Today, we are diving deep into the ultimate goal of meditation: self-realization. The ancient texts tell us that when you finally reach ultimate truth, there is a massive surprise waiting for you. But to understand it, we have to solve an ancient riddle from the Ishavasya Upanishad about a dazzling golden lid and a hidden pot. Let's get right into it, and see if you can guess what's inside before the lid gets lifted…
What is Self-Realization?
When we talk about deep meditation, we often talk about ultimate realization. That is what we aim for. It is what we toil for all along. And finally, when we attain it, there is a surprise!
What is that surprise?
What is Self-Realization?
When we talk about deep meditation, we often talk about ultimate realization. That is what we aim for. It is what we toil for all along. And finally, when we attain it, there is a surprise!
What is that surprise?
The surprise is that what we were searching for all along is nothing but ourselves! We were always imagining that we are something else. But when we stand face-to-face with the truth, we realize who we really are.
What prevents us from knowing ourselves? There are so many things that blind our vision and prevent us from seeing reality. We need to first clear away everything that blocks our vision. That is when the truth will reveal itself.
There is a beautiful imagery that explains this exact idea in one of the Upanishads—namely, the Ishavasya Upanishad.
It talks about a golden disk that covers the pot holding the truth. This disk is so bright that the rays emanating from it almost dazzle our vision. Before we can see what is inside the pot, we need to first lift this lid.
Who has covered this pot?
He is the one who nourishes everyone, the one who governs this entire world. He is the one who has covered the pot with a dazzling golden disk. So, only he can lift the lid.
For whom can that lid be opened?
Only for the true seeker. Only for the one who has an intense desire to know the truth.
It is not going to be an easy task. The dazzling rays almost blind you. You need to wade through those blinding rays. Only then can the lid be lifted.
What do you see in the pot when the lid is lifted?
Nothing but you yourself—your true identity!
But there is an additional surprise!
When you look inside the open pot, you find that it was you who actually had kept the pot closed!
Unless you know the background in which the Upanishad says all this, it is very difficult to understand this puzzle. The Upanishads sometimes speak in riddles.
Just recapitulate what it is saying:
Probably, that confuses you totally. Doesn't it?
Let me give you some background that clears up the mystery.
Unlike religious texts, the Upanishads don't talk about a God who created this world. There is no creation at all. Instead, they say:
Sath replicated itself as many material elements. These material elements combined with each other and formed physical bodies. Then, Sath replicated itself as infinitely many individual souls and entered these bodies.
Now, the drama starts.
Each form of Sath is a combination of a physical body and an individual soul. The physical body imposed a limit on the individual soul through the mind, which is part of the body. This limit was not something imposed by an external agency, but by Sath itself, which resides in the body as the individual soul.
It is like an actor playing a role in a drama. The actor is not under any real permanent limit. He limits himself simply by the role he plays and the script of the drama. As long as the actor does not get carried away by his role, he is free.
But sometimes, the actor gets so involved that he transgresses the role defined by the script. That is when the trouble starts. He totally forgets who he really is, nor does he know the role he is supposed to be playing.
Similarly, we as humans—who are the individual souls residing in a physical body—get carried away by the lures of the body and transgress the limits of the role we are supposed to play. We start identifying with the body, and we dance to the tunes of the mind. And that is when we suffer.
Once we free ourselves from the clutches of the mind, we realize who we truly are. That is the realization that Yoga talks about.
And that realization tells us that we are beyond the limits of the body. Not only that, but we are the ones who originally set those limits around ourselves.
This freedom is achieved by calming down the mind completely through the process of meditation. That is when the individual soul realizes it is none other than Sath which started the entire drama.
That is the realization the Ishavasya Upanishad mantra is talking about.
Please indicate what you feel about this idea, through your comments.
What prevents us from knowing ourselves? There are so many things that blind our vision and prevent us from seeing reality. We need to first clear away everything that blocks our vision. That is when the truth will reveal itself.
There is a beautiful imagery that explains this exact idea in one of the Upanishads—namely, the Ishavasya Upanishad.
It talks about a golden disk that covers the pot holding the truth. This disk is so bright that the rays emanating from it almost dazzle our vision. Before we can see what is inside the pot, we need to first lift this lid.
HiraNmayEna paatrENa satyasya apihitam mukham
tat tvam pooshan apaavrNu satyadharmaaya drShtayE.
tat tvam pooshan apaavrNu satyadharmaaya drShtayE.
Who has covered this pot?
He is the one who nourishes everyone, the one who governs this entire world. He is the one who has covered the pot with a dazzling golden disk. So, only he can lift the lid.
For whom can that lid be opened?
Only for the true seeker. Only for the one who has an intense desire to know the truth.
It is not going to be an easy task. The dazzling rays almost blind you. You need to wade through those blinding rays. Only then can the lid be lifted.
What do you see in the pot when the lid is lifted?
Nothing but you yourself—your true identity!
But there is an additional surprise!
When you look inside the open pot, you find that it was you who actually had kept the pot closed!
yat tE roopam kalyaaNatamam tat tE pashyaami
yah asau puruShah sah aham asmi.
— Ishavasya Upanishad 15-16.
yah asau puruShah sah aham asmi.
— Ishavasya Upanishad 15-16.
Unless you know the background in which the Upanishad says all this, it is very difficult to understand this puzzle. The Upanishads sometimes speak in riddles.
Just recapitulate what it is saying:
• It is talking about a truth. And this truth is concealed by a dazzling golden enclosure.
• The one who has covered this truth is none other than the one who controls this entire world, who nourishes the entire world. And only he can disclose this truth by withdrawing this enclosure.
• And what is that hidden truth? The hidden truth is that what you always thought of as "you", is not really you. You are something most auspicious.
• A further startling truth is that it is you who is actually concealing that truth!
• The one who has covered this truth is none other than the one who controls this entire world, who nourishes the entire world. And only he can disclose this truth by withdrawing this enclosure.
• And what is that hidden truth? The hidden truth is that what you always thought of as "you", is not really you. You are something most auspicious.
• A further startling truth is that it is you who is actually concealing that truth!
Probably, that confuses you totally. Doesn't it?
Let me give you some background that clears up the mystery.
Unlike religious texts, the Upanishads don't talk about a God who created this world. There is no creation at all. Instead, they say:
"In the beginning, there was Sath and only Sath and nothing else. This Sath decided to be many."
satEva sOmya idam agra aaseet ekam Eva adviteeyakam…
tadaikshatah bahu syaam prajaayEya iti….
tadaikshatah bahu syaam prajaayEya iti….
Sath replicated itself as many material elements. These material elements combined with each other and formed physical bodies. Then, Sath replicated itself as infinitely many individual souls and entered these bodies.
sa iyam dEvataa aikshata hanta aham imaah tisra dEvataa anEna jeevEna Atmanaa anupravishya naama roopE vyaakaravaaNi
Now, the drama starts.
Each form of Sath is a combination of a physical body and an individual soul. The physical body imposed a limit on the individual soul through the mind, which is part of the body. This limit was not something imposed by an external agency, but by Sath itself, which resides in the body as the individual soul.
It is like an actor playing a role in a drama. The actor is not under any real permanent limit. He limits himself simply by the role he plays and the script of the drama. As long as the actor does not get carried away by his role, he is free.
But sometimes, the actor gets so involved that he transgresses the role defined by the script. That is when the trouble starts. He totally forgets who he really is, nor does he know the role he is supposed to be playing.
Similarly, we as humans—who are the individual souls residing in a physical body—get carried away by the lures of the body and transgress the limits of the role we are supposed to play. We start identifying with the body, and we dance to the tunes of the mind. And that is when we suffer.
Once we free ourselves from the clutches of the mind, we realize who we truly are. That is the realization that Yoga talks about.
And that realization tells us that we are beyond the limits of the body. Not only that, but we are the ones who originally set those limits around ourselves.
This freedom is achieved by calming down the mind completely through the process of meditation. That is when the individual soul realizes it is none other than Sath which started the entire drama.
That is the realization the Ishavasya Upanishad mantra is talking about.
Please indicate what you feel about this idea, through your comments.
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© Dr. King, Swami Satyapriya 2026
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