Kena Upanishad

A Brief overview of

Kena Upanishad An enquiry into 'that' which enlivens our faculties Kena Upanishad comes in the Sama Veda. The Upanishad gets its name from the first word of the text Kena ishitam patati... . It is in the form of a dialogue between a good, intelligent seeker and a man of knowledge. The Upanishad has four sections. The first two sections reveal the Brahma Vidya - the knowledge of the ultimate truth, and third & fourth reveal a story through which some important facts pertaining to faith towards God, the implication of believing in him, the methodology of inculcating greater devotion towards him etc. are revealed. The first two sections are highly philosophical, subtle & also lucid, while the last two section have a great simplicity about them. Like a mother the Sruti appears to be catering to all kinds of people with equal concern & compassion. For the first time we see see in the Upanishad itself a clear reference to the manifestation of the formless in the form of a form to help eliminate some erroneous conclusions. We have the seed of the principle of Avatar, which has been greatly elaborated in our subsequent literatures. The question of the student pertains to the inquisitiveness of that because of which our various instruments & faculties, which are all created from inert matter, are able to act & perform their respective functions. What is it which enlivens them ? Is it simply the chemistry of these inert organs or is it some-thing which transcends all this perceptible creation - is the implication of the question. Without beating about the bush the great Rishi immediately comes to the point and says that which enlivens all these faculties is that which even though is the very essence of all these faculties but it is not something which can be objectified by these faculties themselves. Every instrument facilitates a subject to percieve an object, and not the subject itself. That because of which our faculties can perform their respective function, but that which is never objectified by these faculties is the thing which enlivens them all. There is no instrument which can objectify the subject, yet it is known - very intimately, by proper understanding. Consciousness transcends all matter & things created from it. It is the timeless, eternal truth. It is our very essence, our very Self. It is realized as our very self, and never as something extraneous. He who knows oneself as that 'life' which is even though very clearly known yet is never objected knows that which enlivens all our faculties. Pure consciousness is not something which is created by any chemistry of matter, it is only the manifestation of life which does require appropriate instruments. The commentary on the Upanishad by Sri Adi Sankara is a great treat to read, like any of his other commentary too.

The story revealed in the third & fourth section pertains to an incident when after a great war between Devatas & Asuras the devatas won with flying colors. As usual there was the blessed hand of the divine essence behind all their victory, but they in their thoughtless arrogance took themselves as the real cause of victory. Gloating in their arrogance all the devatas had assembled to celebrate their victory and were talking about just their power & glory. At that time a Yaksha manifested in front of them, something which none of them had ever seen. When Agni etc devas were sent to enquire then during their conversation the great Agni could not even burn a small blade of grass kept in front by the great Yaksha. The ego shattered, they realized their folly and learnt a great & important lesson of their life.