Verse 17:
वायुरनिलममृतमथेदं भस्मान्तं शरीरम् । ओं । क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मर क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मर ॥ १७ ॥
Verse 18 :
अग्ने नय सुपथा राये अस्मान्विश्वानि देव वयुनानि विद्वान् । युयोध्यस्मज्जुहुराणमेनो भूयिष्ठां ते नम उक्तिं विधेम ॥ १८ ॥
My Personal Understanding:
These are the concluding verses of the Upanishad and verily provide us with a clue how a person who is walking the spiritual path should leave at end of his life term.
The text says this body which is made up of matter is a borrowed part of this earth and rightfully goes back to the earth when we leave. That’s why the text instructs us to leave with detachment towards this body. Knowing that this physical body is a part of physical nature, let it go back and merge in that.
We all are alive because of the life force that runs within us. We all inhale and exhale every moment. It goes and comes back. The moment it goes and does not come back, we call it death. The text says we should consciously offer it to the Prana, which pervades everywhere.
The word “ Krato” is being used. RigVeda says “agnim īḻe kavikratum” this word has been used for Agni, which is indicative of Divine Will. Agni is Divine Will.
In Puranas, Kratu has been named as one of the mind-born sons of Lord Bramha. Kratu’s wife is Kriya. The esoteric meaning of this story gets revealed more when we delve a bit into Tantra Shastra.
In Tantra, Divine Goddess, is characteristic of three powers, iccha shakti (Divine Will), Jnana Shakti (Knowledge), and Kriya Shakti (Action). These three powers of the Divine Goddess are also symbolised by Agni, Sun, and Moon respectively.
The reason I am providing the context of Vedas, Puranas, and Tantras is to elucidate that they all speak the same Truth, and the language stories and deities used are different.
The Divine Will is present everywhere. However, in human beings, it emerges first in the mind. It uses the mental faculty of memory to link together and directs consciously the activities towards the goal of the individual. Knowing this great secret, the Text invokes the Divine Agni, to remember all his deeds.
The text in the first verse declares that all this is Isha and let go of all your desires. Here the seeker who has extinguished all the desires and lived his life in the attitude that Divine alone pervades everything and everywhere is asking Agni to merge his will with Divine Will and become one with the Supreme.
So, in Verse 17, one who is established either by Yoga or Jnana is willfully merging in the Self for he has learned the Art of being centred in his own Self.
The text in the second verse says that if one wishes to live, one should live a life performing selfless service towards mankind and doing righteous actions. This is the good path “supath” text has recommended in the beginning. Here, this kind of seeker is invoking Agni to remember all my deeds and provide me with the fruits of our deeds. What are the fruit of righteous actions and selfless service to mankind? The fruit is Liberation alone.
In the last verse, one who has taken a path of Karma Yoga or Bhakti Yoga is offering all his deeds to the Divine and asking the Divine to provide me him the fruits of Deeds with an intention of seeking Liberation.This Concludes the Isha Vasya Upanishad! Om Tat Sat!
Bibliography:
Commentary on Isha Upanishad — By Sri Aurobindo
Commentary on Isha Upanishad — By Adi Shankaracharya
All Glories to Swami ji 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.
