Ishopanishad: Question Bank
Ishopanishad: Question Bank
QUESTION BANK
INTRODUCTION
2 What are the four defects to which one in conditioned state gets subjected to?
(p 1-2)
12 Why did Vyasadeva put Vedas into writing / How did Vyasadeva divide the Vedic literature?
(In kali yuga people will be short lived, memory will be poor and intelligence will not be sharp = divided into four)
13 How did Vyasadeva benefit dvija bandhus? Who are dvija bandhus?
14 What does Vedanta mean? (p 10 ultimate knowledge ultimate objective is Krishna) / What
are the different commentaries on Vedanta sutra?
(p 10 Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya: Vyasadeva= Srimad Bhagavatam)
INVOCATION
1 What is complete realization of Supreme Absolute Truth? What are incomplete realizations?
(p 14 Personality of Godhead: sat -cit -ananda, impersonal Bramhan sat, Paramatma = sat cit)
MANTRA 1
2 Explain with example, how one should accept only that much that is set aside by the Lord as
one's quota?
(p 19 cow gives milk but does drink the milk)
4 How is human life alone a life of responsibility? / Why animal does not incur sin by killing / (p
21 animals, birds, reptiles and lower forms strictly adhere to the laws of nature and there is no question of sin for them nor are
the Vedic instruction meant for them)
6 Why simply by becoming vegetarian, one does not transgress laws of nature?
(p 21 vegetables also have life and it is nature's law that one living being is meant to feed another, for human beings it is to
recognise the proprietorship of the Supreme Lord)
8 What is root of all sin? How does one overcome to go to back to Godhead?
(p 22 deliberate disobedience to the laws of nature through disregarding the proprietorship of the Lord: not influenced by
unnecessary attachment or aversion)
MANTRA 2
3 When does one attain the stage of naiskarmya or work that does not bind to cycle of birth
death?
(p 25 When one realizes the authority of Personality of Godhead the modes of nature cannot work)
5 What according to Bhagavat Gita is the greatest danger in human life? What is the way out?
(danger of gliding down again into evolutionary cycle of birth and death among the 8.4 million species)/
Explain how humble God centred life is more valuable than altruism or socialism?
(p 26 / 27)
MANTRA 3
1 What does example of boat in ocean explain with respect to human life?
(p 30 human body boat, vedic scriptures and acaryas are expert boatmen, facility of human body are favourable breeze)
5 What is the gross result of a human being who does not endeavour for self-realization?
(p 31 laws of nature force us to work very hard even though we may not want to do so: work hard like asses and bullocks)
7 atmasambhabita
MANTRA 4
2 Why demigods and sages cannot properly know Supreme Personality of Godhead?
(p 35 part parcel are never equal to the whole, therefore they cannot appreciate the Lord's full potency, men are accustomed
to reach conclusions according to their capacity for understanding but the Supreme Lord is not subjected to our limited capacity
for understanding)
4 Why do Upanishads warn that no one can approach Supreme Lord by one's limited potency?
(p 35)
5 What is proper initiative on the part of part and parcel living entity?
(p 36 when a person properly utilizes his initiative or active nature with intelligence, understanding that everything is Lord's
potency he can revive his original consciousness which was lost due to association with maya the external energy)
MANTRA 5
1 What are the contradictory qualities of Supreme Lord? What do they prove?
(p 38 prove the inconceivable potency of the Lord)
5 Give the English meaning of the phrase tad dure tad vantike.
6 What does saguna and nirguna refer with respect to Supreme Lord?
(p 40 saguna does not imply that when the Lord appears with perceivable qualities He must take on material form and be
subject to laws of material nature/ material energy works according to His direction and therefore He can use that energy for
His purpose without ever being influenced by any of the qualities of that energy)
9 Establish with example that Supreme Lord's personal feature is above oneness of His diverse
energies?
(p 42)
MANTRA 6
4 Why the concept of universal brotherhood must be learned from uttma adhikari?
(p 45 he sees that bramhana particle of Lord has not misused his little independence given to him and dog particle has misused
his independence and therefore being punished: not considering the respective action of the bramhana and dog the uttama
adhikari tries to do good for both)
MANTRA 7
1 What is the vision of oneness of mahabhagavata devotee?
(p 50 sees everything as energy of the Supreme Lord: heat light and fire)
2 What is the true explanation of ekatvam of the living entity with Supreme Lord?
Give two example.
(p 50/51 salt in a drop and ocean, qualitatively one but quantitatively different, oneness in interest like that of a family)
MANTRA 8
1 What does the word 'unembodied ' explain about the Supreme Lord?
(p 56 forms of the living entities in the world are embodied in material machine: they have vein but transcendental form of the
Lord has nothing like veins: there is no difference between His body and soul)
2 What does the word ' formless ' explain about the Supreme Lord?
(p 56/57)
3 What does the word ' omnipotent ' explain about the Supreme Lord?
(p 57 although has no hands and legs can accept all that we offer to Him by a different type of hand and leg)
4 What does the word ' paribhuh' explain about the Supreme Lord?
(p 59 greatest no one is greater than or equal to Him Lord supplies things the living entity desire, He supplies liberation)
5 What does the word ' suddham and apapa biddham ' explain about the Supreme Lord?
(p 60 antiseptic: even an impure thing can become purified just by touching Him: sun, apapabiddham: sin cannot touch Him)
6 Explain how the arca vigrha form of the Lord is non-different from the original form of
Supreme Lord?
(p 57 descends at the request of acarya and works exactly in the original way of the Lord by virtue of His omnipotence:
expanded form of the Lord)
MANTRA 9
1 Why is so called vidya condemned more than avidya?
(p 64 forgetfulness of the fact that Supreme Lord is the proprietor of everything is ignorance: the more a man forgets this fact
he is in ignorance, as modern civilization is directed toward so called education it is condemned)
3 Who are the veda vada ratas? What is their character and destination?
(p 65/66/67 attainment of heaven for sense gratification is the ultimate goal of life, give own explanation of the vedas, raise
some unscrupulous person from among themselves and present him as the leading exponent of vedic knowledge)
4 Who are the mayay apahrita jnana? What is their thinking pattern and characteristics faults?
(p 67 self-made Gods, they themselves are God that there is no need to worship any other God agree to worship an ordinary
man if he happens to be rich: How can God be trapped by His own illusory energy)
MANTRA 10
4 Explain how modern universities are centres on nescience only? / How does it kill spiritual
consciousness of students?
(p 72 scientist are busy discovering lethal weapons to wipe out existence of other countries, no training in bramhacarya:
animosity in the field of religion and social political field)
MANTRA 11
1 Why no one can avoid hands of death? Give one example?
(p 76/77 Hiranayakasipu)//
Advancement of material knowledge cannot solve birth death old age or death. Explain.
(p 76 laws of nature are so cruel that no one can escape the hands of death)
3 What does the miseries of this material world indirectly remind us?
Who takes note of them and what do they do?
(remind us of our incompatibility with dead matter, intelligent people take note of them and engage themselves in the culture
of vidya)
4 Who is a naradhama?
(p 78 human life is the best opportunity for culture of spiritual knowledge and human being who does not take advantage of
this opportunity is naradhama)
7 How is the path of avidya putting the world in a most dangerous situation?
(p 79 increase the temperature of feverish material condition which has reached to 107 degree in the form of atomic energy)
MANTRA 12
5 How do pseudo religionist and impersonalists ruin the life of innocent people?
(p 88/89)
MANTRA 13
2 How to counter the argument that all paths lead to the same goal?
(p 92/93)
3 What is sambhavat? Prove by some scriptural reference that Lord Krishna is that Absolute. (p
94/95 worship of the Supreme cause, BG, atharba upanishad, Narayana upanishad )
4 Which type of people are called buddha or really learned? How does one become so?
(p 96 really learned when they worship Krishna as all in all, only Krishna)
6 Analyze sambhuta and establish that effort of so called spiritual leader is useless as far as
welfare of soul is concerned.
(p 98/99 real service to humanity is rendered when one teaches surrender to and worship of the Supreme Lord with full love
and energy)
MANTRA 14
MANTRA 15
1 Prove by shastra analysis that Krishna is the source of impersonal bramhajyoti.
(p 110/113 BG 14.27, BS 5.40)
5 Why is it necessary for removal of bramhajyoti to see the real face of Supreme Lord?
(p 114/115)
7 What is state of realization when one attains different level of realization of Absolute Truth?
(p 115 one who has no knowledge of the potencies of the Lord will realize impersonal Bramhan, realizes material potencies will
attain Paramatma realization, full potency after removal of hiranmaya patra = SPOGH)
MANTRA 16
1 Why does Isopanishad pray to Supreme Lord for removing His glaring effulgence?
(p 118/119 impersonalist philosopher blinded by the dazzling bramhajyoti cannot realize the factual abode of the Lord nor His
transcendental form. cannot understand the all blissful transcendental form of Krishna)
MANTRA 17
2 In the cycle of evolution, what is the highest development of one's spiritual sense?
(p 124/125)
3 Why does living entity pray to Supreme Lord to remember what he has done? What is
devotee's advantage in this?
(p 127/128 dying human being can remember activities of his life like dreams at night, therefore mind remains surcharged with
material desires: devotee even if at the time of death does not remember his service to Lord, the Lord does not forget him)
4 How did different devotees perfect themselves even by practising one of items of navadha
bhakti?
(p 130 hearing Parikshit, Kirtan Sukdev, praying Akrura, remembering Prahlad, worship Prithu, serving Lakhsmi, personal service
Hanuman, friendship Arjuna, surrendering Bali)
MANTRA 18