Kena Upanishad

Where do you search endlessly, O crazy mind,
For the vision of the Lord?
Brahman is within you!
Recognize this truth and see Him within yourself.
Sai’s words reveal the path of truth.

Love cannot be grown on trees,
Nor can it be traded in a market.
Be someone a King or a commoner, only when he gives up his ego
And becomes a man of sacrifice,
Will he know the divine principle?

Every pilgrim traveling on the path of life is granted certain instruments to  pursue dharma. These instruments are the mind, speech, ears, eyes, nose, hands, and feet. Three objects are essential for any achievement in this world—karana (the instrument), kaarana (the cause), and karta (the doer). The one who uses the instrument is karta. That which is used is karana. The desire of the doer is kaarana. Man’s primary duty is to know the unity of karana, kaarana, and karta.

You say that the eyes see, the ears hear, and the tongue speaks. If so, what happens after death? The sense organs stop working. Why? A power makes them function. This divine power is prana [life-force], the life principle.

Where has prana  come from? Where is it going? Who sends it here and there? This is the question posed by the Kena Upanishad. It asks, Is the power to see, hear, speak, and walk provided by prana, or is there a greater power still?

The sun shines, and its brilliance makes the moon shine. The earth shines because of moonlight. But why does the sun shine? Because of hydrogen and helium. Where have these elements emerged from? Divine power.

The Upanishads call this power Brahman. They declare that Brahman makes the world shine. Brahman lends His illumination to others, but nothing makes Brahman Himself shine. Brahman’s effulgence makes the eyes see, but they cannot see Brahman! The mind can think only with Brahman’s power, but it is unable to grasp Brahman Himself. The Upanishads declare: From where words and thoughts return, unable to comprehend anything—that is Brahman.

Man is unable to realize Brahman within. Why? He cultivates external vision instead of inner vision. He can, however, arrive at the truth with proper inquiry. But man considers himself weak and powerless. How should man inquire into this divine principle?

The Kena Upanishad declares that Brahman is the life of life, the mind of the mind, the eye of the eyes. In a car, current is essential for making the headlights shine, the horn blare, the wheels turn, and the engine move. Similarly, all human faculties perform their functions by drawing strength from the atma [soul]. All blooming flowers do not become fruit. All fruit do not ripen. But once ripe, fruit must necessarily fall down from the trees. This is a secret of human life. When the time, cause, and situation so decree, the body becomes weak, even lifeless. Thus what is the basis of the life force? It is the atma.

Man considers the senses as most important. Beyond the senses is the mind. This mind is called Indra [Lord of the Gods] by the Upanishads. Indra means “master of the senses (indriyas).” The Kena Upanishad declares that divinity is attained when the senses are merged in the mind and when the mind is merged in the atma.

You let the mind run amuck along worldly paths, thereby creating a division between the mind and the atma. Why does man fail to recognize the atma? He relies on his physical and mental strength, wealth, and ego.

The senses are inert. When the eyes see an object, the eyes are the seer and the object is the seen. It is possible for the eye to become the seen. How? If the mind wanders, the eyes do not perceive what is in front of them. Thus, the mind becomes the seer, and the eyes become the “seen.”

Then again, the mind can become the “seen,” and the intellect, the seer. This happens when there is no sense of discrimination. For example, in sleep, the mind does not exist except merely as the “seen.” But the intellect is present as consciousness. Finally, in samadhi, the intellect becomes the “seen,” with the atma as the seer.

The atma is the ultimate seer. The senses, mind, and intellect are all “seen”—that is why they are called instruments. In the absence of the atma, the most valuable instruments become useless. Expensive machinery is but a block of iron without electricity. It is man’s primary duty to use his faculties in a proper manner. However, it is not very easy to change one’s worldly outlook.

You may cultivate onions in a field of camphor,
Using saffron and rose water for irrigation.
But won’t the resulting onions still smell like onions?

You may attend countless satsangs [gatherings of good company] and perform many spiritual practices, but the worldly tendencies that have dogged you for many lifetimes will not let go easily.

Hence, first understand the body. What is the body? Is it merely a bundle of waste matter, urine, and blood? Yes. But it also houses the priceless gem of the atma. Gems are not found on trees but deep within the earth. Though they are within dirt, they are eternal. In the same way, the body is full of filth, but the indwelling atma is divine.

Human life is the rarest among all species. Today man sells his priceless heart, a gem, for pieces of coal. He does not recognize his own value. When a man dies in an accident, the government gives his family a sum of Rs. 5,000 [about U.S. $100]. Is that all human life is worth? No! Human life is invaluable—no value ascribed to it is enough.

Some people keep very sturdy iron safes in their homes. The safe itself is cheap, but the jewels inside are very valuable. The body is like the safe. Divinity is like the priceless ornaments. O man! Value the jewels, not the iron safe. If a jewel is placed in a golden safe, thieves will take off with both! That is why ornaments with value are placed in a worthless safe. This is a secret of creation. The body is temporary; the atma is eternal.

The eternal atma resides in the worthless body. For this reason, safeguard the body without neglect. For how long? You should keep the body healthy for as long as you have not recognized the truth. However, giving undue importance to the body and forgetting the indweller is not true humanity. When the ego sprouts, you forget everything. When clouds cover the sky, even the effulgent sun is not visible. Does that mean the sun is absent? No, the clouds are merely blocking it. Are these clouds permanent? No, no! They are “passing clouds.” The clouds of ego and pride prevent you from understanding the atma. As you cannot see the atma, you conclude it does not exist.

Why do you bother with so many Gods? You are God Himself! Here’s one example. If you go to a storage room that has many objects, you will see everything, except one object—yourself! You are searching in this world. You see everything, but not yourself. That is a big fault. If a person recognizes himself, he will be able to recognize all else easily. Since the vision is directed outward, the seer is not seen. Walking on the street with a flashlight, you can see the road but not yourself. Turn the light on yourself to see yourself. This is divine vision. When you turn your vision inward, you understand the blissful, nectarine, immortal atma in its brilliance.

Once upon a time, the Gods had won the war against the demons and were celebrating their victory. They grew arrogant and unruly and forgot the very reason for that victory. As they swaggered around with inflated egos, Lord Brahma noticed their state. He decided to open their eyes. He assumed the form of a yaksha (a celestial being) and appeared in their midst. Lord Agni, the God of fire, was there. The yaksha asked him, “Son, who are you?”

Agni replied, “Don’t you know who I am? Listen. I am the powerful God who can reduce anything to ashes in an instant. I am Agni. I can even melt and burn down iron.” He was arrogant.

Brahma threw down a blade of grass and said, “Agni, burn it.”

Agni smirked, “What an easy task!” But he could not burn the grass. He bent his head in shame and retreated.

The wind God, Vayu, appeared and gloated, “When I blow, seas swell and entire cities are leveled. Don’t you know about cyclones and storms? They are all my power!”

The yaksha said, “Is that so? Please move this blade of grass.” Vayu attempted to do it but also failed.

Then Indra appeared. The yaksha disappeared, and a woman appeared in his place. Indra saw her and asked, “Mother, who are you? Who was here before you arrived?”

She replied, “My name is Uma [another name for Parvati, the Divine Mother]. Lord Brahma was here before me. Your arrogance has grown beyond limits. The Lord appeared to destroy your ego and grant you His darshan [sight of the Lord]. He donned a yaksha’s form because those with ego are not eligible to see His true form. You are Indra—master of the senses. Fire, wind, and other elements are merely the senses. You are their Lord. Even you do not have the deservedness to see Brahma. You have become the embodiment of desire. To destroy desire in you, I have appeared as a woman, the symbol of desire.” The Gods realized their folly to some extent. They set aside their egos and meditated on Brahma. (Imagine that such powerful Gods could not move a blade of grass! Ego and attachment hide power from man, too.)

Then Indra bowed his head and said, “Without You, not even a blade of grass moves. What is the use of intelligence, strength, education, and wealth? Without the power to know You, O Lord, all other powers are just curses. The powers of devotion and love alone can reveal You. There is no power higher than devotion.”

What is devotion? Loving the Lord with an unselfish heart and a humble attitude is devotion. Hence, consider the senses as instruments that may be afflicted with diseases at times. What are these diseases? To find out, look at the example of a crowbar that loses its sharpness with constant use. This is a disease. When plunged into fire and hammered, it becomes good as new. That is the cure.

Similarly, the eyes have a disease. When the eyes are healthy, white is seen as white, yellow as yellow, and black as black. But a jaundiced eye sees everything as yellow. Is that a problem with the world? No! As long as the tongue is healthy, sweets taste sweet; salty items, salty; and sour ones, sour. But a malaria patient finds even sweet food bitter. The senses are plagued by disease and attachment, but have no yoga, no communion with God. Only when you control your senses, do you become a yogi. Therefore, Patanjali [author of the ancient Yoga Sutras] said, Yoga is control of thoughts. First control your senses. Teach them discrimination between the temporary and the permanent.

Students, the senses are very powerful at your age. The eyes, especially, are very sinful. They flit from person to person with impure motives, thereby accumulating a great deal of bad karma. Educated people ask, since the eyes have been given to us to see with, why not see everything? True, the eyes are meant to see. But see what’s good, not bad! The mouth has been given to you to eat with, so do you eat mud? The consequences of bad actions are not readily apparent. But they cannot be escaped. You should control wrong vision, speech, hearing, thoughts, and actions. This is the true spiritual path.

See no evil, see what is good;
Hear no evil, hear what is good;
Think no evil, think what is good;
Talk no evil, talk what is good;
Do no evil, do what is good—
This is the way to God.

When you do not follow these teachings with real effort, you condemn yourself to a future full of difficulties. The period of youth is extremely fleeting but is characterized by arrogance. Yielding to the senses, man reduces his future to ashes. During this period, you should make an effort to regulate the senses. The Kena Upanishad gives this advice to men, gods, and rishis [sages] alike.

It also sets ideals for men and divine beings: “O man, the fruit of your good and bad actions is not seen instantly, like milk seen flowing out of a cow’s udder upon milking. Rather, they are like sowing a seed.” It takes many years for a seed to become a tree, more time for fruit to appear, and still more days for the fruit to ripen. Be careful! You may commit a sin and then assure yourself that you do not see any punishment. It takes time for the result to hit you, but it cannot be avoided! You may avoid anything, but not the consequences of your actions. Hence, use these years to develop purity. “Start early, drive slowly, and reach [your destination] safely.”

Sanctity of the Tongue

Make a conscious effort during youth. Speech is very pure. Jayadeva (author of the Gitagovinda, a 12th-century work on Lord Krishna) said, “O Sacred tongue, you can discern taste, you are endowed with sacred speech, you are the embodiment of Goddess Saraswati. Why do you use impure words? In repentance, utter the divine names Govinda, Damodara, Madhava.” The tongue has a great sense of sacrifice, respect, and honor. When it tastes a sour fruit, it stops it from reaching the stomach. God is present within man as Vaisvanara [a form of the fire God], the digestive force. The tongue decides that the sour fruit is not an appropriate offering to the God within, and spits it out on the ground saying, “Mother Earth, please receive the fruit you have created.” If the fruit is sweet, the tongue says to Vaisvanara, “O sweet Lord, please experience this sweet fruit.” The tongue does not experience the sweetness itself. It offers the good to God and the bad back to the world. Such is its sense of sacrifice.

The tongue has forbearance as well. How carefully it lives amidst thirty-two sharp teeth! This is what Vibhishana [demon king Ravana’s brother] told Hanuman [great monkey devotee of Lord Rama], “O Hanuman, among these teethlike demons, I live like the soft tongue that chants the Lord’s name. If I am not constantly watchful, these demons will end my life. I want to secure the vision of the Lord before I die.” Then Hanuman said, “Vibhishana, you equate your perilous state to that of the tongue. It is true. But which fall away first—the tongue or the teeth? The teeth. So do not worry. You will attain the proximity of Rama. These demons will be uprooted like the teeth.”

The tongue has a great sense of honor. It does not roam from house to house like a street dog. It stays within its doors—the lips—and never ventures out. Such is its honor. It may speak a lot, but does it ever come out? Like a royal queen, it lives within its limits, with dignity and honor.

Further, the tongue chastises a wrongdoer, “You are behaving like an animal!” It praises a pious man, “You are like God Himself.” The sacred tongue should only be used in sacred ways. The sayings of the Upanishads are simple, sweet, and delicate. You forget these nectarine sayings. The Upanishads are the essence of all the Vedas. No one makes an effort to understand them today. The smallest pills can remove illness from the body. Similarly, these compact words can dispel ignorance and light the lamp of knowledge.

You should make a sincere effort to live a sacred life, starting from your early years. Along with wisdom, cultivate humility. Without humility, all education becomes useless: Respect your parents, teachers, and elders; love those younger than you. Avoid excessive talk.

Today people are heroes when it comes to talk,
But zeroes when it comes to action!
Life is full of show.
This is the state of people today. Do not be pompous. How should life be lived?
Within education, wisdom should shine,
Just as brilliant lightning underlies dark clouds.

Do not be argumentative based on bookish knowledge. Arguments are not conducive to education. Only someone who knows nothing argues. The person who knows all remains silent. An empty banana leaf flutters in the wind, but one that is full of food [banana leaves have been used as disposable plates in South India since ancient times] stays still. You should shine as “full” individuals. This is the royal road.

As a result of bad habits and food, the qualities of pride, showiness, and arrogance are beyond limits in the period of youth. Such defects should be removed. Students in this country [India] have a reputation for causing unrest. Our students should offer protection to the fear-stricken and attract society with their loving nature, just as a magnet attracts iron. They should mingle and work with everyone. That idea is conveyed in the Vedas:

Let us mingle together; let us grow together.
Let us cultivate our knowledge together.
Let us live together happily without impurities.

This approach alone will grant peace. If you desire world peace, you should live without skirmishes.

Ponder the purity of the feelings expressed in the Upanishads. The sages of yore were not fools. They were far more accomplished than today’s scientists, who have not approached even a thousandth of their discoveries. Scientists sit in dark rooms—they are akin to a frog in a well. (In an ancient parable, a frog in a well is visited by a frog from the ocean. The ocean frog attempts to describe the vastness of the ocean, but the other frog refuses to believe that anything could be larger than its well.) The rishis were expansive like the ocean frog, and their investigations were broad. Today’s discoveries are mired in self-interest. The ancients were egoless and selfless. You might misjudge the declarations of the sages to be hallucinatory or imaginary. In reality, these gems of wisdom were conferred upon the sages and have nourished humanity till this day.

The Upanishads are the essence of the teachings of divine sages. I conclude My discourse by blessing you that you may take at least the smallest teachings of the Upanishads, put them into practice in simple activities of daily life, and experience divine life thereby.

On the first day [of the summer course], your Vice Chancellor requested that I teach you methods by which proximity to God can be attained. Hence, chant the divine name and exemplify pure and peaceful lives. Unrest and agitation have grown beyond limits today. In such an environment, students should foster fearlessness, happiness, and goodness. This is what I desire.

Source: Summer Showers in Brindavan, 1991