Kena
Upanishad
Om ! May my limbs, speech, vital air,
eyes, ears, strength,
And all the senses be fully developed.
All that is revealed by the Upanishads is Brahman.
May I never deny Brahman:
May Brahman never disown me.
Let there be no repudiation (from Brahman);
Let there be no infidelity from my side.
May all the Dharmas extolled by the Upanishads shine in me
Who am intent on knowing the Self.
May they shine in me !
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-1. Wished by whom is the mind directed to fall (on its objects)?
Directed by whom does the foremost vital air move? By whom is wished
this speech which the people utter? Who is the radiant being that unites
the eye and the ear (with their objects)?
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, freeing themselves (from the identity with the senses) and
renouncing the world, become immortal.
I-3. The eye does not reach there, nor speech, nor mind, nor do we know
(Its mature). Therefore we don’t know how to impart instruction (about
It). Distinct indeed is That from the known and distinct from the
unknown. Thus have we heard from the ancients who expounded It to us.
I-4. That which is not uttered by speech, that by which the word is
expressed, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman)
which is being worshipped.
I-5. That which one does not think with the mind, that by which, they
say, the mind is thought, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this
(non-Brahman) which is being worshipped.
I-6. That which man does not see with the eye, that by which man sees
the activities of the eye, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this
(non-Brahman) which is being worshipped.
I-7. That which man does not hear with the ear, that by which man hears
the ear’s hearing, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this
(non-Brahman) which is being worshipped.
I-8. That which man does not smell with the organ of smell, that by
which the organ of smell is attracted towards its objects, know That
alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being
worshipped.
II-1. If you think, ‘I know Brahman rightly’, you have known but little
of Brahman’s (true) nature. What you know of His form and what form you
know among the gods (too is but little). Therefore Brahman is still to
be inquired into by you. I think Brahman is known to me.
II-2. I think not I know Brahman rightly, nor do I think It is unknown.
I know (and I do not know also). He among us who knows that knows It
(Brahman); not that It is not known nor that It is known.
II-3. It is known to him to whom It is unknown; he to whom It is known
does not know It. It is unknown to those who know, and known to those
who know not.
II-4. When Brahman is known as the inner Self (of cognition) in every
state of consciousness, It is known in reality, because one thus attains
immortality. Through one’s own Self is attained strength and through
knowledge is attained immortality.
II-5. Here if one has realised, then there is accomplishment. Here if
one has not realised, then there is utter ruin. Having realised Brahman
in all beings, and having withdrawn from this world, the wise become
immortal.
III-1. It is well-known that Brahman indeed achieved victory for the
gods. But in that victory which was Brahman’s the gods revelled in joy.
III-2. They thought, “Ours alone is this victory, ours alone is this
glory”. Brahman knew this their pride and appeared before them, but they
knew not who this Yaksha (worshipful Being) was.
III-3. They said to Agni: “O Jataveda, know thou this as to who this
Yaksha is”. (He said:) “So be it.”
III-4. Agni approached It. It asked him, “Who art thou?” He replied, “I
am Agni or I am Jataveda”.
III-5. (It said:) “What is the power in thee, such as thou art?” (Agni
said:) “I can burn all this that is upon the earth.”
III-6. For him (It) placed there a blade of grass and said: “Burn this”.
(Agni) went near it in all haste, but he could not burn it. He returned
from there (and said:) “I am unable to understand who that Yaksha is”.
III-7. Then (the gods) said to Vayu: “O Vayu, know thou this as to who
this Yaksha is”. (He said:) “So be it”.
III-8. Vayu approached It. It said to him, “Who art thou?” He replied,
“I am Vayu or I am Matarsiva”.
III-9. (It said:) “What is the power in thee, such as thou art?” (Vayu
said:) “I can take hold of all this that is upon the earth”.
III-10. For him (It) placed there a blade of grass and said: “Take this
up”. (Vayu) went near it in all haste, but he could not take it up. He
returned from there (and said:) “I am unable to understand who that
Yaksha is”.
III-11. Then (the gods) said to Indra: “O Maghava, know thou this as to
who this Yaksha is”. (He said:) “So be it”. He approached It, but It
disappeared from him.
III-12. In that space itself (where the Yaksha had disappeared) Indra
approached an exceedingly charming woman. To that Uma decked in gold (or
to the daughter of the Himalayas), he said: “Who is this Yaksha?”
IV-1. She said: “It was Brahman. In the victory that was Brahman’s you
were revelling in joy”. Then alone did Indra know for certain that It
was Brahman.
IV-2. Therefore, these gods viz. Agni, Vayu and Indra excelled other
gods, for they touched Brahman who stood very close and indeed knew
first that It was Brahman.
IV-3. Therefore is Indra more excellent than the other gods, for he
touched Brahman who stood very close and indeed knew first that It was
Brahman.
IV-4. Its instruction (regarding meditation) is this. It is similar to
that which is like a flash of lightning or like the winkling of the eye.
This is (the analogy of Brahman) in the divine aspect.
IV-5. Then (follows) the instruction through analogy on the aspect of
the individual self. (It is well-known that) the mind seems to attain to
It, that It is continually remembered by the mind, and that the mind
possesses the thought (regarding It).
IV-6. That Brahman is known indeed as Tadvana (worshipful or adorable to
all beings); That is to be worshipped as Tadvana. To him who knows It
thus verily all beings pray.
IV-7. (Disciple:) “Revered sir, speak Upanishad to me.” (Teacher:) “I
have spoken Upanishad to thee. Of Brahman verily is the Upanishad that I
have spoken.”
IV-8. Of this knowledge austerity, self-restraint and action are the
feet, the Vedas are all limbs and truth is the abode.
IV-9. He who knows this thus, with his sins destroyed, becomes firmly
seated in the infinite, blissful and supreme Brahman. He becomes firmly
seated (in Brahman).
Om ! May my limbs, speech, vital air, eyes, ears, strength,
And all the senses be fully developed.
All that is revealed by the Upanishads is Brahman.
May I never deny Brahman:
May Brahman never disown me.
Let there be no repudiation (from Brahman);
Let there be no infidelity from my side.
May all the Dharmas extolled by the Upanishads shine in me
Who am intent on knowing the Self.
May they shine in me !
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Kenopanishad, as contained in the Sama-Veda. |