Supreme truth is here, everywhere: Sri M



Spiritual guide, social reformer and educationist Sri M is giving a three-day discourse in Bengaluru on the Ishavasya Upanishad at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall from December 28th. The three-day discourse will be delivered between 6 pm and 7 pm.
The TOI spoke to Sri M on the Ishavasya Upanishad, its relevance and how to apply it in one’s daily life.
Will you please give a small introduction on Ishavasya Upanishad?
The Upanishads are interactions between seekers and the teachers to understand the supreme truth with sincere effort to move closer to it. Ishavasya Upanishad is a small but most important one. In general, it explains that Upanishad is for everyone in common – regardless of age, caste, creed, nation…etc. It simply explains how one can understand the presence of supreme truth in daily life. We gather and acquire in the hope that it will give us lasting happiness. But the happiness that we get does not last and leads us to more desires. This search is actually for the Supreme Being that lies within each and every one of us.
Can you elaborate a little more?
The lines of first Shloka of Ishavasya Upanishad says, ‘Ishavasyam Idam Sarvam Yat Kincha Jagatyam Jagat – Tena Tyaktena Bhunjitha Ma Gridhah Kasya Uasvid Dhanam’, meaning the supreme truth permeates everything, here and now. In simple terms, it explains how the supreme lord or supreme being exists everywhere on this earth and above.
How is a common man benefited by studying Ishavasya Upanishad?
From our birth to death, knowing or unknowingly, we all are in search of something or the other. This ‘something’ can be termed as the goal of life; it could be temporary or permanent; but while looking for this goal and working on it, one needs to travel on one or the other path. Ishavasya Upanishad helps in understanding this path and teaches us to walk in the right direction.
How does Ishavasya Upanishad guide one on the concept of goal and path?
The lines ‘Yat Kincha Jagatyam’ (it permeates all that moves and all that does not move) mean not only living beings, but also, non-living things. Now, this distinction of ‘That which moves’ and ‘That does not move’ is a very relative distinction because from the point of view of the physicist, there is nothing that does not move. A piece of stone does not move for us, because we think it is static. We do not see its inside-but from a physics view, quantum physics or practical physics-everything is in constant motion. There is nothing that stops. So, that supreme being Isha pervades everything here that appears to move and the non-moving ones. So, we humans are moving every second in our life; but where are we moving to? Are we moving in the right direction? Ishavasya Upanishad answers them. For instance, if someone had slapped me 20 years back, my mind recalls the incident even though the attacker is dead. Ishavasya teaches us to forget the past and live in the present. This is explained as ‘Tena Tyaktena Bhunjia’, meaning let go and rejoice.
Tell us something on meditation
Meditation is nothing but a technique to calm down our minds. In the west, many doctors and psychiatrists recommend meditation to overcome stress and anxiety. India is an ancient source of meditation and a regular practice of meditation helps in keeping the mind under control-not agitated for anything and everything.