ISAVASYA UPANISHAD: “The All-Pervading Reality”: 9 - Swami Gurubhaktananda.

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Tuesday 12, January 2026, 20:40.
ISAVASYA UPANISHAD:
MEDITATIONS on the Self
18 Mantras on: “The All-Pervading Reality” 
Wave 2:
Mantras 4-8 (5 No.)

on the 12 Lectures delivered: Swami Tejomayananda:  to the 15th Batch Vedanta Course:   at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Powai, Mumbai July 11th – July 16th, 2012

Reflections: Swami Gurubhaktananda 

Post-9.

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Mantram - 8: How the Lord Governs: 

1. 

Sah paryagaat shukram = He (the Atman) is all-pervading, bright,  

akaayam avranam = bodiless and immaculate (scatheless); 

2. 

asnaaviragm shuddham = He is without muscles, pure, 

apaapa-viddham; = and unpierced by evils. 

3. 

kavih maneeshee paribhooh, = He is wise, omniscient, transcendent, 

swayambhooh yaathaa-tathyatah = and self-existing; and the respective 

4. 

arthaan vyadadhaat = functions and duties are allotted   

shaashwateebhyah samaabhyah.= by Him alone to the Creator for eternity. 

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1-3.

functions and duties are allotted by Him alone to the Creator for eternity. 

Here, Guruji took great care to help us on how to understand each of these word descriptions of the Self. He said we should take a word at a time, close our eyes and ponder over its meaning within, feeling always that the description is of our true nature. We should feel that quality in our very being. 

4.

As was mentioned in mantram 1, the Lord is not a dictatorial King. He is within all creation. The function of governing this world is allocated to various Deities according to their capacity to handle the respective duties. These Deities are agents on behalf of God. 

How Duties are Given to Deities:

About the allocation of duties in this manner, Guruji introduced the idea of superimposition of Brahman or the Self upon the various range of minds and bodies of varying capacities. He emphasized that even the Creator Himself is a being like us but with an enormously powerful cosmic mind and cosmic body. If we were to drop these superimposed subtle bodies from all the various created beings, then they would all be 

identical to Brahman. This is the meaning of the Mahavakya “I am Brahman” and the subject of all other Mahavakyas, which is “Jiva-Brahma-Aikya”. They all instruct that the Jiva and Brahman are identical. The way to see this as the Truth is to disengage our awareness from all our Upadhis (body, mind and intellect), and fix it on the Self. 

Among these Deities, the foremost is Ishwara, the Supreme Creator. He is allocated  rulership over the whole of creation. He is associated with the Total Mind and Total Body so He appears to be infinitely greater than each individual human being. Yet, if we remove the superimpositions from Ishwara and remove them from the Jiva or individual as well, there is no difference between the two. We would see the common essence of both of these, despite one being a Devata of the highest order, and one a puny human being severely limited by a small body and limited mind.  

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Next
ISHAVASYA UPANISHAD 
Wave 3:   Verses 9-14 (6 No.) 
The Integration of KNOWLEDGE.
Continues

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