Ishopanishad or Isa-Upanishad or Isavasya Upanishad is the 40th and the last chapter of the Yajurved, which is one of the four Vedas, the sacred scriptures of Hinduism. Yajurveda is a compilation of ritual-offering and worship mantras to be performed during Havans and Yajnas.
Isopanishad being the last chapter is also considered the essence of the Yajurveda and is also referred to as Jnana-kand (knowledge-chapter) of Yajurveda.
Isavasya Upanishad is also considered to be the first Upanishad and since the first sloka of this Upanishad contains the word 'Isavasyam', so it has been named Isavasya Upanishad.
'Ish or Isa' signifies Ishwar i.e. Paramatma, the Supreme or the Universal Soul and 'vasyam' means pervaded by; thereby 'Isavasyam' meaning that 'everything in this universe is pervaded by the Ishwar or the Paramatma'.
Apart from indicating 'what' Paramatma is or ought to be understood as, the teachings of this Upanishad have laid the foundation of Karma-Yog or Karma-Marg i.e. Path of Action and Jnana-Yog i.e. Path of Knowledge.
Major concepts which have been emphasized to be understood / comprehended by a devotee /seeker in Isavasya Upanishad include: Paramatma and 'His' powers; Jnana (knowledge), Karma (Action), and Moksha (liberation); dheer Purusha (steadfast and equanimous person), Jnani (one who has knowledge) and benefits of being a Jnani; Jnana-Marg and Karma-Marg and their complementarity; Sambhuti (One with Absolute power) and Asambhuti (those without absolute power) and their worship; prayer of devotee before death for Darshan (vision) of Paramatma; and finally the acceptance of physical death by a Mumurshu (one just before or while dying), his prayer to Paramatma and to Agni-devta (Fire God).
Though this Upanishad has only 18 slokas and is the shortest in length among all the Upanishads, yet it remains one of the most important Upanishad and is the essence of spirituality and wisdom. It is spiritually very useful for every human being in the universe, irrespective of religion, race, caste, creed and geographical location.
Vedas (1192)
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