Regarding the Upanishads.

j. villeneuve onze at SYMPATICO.CA
Fri Feb 4 02:22:10 UTC 2000


Good evening,

Being new to the study of Indian philosophy, and doing so in a very 
solitary manner, I have recently encountered a slight difficulty 
establishing if the Isha Upanishad, and the "Eesa" Upanishad (out of which 
I have only a fragment) are the one and same text. This is, as you have 
guessed, due primarily to my lack of knowledge of sanskrit, which will be 
duly fixed as time permits. If the answer is not already apparent to the 
readers of which list, which would surprise me, here are the two fragments 
that comparatively plunge me into confusion concerning their dis/similitude.

 From the "Eesa" Upanishad:

Andham tamah pravisanîi é avidyäm upäsatè |
Tató bhüya îva té tamóya û vidyayam ratäh ||...9

    Blind dark worlds they enter, [andhah, tamah, pravisanti,] those that 
perform rituals alone,  [ye, avidyaam, upasate,] into still blinding darker 
worlds they will go, [tato, bhooya,iva,tey] those that take delight in 
ascetic meditation   [ye, u, vidyayam,rataah ]

 From the Isha Upanishad (Nilgiri edition, trans. by Eknath Easwaran):

"In dark night live those for whom
The world without alone is real; in night
Darker still, for whom the world within
Alone is real. The first leads to a life
Of action, the second to a life of meditation."

Thanks for your kind assistance,
Please reply privately to avoid crowding the list with a probably
very evident (to the assembled) answer,

J. Villeneuve





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