Why this inspired us
The opening line of a very short text says that everything in the world is shared, and offers a surprising way to enjoy it: by not clinging to it. Enjoyment and letting go turn out to be partners.
Explore a verse
Isha Upanishad 1
The reference printed on your card, and the idea behind it.
In its original context
The Isha Upanishad is one of the shortest of all: just eighteen verses. It is also unusual, because it forms the final chapter of the white Yajur Veda itself, rather than being a separate work. Its name comes from its very first word.
The first verse says that all of this, everything that moves in this moving world, is pervaded by, or clothed in, the divine. So enjoy it by letting it go. Do not covet. The last phrase is in fact a question: whose is wealth, anyway? Since the world isn't really anyone's to own, the verse suggests, the way to enjoy it is to stop trying to hold on to it.
The next verse adds a practical counterweight: go on doing your work and wish to live a hundred years. The Isha doesn't ask anyone to leave the world. It asks them to live fully in it, while holding it lightly. Many readers over the centuries have said this one opening verse contains the whole of the Upanishads in miniature.
Something to think about
Can we enjoy something more by holding it more lightly?
Our cards carry original, contemporary words inspired by ancient passages. They are not translations.
The Letterbox
Little letters, occasionally.
New cards, first looks and the odd kind word. Never more than we'd want to receive ourselves.