Part 1

Kena Upanishad

Like the Isavasya, this Upanishad derives its name from the opening word of the text, Kena-ishitam, "by whom directed." It is also known as the Talavakara-Upanishad because of its place as a chapter in the Talavakara-Brahmana of the Sama-Veda.

Among the Upanishads it is one of the most analytical and metaphysical, its purpose being to lead the mind from the gross to the subtle, from effect to cause. By a series of profound questions and answers, it seeks to locate the source of man's being; and to expand his self-consciousness until it has become identical with God-Consciousness.

2 min

Peace Chant

May my limbs, speech, Prana (life-force), sight, hearing, strength and all my senses, gain in vigor. All is the Brahman (Supreme Lord) of the Upanishads. May I never deny the Brahman. May the Brahman never deny me. May there be no denial of the Brahman. May there be no separation from the Brahman. May all the virtues declared in the sacred Upanishads be manifest in me, who am devoted to the Atman (Higher Self). May they be manifest in me.

May my limbs, speech, Prana (life-force), sight, hearing, strength, and all my senses grow stronger. All is the Brahman (Supreme Lord) of the Upanishads. May I never deny the Brahman. May the Brahman never deny me. May there be no denial of the Brahman. May there be no separation from the Brahman. I am devoted to the Atman (Higher Self). May all the virtues taught in the sacred Upanishads be present in me. May they be present in me.

OM! PEACE! PEACE! PEACE!

1. By whom commanded and directed does the mind go towards its objects? Commanded by whom does the life-force, the first (cause), move? At whose will do men utter speech? What power directs the eye and the ear?

1. Who commands and directs the mind toward its objects? Who commands the life-force, the first cause, to move? Whose will makes people speak? What power directs the eye and the ear?

The disciple approached the Master and asked about the cause of life and human activity. He sincerely longed for Truth and wanted to know who really sees and hears, and who directs the physical person we perceive. All around him, he saw the world of appearances, whose existence he could prove through his senses. But he wanted to understand the invisible world that causes these appearances, which he was only dimly aware of. He asked whether the mind is present everywhere and all-powerful, or whether some other force drives it. Who sends forth the vital energy without which nothing can exist? The teacher replies:

2. It is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of the speech, the life of the life, the eye of the eye. The wise, freed (from the senses and from mortal desires), after leaving this world, become immortal.

2. It is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, and the speech of speech. It is the life of life and the eye of the eye. The wise are freed from the senses and mortal desires. After leaving this world, they become immortal.

An ordinary person hears, sees, and thinks, but is satisfied with knowing only what the senses can reveal. Such a person does not look deeper for what lies behind the ear, the eye, or the mind. An ordinary person identifies completely with their outward nature. Their understanding goes no further than the small circle of bodily life, which concerns only the outer person. They are unaware of what enables their senses and organs to do their work.

There is a vast difference between a visible form and That which appears through it. When we know That, we will not die with the body. Anyone who clings to the senses and to things that pass away must die many deaths. But anyone who knows the eye of the eye and the ear of the ear becomes immortal, having separated from their physical nature. People attain immortality when they go beyond their apparent nature and find the subtle, eternal, and inexhaustible essence within them.

3. There the eye does not go, nor speech, nor mind. We do not know That; we do not understand how It can be taught. It is distinct from the known and also It is beyond the unknown. Thus we have heard from the ancient (teachers) who told us about It.

3. The eye cannot reach there, nor can speech or the mind. We do not know it. We do not understand how it can be taught. It is different from what is known, and it is also beyond what is unknown. This is what we have heard from the ancient teachers who told us about it.

Our physical eyes cannot see that subtle essence. Finite language cannot express it, and finite intelligence cannot know it, because it is infinite. We understand finite things by knowing their names and forms. But knowing God must be different. That is why some say God is unknown and unknowable. He is far more than the eye can see, the mind can grasp, or words can express. The Upanishad does not say that God cannot be known. He is unknowable to our finite nature. How can a finite mortal grasp the Infinite Whole? But we can know him through our God-like nature.

4. That which speech does not illumine, but which illumines speech: know that alone to be the Brahman (the Supreme Being), not this which people worship here.

4. Speech cannot reveal it, but it reveals speech. Know that alone as Brahman (the Supreme Being), not what people worship here.

5. That which cannot be thought by mind, but by which, they say, mind is able to think: know that alone to be the Brahman, not this which people worship here.

5. The mind cannot think of it, but they say it is what enables the mind to think. Know that alone as Brahman, not what people worship here.

6. That which is not seen by the eye, but by which the eye is able to see: know that alone to be the Brahman, not this which people worship here.

6. The eye cannot see it, but it is what enables the eye to see. Know that alone as Brahman, not what people worship here.

7. That which cannot be heard by the ear, but by which the ear is able to hear: know that alone to be Brahman, not this which people worship here.

7. What the ear cannot hear, but what enables the ear to hear, is Brahman. Know that this alone is Brahman, not what people worship here.

8. That which none breathes with the breath, but by which breath is in-breathed: know that alone to be the Brahman, not this which people worship here.

8. No one breathes it in, but through it, breath is drawn in. Know that alone as Brahman, not what people worship here.

Ordinarily, we know only three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and sleeping. But there is a fourth state, the superconscious, which goes beyond these three. In the first three states, the mind is not clear enough to save us from error. In the fourth state, however, the mind gains such purity of vision that it can perceive the Divine. If God could be known through the limited mind and senses, knowledge of God would be like any other knowledge. Spiritual science would then be like any physical science. God can be known, however, only by the purified mind. Therefore, to know God, a person must become pure. The mind described in the Upanishads is the superconscious mind. According to the Vedic Sages, the mind in its ordinary state is only another sense organ. This mind is limited. But when the light of the Cosmic Intelligence, or the "mind of the mind," illuminates it, the mind can understand the First Cause. The First Cause is That which stands behind all external activities.