Kena Upanishad By Naithrupan
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 and prayed for by both the teacher and student from Brahman whose aspects are to be discussed in detail by them.
After the invocation song, the student asks the teacher four questions to know about the Brahman.
To know any object, the man is endowed with the mind, the breath, the speech, the eyes and the ears. The student’s questions revolve around these sense objects and also the breath giving life to the sense objects. He wants to know whose will or power makes these objects to perform their duties from his teacher.
The student inquires:
"Who makes my mind think?Who fills my body with breath?Who causes my tongue to speak?
Who makes me to see through my eyesand to hear through my ears?"
The answer to these four questions is simple.
The teacher answers in one word: Brahman.
But the student wants further explanations from the teacher.
The teacher explains that human ear, human mind, human voice, human breath and human eyes are all of no use in the pursuit of Brahman and that the ear, mind, voice, breath and eyes of human are all to be tuned towards Brahman rather these are all to be merged with That Ultimate Universal Power called Brahman. Then being freed from the senses and renouncing the world, the wise attains immortality.
The teacher further explains about Brahman thus:
Human eye cannot see Brahman. Words cannot describe Brahman. Mind cannot understand Brahman. Brahman is beyond understanding and beyond teaching. Those illumined ones had stated that Brahman is different from the known and that Brahman is also above the unknown.
The student is still not clear about the Brahman.
The teacher explains to the student finally as under:
Supreme Power called Brahman cannot be spoken by speech, cannot be thought by the mind, cannot be seen by the eyes, cannot be heard by the ears or cannot be breathed by the breath. But, speech, sight, hearing and breathing cannot be performed without the benevolence of the vital force. That vital force alone is to be known as Brahman.
(To be continued.)
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 and prayed for by both the teacher and student from Brahman whose aspects are to be discussed in detail by them.
After the invocation song, the student asks the teacher four questions to know about the Brahman.
To know any object, the man is endowed with the mind, the breath, the speech, the eyes and the ears. The student’s questions revolve around these sense objects and also the breath giving life to the sense objects. He wants to know whose will or power makes these objects to perform their duties from his teacher.
The student inquires:
"Who makes my mind think?Who fills my body with breath?Who causes my tongue to speak?
Who makes me to see through my eyesand to hear through my ears?"
The answer to these four questions is simple.
The teacher answers in one word: Brahman.
But the student wants further explanations from the teacher.
The teacher explains that human ear, human mind, human voice, human breath and human eyes are all of no use in the pursuit of Brahman and that the ear, mind, voice, breath and eyes of human are all to be tuned towards Brahman rather these are all to be merged with That Ultimate Universal Power called Brahman. Then being freed from the senses and renouncing the world, the wise attains immortality.
The teacher further explains about Brahman thus:
Human eye cannot see Brahman. Words cannot describe Brahman. Mind cannot understand Brahman. Brahman is beyond understanding and beyond teaching. Those illumined ones had stated that Brahman is different from the known and that Brahman is also above the unknown.
The student is still not clear about the Brahman.
The teacher explains to the student finally as under:
Supreme Power called Brahman cannot be spoken by speech, cannot be thought by the mind, cannot be seen by the eyes, cannot be heard by the ears or cannot be breathed by the breath. But, speech, sight, hearing and breathing cannot be performed without the benevolence of the vital force. That vital force alone is to be known as Brahman.
(To be continued.)
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