Question to Indo and others - Sanskrit verse translation /meaning.

Indo,

Please explain/translate this verse. I see different translations/interpretations on web.

Thanks


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In the Ishopanishad it is said that


Andha tamah pravishyanti ye vidhyamupasate
Tatho buya eva the tamo ya v vidhya rathaha

Those who pursue materialism alone, those who pursue the things of the world alone, they go into great darkness. andha tamha. They go into great darkness when they things of the world alone. But he says those who pursue the things of the spirit alone may go into even greater darkness. Please understand what I am telling you. Those who pursue materialism alone go into great darkness. Those who pursue spirituality alone go into even greater darkness. Those who pursue the materiel and the spiritual side-by-side like that two wings of the bird, such people are happy in this world and the next.

So this is the principal of balance and this is the first principle that I would like to teach you specially because your profession deals with the world and deals with worldly things. And even those worldly things can become spiritual provided you don\'t abandon them foolishly.

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taken from
http://www.capitalideasonline.com/articles/index.php?id=710

This is from chimayananda's Isavasya Upanishad (also called as Isopanishad)

andham=blinding; tamah=darkness; pravisanti=enter; ye= who; avidyam=avidya; upasate=worship; tatah= than that; bhuyah= greater; eva=as though; te=they; tamah=darkness; ye=who; u=verily; vidyayam= in vidya; ratah=devoted, engaged in.

They who worsip Avidya (rites) alone enter into blindening darkness, and they, who are engaged in Vidya (meditation)verily fall, as though, into an even greater darkness.

I think the key to deducing the meaning of the verse is defining what Avidya is and what Vidya is. It could mean different things to different interpreters and hence the variance in its interpretation.

From what I read and according to my understanding, Avidya could mean Ritualism. Rituals are performed with the intent to fulfill a materialistic desire. The ones immersed totally in that are certainly slipping into thick delusions. That is self-evident, i guess.

Vidya is Upasana/meditation. Meditation by unprepared and immature minds can lead to greater delusions/darkness. We see scores of such ppl around us, don't we? From transcendental meditations (TM) to Isha yoga/meditation to the Art of living, etc. The gurus are becoming millionaires while the followers are deluded in their chase of instant Nirvana. The Upanishad talks abt such kind of hasty, unprepared meditations.
Can also take into consideration a different kind of Upasaks/meditators, the kind of yogis that Paramahamsa Yogananda talked abt in his book. The ones who would've attained some siddhis, but seemed like a deluded lot, more deluded than the rest.

The best way is to purify the personality through selfless dedicated action (karma yoga) and with that purified, matured and prepared mind, contemplate on the higher. This is the theme of the Bhagavad Gita too.

And even those worldly things can become spiritual provided you don\'t abandon them foolishly. . This makes sense

I heard a commentator say that "vidya" is one that liberates, and "avidya" is one that binds. In Lalita 1000, Devi Lalita is described as "vidya-avidya swaroopini." She is someone who can bind you and also liberate you. There may be other explanations of those terms elsewhere.

This verse becomes complicated if viewed in isolation. It is
a good example of why one should not read certain things like a novel or without
some foundation in Vedanta.
In our tradition, creator, the process of creation and
creation itself are all one (as though there is no distinction
between cause and effect). This aspect is often misunderstood. Some “extremely
brilliant” CH scholars in the past explained that Sankara suggested that the
world is an illusion! This is what Isopanishad is refuting. First of all,
Sankara did not say that the world is an illusion. Second, there is no
salvation by shutting off the physical world. One’s understanding of the
physical world and participation in it are both necessary. Purusha suktam says
that the physical world is only a small component of the universe and there is
another larger aspect. At the same time one has to realize that there is no
division between the two aspects! Chgandogya declares that everything
(physical, transcendent, etc.) is all Brahman!!! In other words, one who
identifies him-/her-self with the essence of the whole universe, without
distinction, is a jeevan mukta. Knowledge is necessary for the
understanding of the comprehensive nature of the universe. With this knowledge,
one must act in the world. For enlightened living, there must be an interplay
of the two. Thus, Purusha sooktam declares that salvation is here and now, not
in some other world and at a later time (tamEvam vidVaan amrita iha bhavati…). There is a
misunderstanding that vaasanas should be negated by us. This is
simply impossible! What Gita suggests is that you have to work in the world
without increasing one’s vasanas and with the objective of diminishing a
misunderstanding of the true nature of the world around us. This is possible
with knowledge-driven action.


One dwells in avidya or vidya due to the leela of sakti (according to Sankara, as
Indo points out). In the Isa verse posted
here, avidya refers to activity in the physical world (mere physical activity
is insufficient). Vidya refers to knowledge of Brahman (mere knowledge won’t be
enough and can actually be dangerous – Ravan was very knowledgeable; Hiranyakashipu
declared that he was the lord himself; both became self-destructive).


A truly enlightened person dwells and acts in the world
using his knowledge. Action or knowledge alone is insufficient. This is the
main message of the verse. Through
jnaana and vairaagya should one work in the world for mukti, says Sankara (and
Gita).


Regards.

kinnera wrote:This is from chimayananda's Isavasya Upanishad (also called as Isopanishad)

andham=blinding; tamah=darkness; pravisanti=enter; ye= who; avidyam=avidya; upasate=worship; tatah= than that; bhuyah= greater; eva=as though; te=they; tamah=darkness; ye=who; u=verily; vidyayam= in vidya; ratah=devoted, engaged in.

They who worsip Avidya (rites) alone enter into blindening darkness, and they, who are engaged in Vidya (meditation)verily fall, as though, into an even greater darkness.

I think the key to deducing the meaning of the verse is defining what Avidya is and what Vidya is. It could mean different things to different interpreters and hence the variance in its interpretation.

From what I read and according to my understanding, Avidya could mean Ritualism. Rituals are performed with the intent to fulfill a materialistic desire. The ones immersed totally in that are certainly slipping into thick delusions. That is self-evident, i guess.

Vidya is Upasana/meditation. Meditation by unprepared and immature minds can lead to greater delusions/darkness. We see scores of such ppl around us, don't we? From transcendental meditations (TM) to Isha yoga/meditation to the Art of living, etc. The gurus are becoming millionaires while the followers are deluded in their chase of instant Nirvana. The Upanishad talks abt such kind of hasty, unprepared meditations.
Can also take into consideration a different kind of Upasaks/meditators, the kind of yogis that Paramahamsa Yogananda talked abt in his book. The ones who would've attained some siddhis, but seemed like a deluded lot, more deluded than the rest.

The best way is to purify the personality through selfless dedicated action (karma yoga) and with that purified, matured and prepared mind, contemplate on the higher. This is the theme of the Bhagavad Gita too.

>>>>It is curious that avidya and vidya are not shown as opposites, but rather as degrees of the same thiing. My read on it somewhat similar to yours, I think. There are those who get stuck at the materialism stage and let that circumscribe their existence- this is the darkness that maybe being referenced, with negative connotations. Those who are truly wise ('vidya') go deeper. This "darkness" has positive connotations, as it means depth. Of course, this is all a guess .