A PEEP INTO KENOPANISHAD

                                                     

Kenopanishad starts with questions for which we should seriously seek answers. Who directs the Mind to feel?  Who directs the life breath or prana to move forward? Who prompts men to speak? Having asked these rather unanswerable questions, the Upanishad gives a very detailed answer for them. The prime factor in directing the senses , the mind and the prana is something entirely different! That is the Absolute Brahman! That is why it is called the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, speech of the speech, breath of the breath and the eye of the eye! It is that which makes the ear hear, mind think, mouth speak , breath breathe and the eye see! Clarifying the above statements the Upanishad argues that all the senses are incapable of reaching the Absolute. It admits that it is impossible to Know the Absolute or understand  or explain it to others!

       The definition of the Brahman is rendered in clear cut terms later. It is because of  the Brahman you speak, the mind thinks, the eye sees, the ears hear and the breath is made to inhale It is that which is called Brahman! The Upanishad cuts at the root of people who say that they know the Brahman. Those who say they know actually do not know! Persons who declare they do not know actually know the Brahman. Brahman is beyond one’s conception and comprehension says the Kenopanishad!  It is a great loss not to realize the Brahman in this world! The Absolute is not an external object to be known but the eternal subject within us to be realized!

        The Upanishad narrates a story of how the Gods were puffed up with pride and ego over a victory that the Brahman had won! They boasted of their victory and greatness  Realizing their notion  it appeared before them but they did not know what spirit it was! They deputed Agni the fire God to find out what it is. Agni introduced himself to the Spirit and proudly said that he can burn everything here and whatever there is on earth! The Spirit placed a straw before Agni and asked him to burn it! Poor Agni with all his speed and ferocity could not burn the straw! He went back crestfallen and reported his  failure! Next came  Vayu the wind God. He introduced himself as Matarisvin and bragged that he can blow away everything and whatever there is on earth!  The Spirit asked Vayu to blow away the straw. In spite of Vayu’s cyclonic storm and speed the straw did not move! Disgraced and disappointed, Agni and Vayu requested Indra, King of Gods, to find out who the Spirit is.

         Indra hastened towards it but the Spirit vanished and surprisingly, in its place, was an entrancingly beautiful woman! She was UMA, the darling daughter of the King of the Himalayas! It was an amazing sight for Indra and he asked her what that Spirit was! She replied that it was BRAHMAN. She asserted that it was the victory of the Brahman that they were celebrating! Indra and the other Gods realized then that it was Brahman! The Upanishad points out that these Gods, Agni, Vayu, and Indra are greater than the other Gods because of their closest contact with the Brahman These Gods were the first to know that it was Brahman!

           UMA here is the personification of Vidya--- the highest knowledge! According to tradition, she is represented as the daughter of the Himalayas, the abode of great rishis and Lord Siva the  omniscient !  Brahman is also compared to a flash of lightning! The examples given in these mantras  viz  the flash of lightning, the winking of the eye and speed of thought indicate the sudden appearance and disappearance of the perception of the Brahman---- the sudden glimpse of Reality and the subsequent withdrawal!