The Isha Upanishad (ईशोपनिषद्, ‘īśopaniṣad’) is one of the shortest of the Upanishads, in form more like a brief poem than a philosophical treatise, consisting of 17 or 18 verses in total. The Upanishad constitutes the final chapter (adhyāya) of the Shukla Yajurveda and survives in two versions, called Kanva (VSK) and Madhyandina (VSM).
The Isha Upanishad is significant for its description of the nature of the “Supreme Being”, exhibiting monism or a form of monotheism, referred to as Isha “Lord”. It describes this being as “unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated” (verse 8), one who “moves and does not move’, who is ‘far away, but very near as well'” and who “although fixed in abode is swifter than the mind” (verses 4 & 5).
The first verse of the text has been cited as of particular importance to Vedanta or to Hinduism as a whole.
Impermanent Manifestation
The beauty of life
Is in its vulnerability
As much as its resiliency
Take a tender blooming flower
It is fragile and delicate
But it expresses itself
With all its abilities.
It surely must be sensing
The morning’s vigour & vitality
The oppression of the afternoon sun
And the looming darkness of the night.
Yet it cares not that it’s time is limited
Or when the evening shadows befall
Its purpose is fulfilling for the world to see!
Such is the beauty of impermanency.
The only bird that dares to peck an eagle is the crow. He sits on his back and bites his neck. The eagle does not respond, nor fight with the crow. It does not spend time or energy on the crow.
It just opens its wings and begins to rise higher in the heavens. The higher the flight, the harder it is for the crow to breathe and then the crow falls due to lack of oxygen.
Learn from the eagle and don’t fight the crows. Just keep ascending. They might be along for the ride, but they’ll fall off.
Words are mere words
Until we take it upon ourselves
To find its meaning and relevance
Sometimes words leave imprints
Forever embedded in our hearts.
At times they feel shallow
Or, they even feel dense.
Words are mere words
Letters strung together
Picked by choice for expression
They may come through us
May be not necessarily from us.
Perhaps there is a power
That helps the words align
That creates a string of words
That touches the spirit of the soul.
Words find their own way
To arrive at an existence.
But for words to fulfill
Their purpose of creation
They have a journey that unfolds.
Words said or written in goodwill
Need to be sensed, to impact.
They need to be revived
By our heart & mind
In response than reaction
That is when words can help
To make a positive difference.
Else words will stay
Where they are
Unexplored, unknown
Unseen and unread
Unsaid and unwritten
For words are mere words.
The Way of the Universe is Abundance It is the way of nature. We come from it and we are nature. Our deepest intentions Find its way to fulfillment in time.
What is important is trustfulness In faith of the flow In belief and hope For as you ensivision The truth manifests itself.
Stay patient Trust life To unravel itself And deliver in time.
The last seven days of verses in a flow was an interesting experience. Have tried to connect them all together here. Thank you all for your likes and support every day and those of you who cared to pen their thoughts, deeply grateful to to those who have been joining in and making it even more memorable.
If you would like to visit each of them and read some of the beautiful responses in verses… Here are the links :
In the forest of your mind
Wanders many creatures
Of thoughts,
Great and small
Playing the game
Vying for attention
Fighting for Survival
To be heard and to be listened to
To be acted upon and manifest itself.
Your history and future
Dancing a tango with each other
In this present moment
But in-between and betwixt…
There is a space of quiet
Of all pervading calm
Within lies a lake of stillness
Or call it a pool of peace.
A watering hole of wisdom
A centering space of simplicity
As all illusory creations of the mind
Partake in a regeneration.
As the thoughts refresh themselves
The mind collects itself once more
All is Serene and tranquil inches now
Peace pools in and life evolves…
To all the ‘Crazy Busy’ Bossy kind of People, who say and feel they don’t have time…
For anything or anyone anymore!
If you don’t have time for your near and dear ones
You are perhaps indifferent and are taking people for granted.
Be cautious…Patience runs out of time!
If you are always dominant and intimidating by nature
People will follow you only by force and not from their hearts.
Be careful for soon they will become indifferent to your rants.
If you speak cutting people off mid-sentence.
You may be showing you are the boss
But people never appreciate not being listened to.
They will never turn up to you with suggestions.
All you will be harboring will be
The ‘Yes men ‘… think about it!.
If you have never walked along with your partner or your child or a pet dog…
Perhaps you should rethink if you have truly appreciated life’s moments you have had.
The joy of walking with another is a beautiful blessing only known to the ones who take a walk.
If you have never had time in your life
To do the things you wanted
And you keep giving excuses that if I had it this way I would do that…
Perhaps, you must realize life is best lived, doing what you love.
No one told you to sit it out.
If you feel you have little time
You are the reason.
You are still alive!
Take a step.
You have the way to change its course the way you choose!
During one of his travels, Kalidasa (the Great Poet) felt very thirsty and looked around for water. He saw a woman drawing water from a well.
He went up to her and asked her for water. She agreed to give him water, but asked him, “Who are you? Introduce yourself.”
Now Kalidasa thought that an ordinary village woman was not worthy of knowing who Kalidasa was. So he said, “I am a traveller.”
But his lady replied, “In this world there are only 2 travellers – the Sun and the Moon. Both Rise and Set every day and keep travelling perpetually.”
Then Kalidasa said, “Alright then, I am a guest.” The lady promptly replied, “In this world there are only 2 guests – Youth and Wealth … both are temporary and hence can only be called as guests.”
Intrigued Kalidasa said, “I am a Tolerant person (sahansheel vyakti).” Now the lady replied, “In this world only 2 truly know the meaning of Tolerance – Bhoomi (Earth) and Tree. How much ever you stamp the earth or throw stones at the tree (for the fruits), both continue to nurture us.”
Now Kalidasa was completely perplexed. He said, “Fine. I am a stubborn person (hatavaadi).” The lady smiled and said, “There are only 2 truly stubborn personalities – our nails and our hair. We keep cutting them non-stop, but they continue to grow.”
Kalidasa had been patient so far, but now in anger he said, “I am a fool”. Now the lady gave a wide smile and said, “There are only 2 kinds of fools in this world – a King who rules without having any capability or knowledge & a Minister who is a sycophant to such a King and lavishes praises on such a useless king.”
Kalidasa realised that he had been outsmarted. He fell at the feet of the lady and when he touched her feet and then got up, whom did he see?
Mother Saraswati – the Goddess of Learning and Wisdom. She said, “Kalidasa, you are wise. But only if you know yourself do you become a Manushya (human being). A person without any awareness of self has not reached the pinnacle of being a Human.
Note:
The Guru who recounted this story in His Teachings said, “Children should become a Manushya & know themselves. More than teaching them how to earn more money and become rich, parents should teach them to become aware of themselves and become better Human beings.
Wouldn’t you agree?
What do you think of this ancient story and its relevance to our education today?
How far have we really come with the so called knowledge?
What legacy will we really be leaving behind for our children tomorrow?
When can we bridge this growing gap between learning for knowledge and learning for understanding?
How can we transform our methods of education where we educate not just the mind but also the human heart?
For the truth is that…
Humanity needs us all to be humane more than ever before to survive!
Qualities of a Leader mentioned by the esteemed and the honourable Dr Abdul Kalam Azad. All these are valuable qualities in leadership.
A Visionary:
Without knowing where to lead the followers how can a leader execute his plan?
Equanimity
Without being able to be balanced in equanimity in both actions and attitude, how can a leader be able to ride the storms and manifest the changes in the challenges?
Nobility
Without enabling the heart and mind to be transparent to each other, how can a leader be synched in the decisions taken?
An Explorer
Without being open to an explorer’s mindset how can the leadership survive in this cutthroat world?
A decision maker
Without a focused approach and timely decisions taken with courage how can leadership know what to do ahead?
Integrity: Without a sense of honesty and morality how can the leader lead others?
And I love the wisdom in these words. For this is what to me, is the sign of a great leader.
Whenever we get too drawn into the vortex of living life and whenever it starts to feel like a burden and like there is no lightness in the moments it is perhaps time to take a check on our own way of being. So today I am heart fully sharing my dear mother’s two bits on the way of peaceful life and living… I have re read it earlier for to balance my own thoughts as well.:))
Already a lot has been said and written about this. So many experts in different fields have shown so many ways to attain peace.
Peace- the ultimate human need even after reaching peaks of success in their fields. It eludes even the so called achieved souls.
Humans have various desires and find various ways to fulfill them.
Need for wealth, health, love, knowledge, family , status, fame, power, comforts… . the list goes on. To achieve them they go through various states of hardships n emotional turbulence . Perseverance, hard work, focus and luck help them to achieve their goals. But after attaining all these is one peaceful?
Unfortunately the more one gains, the greater is the loss of inner peace. Loads of pressure weighs down them.
The need for more never get satiated. Contentment is always on the other side of the river.Because our expectation keeps on increasing .
From childhood one has to live to the expectations of people surrounding them and in the process then they grow up, they start expecting the same from all around them .
Whichever field or whatever state they are, there is always expectations. Family , friend, society, teachers, work place, children, lifestyle, appearance, behavior befitting their age n status…expectations everywhere.; either by us or from us at all stages of our life. Again it is endless. Peace still eludes .
Like the most difficult puzzles have very simple solutions , life problems also can be simplified.
Simply working towards reducing and gradually ceasing the expecting from others or living to other’s expectations.
Be yourself , let others be themselves.
Never shy away from our duty or ignore social responsibilities or inner values. Doing without expectations. But it is not easy to transcend basic human nature. More than desires, our expectations not happening cause us more sorrow. All are not yogis or saints. But peace is ultimately desired by all. If every one adheres to practice non expectation, peace will befriend the surrounding .
Do your duty, Be dedicated, Be grateful , Be understanding ,Be helpful, Be kind and compassionate,
Be selfless , all without expectations.
Your due will come to you in its own time in its own way.
Such is Cosmic law.
No expectation –
No disappointment –
No arguments –
No disharmony –
Peaceful existence
With whomever or wherever one be, adopt, adjust & accept. Happiness & peace will follow.
When acceptance becomes our nature the rest become easier.
One word mantra to peace
Live, let live.
Stop Expecting.
Start Accepting.
Live happily.
Either you appear as you are or be as you appear.