Listen

īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ
yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā
mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam

SYNONYMS

īśa—by the Lord; āvāsyam—controlled; idam—this; sarvam—all; yat kiñca—whatever; jagatyām—within the universe; jagat—all that is animate or inanimate; tena—by Him; tyaktena—set-apart quota; bhuñjīthāḥ—you should accept; mā—do not; gṛdhaḥ—endeavor to gain; kasya svit—of anyone else; dhanam—the wealth.

Translation

“Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to Whom they belong.”

Purport

The Vedic wisdom of the Esoteric Teaching is perfect knowledge of everything spiritual. It is spoken by the Lord Himself to Brahma, the first created being, and then handed down through the disciplic succession of self-realized spiritual masters. Since the Esoteric Teaching originates from the Lord, this transcendental knowledge is unlimited and perfect.

Knowledge given by the Lord is apauruseya, not manufactured by any ordinary person. An ordinary living being in the mundane world has four chronic defects: his senses are imperfect, he is in illusion, he therefore commits mistakes, and he has a propensity to cheat. Anyone with these imperfections cannot give perfect knowledge. But the Vedas or the Esoteric Teaching are not the work of such imperfect beings. The Lord imparted the Esoteric Teaching directly to Brahma, the first created living being in the universe, and Brahma distributed it to his disciples, who propagate it down through many long ages to the present day.

As discussed in the Invocation of Sri Isopanisad, the Lord is purnam, complete and perfect; He is never subject to the laws of material nature, for He controls the material energy in every respect. Both the living entities and material objects are controlled by the laws of material nature, which is the Lord’s external potency. Therefore He is never affected by the defects of materially conditioned consciousness that we ordinary beings suffer from.

This Isopanisad is an excerpt from the Yajur-Veda, therefore it glorifies the Lord as the transcendental owner of everything in the universe. The Lord’s confirms His proprietorship over the universe in Bhagavad-gita:

bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ
khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me
bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā

apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—altogether these eight constitute My separated material energies. Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.” [Bhagavad-gita 7.4-5]

The Lord reveals that He has superior and inferior classes of energies or potencies. The subtle and gross substances of material nature both belong to the Lord’s inferior material energy (apara-prakrti); the spiritual living beings are part of His superior transcendental energy (para-prakrti). Everything in the universe belongs either to the para-prakrti or the apara-prakrti; therefore the entire universe is the property of the Supreme Being. Just like if I create a piece of literature, music or artwork, it is my property because the energy of creation comes from me. Similarly, the Lord is the ultimate owner and controller of everything in existence because both classes of prakrti—spiritual and material, superior and inferior—emanate from Him.

The Supreme Being, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is the Complete Whole. Because He is a complete transcendental person, He has complete and perfect intelligence. Therefore He uses His superior and inferior potencies to adjust everything to align with His purposes. The final sacred appellation of the Lord glorified in Sri Visnu-sahasranama, the famous Thousand Holy Names of Lord Visnu, is sarva-praharanayudhah, which can be interpreted to mean that He can use anything as a weapon, that all weapons derive their effectiveness from Him, or more esoterically, that everything and everyone is conquered by His ultimate weapon of time, and must serve His transcendental purposes, whether they intend to or not. This is the true scope of the omnipotence of the Lord.

The Vedic Esoteric Teaching often metaphorically compares the Supreme Being to a fire or to the sun, and everything that emanates from Him—spiritual, organic and inorganic—is compared to heat and light. The sun distributes its energy in the form of heat and light. Without this generous and impartial distribution of the sun’s resources, nothing else could exist on this or any other planet. Similarly, the Lord displays His energy in unlimited different ways, and everyone and everything is completely dependent on Him. We initially come to know His unlimited transcendental qualities through this magnificent universal display.

The Supreme Lord thus eternally remains the ultimate origin, knower, controller, sustainer and owner of everything. He is the complete possessor of all potencies, the all-penetrating knower of everything and the all-generous benefactor of everyone. He is the original Bhagavan, a shoreless transcendental ocean of unlimited inconceivable spiritual opulence, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation.

We should be intelligent enough to accept the conclusion of the Esoteric Teaching that except for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one is a proprietor of anything. Sarva-praharanayudhah: everyone is acting as an agent of the Lord’s will, whether or not they realize it or intend to. Therefore, as stated in the present sloka, “one should accept only those things set aside by the Lord as his quota.”

The cow produces milk, but does not drink it; she eats grass and straw, and her milk is food for human beings. The arrangement of the law of nature or the Law of God is that one being’s production is food for another. The more deep ecological knowledge we have, the clearer it becomes that our place in the world is to be compassionate organizers and maintainers of all the natural resources originally set aside for us by the Lord. That does not mean that we can rape the earth without experiencing serious consequences, again by the Law of God. Instead of exploiting His property for selfish profit, we should be satisfied with the simple life and humble things He has kindly set aside for us, and we should always contemplate the wise management and best use of our resources, considering to Whose universal domain those things apparently in our possession actually belong.

In other words, “Don’t be greedy; you are an eternal spiritual being like as unto the Lord, and as a responsible and kind Creator, He has already set aside a sufficient quota of His unlimited resources for your use. You are His property and His servant. Therefore, do not lament, but dedicate your existence to serving His transcendental purposes and pleasure.”

For example, our humble dwelling is made of earth, wood, stone, iron, cement and many other materials. According to the philosophy of Sri Isopanisad, we understand that we cannot produce these materials ourselves, but simply process and transform the raw materials already supplied by the Lord. We simply bring the materials together, and work to change them into different shapes and states. Therefore we have dedicated this building as an ashram, where various services are carried out daily for the Lord’s pleasure. This is the proper use and responsible application of the Lord’s energy.

The point here is that a worker or servant cannot claim to be a proprietor of a product just because he has labored or served to manufacture it. The raw materials, the intelligence of the design, the manufacturing process, the worker’s own body, mind and even soul are actually the property of the Lord at all times, because He is the original source of all emanations.

Sri Isopanisad delivers the message of the Esoteric Teaching, the Supreme Absolute Truth, to all humanity for our benefit. The practical side of this eternal wisdom is demonstrated and taught by the bona fide acaryas (spiritual Master Teachers). If the human race could just accept and realize the Vedic wisdom of Sri Isopanisad, there would be no more foolish quarreling over material possessions. Tragically, people cannot recognize real spiritual wisdom unless they themselves are wise. Therefore it is recommended in the Vedas to approach a bona fide Master Teacher of the Esoteric Teaching for spiritual instruction, inquiry, training and service.

The only practical cure for the suffering of material competition is to be satisfied with whatever opulence is given by the mercy of the Lord. There can be no peace in the world unless and until we recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise, all the property we claim to be ours is actually stolen. This thievery does not go unpunished by the laws of nature. Consequently the suffering we experience in life is actually punishment by the laws of nature. To save ourselves from the disease of unnecessary quarrel and bring peace to the world, humanity must understand, accept and follow the instructions of Sri Isopanisad. Therefore we are trying to propagate this Esoteric Teaching all over the world.

Human beings are intelligent enough to scientifically investigate and profit from the laws of nature. But if our scientific knowledge remains confined to exploiting matter, we risk being unable to understand our own selves. In the opinion of the Esoteric Teaching, one who neglects the instructions of the Vedas risks his spiritual life.

An intelligent human being is therefore advised to recognize the Supreme Lord as his Master, and become His obedient servant and loving devotee. One should humbly offer everything at his command for the service and pleasure of the Lord, relish chanting the beautiful Holy Names of the Lord, and partake only of the remnants of food offered to the Lord (prasadam). This simple practice will enable him to attain the highest realms of spiritual existence. One who is sincere, serious-minded, who understands the laws of material and spiritual nature, and who is free from unnecessary attachment and aversion in the performance of transcendental yoga, is sure to be recognized by the Lord and go back to his eternal home in the spiritual world.

Additional Comments: