[Part – 8 (kena 3)]

The Upanishad continues:

यत्प्राणेन न प्राणिति येन प्राणः प्रणीयते । 
तदेव ब्रह्म त्वं विद्धि नेदं यदिदमुपासते ॥                   — mantra 1.9, kena.

[Meaning:  What none can breathe with the breath, but by which the breath is directed, know that alone as brahman, and not this they worship here. (Here the word ’prANa’ may also mean smell. In that case, the translation would be: What one smells not by the organ of smell, but by which the smell is directed towards its objects, know that alone as brahman.)]

The above mantra tells us that brahman is that very Sentience behind everything that “Is” and that “Goes on” in this world and not any idol that we worship. Practices such as worship, mantra repetition, and yoga are efforts to understand brahman without relinquishing name and form. But true Knowing lies in knowing without name and form. Only the formless and featureless can be omnipresent.  Continue reading →

[Part – 7 (kena 2)]

The utilities that reach our homes offer a useful way to think about Consciousness (AtmA). Water and electricity come through their supply lines, and we access them using specific outlets — a tap for water, a socket for electricity. But these utilities are not produced by our house, nor can we keep them exclusively to ourselves. They are shared resources, available to all houses.

AtmA — Beingness-Consciousness — can be understood in much the same way. It is not generated by the body or the mind. It is already present: unmanifest, universal, and available everywhere. The body is like a house, while the mind and senses — the eyes, ears, nose, and so on — function like outlet points.

When Consciousness breathes, it appears as the life-principle (prANa). When it sees, it appears as the eye; when it hears, as the ear. In short, the same single power of Consciousness manifests as seeing in the eye, hearing in the ear, breathing in the life-principle, and thinking in the mind.  Continue reading →

[Part – 6 (kena 1)]

Thus, the kena Upanishad answers the question about the location of the “AtmA” not by providing a map to the Self, but by challenging us to discover the “sentient source” behind the mind and the senses.

केनेषितं पतति प्रेषितं मनः केन प्राणः प्रथमः प्रैति युक्तः । 
केनेषितां वाचमिमां वदन्ति चक्षुःश्रोत्रं क उ देवो युनक्ति ॥     — mantra 1.1, kena.

[Meaning:  By whom desired and set forth does the mind move towards its subject? At whose bidding does the chief life-principle proceed towards its functions? By whom wished, do the men utter the speech? What effulgent one, indeed, directs the eye or the ear? Translation by Swami Sharvananda, 1920.]

If it is supposed that the body, or any of its parts, forms the locus of the “I AM,” the Upanishad asks whether the body can ever feel the presence of “I Am.” When we say, “I am walking” or “I am sitting,” we only see the body walking or sitting. The body by itself does not have the ability to think or feel “I AM.” It is inert, much like the wall in front of us.  Continue reading →