KENA UPANISHAD “Know That Alone as Brahman”: 7. Swami Tejomayananda.

 

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Monday 27, January 2025, 09:30.
KENA UPANISHAD 
4 Chapters, 34 Mantras 
Chapter 1. The Nature of BRAHMAN - (8 mantras)
Mantram - 1.4: Brahman – Illuminator of Speech  Post-7.

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Mantram - 1.4: Brahman – Illuminator of Speech:

1 yad vaachaa anabhyuditam, = What speech cannot reveal, 

2 yena vaak abhudyate; = But what reveals speech. 

3 tad eva brahma twam viddhi, = Know That alone as Brahman, 

4 na idam yat idam upaasate. = And not this which people worship here.

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Mantram - 1.5: Brahman – Illuminator of Mind: 

5 yat manasaa na manute, = What one cannot feel with the mind. 

6 yena aahuh manah matam; = But because of which they say the mind feels. 

7 tad eva brahma twam viddhi, = Know That alone as Brahman, 

8 na idam yat idam upaasate. = And not this which people worship here.

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Mantram - 1.6: Brahman – Illuminator of the Eye: 

9 yat chakshushaa na pashyati; = What cannot be seen by the eye. 

10 yena chakshoo-gmshi pashyati; = But by which the eyes are able to see; 

11 tad eva brahma twam viddhi, = Know That alone as Brahman, 

12 na idam yat idam upaasate. = And not this which people worship here.

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Mantram - 1.7: Brahman – Illuminator of the Ear: 

13  yat shrotrena na shrinoti; = What cannot be heard by the ear. 

14 yena shrotram idam shrutam; = But by which the ears are able to hear. 

15 tad eva brahma twam viddhi, = Know That alone as Brahman, 

16 na idam yat idam upaasate. = And not this which people worship here. 

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Mantram - 1.8: Brahman – Illuminator of the Prana

17 yat praanena na praaniti; = That which one breathes not with his breath. 

18 yena praanah praneeyate; = But by which breath is breathed. 

19 tad eva brahma twam viddhi, = Know That alone as Brahman, 

20 na idam yat idam upaasate. = And not this which people worship here. 

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1-2

 The first two lines of each mantram have the same significance. 

3-4

Similarly, the last two lines are repeated in each verse for emphasis, to show the Truth beyond all forms of worship, as already explained at the start. 

Speech includes many factors such as tongue, throat, breath, sounds, letters, words and sentences – none of which are Brahman. The main point being put across here is that Brahman is not the manifestation but the support of all that is manifested. 

This remark applies to all the five Mantras. 

A villager went to a city and saw all the dazzling lights there. He was puzzled as to what caused the lights. Was it the bulb? – No. Was it the filament in the bulb? – No. It was he electricity that flowed through the filament. Similarly, we have to go past the externals, even the idols, to get to the Source behind the whole world spectacle. 

A saint was once asked: “How is it that people get visions of idols?” 

The saint gave a very thought-provoking reply: “On such occasions it is not the Lord who becomes conscious in the inert stone idol; it is the devotee who becomes fully awakened and gives up his unconcious state to see Consciousness in the idol!” 

The Mind:

 A special point here is that the mind is capable of projecting anything but not Brahman. Even the word ‘Brahman’ is not Brahman. Brahman is the Pure Consciousness which supports the mind and makes it function. 

Ramdas Swami had said, “Think of the Unthinkable without becoming a thinker.” By this is meant that we should become thought-free. Whatever can be thought of is not Brahman. Hence, the mind, whose objects are thoughts, cannot know Brahman; it is because of Brahman that the mind thinks.  

We are struck by one thing in these verses: the Teacher never gives up trying to enlighten the disciple. If one way of explaining does not succeed, he tries another. and another, until he gets the Truth through to the disciple. 

Thus ends the First Chapter in which the probing questions asked by the student have been answered by indicating Brahman as being the inner Self of man, beyond the senses and mind, neither the known nor the unknown, and all-pervading. n the next Chapter the Guru checks out what his disciple has understood so far.

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Thus Ends the First Chapter of the Kena Upanishad 

Next

Chapter 2 - 5 Mantras:  Subtlety of “KNOWING” Brahman 

Continued

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