Keno upanishad

 

 The Kena Upanishad is a collection of philosophical poems discussing the attributes of Brahman: the unchanging, infinite universal spirit. Brahman is further proposed as the cause for all the forces of nature, symbolized as Gods. 

This commentary by Shankara focuses on ‘Advaita Vedanta’, or non-dualism: one of the classical orthodox philosophies of Hinduism.

1.1

ओं केनेषितं पतति प्रेषितं मनः केन प्राणः प्रथमः प्रैति युक्तः ।
केनेषितां वाचमिमां वदन्ति चक्षुः श्रोत्रं क उ देवो युनक्ति ॥ १ ॥ 

oṃ keneṣitaṃ patati preṣitaṃ manaḥ kena prāṇaḥ prathamaḥ praiti yuktaḥ | 
keneṣitāṃ vācamimāṃ vadanti cakṣuḥ śrotraṃ ka u devo yunakti || 1 || 

1. By whom willed and directed does the mind light on its subjects 

By whom commanded does prana,the first, move? 

By whose will do men speak this speech? 

What Intelligence directs the eye and the ear?

 

Shankara’s Commentary:

the question is asked by one who is disgusted with the ephemeral conglomeration of causes and effects, such as the body, etc., and who seeks to know something other than that—something unchangeable and eternal.

I-1. By whom is the mind directed to focus on its objects? By whom does the foremost vital air move? By whom is this speech desired, which the people utter? Who is the radiant being that brings together the eye and the ear with their objects?

The Upanishad does not go into the detail of the meaning that is hidden behind this question. In the very first two mantras the whole of its significance is summed up, wherein it states that there is positively some superior principle surpassing the operations of the sense organs, mind, intellect, and the like. 

While the Upanishad is a revelation and can proclaim this certainty with confidence—the truth of there being a transcending principle superior to the operational activities of the senses and the mind—the sadhaka, the student of the Upanishad, is taken slowly by a teaching that takes the mind from the visible to the gradually realised invisible.

I-2. Because He is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of speech, the vital air of the vital air, and the eye of the eye, the wise attain immortality by freeing themselves from identification with the senses and renouncing the world.

I-3. The eye does not reach there, nor does speech or mind. We do not fully understand it, and therefore, we are unable to provide instruction about it. It is distinct from the known and distinct from the unknown. We have learned this from the ancient sages who explained it to us.

I-4. That which is not expressed by speech, but by which the word is expressed, recognise that alone to be Brahman, and not this non-Brahman that is being worshipped.

I-5. That which cannot be thought by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is capable of thinking, recognise that alone to be Brahman, and not this non-Brahman that is being worshipped.

I-6. That which cannot be seen with the eye, but by which one sees the activities of the eye, recognise that alone to be Brahman, and not this non-Brahman that is being worshipped.

I-7. That which cannot be heard with the ear, but by which one hears the ear’s hearing, recognise that alone to be Brahman, and not this non-Brahman that is being worshipped.

I-8. That which cannot be smelled with the sense of smell, but by which the sense of smell is attracted to its objects, recognise that alone to be Brahman, and not this non-Brahman that is being worshipped.

II-1. If you think, ‘I know Brahman correctly,’ you have only a limited understanding of Brahman’s true nature. Your knowledge of His form and the forms of the gods is also limited. Therefore, Brahman is still to be explored by you. I believe I know Brahman.

II-2. I do not claim to know Brahman correctly, nor do I claim it is completely unknown. I both know and do not know. Among us, those who truly know, know Brahman; it is neither completely unknown nor fully known.

II-3. To those who do not know, it is known; to those who think they know, it remains unknown. Those who truly know recognise that it is unknown, and those who think they know do not truly know.

II-4. When Brahman is realised as the inner essence of cognition in every state of consciousness, it is truly known, for in that realisation, one attains immortality. Through one’s own Self, strength is gained, and through knowledge, immortality is attained.

II-5. If one has realised this, there is fulfillment. If one has not realised it, there is a complete loss. By realising Brahman in all beings and withdrawing from this world, the wise attain immortality.

IV-4. The instruction regarding meditation is as follows. It is comparable to a flash of lightning or the blink of an eye. This analogy represents the divine aspect of Brahman.

IV-5. Then follows the instruction through analogy concerning the individual self. It is widely understood that the mind seems to attain It, that the mind constantly remembers It, and that the mind possesses thoughts about It.

IV-6. That Brahman is known as Tadvana (adorable to all beings). That is to be worshipped as Tadvana. Those who know It in this manner are revered by all beings.

IV-7. The disciple said, “Respected sir, please teach me the Upanishad.” The teacher replied, “I have taught you the Upanishad. It is indeed about Brahman that I have spoken.”

IV-8. In this knowledge, austerity, self-restraint, and action serve as the foundation, the Vedas represent all the limbs, and truth is its abode.

IV-9. One who comprehends this, with their sins eradicated, becomes firmly established in the infinite, blissful, and supreme Brahman. They become firmly established in Brahman.

End of the Kenopanishad