ISHA UPNISHAD - 1

first three mantras of isha upnishad translated by aurobindo ghosh.

1. All this is for habitation by the lord, whatsoever is individual universe of movement in universal motion. by that renounced thou shouldst enjoy; lust not after any man's possession.

2. doing verily works in this world one should wish to live a hundred years. thus it is in thee and not otherwise than this; action cleaves not to a man.

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

summary of  { commentary on first three mantras by aurobindo ghosh }

THE INHABITING GODHEAD: LIFE AND ACTION

COSMOS

All world is a movement of the spirit in itself, and is mutable and transient in all its formations and appearances. every separate object is in truth, itself the whole universe presenting a certain front or outward appearance of its movement. the microcosm is one with macrocosm. 

yet in their relation of principle of movement and result of movement they are continent and contained, world in world, movement in movement. 

SPIRIT

Spirit is lord of it's movement, one, immutable, free, stable and eternal.

the movement with all it's formed objects has been created in order to provide a habitation for the spirit who, being one, yet dwells in multitudinously in the multiplicity of his mansions.

it is the same lord who dwells in the sum and the part, in the cosmos as a whole, and in each being, force or object in cosmos. 

since he is one and indivisible, the spirit in all is one and their multiplicity is play of his cosmic consciousness. therefore each human being in his essence one. 

AVIDYA

The object of habitation is enjoyment and possession; the object of spirit in cosmos is therefore the possession and enjoyment of universe. 

yet, being thus in his essence one, divine and free, man seems to be limited, divided from others, enslaved to death, ignorance and sorrow and thus is unable to enjoy because of limitation.

reason for this sorrow and inability to enjoy is avidya or ignorance of oneness. 

avidya comes from ego.

EGO

the cause of ego is that whil by its double power of vidya and avidya spirit dwells at once in the consciousness of multiplicity, and relativity and in consciousness of unity, and is therefore not bound by ignorance, yet it can in mind identify itself with the object in movement to the apparent exclusion of knowledge which remains behind veiled at the back of mentality.

the movement of mind is thus able to conceive of object as reality and inhabitant as limited, and determined by appearances of object. it conceives of object not as universe in one of frontal appearances but as itself a separate existence standing out of cosmos and different in being from all the rest of it. this illusion is called ahamkara, the separative ego- sense which makes being conceive of itself as an independent personality. 

the result of the separation us inability to enter into harmony and oneness with the universe, and a consequent inability to possess and enjoy it. result is discord of others and oneself, mental and physical sufferings, the sense of weakness and inability.

THE RULE OF DIVINE LIFE

Enjoyment of the universe and all it contains is the object of world- existence, but renunciation of all in desire is condition of free enjoyment of all. the renunciation demanded is not a moral constraint of self denial or a physical rejection, but an entire liberation of spirit from any craving after the form of things.

terms of this liberation are freedom from egoism and consequently, freedom from personal desire. 

ONE SHOULD NOT REGARD ANYTHING IN UNIVERSE AS A NECESSARY OBJECT OF POSSESSION, NOR AS POSSESSED BY ANOTHER, AND NOT BY ONESELF, NOR AS AN OBJECT OF GREED IN HEART OR THE SENSES. this attitude is found in perception of unity.

therefore by transcending ego and realizing the one self, we possess whole universe in one cosmic sense, and do not need to possess physically. 

being one with all beings we possess in their enjoyment in ours and in cosmic being's, delight of universal self expression. 

JUSTIFICATION OF WORKS

This freedom does not depend upon inaction , nor is this possession limited to enjoyment of inactive soul that only witness without taking part in the movement. on contrary doing works

in this material world and a full acceptance of term of physical life are part of its completeness. 

the man when he acts is supposed to be necessarily entangled in desire behind the action in subjection to the formal energy, that drives the action and in the results of action. these things are true in appearance, not in reality. 

desire is only mode of emotional mind which by ignorance seeks its delight in object of desire and not in brahman ( soul or spirit )  who expresses himself in object. by destroying that ignorance one can do action without entanglement in desire. 

the chain of karma only binds the movement of nature and not the soul which by knowing itself ceases even to appear to be bound by result of its works. 

therefore the way of freedom is not inaction, but to cease from identifying oneness in movement and recover instead our true identity.