Everything Is Filled with the Divine

The Isha Upanishad is the fortieth and final chapter of the Shukla Yajurveda. It has only eighteen verses, yet tradition says all of Vedanta is packed into them. It tells no long story; it speaks straight to the heart. Its name comes from its opening words, 'Isha vasyam': all this is covered by, filled with, the Lord.

The first verse says that whatever exists in this changing world is pervaded by the divine. So enjoy it with a spirit of renunciation, and do not covet anyone's wealth. This does not mean leaving everything and running to the forest. It means: do not let things become your master. The joy of something you are not clutching is the only real joy.

The second verse says: wish to live a hundred years here, doing your work. So the Upanishad does not praise laziness or escape. It asks us to keep acting, but in a way that our actions do not bind us. This same idea returns, in much greater detail, as 'nishkama karma', selfless action, in the Bhagavad Gita.

The sixth verse is very beautiful: one who sees all beings in their own Self, and their own Self in all beings, hates no one. Think about it: if the same divinity lives in every person, whom could we hate? This is the greatest message of the Upanishads: deep inside, we are all one.

Later comes a prayer: the face of truth is covered by a golden lid; O Sun, remove it so that I may see the truth. That gold is traditionally understood as glitter, fame and wealth, which hide what is real. This Upanishad's peace mantra, 'Purnamadah purnamidam', is also famous: take the whole from the whole, and the whole still remains.