 3
Valmiki, the prince of poets, composed the Life of Rama. Rama was reigning at Ayodhya at the time after his terrible wars with Ravana. The seven cantos are divided into 500 chapters, and contain 24,000 Verses (the Uttarakanda included). He included in it everything that happened to Rama in the distant past or was to in the remote future.
Having finished writing the epic, Valmiki looked for someone who would commit it to memory and carry it to the ears of men. He prayed to God to send someone who would accomplish his purpose. Just then came the two disciples, Kusa and Lava. They were dressed like hermits. But they were princes by birth. They reverently touched his feet.
The twins had been brought up by Valmiki. They had sweet and melodious voice. They were in possession of great memory power and were well versed in the Vedas and Vedangas *1. They were skilled in every art and science. They were righteous, strong of heart. As such, they were chosen by Valmiki as fit instruments of his noble purpose. So he taught them his great epic named as “Ramayana” or “Sita Charitra” or “Paulastya Vadha”*2. His Ramayana was sweet to recite and sweeter to sing. It gave perfect expression to every sentiment that moves the human breast: love, heroism, disgust, terror, pathos, wonder, mirth, calm and fear.
Kusa and Lava memorized the whole epic. They sang it to large concourses of Brahmanas and warriors, sages and saints to the sweet accompaniment of musical instruments. They were the living counterparts of Sri Ramachandra himself.
They travelled through many lands and sang the epic to many audiences. On one occasion, they sang the epic before the sages who were resting between the intervals of the Hors-sacrifice celebrated by Rama. They listened to the recital with streaming eyes and applauded them*3. One of them rose to present the twins with his water pot. Another gave them his hermit dress of bark!
Thus many times these two boys recited the great epic in crowded halls and broad streets, in sacred groves and sacrificial grounds. The listeners cried, “This epic is a rare and noble one. This one has honeyed verses and faultless diction. It is beautifully adapted to music, vocal and instrument and charming to hear. The most exacting critic cannot praise it too highly. This poem is the best model for all future poets. This is a distilled Essence of the Holy Scriptures. This epic is the surest giver of health and happiness, length of years and prosperity to all who read or listen to it! And you two boys are proficient in every style of music and you have sung marvelously!”
It so happened that one day Bharata, the brother of the King, heard them recite and informed him. Raghava invited the noble twins to the palace and showed to them due respect. He seated them on the gem-encrusted throne of gold brought down by Dhasarata from the heaven of Indra. The twins were surrounded by the King’s loving brothers and faithful ministers. Rama gazed long and fondly on the boys who were the exact images of himself and exclaimed to his wondering brothers, “Mark the radiant glory that plays around them? They look like Gods than men! And the poem they recite, how wonderful in its suggestiveness! Let us listen to it!”*4
The Raja put away all cares from his heart*5. He prepared himself to listen and directed the boys to commence. The twins sang the epic melodiously with voices of perfect accord and entrancing sweetness. Their rendering was faultless in note and measure. And such was the perfectness of expression and delicacy of execution that the hearers followed them with their hearts and ears. And such was the marvelous power of their song, that an indescribable sense of bliss gradually stole over them and pervaded their frame and every sense and faculty of theirs – strange, over-powering and almost painful in its intensity!
Then Rama addressed, “Look at these two young ascetics, of kingly form and bearing. They are rare singers. They have mighty spiritual energy. And the noble poem they recite is sweet and solacing to my heart, reft of my beloved (my beloved Sita’s children)*6! Make no mistake about it!”
The boy-hermits set about to sing the Epic in Margi style of music. The soul-stirring song and music drew Rama from his lofty throne. He soon took his seat among the audience that he might better hear the gifted twins*7. Soon he was lost to everything around him and lived and moved in the immediate future!
BLOGGER’S NOTES:
*1. The word Vedanga means “limbs of the Veda”. They are six auxiliary disciplines designed to ensure the correct preservation, pronunciation, and execution of Vedic rituals.
. Sshiksha (Phonetics): Focuses on correct pronunciation and accentuation of sounds.
.. Chandas (Meter): Regulates the poetic metrics and verse structures of hymns or songs.
… Vyakarana (Grammar): Analyzes linguistic structure, made famous by Panini’s rules.
…. Nirukta (Etymology): Explains the origin and meaning of complex words.
…..Kalpa (Ritual Canon): Provides practical instructions for performing ceremonies.
……Jotisha (Astronomy): Calculates the auspicious times and dates for rituals.
*2. There must be some sure way in which Sita Devi must be meted out justice. Fate gave her not daughters like her but sturdy sons like her husband. This is surely the way in which Kusa and Lava should meet in public, not in private, with their father and their father, Ramachandra Moorthy should own up them as his very own! And that was what happened in the end.
*3. We must put us in the place of those saints who were taking a well-earned rest at intervals during the performance of the Horse Sacrifice. In those times there were no cinema, radio, TV and smart phones! What a great pastime this occasion of two boys singing soulful songs must have been to them! And the songs were very new. They had never heard them before. So the story of their own great king told in bone-melting diction rendered by two angelic boys of incomparable voice, pitch, rendering and execution. All these joined to make their pastime pleasant and soulful. That was why there were tears in their eyes, the drinking pot, a great thing for a saint and the hermit-bark were presented to the boys.
*4. It was a poignant moment. The sons were supremely oblivious of the fact of their parentage. They loved their mother and lived out the words of Valmiki. But for Rama, who had been gazing at them with all the fondness in the world and when this scene is described and read by readers, it must have been highly transporting.
*5. There could be no doubt whatever that the moment his gaze fell on the two heavenly figures of the twins, Rama should have been going through tumultuous inner emotions and feelings. He couldn’t have helped realize that the two boys belonged to him. For the very first time he was seeing them! But the problem was Rama had no doubt whatsoever about the chastity of his beloved wife. He only had sent her out to meet out the high demands of the Raj Dharma. Once the scoundrels had started to cite Sita Devi to justify their promiscuous ways of life, then, as the Father of the subjects, Rama had to banish Sita. So all these years that fact that he had to banish his own Sita to forest for no fault of hers must have been making him suffer as though from a festering canker! Added to this were the weight of the world on his shoulders, the cares of his country and subjects and the way the governance was being carried out. But despite all these, the presence of the two boys must have come as a bolt from the blue. But he must have felt a lessening of weight encircling his heart now that the proof that everything was well with Sita and her children was presented in the form of these soulful figures.
*6. This archaic word is a verb, in past tense; reave is the present form of the verb. To reave something from somebody is to take or pillage or plunder something from somebody. Here Sri Ramachandra uses this word, not in its past tense, “reft”, but the same word doubles as a Nown. So the expression, “reft of my beloved” may be taken as to mean, “these two boys are mine and plundered from me by my beloved wife”.
Dear readers, this is my humble attempt to understand this archaic use of the word, “reft”. If you have a different opinion, please do not hesitate to drop a mail, which, if need be, will certainly be discussed in this section of the blog.
*7. Of course, in those days there were no amplifiers. So Rama came down his throne to sit with ordinary audience to hear his sons sing the soulful songs of the epic depicting his own life’s story! Both poignant and ironic! Rama’s act can easily be taken by us as well as the actual audience present on the occasion to have meted out a standing proof that the act of banishing a lady in her special condition of pregnancy to a strange forest, even though by way of meeting the demands of Raj Dharma (Dharma to be observed by the Raja), in his private capacity as a husband that too a husband who had no doubt about his wife’s chastity, was the most cruel act; as the Fate handing him a punishment of his having to come down from his high perch, throne, to hear the twins’ singing the soulful songs seems to be a fitting one.
Rama had to banish his consort. As the King of his country, Kosala. Rama as an individual, as a husband, had already had the proof of Sita’s fidelity in the forest itself when he had asked her, for the benefit of the people surrounding them in the forest, to prove her chastity. So Sita entered fire and came out unscathed. Even before this test by fire, he knew his Sita was pristine pure. Nonetheless he had to ask her to prove her chastity for the sake of his friends and the vanara sena (the army of monkeys) surrounding them.
So this is the quintessence of Fate. And both Sita and Rama had to go through the imponderable demands of Fate. Even God was not superior to His own Fate! Or it could be understood, that the Lord Ram, having come down to the earthly plane to play out a dramatic role, was willingly subjecting himself to the working out of these nonexistent karma, as the Lord had not had any previous birth like us the lesser mortals and as such had to meet out the demands of the Prarabdha (prarabdha karma).
This is why and this is where we must take time to stop and ponder. If this could be the demands of the preordained life of the Lord Vishnu, how much more care and faith with which we must meet out the karmic demands of our own fate! (I request the readers who cannot understand the phrase “the karmic demands of our own fate!” to kindly refer to the Section of “The Upanishads” published today along with this as part of the Post Number 3).
But there is a way out as well as a solution. The Key is Devotion to the feet of the Lord. If we can have that kind of unflinching devotion to the Lord and pray him to deliver us, He will surely show us the way to withstand the pain dealt by our fate besides charting out a way out pointed towards the Lord’s feet.
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POST NUMBER 3
THE MAHABHARATA
ADI PARVA
PAULOMA PARVA
CHAPTER NUMBER 3
UGRASRAVA SAUTI, the son of Lomaharshana present in the forest of Naimisha, at the twelve years’ sacrifice of Saunaka, stood before the Rishis in attendance. He addressed them with joined hands thus: “I have graphically described to you the history of Utanka. As you know, it is one of the causes of King Janamejaya’s Snake-sacrifice. What, revered Sirs, do you wish to hear now? What shall I tell you now?”
The holy men replied, “O son of Lomaharshana, we shall ask you about what we are anxious to hear. But Saunaka, our revered master, is at present attending the apartment of the holy fire. He is acquainted with those divine stories regarding the gods and asuras (or Rakshasas, the able bodied wicked people). He adequately knows the histories of men, serpents, and Gandharvas (People belonging to another world which is better than our world). Further, O Sauti, in this sacrifice that learned Brahmana is the chief. He is able, faithful to his vows, wise, a master of the Sastras and the Aranyaka. He is a speaker of truth, a lover of peace, a mortifier of the flesh (ascetic who denies senses the sense objects). And he is also an observer of the penances according to the authoritative decrees. He is respected by us all. It is but necessary that we wait for him. And when he is seated on his highly respected seat, you will answer what he shall ask of you.”
Sauti said, “Be it so. And when the high-souled master has been seated I shall narrate, questioned by him, sacred stories on a variety of subjects!”
After a while Saunaka, having finished all his duties, and having propitiated the gods with prayers and the manes with oblations of water, came back to the place of sacrifice. There Sauti was seated before the assembly of saints of rigid vows. And when Saunaka was seated in their midst, he spoke to Sauti as follows:-
“O, Sauti, my Child, your father formerly read the whole of the Puranas. O son of Lomaharshana, and he read the Bharata with Krishna-Dwaipayana. Have you also made them your study? In those ancient records are chronicled interesting stories and the history of the first generations of the wise men. We heard all of them from your father. In the first place, I am desirous of hearing the history of the race of Bhrigu. You tell that history, we shall attentively listen to you.”
Sauti answered, “I have studied all that was formerly studied by the high-souled Brahmanas including Vaisampayana. I have acquired all that had been studied by my father. O, descendant of the Bhrigu race, listen to the story related to the exalted race of Bhrigu. The same was revered by Indra and all the gods, by the tribes of Rishis and Maruts (Winds). O, great Muni, I shall first properly recount the story of this family, as told in the Puranas.
“The great and blessed saint Bhrigu, we are informed, was produced by Brahma from the fire at the sacrifice of Varuna. And Bhrigu had a son, named Chyavana, whom he dearly loved. And to Chyavana was born a virtuous son called Pramati. And Pramati had a son named Ruru by Ghritachi (the celestial dancer). And to Ruru also by his wife Pramadvara, was born a son, whose name was Sunaka. He was, O Saunaka, your great ancestor exceedingly virtuous in his ways. He was devoted to asceticism, of great reputation. He was proficient in law, and eminent among those having knowledge of the Vedas. He was virtuous, truthful.”
Saunaka said, “O son of Suta, I ask you why the illustrious son of Bhrigu was named Chyavana. Do tell me all.” Sauti replied, “Bhrigu had a wife named Pauloma whom he dearly loved. She became big with child by Bhrigu. And one day while the virtuous Pauloma was in that condition, Bhrigu leaving her at home went out to perform his ablutions. It was then that a Rakshasa came to Bhrigu’s house. And entering the Rishi’s house, the Rakshasa saw the wife of Bhrigu. She was irreproachable in everything. And seeing her he became filled with lust and lost his senses.
The beautiful Pauloma entertained the Rakshasa with roots and fruits of the forest. And the Rakshasa became very much delighted and resolved to carry her away who was so blameless in every respect. ‘My design is accomplished,’ said the Rakshasa. And seizing that beautiful matron, he carried her away. And, indeed, she had been betrothed by her father, to him! But her father had subsequently bestowed her, according to due rites, on Bhrigu.
This wound rankled deep in the Rakshasa’s mind. And he thought the present moment very opportune for carrying the lady away. And the Rakshasa saw the apartment in which the sacrificial fire was kept burning brightly. The Rakshasa then asked the flaming element, ‘Tell me, O Agni, whose wife this woman rightfully is. You are the mouth of gods. Therefore you are bound to answer my question. This lady of superior complexion had been first accepted by me as wife, but her father subsequently bestowed her on Bhrigu. Tell me truly if this fair one can be regarded as the wife of Bhrigu. For having found her alone, I have resolved to take her away by force from the hermitage. My heart burns with rage when I reflect that Bhrigu has got possession of this woman of slender waist, first betrothed to me.’ In this manner the Rakshasa asked the flaming god of fire again and again whether the lady was Bhrigu’s wife.
And the god was afraid to return an answer. “You god of fire,” he said, resides constantly within every creature, as witness of her or his merits and demerits. O you respected one answer my question truly. Has not Bhrigu appropriated her who was chosen by me as my wife? You should declare truly whether, therefore, she is my wife by first choice. After your answer as to whether she is the wife of Bhrigu, I will bear her away from this hermitage. Therefore answer me truly.”
The Seven flamed god having heard these words of the Rakshasa became exceedingly distressed. He was afraid of telling a falsehood. He was equally afraid of Bhrigu’s curse. And the god at length made answer in words that came out slowly. “This Pauloma was, indeed, first chosen by you O, Rakshasa. But she was not taken by you with holy rites and invocations. But this lady was bestowed by her father on Bhrigu as a gift. She was not bestowed on you O, Rakshasa. This lady was duly made by the Rishi Bhrigu his wife with Vedic rites in my presence. This is she–I know her. I dare not speak a falsehood. Falsehood is never respected in this world.”
Having heard these words from the god of fire, the Rakshasa assumed the form of a boar. He carried Pauloma away with the speed of the wind. Then the child of Bhrigu lying in her body became enraged at such violence. It dropped from his mother’s womb, for which he obtained the name of Chyavana.
And the Rakshasa seeing the infant drop from the mother’s womb, shining like the sun, quit his grasp of the woman. He fell down and was instantly converted into ashes. And the beautiful Pauloma, distraught with grief took up her offspring Chyavana, the son of Bhrigu, and walked away.
And Brahma, the Grandfather of all, himself saw her, the faultless wife of his son, weeping. And the Grandfather of all comforted her who was attached to her son. And the drops of tears which rolled down her eyes formed a great river.
And that river began to follow the foot-steps of the wife of the great ascetic, Bhrigu. And the Grandfather of the worlds seeing that river follow the path of his son’s wife gave it a name himself, and he called it Vadhusara. And it passes by the hermitage of Chyavana. And in this manner was born Chyavana of great ascetic power, the son of Bhrigu.
When Bhrigu saw his child Chyavana and its beautiful mother, asked her, “By whom were you made known to that Rakshasa who decided to carry you away? The Rakshasa could not know you as my wife. Therefore tell me who it was that told the Rakshasa so, in order that I may curse him through anger.”
And Pauloma replied, “I was identified to the Rakshasa by Agni (the god of fire). And he (the Rakshasa) carried me away. I cried like the Kurari (female osprey). And it was only by the ardent splendour of your son that I was rescued. For the Rakshasa (seeing this infant) let me go. And he himself fell to the ground and was turned into ashes.” Bhrigu, upon hearing this account from Pauloma, became exceedingly enraged. And in excess of passion the Rishi cursed Agni, saying, “You shall eat all things!”
The god of fire was enraged at the curse of Bhrigu. Agni thus addressed the Rishi, “What is the meaning of this rashness, O Brahmana? What transgression can be imputed to me? I was only trying to do justice and speak the truth impartially. Being asked, I gave the true answer. A witness who has knowledge about a fact should tell the truth. If he represents otherwise, he ruins his ancestors and descendants both to the seventh generation! I can also curse you, but Brahmanas are held by me in high respect. Although these are known to you O, Brahmana, I will yet speak of them. So please be attentive!
“I am present in various forms, in places of the daily homa (fire place of sacrifice). I am present at sacrifices extending for years. I am present in places where holy rites are performed (such as marriage, etc.), and at other sacrifices. When the butter is poured upon my flame, the Devas and the Pitris are appeased.
“The Devas are the waters; the Pitris are also the waters. The Devas have with the Pitris an equal right to the sacrifices called Darshas and Purnamasas. The Devas therefore are the Pitris and the Pitris, the Devas. They are identical beings. They are worshipped together and also separately at the changes of the moon. The Devas and the Pitris eat what is poured upon me. I am therefore called the mouth of the Devas and the Pitris. At the new moon the Pitris, and at the full moon the Devas, are fed through my mouth. Being, as I am, their mouth, how am I to be an eater of all things (clean and unclean)?”
Then Agni, after reflecting for a while, withdrew himself from all places. He withdrew from places of the daily homa of the Brahmanas. He withdrew from all sacrifices, from places of holy rites, and from other ceremonies. Without their Oms and Vashats, and deprived of their Swadhas and Swahas (sacrificial mantras during offerings), the whole body of creatures became much distressed at the loss of their (sacrificial) fire.
The Rishis in great anxiety went to the gods and addressed them thus, “You immaculate beings! The three regions of the universe are confounded at the cessation of their sacrifices and ceremonies in consequence of the loss of fire! Ordain what is to be done in this matter, so that there may be no loss of time.”
Then the Rishis and the gods went together to the presence of Brahma. And they represented to him all about the curse on Agni and the consequent interruption of all ceremonies. And they said, “O, Agni has been cursed by Bhrigu for some reason. Agni is the mouth of the gods and also the first who eats of what is offered in sacrifices. Agni is the eater also of the sacrificial butter. How will Agni be reduced to the condition of one who eats all things?”
And the creator of the universe hearing these words summoned Agni to his presence. And Brahma addressed Agni in these gentle words, “You are the creator of the worlds and you are their destroyer! You preserve the three worlds. And you are the promoter of all sacrifices and ceremonies! Therefore behave yourself so that ceremonies are not interrupted. And, O you eater of the sacrificial butter, why do you act so foolishly, being, as you are, the Lord of all? You alone are always pure in the universe and you are its stay! You shall not, with all your body, be reduced to the state of one who eats all things. O, you with your flames shall alone eat all things alike. The body of yours which eats flesh (being in the stomach of all carnivorous animals) shall also eat all things. And as everything touched by the sun’s rays becomes pure, so shall everything be pure that shall be burnt by your flames. You are, O fire, the supreme energy born of your own power. Then, O Lord, by that power of yours make the Rishi’s curse come true! Continue to receive your own portion and that of the gods, offered at your mouth.”
Then Agni replied to the Grandfather (Brahma), “So be it!” And he then went away to obey the command of the supreme Lord. The gods and the Rishis also returned in delight to the places from where they had come. And the Rishis began to perform as before their ceremonies and sacrifices. And the gods in heaven and all creatures of the world rejoiced exceedingly. And Agni too rejoiced in that he was free from the prospect of sin. Thus had Agni been cursed in the days gone by Bhrigu. And such is the ancient history connected with the destruction of the Rakshasa, Pauloma and the birth of Chyavana. Thus ends the seventh section of the Pauloma Parva of the Adi Parva of the blessed Mahabharata.
Sauti said, “O, Brahmana (Saunaka), Chyavana, the son of Bhrigu, had a son from the womb of his wife Sukanya. And that son was the illustrious Pramati of resplendent energy. And Pramati had a son from the womb of Ghritachi called Ruru. And Ruru had a son from his wife Pramadvara called Sunaka. And I shall relate to you in detail, O Brahmana (Saunaka), the entire history of Ruru of abundant energy. Listen to it then in full!
“Once there was a great Rishi called Sthulakesa possessed of ascetic power and learning and kindly disposed towards all creatures. At that time, Viswavasu, the King of the Gandharvas, it is said, had intimacy with Menaka. Menaka was the celestial dancing-girl.
“ And the Apsara, Menaka, when her time came, brought forth an infant near the hermitage of Sthulakesa. And dropping the newborn infant on the banks of the river Menaka, being destitute of pity and shame, went away. And the Rishi, Sthulakesa discovered the infant lying forsaken in a lonely part of the riverside. And he perceived that it was a female child blazing with beauty. And Sthulakesa seeing that female child, and filled with compassion, took it up and reared it.
“And the lovely child grew up in his holy habitation. Rishi Sthulakesa performed all the ceremonies beginning with that at birth as ordained by the divine law. She surpassed all of her sex in goodness, beauty, and every quality. So the great Rishi called her by the name of Pramadvara. And the pious Ruru having seen Pramadvara in the hermitage of Sthulakesa fell in love with her.
“And Ruru by means of his companions made his father Pramati, the son of Bhrigu, acquainted with his passion. And Pramati demanded her of the far-famed Sthulakesa for his son. And her foster-father betrothed the virgin Pramadvara to Ruru. He fixed the nuptials for the day when the star Varga-Daivata (Purva-phalguni) would be ascending.
“Then within a few days of the time fixed for the nuptials, the beautiful virgin was playing with the companions of her own sex. Her time having come, impelled by fate, she trod upon a serpent which she did not perceive as it lay in a coil. And the reptile, urged to execute the will of Fate, violently darted its envenomed fangs into the body of the heedless maiden. And stung by that serpent, she instantly dropped senseless on the ground.
“Her colour faded and all the graces of her person went off. And with disheveled hair she became a spectacle of woe to her companions and friends. And she who was so agreeable to behold became on her death what was too painful to look at. And the girl of slender waist lying on the ground like one asleep–being overcome with the poison of the snake-once more became more beautiful than in life.
“And her foster-father and the other holy ascetics who were there, all saw her lying motionless upon the ground with the splendour of a lotus. And then there came many noted Brahmanas filled with compassion, and they sat around her. And Swastyatreya, Mahajana, Kushika, Sankhamekhala, Uddalaka, Katha, and Sweta of great renown, Bharadwaja, Kaunakutsya, Arshtishena, Gautama, Pramati, and Pramati’s son Ruru, and other inhabitants of the forest, came there. The maiden lying dead on the ground overcome with the poison of the reptile that had bitten her. They all wept filled with compassion. But Ruru, mortified beyond measure, retired from the scene.”
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POST NUMBER 3
THE UPANISHADS
Isha Upanishad or Ishopanishad
CHAPTER 1 – VERSE 1
Dear Readers, This is the third Post which is continued from the Second Post that specifically deals with the first part of the First Assertion of the First Verse:
The Verse itself reads:
All this, whatsoever moves in this moving world, is to be enveloped by the Lord. By that renunciation, enjoy. Do not covet the wealth of anyone.
In Sanskrit the First Verse reads:
Ishaa vaasyamidam sarvam yatkincha jagatyaam jagat. Tena tyaktena bhunjeethaa maa grdhah kasyasviddhanam.
As we saw in the Second Post, this First Verse contains THREE STATEMENTS. AND THE FIRST ONE IS AN ASSERTION. The three statements are:-
- Ishaa vaasyamidam sarvam yatkincha jagatyaam jagat: All this, whatsoever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God.
- Tena tyaktena bhunjeethaa: Enjoy by that renunciation.
- Maagrdhah kasyasviddhanam: Do not lust for or covet what belongs to others.
So the first statement is an assertion, OK?
Ishaa vaasyamidam sarvam yatkincha jagatyaam jagat – All this, whatsoever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God.
OK?
We have seen in detail Ishaa vaasyamidam sarvam – All this is enveloped by God.
Now let us first see what is meant by yatkincha jagatyaam jagat – whatsoever moves in this moving world before we move on to the Second Statement, namely, TENA TYAKTENA BHUNJEETHAA. THEN, IF TIME AND SPACE PERMITS, THE THIRD STATEMENT, NAMELY, Maagrdhah kasyasviddhanam.
Ok, to come back to the rest of the first statement which is an assertion, we have to see what is meant by yatkincha jagatyaam jagat – whatsoever moves in this moving world
That is, (Idam Sarvam) Yatkincha Jagatyaam jagat – (All this), whatsoever moves in this moving world:
Ok, let us now concentrate on this word, yatkincha – whatsoever.
Taken together with the other words in this First Statement of the Verse, it means, we must see that all this is enveloped or clothed or covered with God, Isha. We must see all this is enveloped by God. That is, All this WHATSOEVER!
Now, what does this wonderful WHATSOEVER mean?
Why, whatever here is? Whatsoever here is enveloped by God and God alone.
Once again, what does WHATSOEVER mean?
Whatsoever be the thing here in this world, in this universe, is enveloped by God.
Whatsoever be the thing – whether it is black or white, whether it is high and mighty or lowest of the lowly. Whether it is the smallest like a dust particle or mote dancing in the sunbeam, or the galaxies moving in the distance!
Whether he is a sinner or an angel. Whether it is a single, faded leaf detached and falling from the tree dancing down in the air to finally rest on the ground or the mighty banyan tree itself!
Whether it happens to be the coursing of blood in the body or the crystal clear water running in the brook.
Whether she is the most beautiful woman or the ugliest hag.
Whether it is just a hand moving to rub the eye or the complete person.
Whether it is the Sun or the single match of a match box.
Just about everything is God, or clothed by God. God is immanent in the universe. There can be nothing in this universe that does not carry the totality of God. Individual being or non-being is not an individual expression of an infinitesimal part of God. Even a feather or a nit attached to that feather contains the totality of God. I am God. Not only that. I am complete God. You are not an expression of God. You are God. God in His perfection. Just about everything is clothed and covered with and enveloped by God.
The tip of the blade of the grass adorned or unadorned by a dew drop is as materially important to the stay and flux and continuity of this universe as the mighty expanse of limitless sky enveloping the whole universe. The single blade of grass cannot be dispensed with. It is as important to make this universe as the Himalayas. Because the single blade of grass is clothed with God in His fullness.
This is why we have a stake in our children’s growing up into proper men and women, as we have a stake in the proper growing up of someone’s children in a distant continent.
We see God in the charging Puma as much as in its fast footed prey.
God!
That is WHATSOEVER! Whatsoever here is fully covered by God.
This world is filled with sandal trees and karuva trees. This world is filled with completely perfected men and women who would think twice before hurting a housefly, and persons who rape a three-year-old blossom, a girl child. Both the perfected man and woman and the rapist are personifications of the Lord, our Master!
Why and How? Would you ask me next to love both the rapist and his victim?
A resounding yes is the answer, sisters and brothers.
The rapist must be punished adequately according to the Law. If it is adequately proved he deserves to be killed as a just punishment, of course he must be, but that does not detract from the fact that he is an embodiment of God, for he is part and parcel of this WHATSOEVER. He too was filled with God before he committed the unpardonable crime and he continues to be filled and covered and enveloped by God even while he is in jail waiting to be hanged as a just punishment for the crime. Because there cannot be anything or anyone here in the universe without God enveloping him!
Whatsoever, all this is clothed with and enveloped by God!
So all, that is, whatsoever here is, is enveloped by God. Got it?
While that being the case, how can we hate one and love another? Who can be our enemy? Who can be a stranger to us? Who should we be afraid of? Who belongs to my religion and who belongs to the religion I do not love or I positively hate? Who can be our friends and who can be our detractors?
So, all our friends are discovered and all our enemies are invented? OK?
What is next?
(All this, whatsoever) moves in this moving world.
What is meant by Moves in this Moving World?
Now, what is the full verse, once again?
Ishaa vaasyamidam sarvam yatkincha jagatyaam jagat: All this, whatsoever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God.
Jagatyaam jagat – moves in this moving world!
Well?
What does move? And, what is meant by “moving world?”
Certainly, there are two things or ENTITIES.
One moves and another is already moving!
Jagatyaam jagat – moves in this moving world?
Is the world moving?
In other words, can the world afford to be static even for an atomic microsecond that is described as paramaanu by the Indian sages and saints?
Well, it is now known to the scientific world that the universe is in a constant flux.
Not just the earth and the planets in the milky way and other galaxies. Even the static rock, the Himalayas is moving like anything!
Inside the static rock there is a maelstrom of constant and continuous activity. There is constant vibration taking place inside a solid seemingly static rock curtsey to the atoms that go into the making of that rock.
Moreover inside each atom there is much activity.
So the modern scientists know this and it has been proved in the branch of study we call physics.
But what about the Upanishadic Rishis?
So?
Several thousand years ago, the Indian sages and saints and rishis completely comprehended, knew and understood the nature of this universe. That it is in a state of constant flux!
There are two levels of movement. One is the single expression of God, like you and the other is this universe. You move in this moving world!
You might say I am part of this universe so how can I move separately and independent of this world, universe?
There are two levels of movement.
If you do not move, you are not a being, that is a living being. The moment you stop from moving you stop living.
So you are moving, ok?
Where? Where are you moving?
You are moving in the moving world, universe!
That is why ALL THIS THAT MOVES IN THIS MOVING WORLD IS COVERED OR ENVELOPED BY GOD!
THESE TWO LEVELS OF MOVEMENTS ARE UNDERSTOOD BY VEDANTA.
You are moving. You are acting. You are indulging in action. Because, you are a living person and you know that. Yours is an independent movement.
You are an independent consciousness. You are Gopal, you are Jone, you are Catherin, you are Jhone, you are Daisey, you are Mohaideen, You are Fateema Beevi, you are a Sikh, Jew, Parsee, etc, etc.
You are an independent consciousness.
But the world is always there!
You are a private consciousness. The world is a general consciousness.
Your consciousness is born of your own Self or Atman.
In the universal consciousness inheres Brahman.
You exist, you act, you work. You live.
You are an individualized consciousness, the world is the universal consciousness.
Everything here is Consciousness. Nothing but that.
Your individual consciousness is enabled by your Atman.
The universal consciousness is enabled by Brahman.
Ok. So you are different from the world?
Your consciousness is independent of the universal consciousness?
A resounding NO!
Then. What exactly is this charade?
Is everything here a show? A passing show indeed!?
Yes, says the Vedantic Rishis.
You are not independent of the universe!
Your individualized Atman is not an independent entity.
Your Atman or Self is nothing but the Atman of everyone and everything here in the universe!
You do not own a copyright to your own Self. Because it is the same Self that inheres in your neighbours and the people in the distant continent, and the animals and the termites, trees, plants, just about everything and everyone here.
There are not as many Selfs as are the individual beings and non-beings. Your Self inheres in its entirety in your neighbour and his dog and the nit living in the coat of the dog (if it is not properly washed and bathed).
And the same Self inheres in the galaxies of the universe.
So?
So we are all one and the same. You, me, your neighbour, his dog, the nit, the earth, the sun, the distant galaxies!
Then what this nonsense about the individual Soul and the universal Soul?
Well, the individual Soul exists till it realizes it is part and parcel of the universal Self or Soul.
Then why ALL THIS WHATSOEVER MOVES IN THIS MOVING WORLD IS ENVELOPED BY GOD?
Because, we are individuals till we realize we are not different from the sun, earth and the distant galaxies.
You are an independent person till you learn how to lose yourself in the universal consciousness!
Till you realize you ARE nothing but the universe, you continue to be independent, not only during your earthly sojourn. Evern after your death. Because after your death, you spend some time in the world wherever your karmic effect takes you and after you have spent the time enjoying joy or suffering punishment, YOU RETURN TO THIS WORLD’S PLANE. AND START ALL OVER AGAIN. THAT IS WHAT HINDUISM STATES. BECAUSE THE LIFE IN THIS UNIVERSE IS GOVERNED BY THE LAW OF karma THAT WORKS THROUGH THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT, WHICH LAW OPERATES THROUGH samskaras OR impressions. Each and every act of yours, even your passing thought, gives birth to impressions or samskaras. These impressions are eternal or permanent till they are washed away or nullified either by suffering and penitence or through meditation and realization of your soul. The samskaras or impressions of your acts will be carried over to the next incarnation. This is the basic theory of incarnation in Hinduism. If every act gives birth to samskaras and the unexpended samskaras or the mass of samskaras, positive or negative according as the type of your act or conduct, that has not been nullified in this birth, then it must be carried over to the next birth, Ok? The law of Cause and Effect cannot be taken for granted. Whoever you are, your samskaras are your liability. They might have come into being through your good or bad or mixed actions. But the EFFECT must be dealt with. Each single samskaras must be nullified here and now, in this birth, otherwise it will be carried over to your next birth. And in your next birth you might indulge in many more activities, good and bad or mixed. Which will, in turn, produce much more body of samskaras. So the samskaras that was not nullified in this birth will be carried over to yet another incarnation. This is how, Hindus believe, you have many rebirths. But through intense devotion or yoga or meditation you can certainly nullify all of your samskaras, good and bad or mixed in this birth. And then you need not come back to the earth’s plane after death. For you will have attained oneness with Brahman, the ultimate God who is spoken of as the Holy Spirit by Christians and Allah by Muslims. But you have to take care of your own liability of samskaras or impressions. Otherwise the karmic law of Cause and Effect will pursue you throughout your sojourn between heaven and earth for hundreds of times limited only by your own self effort to find salvation.
SO WHERE DOES THIS LEAD US? WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE ASSERTION IN THE FIRST VERSE OF ISHA UPANISHAD THAT all this is enveloped by God whatsoever that moves in this moving world! THEN WHY THIS LAW OF KARMA, CAUSE AND EFFECT AND THAT FELLOW, samskaras?
This is Vedanta or its essence, dear readers.
Till we realize our Self and become free from the onslaught of this worldly life (which only operates, as far as our actions are concerned, through the Law of Karma, which operates through the theory of Cause and Effect, which in turn depends on the samskaras or impressions) we make repeated journey back to this world.
Till we realize our Soul and attain moksha or oneness with Brahman, we must be mindful of the fact that All this here, whatsoever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God! Will it be otherwise after our realization of our Self? Yes and No. Yes, the world will cease to exist so far as we are concerned. But the world or universe will continue even after our emancipation for other persons who have not attained moksha like us. For them this universe will continue to be enveloped by God till its dissolution! (OK, what will happen to the persons who have not attained moksha at the time of the dissolution of this universe and what will happen to the resultant bodies of SAMSKARAS remaining in this world at the time of its dissolution? Well, this is a mother of all questions. I humbly invite the scholars and ordinary readers who are reading this blog to give the answers. If no answering Emails come to me, this question – mother of all questions – will be discussed by us in the Section that deals with The Bhagavad Gita at the appropriate time and context).
Then why this insistence about the movement within the movement?
Why should we move within the movement?
It is not that we should move. There is no room for exercise of our volition. We are moving within the movement.
We are individualized consciousness. We are the substratum of the Universal Soul or Self. This Self or Soul is nothing but Brahman. The same Brahman exists immanently in the whole universe. After self-realization we become attuned with Brahman and become One with Him. That is why the Upanishadic sentence Aham Brahmam, I am Brahman! (Yes, I am God)!
Both before and subsequent to our self-realization we are Brahman indeed. Through the operation of Maya or Illusion we think we are individual beings different from the Universal Being, the universal soul, and the Ultimate Brahman!
TILL THAT HAPPENSE, TILL OUR SELF-REALIZATION, THIS WORLD IS TRUE FOR US. AND AS LONG AS THIS WORLD IS TRUE FOR US, THAT IS, AS LONG AS WE ACHIEVE SELF-REALIZATION, WE REALIZE THAT THIS WORLD IS JUST maya,THIS WORLD IS REAL FOR US AND AS SUCH IT CONTINUES TO EXIST. IT CEASES TO EXIST AND BECOMES JUST maya THE MOMENT WE ATTAIN moksha or EMANCIPATION.
NOW, WE HAVE EXHAUSTED THE FIRST STATEMENT, WHICH IS AN ASSERTION, OF THE FIRST VERSE OF THE Isha Upanishad.
We will see what the two remaining statements of the First Verse of The Isha Upanishad mean in the next Post. The remaining statements are:
- Tena tyaktena bhunjeethaa: Enjoy by that renunciation.
- Maagrdhah kasyasviddhanam: Do not lust for or covet what belongs to others.
{WE WILL DISCUSS THESE TWO STATEMENTS ON THE 27TH OF MAY, 2026 IN OUR FOURTH POST}
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POST NUMBER 3
THE BHAGAVAD GITA
CHAPTER 1 : VERSE 3
Arjuna Vishada Yoga
OR
THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA
TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION
Pasyati ‘taam paanduputraanaam aachaarya mahaiteem chamoom
Vyoodhaam drupada putrena tava sishyena dheemataa.
SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANINGS IN ENGLISH:
pasya = behold
etaam = this
paandu-putraanaam = of the sons of Pandu
aachaarya = O teacher
mahateem = great
chamoom = army
vyoodhaam = marshalled
drupata putrena = son of Drupada
tava sishyenaa = by your disciple
dheemataa = talented
TEXT IN ENGLISH
Behold, O master, this mighty army of the sons of Pandu, marshalled by the son of Drupada, your talented disciple.
COMMENTS BY THE BLOGGER:
Even beasts develop a new sense of caution and precaution when danger is near at hand. In Man it is described as the sixth sense.
In Duriyodhana’s case the sixth sense has just now started to dawn on his thick egotistic mind. Duriyodhana was not an ordinary person. He was a great warrior, no doubt. The same teacher who taught Aujuna and the other Pandavas taught him.
The very meaning of his name is invincible. But his overmastering jealousy, envy and spitefulness regarding his cousins, Pandavas, Duriyodhana became lessened in stature. Everything mean and demeaning was in him. He simply could not stomach the Pandava brothers who excelled in everything.
It does not mean Duriyodhana was bad and rotten to the core like a bad apple. He showed all the human high qualities when all things concerned with his bosom friend, Karna. To him he showed the other side of his personality. He was faithful to the unflinching and great friendship shown by Karna.
But Duriyodhana’s singular jealousy and envy made him an arch villain. He was a villain of the first water when things related to the Pandavas. He had spurned the good attempts of all who tried to bring about a rapprochement. He had a tendency to expose his thigh and beat it when he wanted to spurn or insult someone more knowledgeable. He did that many times. And at the time of Draupadi’s outraging and during the attempt to disrobe her plump in the open court hall filled with elders and venerable like Bheeshma and Druva, he did this act of showing his thigh by way of insulting her.
Even when venerable persons like Bheeshma counseled him to pursue a path of least resistance and amicably settle his issues with the Pandavas, he asked him if he really thought him wicked. Even during the war when his side was losing, when Drona counseled and pointed out to him that it was not too late even then to settle things with the Pandavas and live and let live, he simply asked why everyone was finding fault with him when he was honest in his dealings with his cousins.
But the same Duriyodhana, just when the war was poised to start, developed cold feet fleetingly and it was certainly a psychological moment for him. This is how his eleven akshouhinis seems smaller than Pandavas’ seven. This is why he approaches his teacher and tells him things he would not have under ordinary circumstances.
For one he says the Pandavas’ army was mighty. And another he fairly accuses his teacher for having provided the same kind of teaching he had put in his way also to the son of Drupada.
At that distant time none could have foretold that there would be a catastrophic war between the cousins. True, off and on, many characters warned him and his minions that if things were let to go like that a catastrophic war could not be averted.
But such sentiments expressed by the well meaning persons did not have any effect on him. For his overmastering jealousy and envy and hatred had had the better of him even as a youngster when he attempted to kill Beema by poisoning his food.
Duriyodhana had become so perverted and let himself be robbed of all the sense of goodness and practical and commonsensical wisdom that the only and sure way of survival was to let the Pandavas be. And the same mindset made him singularly incapable of seeing the correctness of other good people’s sentiments.
He often asked his advisors why everyone was blaming him alone for everything.
But now just before the war is going to take place he is visited by that sixth sense-born sentiment of his entire clan being slain and slaughtered soon. That was why the comparatively smaller army the son of Drupada had marshalled looked larger than its original size. But this sense of going to be slaughtered wholesale was not complete and overmastering. That is why soon he reverted to the type and started to sing the greatness of his army and its invincibility.
In real life situation, we come across many times that what we want so much needed not bring the kind of intense and immense satisfaction that we hoped for, still find it impossible to swerve from the chosen path and rewrite our charted course.
The Mahabharata contains lessons for all real life situations we face even in the modern times, and that is why it is called the Fifth Veda by great persons in the know of spiritual things.
THE NEXT POST ON THE 27TH OF MAY, 2026
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The Ancient Indian Scriptures! 
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