KENA UPANISHAD “Know That Alone as Brahman”: 8. Swami Tejomayananda.

 

SACRED STORY OF KUMBH MELA

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Wednesday 05, February 2025, 09:50.
KENA UPANISHAD 
4 Chapters, 34 Mantras 
Chapter 2 - 5 Mantras:  
Subtlety of “KNOWING” Brahman 
Chapter 2 - 5 Mantras:  Subtlety of “KNOWING” Brahman 
Mantram - 2.1: Did the Student Understand? 
Post-8.

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

Mantram - 2.1: Did the Student Understand? 

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The Preceptor says:  

1 

yadi manyase suveda iti, = If you think, “I know That well enough,” –  

 2  

daharam eva api noonam twam = it is only a little expression  that you 

vettha brahmanah roopam; =understand as being the form of Brahman; 

 3 

yat asya twam, = the little expression of your body,  

yat asya deveshu; = or of that seen in the Gods.  

4 

atha nu, = It means that the real Brahman   

meemaamsyam eva te =   is still to be ascertained by you. 

5 

manye viditam. = Disciple: “I think I do know Brahman!” 

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Prior to this mantram, the Teacher must have put out a feeler to find out how much his 

students have understood of the lesson he has just taught. One of them, we may deduce, 

said, “Oh, I know Brahman well enough.” Guruji compares this response to our usual 

greeting formalities – someone asks, “How are you?” and the other person automatically 

says “Fine, thank you!” without even thinking. 

The Teacher knows the danger of a theoretical understanding being taken as the 

final realisation! Students can become over-confident of their knowledge. The Bhashya 

elaborates greatly on this point, but the essence of it is to curb the tendency to mistake 

theory for direct experience. 

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1

 The wise Teacher, suspecting that this is what has happened in the student 

concerned, warns him of this danger. Brahman is his own Self. If he really understood, he 

would have said, “Yes, indeed, I now understand who I am!” He would not have used the 

third person (That), as though Brahman were an object outside him! 

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2-3

 Hence, the Preceptor is justified in curtailing the student’s over-confidence. He 

tells him he has only understood the limited expression of Brahman which is this body; or, at most, he has only understood the greater but still limited expression of Brahman as seen in the Devatas. The Deities are still a limitation in comparison to the Infinite Being that is Brahman. ==============================================================================

4 The student is therefore asked to go and do more reflection. 

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Objection: Are There Many Forms of Brahman?

 When the two limited expressions of Brahman are mentioned, the Poorvapakshi brings up his expected objection. The Bhashya answers this by saying that Brahman in association with the Upadhis is also Brahman but in a limited way. In man the limitation is his body, mind and senses. In the Devatas, the limitation may be less but it is nevertheless still there. The Gods worshipped by devotees are limited expressions of Brahman, seen through the eyes of man. 

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5

 And so, the student is sent back to his seat of meditation, to reflect more on the Truth. When he returns after due reflection and contemplation (Manana and Nididhyasana), he gives his experience in the same words as before, “I think I do know Brahman.” 

The Teacher smiles at him. He can now see that the theory has been converted into 

practical experience, although the words used are the same. Actual realisation has dawned 

and the illumined student comes with a glow on his face with even greater confidence than 

earlier. None could be more pleased than the Teacher! 

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The student explains himself in the next Mantram…  

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Next

Mantram - 2.2: The Student Proclaims the Truth 

Continued

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