Future Unwritten Upanishads
The Sacred Texts We Haven't Written Yet
What if the sages were alive today? What would they say about presidents tweeting, influencers selling salvation, or a marketplace that consumes our very attention? Future Unwritten Upanishads offers glimpses of those conversations—sometimes serious, sometimes satirical, always pointing toward the eternal behind the absurd. View the collection.
Ārādhanā Upanishad
(The Worship)
Invocation
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते ।
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
Om. That is whole, this is whole. From the Whole, the whole arises.
Taking away the whole from the Whole, the Whole alone remains.
I. The New Gods
To the shining one on the screen, we bow.
To the voice that fills the stadium, we bow.
To the mark that burns on Wall Street’s altar, we bow.
To the influencer whose followers chant without ceasing, we bow.
These are the gods of this age.
II. The Offerings
The offering is not ghee but attention.
The libation is not soma but hours.
The hymn is not mantra but comment.
The sacrifice is not cow but self-image.
The altar is the feed,
the fire is the algorithm,
the priest is unseen.
III. The Crowds
The crowds bow not in temples but in stadiums.
They chant the names of the famous, yet forget their own.
They wave banners of brands, yet stand naked within.
They shout in unison, yet none are heard.
Together they are many, yet each is alone.
IV. The Hunger of the Gods
The gods of this age are hungry.
They devour clicks and coins.
The more they are fed, the thinner they grow.
They live by followers, and die by silence.
He who worships the god of fame becomes nameless.
He who worships the god of wealth becomes impoverished.
V. The Teacher Speaks
Know this, O seeker:
The god who begs for followers is not the true.
The god who fears obscurity is not eternal.
The god who thrives on praise is destroyed by it.
The idol you raise today is the idol you bury tomorrow.
He who bows to shadows is bound by night.
VI. The Turning
What then is worthy of worship?
That which does not beg.
That which does not fade.
That which is the worshipper, the worship, and the worshipped.
It is seen by none, yet makes all seeing possible.
It is nameless, yet gives names their power.
It is alone, yet fills the crowd.
VII. The Resolution
He who bows to the screen, vanishes.
He who bows to the brand, is branded.
He who bows to the king, is enslaved.
But he who bows to the Self,
finds no bowing,
no god,
no worshipper —
only That.
Closing Benediction
From the idol, lead us to the Real.
From the crowd, to the solitary.
From the fading, to the Eternal.
From death, to Deathless.
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥