The radiant inner light of our divine Self perpetually illuminates our being, yet our perception of it is often obscured, as if we are looking through a mirror covered in layers of dust and grime.
This “grime” that prevents us from directly experiencing our divine Self is the illusion of the false ego and the entire spectrum of fear-based emotions we hold within us – judgments, anger, hatred, jealousy, depression, shame, and countless others.
Lord Buddha dedicated his teachings to guiding his students on how to dismantle this illusory sense of self, thereby enabling them to realize the state he called nirvana.
The ultimate state we seek is beautifully described in the Isha Upanishad as “Purnam,” a Sanskrit word resonating with meanings of fullness, wholeness, and purity. It is experienced not as an external acquisition, but as a profound realization blossoming from within – an inherent feeling and intuitive knowledge that we are intrinsically complete and that the universe unfolds exactly as it should.
The sacred invocation to the Isha Upanishad articulates this truth:
Om
Purnamadah Purnamidam
Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadaya
Purnameva Vashishyate
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti
Its profound meaning can be understood as:
Om.
That (the Absolute) is Wholeness, this (the manifested universe) is Wholeness;
from that Wholeness, this Wholeness emanates.
When Wholeness is taken from Wholeness,
Wholeness remains as it is.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!
This signifies that even when a part is seemingly extracted from the Whole, what remains is still the undiminished Wholeness, and the part itself is also inherently Wholeness. When that part is reintegrated, nothing but Wholeness prevails.
You are that individual expression, that seemingly separate piece, and simultaneously you are the infinite Wholeness itself. Every other being and every element of existence also shares in this fundamental Wholeness. There is never anything that exists outside of this pervasive fullness, wholeness, and purity.
The visionary poet William Blake captured this profound interconnectedness in his Auguries of Innocence:
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
