AWAKENINGS

Chapter 1: What is Brahman? Kena is the first word in the Upanishad and hence it is titled as such. Kena means ‘By Whom’ in Sanskrit. It is also a short Upanishad like Isa Upanishad. Kena Upanishad has four parts. Parts 1 and 4 contain 9 stanzas each, part 5 contains 5 stanzas and part 3 contains 12 stanzas – totaling 5 parts of 35 stanzas only. Kena Upanishad deals with Brahman – Ultimate Power of the Universe. The various aspects of this Ultimate Power of the Universe are revealed in the form of questions and answers between the student and the Teacher. The invocation song itself sets the tone for the heavy subject to be discussed by the teacher and the student. Om! May Brahman protect both the teacher and the student. May Brahman bestow upon both the fruit of knowledge. May we both obtain energy to acquire knowledge. May we both reveal the Truth of our studies. May we cherish no ill feeling towards each other. Protection, Knowledge, Energy, Truth and Understanding are all invoked an...

Harvest No. 4 - Mahatma Gandhi’s Crusade Against Christian Harvest of Hindus Before Independence there were many attempts made by Christian Missionaries to convert Gandhi into Christianity. Gandhi, as a true follower of Truth and Non-violence, had faced them in his own way which had portrayed him as a crusader against their nefarious attempts to make India as Christian Nation. Some of the Christian missionaries, recognizing his deep interest in Sermon on the Mount and resulting pacifism, were attracted to him with an ulterior motive of using him as a “tool” in mass conversion because of his extraordinary stature around the globe and particularly India. But, nothing had succeeded. Gandhi had ridiculed the Missionaries as ‘vendors of goods’ with no spiritual attitudes in their activities. In this context, Gandhi, in his Harijan Paper of November 5, 1937, had quoted a specific instance about the activities of a Christian missionary thus: ‘Only the other day a missionary descended on a f...

Harvest No. 3 - General Personal Experiences with Conversions ‘O Sinners! Listen to us. Jesus Christ had shed his blood for all your sins. Convert to Christianity to eschew all your sins and start a new life and save yourself from hell!’ - I heard in my native town as a young boy studying in government school a few white clad Christian missionaries preaching in corners of streets. Some of them would be playing music - prominent amongst them the drummers and cymbals. First, they would sing some Christian prayer songs to attract the passers-by and after some crowd being gathered around them, they would start to preach and then distribute Christian literatures - denigrating the Hindu gods and canvassing to join Christianity for their salvation. I used to these propaganda from my early age and had never been affected by it - perhaps due to my family background. I loved my School Teacher whose name was Jesudass. He was a bachelor and was permitted to live at the school premises itself. He u...

Chapter 5: Truth, Mind and Deeds In this essay, the last four verses of Isa Upanishad from 15th to 18th are being dealt with. In these verses, the Sun, Air and Fire are being prayed to have a truthful, fruitful and fulfilling life. In the process, the powerful forces of Sun, Air and Fire are described. Sun is described in two verses, while air and fire in one verse each. The descriptions are being made by a seer who is a seeker of truth like Sun God with all its splendors, illuminations, brightness and golden rays. A seer speaks to the Sun: O, Sun! You are the face of truth. You have veiled your face with a golden shining disc which prevents the humans to view your face. I am a seer and am a seeker of truth. Please remove the disc so that I may see the Truth. O, Sun! You are the source of all life and source of everything. You are the son of Prajapathi. You are the solitary traveler. Your dazzling rays prevent me from viewing your form which is the most benign. I am also the seeker of ...