Ishavasya Upanishad Sloka 2 | Translation and Interpretation | Upanishad Series

Sloka 2:

   कुर्वन्नेवेह कर्माणि जिजीविषेच्छतं समाः ।

              एवं त्वयि नान्यथेतोऽस्ति न कर्म लिप्यते नरे ॥    

"Should one wish to live hundred years on this Earth, he should live doing Karma.
While thus, as man, you live, there is no way other than this by which Karma
will not cling to you."

-
    Who wants to live for a hundred years in this world?
Mainly two types of people:- First, the ones who achieved a lot and build a fortress of pleasures around them. Second, the ones who did a lot of bad Karma to build a fortress of pleasures around them.

There is hope for the humans that fall in the first category. Though they had imprisoned themselves, they may be conscious about the walls of the prison that they had created so that their unconscious actions stay undisturbed. 

What-so-ever they had done to ensure their pleasurable life, if they had not done any Karma that may weaken their heart(to its core) then there is hope for them to understand that a prison is a prison. It doesn't matter if others build it for us or if we do it for ourselves.

While the second category may feel safe and secure inside their prison because they don't want to face themselves. Maybe they know about the laws of karma, maybe they had heard about heavens and hells, or maybe something else. They don't want to leave the prison because they might know that whatever you give to the cosmos, will return back.

But the world is a weird place. There exists a different kind of human that doesn't fall into either of the categories. Their whole motto is to serve others. They find themselves while serving the ones who have lost themselves. 

What-so-ever maybe the reason, the bottom line is that there are many people who want to live.

To those people Adi Shankaracharya Ji says them to do their duties, to do the karma according to the shastras. 

"Should one wish to live 100 years on this Earth, he should live doing Karma."

In Bhagwat Gita, Bhagwan said to Arjun to do the Karma because nothing sustains without Karma.

Why can't anything sustain without Karma?

Because everything in this cosmos is in motion. Motion is a small word used to describe the vast dutiful nature of the cosmos. The vast Karmic nature of the whole cosmos.

We don't realise that by the mere darshan of whom an atma attains the highest possible state. THAT is telling Arjun to do his duties. 

 People do heart-wrenching tapasya just to get a glimpse of THEM and THEY are telling Arjun to do his duties.

Maybe we had overlooked the Karma-Yoga.

People spit the word "Mithya" just to provide validation for their escapism. The word "Mithya" means "this isn't what it appears to be". "Mithya" doesn't mean "untruth". It just means that the thing before you has a veil, it is there but with a veil.

What is our duty?

Duty simply refers to or indicates those things whose responsibility is been taken by you. Duties and Sanskars are like the head and tail of a coin. One cannot exist without the other.  Your duties change with respect to your consciousness. When you get conscious about your family, you sort of take responsibility for your family. When you get conscious about your motherland, you take responsibility for your motherland. To what-so-ever thing you get conscious about you take responsibility for that thus making that your duty.

So, if consciousness affects your duties and the vice-verse should also sound true. It is indeed true. 

That is the only reason elderly people in India ask the younger generation to have a good association(Sangati). (That's why donating or helping someone brings peace and satisfaction within us.)  

  There are some mandatory karmas described in Vedas for each ashram (Varanashram) with a single goal, to make you conscious about your own true self. 

If there are actions that are responsible for liberation then there certainly have to have those kinds of actions which make you cling to this death-birth cycle, again and again, and again. 

To enlighten about such karma that binds a man in the samsara, the Mantra says:-

"While thus, as man, you live, there is no way other than this by which Karma

will not cling to you."

For those who could not understand the way of Sanyasa, understand the way of Karma. 

Namo Namah.