Episode 01 - Kenopanishad.

KENOPANISHAD

(KENA = BY WHOM)

 

Kenopanishad derives its name from  the first word “kena” i.e. by whom. It is part of the Talavakaara Brahmana of Saama Veda and by this token is also known as the Talavakaara Upanishad. Of the four khaandas in this short Upanishad, the first two are in verse and the other two are in prose form.

 

SAnthih Mantra (Same as in the Chandogya Upanishad)

 

Omapyayanti mamangani vak pranas caksuh srotram atho balam indriyani ca

sarvani /1/

 

sarvam brahmopanisadam mOham brahma nirakuryam ma ma brahma nirakarot

anirakaranam astu anirakaranam me `stu /2/

 

tad Athmani nirate ya upanisatsu dharmas te mayi santu / te mayi santho/

Omsantih santih santih

 

The SAnthih Mantra of this Upanishad invokes with a very unique appellation: 

OM. May my limbs, mind, speech, breath (praana), sight, hearing and my entire body and senses gain energies and strength! Everything is Brahmam of the Upanishads. May the Brahmam never disown (nirakaryam) me; May there never be any denial of the Brahmam; May there never be separation (of me) fromthe Brahmam. May I possess all the virtues manifest in the Upanishads, I who is devoted to the Athman. May all these be manifest in me. Om. SAnthih.SAnthih.SAnthih.

 

(The invocation borders on audacity: “Brahmam shall never be disowned by me; and shall Brahmam never disown me!”  Such is the supreme confidence of the realization that the soul (Athman) is so proximate to the Almighty Brahmam (paramAthman).

 

Student’s Query:

 

kenesitam patati presitam manah  kena prÀNAh prathamah praiti yuktah,

kenesitam vÀcamimÀm vadanti cakshuh  Srotram ka u devO yunakti.

 

By whom does the mind go forward towards its object? By whose functions, again, does the Prime Force (prathamah) of prANA (breath) proceed to its functions? By whom invoked do men utter their speech? Which Divine One directs the eyes or the ears?

 

The Teacher’s Response:

 

yaccakshuSÀ na paSyati yena cakshumsi paSyati

tadeva brahma tvam viddhi nedam yadidamupÀsate(1)

 

Not THAT which the eye can see, but THAT whereby the eye can see: know THAT to be Brahman the eternal, and not what people here adore; and he who realises that,  attains immoratality; 

 

SrOtraASya Srotram manaso mano yad vÀco ha vÀcam sa u prÀNaSya prÀhA

cakshuScakSuratirmucya dhIraah pretyÀsmÀllokÀdamrita bhavanti(2)

 

Not that which the ear can hear but THAT whereby the ear can hear; THAT which is the  mind of our mind, THAT which is the speech of our speech, THAT that is life of our life-breath and THAT that is the sight of our sight. The wise (dhIraah) realize THAT to be the Brahman, the eternal and they are released from this world and become immortal.

 

na tatra caksur gacchati na vag gacchati no manah na vidmo na vijanimo

yathaitad anusisyat (3)

anyad eva tad viditad atho aviditad adhi iti susruma purvesam ye nas tad

vyacacaksire /4/

 

There the eye does not go, nor speech, nor the mind. We do not know, we do not understand how one can teach this. Different,  indeed, is it from the known, and also it is above the unknown. This is what we have heard from the ancients who explained it to us.

 

Can the words indicate Brahman?

 

yad vaca nabhyuditam yena vag abhyudyate tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedam yad

idam upasate /5/

 

THAT which is not illuminated by speech but THAT by which speech is illuminated; know THAT to be the Brahamam, not what people here worship.

 

Can the mind grasp Brahman?

 

yan manasa na manute yenahur mano matam tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedam yad idam upasate /6/

 

THAT which is not thought by the mind, but THAT by which the mind thinks; know THAT to be the Brahamam, not what people here worship.

 

Can the Brahman be seen?

 

yac caksusa na pasyati yena caksumsi pasyati tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedamyad idam upasate /7/

 

THAT which is not seen by the eyes, but THAT by which the eyes see; know THAT to be the Brahamam, not what people here worship.

 

Can the Brahman be heard?

 

yac cchrotrena na srunoti yena srotram idam srutam tad eva brahma tvam viddhinedam yad idam upasate /8

 

THAT which could not be heard by the ear, but THAT by which the ear hears; know THAT to be the Brahamam, not what people here worship.

 

Can the Brahman be the breath of us?

 

yat pranena na praniti yena pranah praniyate tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedamyad idam upasate /9/

 

THAT which is not breathed by the breath (Praana) but THAT by which the breath (Praana) itself breathes; know THAT to be the Brahamam, not what people here worship.

 

SUM UP

 

The One Power that illumines everything and every one is indivisible. It is the Ear behind the ears, Mind behind the mind, Speech behind speech, Vital Life behind life. The ears cannot hear it; it is what makes the ears hear. The eyes cannot see it; it is what makes the eyes see. You cannot speak about it; it is what makes you speak. The mind cannot imagine it; it is what makes the mind think and imagine. It is different from what all that we know; yet it is not known either. Those who feel they know Him know Him not. The purport of this dialogue is to ward off the notion that Brahman can be known as an object. Being the Self of all, it is the innermost (pratyagAtman) whom the outer sheaths of mind and senses can hardly comprehend. 

Those who know that anything amenable to the senses is not Brahman, they know it best. When it is known as the innermost witness of all cognitions, whether sensation, perception or thought, then it is known. One who knows thus reaches immortality.

In the second chapter, the disciple is asked if he thought that he knew Brahman well, the disciple responds that he does. The teacher then affirms that the disciple indeed knew little of Brahman. “For the form of Brahman that you see in the living beings and luminous forces is but a trifle. You should inquire further into the nature of Brahman.” 

 

This is an important verse in that it underscores the fact that when we say we know something, we have put an end to our further knowledge of it. Psychologically, we have closed our mind to a further pursuit of knowledge. Our attitude may determine the extent to which we can open the mind, in order to gain knowledge which obviously is not wholly defined by what we know.

.

But the student continues in the next verse. “I do not think I know It well. Nor do I think that I do not know It. He knows It who knows that It is other than the unknown and the known”

 

The UpaniShad concludes thus:  “It is known to him to whom It is unknown; he does not know to whom It is known; It is unknown to those who know well and known to those who do not know” – 

 

Can you beat this for a perplexing conundrum?

 

THE PHILOSOPHY OF YAKSHOPAKHYANA

 

It is in this Upanishad the famous narrative of the Brahmam Itself, taking the form of a Yaksha, demonstrates to the superior Devas like Agni, Vayu and Indra, that without IT, they are utterly powerless. 

 

While Agni and Vayu were able to see and engage with the ‘Yaksha’, Indra, with his super-ego, the centre of vanity and pride, could not even have that privilege and was thus thoroughly humiliated. When he set aside his ego and persevered in his search for the Truth, knowledge, in the form of Uma, appeared to these Devas and informed them that THAT which defeated them – the supposedly all powerful  - was the Brahmam.