isha upanishad in English | isha upanishad chanting verse 11 | ishavasya upanishad | how to become immortal | Vedanta Philosophy
Dear readers,
Welcome back to our blog. Today we will discuss eleventh shloka of Isha Upanishad.
You can recite the shloka. So, let's start.
“vidyāṃ cāvidyāṃ ca yastadvedobhayaṃ saha |
avidyayā mṛtyuṃ tīrtvā vidyayāmṛtamaśnute || |”
Translation in English:
He who knows Vidya and Avidya both, crosses over death by Avidya and attains immortality through Vidya.
One day divine sage Narada was crossing a deep forest. The forest was known for a cruel dacoit Ratnakar. Everyone told sage Narada to change the route to save his life because Ratnakar does not show any emotion while looting and killing anyone. Sage Narada smiled and chanted “Narayana, Narayana.”. He entered the forest; chanting and walking. After walking for 2 hours, he noticed bones and dead bodies of some passers. He understood he had already entered the area of the ferocious Ratnakar dacoit. Without being late the death appears in front of him. Ratnakar kept his Sword on Narada’s neck and asked “Did you not know who lives in this jungle? Did no one inform you about this jungle?” Sage smiled and chanted Narayana, Narayana. Then he told Ratnakar that he was aware of the fact. “Then how dare you enter the jungle! Why are you still smiling? The sword is touching your neck and wants to take a bath with your blood. Are you not afraid of death?” Sage Narada chanted “Narayana, Narayana” and told Ratnakar the chanting of Narayana removes the fear of death. He knows this sword can slit his throat but cannot cut the Aatman or the Self. He is not this body but that Aatman. That Aatman is immortal. Because of this supreme knowledge he was enjoying immortality.
Before we explain this Shloka, we recommend you to read previous Shlokas to understand Vidya and Avidya and of course other shlokas if you missed them. Links to those blogs are given at the bottom of this page.
Divine Sage Narada is known for his devotion to lord Narayana and at the same time he is known for his wisdom. He is a perfect example of someone following Vidya and Avidya. We cannot stop decay or death of this body. But, through Avidya means rituals like chanting, devotion, worship, we can remove our fear of death. In this way we will be fearless. On the other hand, with the knowledge of the Aatman, we attain freedom and liberty. We get strength in our mind. We know we are not just this body but can see beyond this body and mind. With this knowledge we enjoy immortality.
In today’s world as people are going far from Dharma or following either rituals or knowledge, in consequence they are becoming frightened of death. To avoid death, they can go far to restore this body. Even if they cannot stop the decaying of this body, they try to hide their age through make up. They can pay any amount of money to reverse the age. That is the reason Viagra, rinkle free face cream, Hair color, anti-age injections, cosmetics and medicines are top selling items in the world. Some companies are earning millions by selling this dream. Fear of death is not only an opportunity for them but an opportunity to many doctors, religious groups, fake Gurus, and astrologers. Some prophets and philosophers are selling the theory of reincarnation, the law of ‘Karma’, law of attraction, the concept of heaven and hell etc. As you do not want to die, but death is unavoidable then reincarnation or the story of heaven gives you hope, and you easily believe in them. Innocent people are targeted everywhere in this world. Another side of the coin is fear of death is the biggest fear. Because of that, most people in society are voiceless or cowardly. They are exploited or deprived, even if they are not, they show inertia in protesting against any injustice happening towards anyone or anything. Why? Because consciously or unconsciously we want to keep this body. We think if we voice out against any injustice we will also be killed or deprived badly like others. Deprivers can come in any form. Sometimes they are the rich, sometimes powerful, sometimes antisocial or terrorists, sometimes political people, sometimes government, sometimes corporates, sometimes religious people or organizations etc. The solution is simple. Like Sage Narada, follow Vidya and gain knowledge about the Self and become immortal (You are already immortal but because of ignorance or lack of knowledge, you did not know about it.) and follow Avidya to remove fear of death. Doing rituals or Chanting of your God or deity or Guru gives you mental strength. Like a Sikh soldier when chants “Jo Bole So Nihal...Sat Sri Akal,”. It strengthens his mind to fight till his last blood in the body. I hope, now you have understood the importance of following Vidya and Avidya together.
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