Upanishads

Isha Upanishad: Part 3

The Practical Guide for Divine Life

Swati Om

Verse 3:

asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ |
tāṃste pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātmahano janāḥ || 3 ||

Literal Meaning
Sunless are those worlds and enveloped in blind gloom whereto all they in their passing hence resort who are slayers of their souls.

My Personal Understanding

Fact 1:ye ke cātmahano janāḥ
The literal meaning of the above line is “those who are slayers of the Self”. It is important to understand what is that is referred to as Self, and how one can destroy this Self?

What is Atma?

Atma or Self is not a matter or thing, Spirit or Pure consciousness can neither be conceived by a conditioned mind nor can be described.

However, the Self exists and the existence of the Self can be experienced by

  1. Meditating on the Self,

  2. Acknowledging the existence of the self, and living the life established in the awareness of Self,

  3. Discriminating the Self from non-self, and

  4. Surrendering our limited existence to the Self within and without through devotion.

Although Atma itself can not be spoken of, the sages gave us signs so that we may know our Ego has established a connection to the Self and is now established in That. The true nature of Atma as described by Vedas is Sat(one existence), Chit(one awareness), and Ananda(undivided Bliss).

How does one destroy the Self?

Those human beings who do not put effort to unite the Ego with Divine awareness and Cosmic oneness (referred to here as Atma or Self ), destroy the Self. They are the slayers of the Self.

Fact 2: asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ |
This verse talks about lokā, which means realms. It is crucial to understand the inner meaning of the realms. The meaning is “ alakyote it lokah”. That which appears is lokah. It has a common root with the English word “look”. When how we look and what exists changes in appearance for us, we transcend one realm and enter a different realm. In this context, The Vedas divided existence into 14 realms, depending upon the state of awareness of a particular being. Here, the verse says “asuryā nāma te lokā”. The text says there are realms that are sunless and undivine, devoid of inner light and guidance. Those realms are covered with “andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ”, predominant tendencies of beings in those realms are covered with ignorance and duality.
Fact 3: tāṃste pretyābhigacchanti
When we live our lives in union with divine awareness and cosmic oneness, we attain cosmic oneness as we leave the body. Those who do not put effort to unite the Ego with divine awareness and cosmic oneness become enveloped in a kind of slumber, unconscious, and inert realm and get lost in blind obscurity after death.

How to progress towards divine realms?

Are you wondering about the way forward to progress in the divine realms so that you do not fall into those undivine realms the verse talks about? Here is 14 minutes talk from our beloved master, Om Swami on the evolution of consciousness. Watch it, Absorb it, and Live his words.

🌼🌼🌼All Glories to Swamiji Alone🌼🌼🌼

Upanishads present some of the most esoteric knowledge in the world. However, in ancient times, the guru would choose the brightest students to give them this knowledge. We are fortunate to have these texts available to us. However, in order to receive them we need to purify our minds and Vedic Sadhana is the most powerful way to do it. You can use the Vedic Sadhana app, which makes the ancient rituals and practices followed by the sages of India available for you.
Download the Vedic Sadhana App on your Apple or Android device.

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