Isa Upanishad - Chapter 3: Isa Upanishad
The characteristics of Soul are being described in stanzas 4 to 8. Hence it would be advisable to deal these four stanzas together. One will be bewildered on reading the most contradictory statements being stated in these stanzas. The soul, it declares, unmoving, but, moves faster than the mind. It is one, but, it is manifold. Remaining stationary, it outruns all other runners and it ran ahead. It is very near and it is far off. It is inside all and it is outside all as well. How can we reconcile such contradictory statements? On the face of it, one can simply view them as the statements of a mad man. Let us take the case of a man traveling in a train from Madurai to Madras. Actually the man had not moved himself, but, he was simply sitting or sleeping in the train. The train took him from Madurai to Madras. Without himself moving, the man could move a long distance and had reached the destined place. How is it possible? Simple. The locomotive power in the form of a train could make th