Isha Upanishad (Ishavasya Upanishad)

That outer Supreme Reality is Infinite Whole; this manifest universe is Infinite Whole. From the Infinite emerges the Infinite. Taking the Infinite from the Infinite, the Infinite alone remains. Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.

All this—whatever exists moving in this changing universe—is enveloped and permeated by the Lord (Isha). By self-renunciation and detachment, protect and enjoy your true self. Do not covet the wealth of anyone.

Only performing selfless righteous deeds in this world should one desire to live a full span of a hundred years. For a human being like you, there is no other way than this whereby action does not cling to or taint the soul.

Sunless, joyless, and demonic are those worlds enveloped in blinding spiritual darkness. To them go those after death who slay their own souls by ignoring the Divine Self within.

The Self is unmoving, yet One, swifter than the mind. The senses (devas) could never overtake It, for It moves ahead of them. Remaining stationary, It outruns all others who run. In It, the vital cosmic breath (Matarishvan) sustains all actions and life.

It moves, and It moves not. It is far away, yet It is intimately near. It is inside of all this, and It is outside of all this.

The wise seer who beholds all living beings in the Self, and the Self in all living beings, never again feels hatred, disgust, or alienation toward anything.

When to the enlightened knower of reality all beings have become the Self alone, what delusion, and what sorrow can there be for one who perceives that oneness everywhere?

He, the Self, is all-pervasive, radiant, bodiless, unscarred, sinewless, pure, and untouched by evil. The Seer, the Thinker, the Transcendent, the Self-Existent—He has duly apportioned duties and objects across eternal ages.

Into blinding darkness enter those who worship ignorance (mere worldly action devoid of wisdom). Into an even greater darkness enter those who are devoted solely to theoretical knowledge without practical realization.

One result, they say, is attained by knowledge (Vidya), and quite another by action (Avidya). Thus have we heard from the wise sages who taught and explained this truth to us.

He who understands both knowledge (Vidya) and righteous action (Avidya) together overcomes death through righteous action and attains immortality through spiritual wisdom.

Into blinding darkness enter those who worship the unmanifest cause alone. Into an even greater darkness enter those who delight only in the manifest created effects.

One outcome, they declare, is obtained through the manifest (Sambhava), and another through the unmanifest (Asambhava). Thus have we heard from the steadfast sages who revealed this to us.

He who knows both the manifest creation and the perishable destruction together crosses beyond mortal decay through the perishable and attains eternal life through the immortal Source.

The face of Ultimate Truth is veiled by a brilliant golden vessel of worldly glamour. O Sun, Sustainer of all (Pushan), uncover it so that I, dedicated to truth and righteousness, may behold the Reality!

O Pushan, Sole Pilgrim, Dispenser of justice, Sun, Offspring of Prajapati! Disperse your blinding rays and gather your intense radiance. I behold your most auspicious, gracious form. That Supreme Person who dwells within the sun—He indeed am I (So-ham asmi)!

May my vital life breath merge into the all-pervading immortal Prana, and may this mortal body be reduced to ashes. Om! O Mind, the doer of will, remember! Remember what has been done! O Mind, remember! Remember your deeds!

O Agni, Divine Luminary, knower of all our paths and deeds! Lead us by the noble righteous path to true lasting spiritual wealth. Remove from us all crooked, demeaning sin. We offer unto You our deepest, repeatedly uttered words of reverent salutation.