īśā vāsyam (īśa 1)

In an earlier post on the first mantra of the īśāvāsyopaniṣad, the word vāsyam was described as an operational injunction, i.e. a practical technique that seekers can use to realize the vision of the self. In the upaniṣadratnam, śaṅkarānanda sarasvatī gives a few different mental pictures:

1. ghaṭādikaṁ yathā sarvam mṛdā hetusvarūpayā
2. rājñā ca vāsitaṁ yadvat svakīyaṁ nagarādikam
3. paṭena vāsitaṁ vā’pi nṝṇāṁ yadvat kalevaram
4. puṣpairvā vāsitaṁ yadvad nīramatra suśītalam
5. vāsanābhirvā yathā syād vāsitaṁ hi mano nṝṇām

One beauty of the ātma-purāṇam are these various shades of possible meanings, which are not found anywhere else. They are described below. īśvara pervades the world, just like:

1. just like clay (the material cause) pervades the pot (the effect)
2. just like the king willfully casts his gaze on all aspects of his kingdom (representing the intelligent cause)
3. just like a piece of cloth covers the outside of the body
4. just like the fragrance of flowers permeates the inside of a bowl full of odorless water
5. just as the mind is impelled with various vāsanās causing it to act

The problem with illustrations, is that they are mere illustrations, and have limitations. In this case, we are looking at a world through both the vyāvakārika and pāramārthika lenses. As a result, we need several illustrations. Indeed, īśvara very much pervades the universe (idam) in all 5 aspects described by svāmī śaṁkarānanda.