Ishavasyam idam sarvam yat kincha jagatyam jagat, tena tyaktena bhunjitha ma gridhah kasya svid dhanam
One of the shortest and most loved Upanishads: 18 mantras that close the Shukla Yajurveda. Each one is turned here into a simple lesson and a small practice for today.
That is complete, this is complete. From the Complete comes the complete; and the Complete remains complete. Om, peace, peace, peace.
All 18 mantras
Eighteen lessons for life
Lessons you are practising:0 / 18
1👑Ownership
Everything belongs to the Divine
The whole universe is pervaded and owned by the Lord. Take what is set aside as your share and do not grab what belongs to others.
Practice today:Before buying something today, ask: do I need this, or do I want to own it?
2☸️Action
Work fully, but without bondage
You may wish to live a hundred years. Live them working, and work in a way that does not tie you down.
Practice today:Do one task today as an offering, without thinking of the reward.
3👁️Awareness
Forgetting the soul is the real darkness
A life that ignores the inner Self, however successful, walks into darkness.
Practice today:Spend five quiet minutes today asking, "Who am I beyond my roles?"
4🌬️Paradox
Still, yet faster than the mind
The Supreme does not move, yet nothing can outrun it. It stays in place, yet goes beyond everything.
Practice today:Notice how fast your mind runs. Then notice the stillness that watches it.
5🪐Paradox
Far away, and very near
It moves and does not move. It is far and it is near. It is inside everything and outside everything.
Practice today:Look for the Divine in one ordinary thing today: a tree, a child, water.
6🤝Oneness
See yourself in all beings
One who sees all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, can no longer hate anyone.
Practice today:When someone irritates you today, silently say: "The same light is in you."
7🪷Oneness
Where there is oneness, there is no grief
For one who has seen the oneness of all life, what confusion can remain, what sorrow?
Practice today:Write down one worry. Read it again as if the whole universe is holding you.
8☀️Nature of God
Pure, bodiless, self-existent
The Lord is radiant, untouched by impurity, the seer and the poet, existing by Himself, and has arranged everything rightly for all time.
Practice today:Trust that the order of your life is held by a wisdom larger than yours.
9⚖️Balance
Neither only worldly nor only bookish
Those who live only for worldly action enter darkness. Those who cling only to learning without living it go into greater darkness.
Practice today:Pair one practical act with one moment of reflection today.
10⚖️Balance
Two kinds of knowledge give two results
The wise say that worldly knowledge brings one result and spiritual knowledge another. Learn the difference.
Practice today:Name one skill you are building for the world, and one for the soul.
11⚖️Balance
Hold both together
Knowing both the worldly and the spiritual, one crosses death through the first and tastes immortality through the second.
Practice today:Do your job well today. Then give five minutes to prayer. Both are sacred.
12🌱Creation
Not only the unseen cause
Those who worship only the unmanifest cause of the world enter darkness.
Practice today:Respect the world in front of you: your body, family and duties.
13🌱Creation
Not only the visible world
Those who worship only the manifest world enter greater darkness. Each brings its own result.
Practice today:Look beyond appearances once today. Ask what is behind what you see.
14🌱Creation
Know the seen and the unseen
Knowing both the creation and its source, one crosses death and attains the deathless.
Practice today:Thank the Creator for one created thing you enjoyed today.
15🌕Prayer
Remove the golden lid
The face of Truth is hidden behind a dazzling golden cover. O Sustainer, remove it so that I, who love the truth, may see.
Practice today:Notice one thing that dazzles you but hides the truth: praise, money, a screen.
16🌕Prayer
I am a small spark of His light
O Sun, gather your rays so I may see your most beautiful form. The Supreme Person who dwells there is the source of all light; I am a small spark of that light, His servant.
Practice today:At sunrise or sunset, look at the light and offer a prayer of thanks to its Source.
17🔥Remembrance
At the end, remember your deeds
Let breath return to the immortal air and the body to ashes. O mind, remember what you have done. Remember.
Practice today:Before sleeping tonight, review your day and keep one good deed in your heart.
18🔥Prayer
Lead us on the good path
O Fire, knower of all our deeds, lead us by the good path to prosperity. Remove crooked wrongdoing from us. We bow to you again and again.
Practice today:Ask for guidance before one decision today, then act with courage.
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