Srimati Urmila Devi Dasi is a scholar and leader of the Vaisnava community within ISKCON. In the academic community she is a doctor of Educational Leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of a guide for school leadership and instruction author of dozens of articles on education, an international educational consultant and curriculum director. Within the Vaisnava community she travels the world renowned as an articulate international speaker on the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness. Srimati Urmila is a member of ISKCON's GBC Sastric Advisory Council and an Associate Editor of Back to Godhead Magazine.
The 108 Upanishads are considered the essence of all the Vedas, and Ishopanishad is foremost among them. Discover the distilled essence of all knowledge in these eighteen enlightening verses.
For thousands of years, people on a spiritual quest have consulted the mystical, intensely philosophical Upanishads. As the name implies (upa-near; ni-down; shad-to sit), one is advised to sit near a spiritual teacher to learn. To learn what? This Upanishad's name gives the clue: Isha means "the supreme controller."
Let us sit near the spiritual guide to learn about the supreme controller: God.
This seminar will cover the following topics:
Session #1
Relationship between Krishna, Jivas, and Prakriti (invocation-mantra 3) Finding happiness and harmony through overflowing completeness which eliminates lack and scarcity
Session #2
The Lord as known by the Maha-Bhagavata (mantras 4-8) The vision and consciousness of great souls who through revelation know the Lord’s inconceivable qualities
Session #3
Knowledge and Ignorance (mantras 9-11) Knowing wolves and wolves in sheep’s clothing to lead instead a balanced life
Session #4
Worship of Absolute and Relative (mantras 12-14) Other kinds of wolves and wolves in sheep’s clothing that help us to distinguish real and false religion, being successful both spiritually and materially
Session #5
Revelation of the Lord (mantras 15-18) Developing loving appreciation for Krishna through the process of surrender and His mercy.
Relationship Between Krishna, Jivas, and Prakriti Finding happiness and harmony through overflowing completeness which eliminates lack and scarcity
Iso Invocation: The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.
Iso 1: 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.
Iso 2: One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no alternative to this way for man.
Iso 3: The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.
The Lord as known by the Maha-Bhagavata (mantras 4-8) The vision and consciousness of great souls who through revelation know the Lord’s inconceivable qualities
Iso 4: Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running. The powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence.
Iso 5: The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything.
Iso 6: He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.
Iso 7: One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?
Iso 8: Such a person must factually know the greatest of all, the Personality of Godhead, who is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated, the self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling everyone's desire since time immemorial.
Knowledge and Ignorance (mantras 9-11) Knowing wolves and wolves in sheep’s clothing to lead instead a balanced life
Iso 9: Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.
Iso 10: The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of knowledge and that a different result is obtained from the culture of nescience.
Iso 11: Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality.
Worship of Absolute and Relative (mantras 12-14) Other kinds of wolves and wolves in sheep’s clothing that help us to distinguish real and false religion, being successful both spiritually and materially
Iso 12: Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest region of ignorance, and still more so do the worshipers of the impersonal Absolute.
Iso 13: It is said that one result is obtained by worshiping the supreme cause of all causes and that another result is obtained by worshiping what is not supreme. All this is heard from the undisturbed authorities, who clearly explained it.
Iso 14: One should know perfectly the Personality of Godhead ŚrīKṛṣṇa and His transcendental name, form, qualities and pastimes, as well as the temporary material creation with its temporary demigods, men and animals. When one knows these, he surpasses death and the ephemeral cosmic manifestation with it, and in the eternal kingdom of God he enjoys his eternal life of bliss and knowledge.
