ISAVASYA UPANISHAD - Wave 4: Mantra - 15-17 (3 No.) “The VISION of TRUTH” : Mantram - 15. -Swami Gurubhaktananda ( Chinmaya Mission ).

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Saturday, June 26,  2021. 9 : 24 AM.
ISAVASYA UPANISHAD
18 Mantra-s on “The All-Pervading Reality”
Wave 4: Mantra - 15-17 (3 No.)
“The VISION of TRUTH”
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Mantram - 15: The Face of Truth

"Hiranmayena patrena,  satyasyapihitam mukham

tat twam pushan apavrinu, satya dharmaya drishtaye." || 15||

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Translation :

1 Hiranmayena patrena,          = By a golden vessel or lid

2 satyasyapihitam mukham;   = is the face of Truth covered;

3 tat tvam pushan apavrinu,    = O Sun, remove the covering (or open the lid)

4 satya dharmaya drishtaye.   = so that I may behold the Truth I am striving for.

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Commentary :

[This Mantram forms the Theme Song of the Upanishad Ganga TV series produced by the

Chinmaya Mission screened weekly on DD2 since 12th March 2012, over one year. At

Sandeepany, the class was availed the opportunity of seeing each episode live on TV.]

ThisMantram pairs up well with the opening verse which stated that the whole world

was “covered” or “enveloped” by the Truth. Here, in a prayer addressed to the Divine, the

seeker prays to the Sun (the deity of the physical sun) to remove that covering so that he

may be behold the Truth. The similarity of the two verses is in conformity with the scriptural

practice of Upakrama-Upasamhara, to convey the subject essence at the beginning and the

end of the text. For this reason, Maadhyandina considers this to be the last verse of the

Upanishad. Rishi Kanva considers verses 15-18 to form one concluding prayer to the whole

Upanishad. In both cases the idea of the scriptural practice is accepted.

The Covering of Truth :

1-2 We cannot look at the sun due to its brilliance; the very brilliance of the sun acts

as a screen to shield it from our view. The Truth also has a “golden disc” shielding it from

our vision. We cannot see the Truth because it is too brilliant. The brilliance can be thought

of as an Upadhi which hides the Truth. An Upadhi, like our body and mind, is a de-limiter; it

limits the the appearance of a thing; it attenuates the intensity of a thing by making the

thing appear less intense than the original.

We can take an ordinary example of the country’s President. If we are asked to go

and meet the President, we make special arrangements to do so. We are awed by the

greatness of the ‘Upadhi’ of the President’s Office. His status far exceeds that of our own

and so we stand in awe of him. But the family members of the President do not see his

‘Office’. They are quite at ease with him, even when he is in his office.

When we actually meet the President, we say, “Oh, he is such a simple person. He

even shook my hand! And he smiled at me!” Every little act of his fills us with wonder. So,

too, it is with Truth, whose Upadhis are enormous. It is so well hidden. It cannot be seen just

for a song. One has to become worthy of seeing It.

Some commentators interpret the disc or cover to mean Maya Herself. This is slightly

different from seeing it as an Upadhi. Upadhis are a product of Maya. With reference to

Truth, the Upadhi is Maya.

The Expanded Meaning of Truth :

3a Pushan: In Vedic times, the Personal Gods were the Deities of the respective

elements. The Puranic Deities came at a later period. The Sun Deity is addressed by many

names, according to the aspect of it being invoked. Here the name Pooshan is being used.

‘Pooshan’ means “nourisher or sustainer”. The Sun, though it remains still, is the source of

the energy which makes the whole universe dynamic and powerful. The Sun provides the

driving force. In the Vedic scriptures, the Sun is the perfect symbol for the Atman or Self

within each individual. The Atman, too, fulfils the same function as Pushan, the Sun.

Pushan is a very appropriate choice of word in another context. ‘Pooshan’ expands

the scope of meaning for Truth. It not only means the Sun, but it is also a name for Ishwara,

the supreme Creator. It is also a name for Consciousness or Existence itself, which is the

supreme Reality, the Absolute Brahman. Thus, by using the word Pooshan, the Truth could

be interpreted to mean relative truth or Absolute Truth; meaning that the Truth is both

transcendental (beyond creation) as well as imminent (within creation).

The Prayer of the Seeker :

3-4 The seeker of Truth, the devotee, asks Pushan to uncover the disc. 

The conversation between devotee and Pooshan can be imagined as follows:

Pushan: “Why, what do you want to see?”

Devotee: “O Sun, I wish to behold the face of Truth.”

Pushan: “But what is so special about you that I should uncover the Truth for

your sake?”

Devotee: “Believe me, Sun, I am a Satya Dharmaaya, a practitioner of Truth. I

do the Upasana for Truth daily. Can you not please grant me my heart’s desire?”

Pushan: “Well, let me check out your records first to see if your request is

valid. I will get back to you by email.”

Devotee: “O, don’t check too thoroughly, please! I know I have made many

errors in my Upasana. Be a little lenient with me if you do find anything wrong.”

The devotee leaves, only to trouble Pooshan again the next day at the first crack of

dawn. Still no email. He goes the next day, and the next….until his wish is finally granted.

Truly, Guruji’s subtle ways to get the message through to us has to be commended!

Guruji followed this with a delightful story of a little boy who asked Santa Claus for

some special gifts on Christmas. “Santa, will you give me a video-game machine, a laptop, an

i-pad, a cellphone with lots of games in it, and…”

Santa said, “Wait a minute. I will check out what good deeds you have done for the

current year.

”

The boy quickly replied, “Oh, Santa, just the video-game machine will do!”

End.
NEXT- Mantram - 16: The Vision of Truth.
To be continued ....

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