Isha Upanishad 9

9

īśā īṣṭa itīṭ teneśā /
īśitā parameśvaraḥ paramātmā sarvasya /
sa hi sarvamīṣṭe sarvajantūnāmātmā sanpratyagātmatayā tena svena rūpeṇātmaneśā vāsyamācchādanīyam /
kim? idaṃ sarva yatkiñca yatkiñcijjagatyāṃ pṛthivyāṃ jagattatsarvaṃ svenātmanā īśena pratyagātmatayāhamevedaṃ sarvamiti paramārthasatyarūpeṇānṛtamidaṃ sarvaṃ carācaramācchādanīyaṃ svena paramātmanā /
yathā candanāgarvāderudakādisambandhajakledādijamaupādhikaṃ daurgandhyaṃ tatsvarūpanigharṣaṇena ācchāghate svena pāramārthikena gandhena /
tadvadeva hi svātmani adhyastaṃ svābhāvikaṃ kartṛtvabhoktṛtvādilakṣaṇaṃ jagadadvaitarūpaṃ jagatyāṃ pṛthivyām, jagatyāmiti upalakṣaṇārthatvātsarvameva nāmarūpakarmākhyaṃ vikārajātaṃ paramārthasatyātmabhāvanayā tyaktaṃ syāt /
evamīśvarātmabhāvanayā yuktasya putrādyeṣaṇātrayasaṃnyāsa evādhikāro na karmasu /
tena tyaktena tyāgenetyarthaḥ /
na hi tyakto mṛtaḥ putro vā bhṛtyo vā ātmasambandhitāyā abhāvāt ātmānaṃ pālayati atastyāgena ityayameva vedārthaḥ-- bhuñjīthāḥ pālayethāḥ /
evaṃ tyaktaiṣaṇastvaṃ mā gṛdhaḥ gṛdhimākāṅkṣāṃ mā kārṣīrdhanaviṣayām kasyasviddhanaṃ kasyacitparasya svasya vā dhanaṃ mā kāṅkṣīrityarthaḥ /
svidityanarthako nipātaḥ /
athavā mā gṛdhaḥ /

One who lords it over is Īṭ;footnote{Īṭ is derived from the root īś, meaning "to rule" or "to have power".} Īśā, by Īṭ, by the Lord. He who is the supreme Ruler and supreme Self of all is the Lord. For as the indwelling soul of all, He is the Self of all beings and as such rules all. (So) Īśā (means) by that Lord, in His true form as the Self; vāsyam, should be covered. What (is to be covered)? Idam sarvam yat kiṁ ca, all this whatsoever; jagat, moves; jagatyām, on the earth. All this is to be covered by one's own Self, the Lord, through His supreme reality (present in the realisation): "As the indwelling Self (of all), I am all this": all that is unreal, whether moving or not moving, is to be covered by its own supreme Self. As the adventitious bad odour of sandal, agaru, etc., resulting from moisture etc., because of their contact with water etc., is covered up by their natural smells through the process of rubbing those woods themselves, just so, (whatsoever moves on the earth will be abandoned through the contemplation of the Self which is the supreme Truth). "Whatever moves" means the apparent duality, the effect of ignorance, which is characterised by such ideas as doership, enjoyership, etc., and which is superimposed on one's own Self; and the phrase "on the earth" having been used illustratively (for all the worlds), it follows that all the bundle of modifications known as name, form, and action will be abandoned through the contemplation of the Self which is the supreme Truth. He, who is thus engaged in the thought of the Self as God, has competence only for renouncing the three kinds of desire for son etc.,footnote{For son, wealth, and worlds (vide Bṛ. IV. iv. 22).} and not for karma. Tena tyaktena, through that detachment. Tyaktena means through detachment, (and not "by any abandoned thing"); for a son or a servant, when abandoned or dead, does not protect one, since he has no connection with oneself. So the meaning of the Vedic word (tyaktena) is "through renunciation". Bhuñjīthāḥ, protect. You who have renounced desires, mā gṛdhaḥ, do not covet, do not cherish any desire for wealth. Do not long for kasya svid, anybody's—either your own or somebody else's; dhanam, wealth—this is the meaning. The word svit is a meaningless particle. Or the meaning is this: Do not covet. Why? Kasya svid dhanam, whose is wealth?—this (question) is used in the sense of a denial, because nobody has any wealth which can be coveted. The idea is this: All this has been renounced through this thought of the "Lord", "All this is but the Self", so that all this belongs to the Self, and the Self is all. Therefore do not have any hankering for things that are unreal.

One who lords it over is Īṭ;footnote{Īṭ is derived from the root īś, meaning "to rule" or "to have power".} Īśā, by Īṭ, by the Lord. He who is the supreme Ruler and supreme Self of all is the Lord. For as the indwelling soul of all, He is the Self of all beings and as such rules all. (So) Īśā (means) by that Lord, in His true form as the Self; vāsyam, should be covered. What (is to be covered)? Idam sarvam yat kiṁ ca, all this whatsoever; jagat, moves; jagatyām, on the earth. All this is to be covered by one's own Self, the Lord, through His supreme reality (present in the realisation): "As the indwelling Self (of all), I am all this": all that is unreal, whether moving or not moving, is to be covered by its own supreme Self. As the adventitious bad odour of sandal, agaru, etc., resulting from moisture etc., because of their contact with water etc., is covered up by their natural smells through the process of rubbing those woods themselves, just so, (whatsoever moves on the earth will be abandoned through the contemplation of the Self which is the supreme Truth). "Whatever moves" means the apparent duality, the effect of ignorance, which is characterised by such ideas as doership, enjoyership, etc., and which is superimposed on one's own Self; and the phrase "on the earth" having been used illustratively (for all the worlds), it follows that all the bundle of modifications known as name, form, and action will be abandoned through the contemplation of the Self which is the supreme Truth. He, who is thus engaged in the thought of the Self as God, has competence only for renouncing the three kinds of desire for son etc.,footnote{For son, wealth, and worlds (vide Bṛ. IV. iv. 22).} and not for karma. Tena tyaktena, through that detachment. Tyaktena means through detachment, (and not "by any abandoned thing"); for a son or a servant, when abandoned or dead, does not protect one, since he has no connection with oneself. So the meaning of the Vedic word (tyaktena) is "through renunciation". Bhuñjīthāḥ, protect. You who have renounced desires, mā gṛdhaḥ, do not covet, do not cherish any desire for wealth. Do not long for kasya svid, anybody's—either your own or somebody else's; dhanam, wealth—this is the meaning. The word svit is a meaningless particle. Or the meaning is this: Do not covet. Why? Kasya svid dhanam, whose is wealth?—this (question) is used in the sense of a denial, because nobody has any wealth which can be coveted. The idea is this: All this has been renounced through this thought of the "Lord", "All this is but the Self", so that all this belongs to the Self, and the Self is all. Therefore do not have any hankering for things that are unreal.