Written on November 21, 2005 Revised and Updated April 03, 2009 The Essence of Isopanishad Preamble Upanishads are ancient Sanskrit writings and there are 108 of them. They are also known as "Vedangas" meaning limbs of Vedas. Amongst them, Isopanishad is the foremost of them all. Isopanishad conveys many things that are philosophical, but some of the practical elements are given in the gist below: Nature is governed and controlled by the Supreme Lord. The cycle of birth, growth, production, diminution and death is controlled by him. This is applicable to all animate and inanimate things.  Nature cannot be controlled by material sciences. When it is attempted, the nature revolts violently. It always reacts to any attempt to change or control it. Nature is controlled by God only. Not even a blade of grass can sway without his consent.  There are 8,400,000 species of life. Isopanishad propounds the Law of Karma, which means that soul is imperishable and never dies and acquires another body in its next birth. The nature of body acquired depends upon the good or bad deeds in the previous birth. This is the first known exposition of the Reincarnation principle.  Nothing is permanent in this Universe. God is the biggest Change Agent.  The earth is referred to as "Mrityu- Log" which means all things both animate and inanimate have to die one day. Even giant stars billion times bigger than our own Sun have to die and become black holes.  We must confess our sins to God and repent. He is sure to forgive us. This is similar to Christian theology of "Confessionals".  The biggest sin is playing God and not caring for him.  There are billions of stars and planets in the universe and all are floating in space. Who is floating them ? What force is controlling them ? If it is Gravitation, where is it emanating from ?  Love and Respect for God is real religion.  Mind is powerful and you can travel thousands of miles in a second. Intelligence is even more powerful. Spiritual Energy is the most powerful of them all. Spiritual energy emanates from the Supreme Lord. Isopanishad states, "The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but is near as well. He is within everything, yet outside everything."  Material advancement leads to moral decay. This does not mean that Vedas are against material advancement. It means that material prosperity must be shared with less fortunate brethren.  Written by Madhavan Gopalachary The views, opinions and interpretations are personal. Sponsorship does not mean that the sponsors endorse them. © Copyright, Apr-09 . MMG Communications. Without prejudice. All rights reserved