ईशोपनिषत् मन्त्रव्याख्या 1

by Basudeba Mishra

Ralph Griffith, Max Muller or Puqun Li are NOT authorities on the Upanishad. Ishopanishad or Ishaavaasyopanishad discusses about Brahmasatya and Devasatya starting from Amrhtaatmaa. 

1. The first three Mantras are called Purushaatmaadhikarana and discuss about the totality that existed before creation. (पुरुषात्माधिकरण)
2. The next Mantra (4th) is Avyaktaatmaadhikarana and discusses the state immediately after creation. (अव्यक्तात्माधिकरण) 
3. The next three Mantras (5-7) describe the relationship of the initial state with the first evolutionary state called Brahmasatya. (ब्रह्मसत्य)  
4. The next (8th) is Mahadaatmaadhikarana that describes the inter-galactic space. (महदात्माधिकरण) 
5. The next 3 Mantras (9-11) is Vijnaanaatmaadhikarana, which describes the galaxy and star formation. Till now everythin was evolving mechanically. (वज्ञानात्माधिकरण) 
6. The next three Mantras (12 to 14) are Prajnaanaatmaadhikarana, which describes the formation of planets, conscious processes and primordial life. (प्रज्ञानात्माधिकरण)
7. The next 2 and 1/2 Mantra are Pranaatmaadhikarana, which describes the formation of life on Earth. (प्राणात्माधिकरण) 
8. The second half of the 17th Mantra is Shareeratrayaatmaadhikarana, which describes human life. (शरीरत्रयात्माधिकरण)
9. The last 18th Mantra describes the relation between Brahmasatya and Devasatya and their relationship with the heat principle. This last Mantra is not in the Maadhyandina recension. (ब्रह्मसत्य देवसत्य)

This is the traditional interpretation, but you will never find it in ANY commentary on the Upanishad.

To give one example of how it is different from the published books, I will give just one example. Nowhere in the Vedas, the statements are repeated or described more than the minimum necessary. Hence, for interpreting anything related to Vedas, we must have a knowledge of the whole Vedas. Otherwise, we will not understand the technical terms, which might have been described elsewhere. 

Take the first quarter of the 4th Mantra. Literally it says: “There is one which is immobile, but moves faster than the fastest……” Apparently it is self-contradictory. But if we understand the context, everything becomes simple.

When we look at the universe, we find everything in a state of transition – from one state to another state continuously – at different speeds regulated by the initial application of force and density of the medium. How do we know? Because of observation. But observation needs two things: Observable and Observer. The observable undergoes transition, which is an action. Observation is the comparison between similars, which also is an action. Observation returns a result in scalar quantities. The Observer gives meaning to the scalar quantities by linking that to the dimensions of the unit of measurement. Observer does not perform any action. It only perceives or gives meaning to the observation of the observable based on prior knowledge of the dimension of the unit. It is the repository of the prior knowledge, otherwise we could not perceive anything. When someone takes a tape and measures a cloth and says 5 meters, we must have the prior knowledge of meter. Otherwise we will not understand anything. Thus, everything in the universe can be categorized as 

1. action, which describes the state, and
2. knowledge, which makes the state meaningful. 

Both are related to the same thing. The Mantra refers to this division.

1. At the before creation was beyond description (singularity), as there was no distinction between the Observer, the Observable and the mechanism of Observation. 
2. It became meaningful when the Observer started observing the Observable. The Observable moves at the fastest pace (hence light has the limiting velocity). But the Observer (in the universal sense) does not move (movement is an action), yet, He observes the entire expanse. How could it be explained? Let us examine the following scenario.
3. There are three types of motion in the universe. 
   1. The first is 1) Avayava Gati or the motion of the part. A potter’s wheel is an example. Every point on the wheel are rotating, but the wheel itself is stationary. There are innumerable examples of this type of motion. 
   2. The second is 2) Avayavee Gati or motion of the whole. A passenger in a running car represents a good example. The parts of the passenger are not moving, but he/she as a whole is moving. 
   3. The third is 3) Ubhaya Gati or motion of both the part and the whole. The motion of the car is an example. Everything in it including the car itself is moving. 

Of these three, the Mantra refers to the first. 

1. At the moment of creation, an inherent instability described in the first three Mantras, creates a ripple, which spreads out at the fastest possible speed due to inertia of motion (vega described by Kanaada) breaking the equilibrium of the background structure. 
2. This generates a stress in the static background giving rise to inertia of restoration (sthitisthaapaka described by Kanaada) or elasticity. 
3. This creates a bow-shock effect that reduces the speed of expansion till it reduces to zero and reverts back slowly starting a process of reconnection. This process is described in Gopatha Braahmanam. The volume thus cut off is the universe, which remains static like the potter’s wheel, while everything in it moves at the fastest speed.

I can go on describing the entire creation process based only on this Mantra. Would you still call it spiritual! Is it not logical and scientific? Can you find such explanation in any book on Ishopanishad or Ishaavaasyopanishad?