Kena Upaniṣad – Chapter One, Text 1-2

TEXT 1
ॐ केनेषितं पतति प्रेषितं मनः केन प्राणः प्रथमः प्रैति युक्तः ।
केनेषितां वाचमिमां वदन्ति चक्षुः श्रोत्रं क उ देवो युनक्ति ॥ १॥

oṁ keneṣitaṁ patati preṣitaṁ manaḥ
kena prāṇaḥ prathamaḥ praiti yuktaḥ
keneṣitāṁ vācam imāṁ vadanti
cakṣuḥ śrotraṁ ka u devo yunakti

(Śiva asked:) By whom is the mind set in motion? By whose command does the first life-breath proceed to perform its functions? Who impels man to speak words? Which particular Deity directs the eyes, ears etc?

Commentary

The prime duality found within this manifested universe is cause and effect. Externally we perceive no cause for the universe itself, thus inquiry into its origins naturally arises. Throughout history, philosophers, scientists, and thinkers have expounded many theories – some claiming that there is no cause and that each individual should freely pursue their material goals unrestricted by dogmas, ideologies etc. Those who are intelligent, however, seek deeper answers in order to understand the ultimate cause and its relation to the effects that we experience around us. Such an inquiry is referred to in Sanskrit as brahma-jijñāsā, and it is this capacity for higher thinking that distinguishes humans from other species of life. The Kena Upaniṣad begins with such an inquiry into the Ultimate Cause of all things.

In his commentary to this verse, the Vaiṣṇava philosopher Śrī Madhva sets the scene of the Kena Upaniṣad by quoting the Brahma-sāra:

vaijayante samāsīnam ekante caturānanam
viṣṇor vividiṣus-tattvaṁ paryapṛcchat sadā–śivaḥ

yad idaṁ puruṣāvaśyaṁ tatra tatra paten-manaḥ
kena tat preritaṁ yāti prāṇaḥ sarvottamas tathā

cakṣuḥ śrotraṁ tathā vācaṁ ko devo viniyojayet
iti pṛṣṭas tadā brahma prāha devam umā-patīm

Thus, sitting in seclusion within his abode known as Vaijayanta, the four-headed Brahmā explained in detail the greatness of Lord Viṣṇu to Śiva who inquired, “How does the mind of a man continually become degraded? Who directs the mind? Who directs the life-air that is considered superior to all. Which divinity presides over the eyes, ears, and speech?” Having thus been questioned, Brahmā answered the husband of Goddess Umā (Śiva).

Both Brahmā and Śiva are mahājanas, great personalities who are fully aware of the Absolute Truth. Why then would Śiva ask such rudimentary questions to Brahmā? In actuality, Śiva inquires on our behalf. Thus, Brahmā and Śiva are the original seers of the Kena Upaniṣad, which was spoken for the enlightenment of those jīvas who are ignorant of the nature of the Supreme.

Śiva’s inquiry is fundamental – “Whose power sets the mind in motion? Who induces the first breath of life to perform its functions? Who impels us to speak and who directs our eyes, ears etc?” The question presupposes the existence of something that is superior to us by nature, because the inquirer has analysed the functions of the mind, the life-airs, the faculty of speech and the senses, concluding that the material body must ultimately be under the control of a higher force.

The question begins with the mind. In our present society, many people want to know how to control the mind because they experience so much mental anguish and stress. The mind is defined as the internal faculty that accepts and rejects data and relies upon the guidance of our intelligence which supplies intuition and knowledge gained by experience. Even though intelligence is supposed to be superior to the mind, the mind is so powerful that it sometimes overcomes the intelligence and forces us to act against our very nature. Arjuna tells Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā that he considers the mind to be very difficult to control:

cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham
tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva su-duṣkaram

The mind is erratic, disturbed, very powerful and stubborn. O Kṛṣṇa, I think that to control it is as difficult as trying to control the wind. (Bhagavad-gītā 6.34)

Thus, the living being cannot be said to be the controller of the mind because he struggles to control it. The question then arises, who ultimately activates and controls the mental faculty?

Similarly, we have no control over the life-airs within the body. The life-airs, or prāṇa, are considered to be superior to all other elements within the body. If prāṇa leaves the body, all the functions of our organs immediately cease. There are five main life-airs (pañca-prāṇa) that circulate throughout the material body, each having a particular function such as maintaining the heart, lungs, blood circulation, digestive system etc.  Prāṇa begins to activate the organs of the body from the very moment we are conceived; yet the living being does not create that prāṇa. Who creates that life-force and sets it in motion?

The next question is about speech. In the Vedic tradition, letters are known in Sanskrit as akṣara (‘imperishable’) because they are considered to be eternal. Each akṣara has a particular sound (śabda) and a particular meaning (artha). The akṣaras form words, and words form sentences through which we express our thoughts, desires etc. But who initially impels us to speak?

Finally, who directs the senses? The jīva cannot be the controller of the five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell), for the same reason that he is not the controller of the mind. The mind constantly struggles to control the senses that are always being drawn towards the sense-objects.

yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ
indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ

Yet the turbulent senses can forcibly steal the mind of even a man of sound judgement. (Bhagavad-gītā 2.60)

The Kaṭha Upaniṣad compares the five senses to the horses pulling a chariot:

yas tv-avijñānavān bhavatyayuktena manasā sadā
tasyendriyāṇy-avaśyāni duṣṭāśvā iva sāratheḥ

When one is without realised knowledge and his mind is unstable, then his senses remain uncontrolled, just like the wild horses of a charioteer. (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.5)

In a way, we human beings are at a great disadvantage when it comes to controlling the senses. In our modern society we are bombarded by so many sights, sounds and tastes in so many alluring forms. The great monist philosopher Ādi Śaṅkara states:

śabdādibhiḥ pañcabhir eva pañca pañcatvamāpuḥ svaguṇena baddhāḥ
kuraṅga mātaṅga pataṅga mīna bhṛṅgā naraḥ pañcabhirañcitaḥ kim

A deer is charmed by sound and is shot. While mating, an elephant falls prey to the sense of touch and, forgetting everything around him, is captured by the hunter. A moth is attracted to the sight of a flame and is ultimately incinerated by it. A fish is lured by the taste of bait and caught, and a bee is enticed to the smell of a particular flower, which closes its petals and kills it. All five creatures meet their doom due to their weakness for one sense – what then can be said about the man who is attached to all five senses? (Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi 76)

No living creature in this universe is fully independent. Conditioned living beings are always enslaved by their uncontrolled minds and senses. They deceive themselves into thinking that they are in control, but the fact is that they cannot even control their own bodily functions – their blood circulation, their heartbeat, their bladder or their bowels! No matter how intelligent they seem to be, humans are a long way off from being omnipotent.

TEXT 2
श्रोत्रस्य श्रोत्रं मनसो मनो यद् वाचो ह वाचं स उ प्राणस्य प्राणः ।
चक्षुषश्चक्षुरतिमुच्य धीराः प्रेत्यास्माल्लोकादमृता भवन्ति ॥ २॥

śrotrasya śrotraṁ manaso mano yad
vāco ha vācaṁ sa u prāṇasya prāṇaḥ
cakṣuṣaś cakṣur atimucya dhīrāḥ
pretyāsmāl lokād amṛtā bhavanti

(Brahmā replied) It is He who is the capacity of hearing, the mental capacity of the mind, the voice’s capacity of speech, the life-air sustaining the life-airs, and the vision of the eyes. Knowing this, the wise are released from bondage and leaving this world, they attain immortality.

Commentary

Herein, Brahmā answers Śiva’s query. Who is the Supreme Director? It is He who is the mental capacity of the mind, the hearing capacity of the ear, the vocal capacity of the voice, the visual capacity of the eyes and the very life of the life-force itself. In effect, Brahmā is saying that there is a higher consciousness than ours at work. All activities are executed by the Lord’s external māyā potency through the three modes of nature – goodness (sattva-guṇa), passion (raja-guṇa) and ignorance (tamo-guṇa). We are not the doers, yet the false-ego forces us to believe that we are.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate

All activities are performed by material nature and the three modes. But those who are deluded by the false-ego think, “I am the doer.” (Bhagavad-gītā 3.27)

daivādhīne śarīre ‘smin guṇa-bhāvyena karmaṇā
vartamāno ‘budhas tatra kartāsmīti nibadhyate

A foolish person, situated within the body created by his previous karma, thinks, “I am the doer.” He is entangled by his actions that are actually carried out by the modes of nature. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.11.10)

The false-ego is known in Sanskrit as ahaṅkāra which literally means ‘I do’, because it artificially imposes upon us the idea that we are in control of our environment and that we are the material body connected to a particular country, race, community etc. In this way ahaṅkāra pollutes our spiritual consciousness and covers our original spiritual ego. Whatever activities are performed in this world with the notion of kartāham (‘I am the doer’), create a material reaction for the living entity. This is generally known as the law of karma.

The finite jīva can only desire to perform activities, but without the ultimate sanction of the Supreme, the living being is helpless and can do nothing. When the individual living entity understands this, turning his face towards the Supreme and acting for His pleasure, his actions are called bhakti, or devotion. Such a person is considered to be dhīra, or wise. Etymologically, dhīra is explained as dhīyā ramante iti dhīrāḥ – ‘one who takes pleasure in divine knowledge.’ Those who are truly dhīra find solace in the knowledge that ultimately the Supreme Absolute Truth has a personality.

Who is the personality behind the mental capacity, the hearing capacity etc? If we study the Vedic literature, the answer is very clear. The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam states that it is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in His aspect as Aniruddha, who is the director of the mental faculty and the senses.

namo namo ‘niruddhāya hṛṣīkeśendriyātmane
namaḥ paramahaṁsāya pūrṇāya nibhṛtātmane

I offer my respects unto Aniruddha, the Master of the senses and the mind. I offer respects unto the Most Perfect, who is complete and who is beyond material creation. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.24.36)

In this verse from the Bhāgavatam, the Lord is also referred to as Hṛṣīkeśa, the Master of the senses. This is also mentioned in the Hari-vaṁśa:

hṛṣīkāni indriyāṇyāhuḥ teṣām īśo yato bhavān
hṛṣī-keśaḥ tato viṣṇuḥ khyāto deveśu keśavā

It is said that the hṛṣīkas are the sense-organs. Since You are their Controller (īśa), You are known as Hṛṣīkeśa. Among the demigods, Viṣṇu is celebrated as Keśava.

The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam also explains that Kṛṣṇa is the director of speech and the prāṇa:

eṣa svayaṁ-jyotir ajo ‘prameyo mahānubhūtiḥ sakalānubhūtiḥ
eko ‘dvitīyo vacasāṁ virāme yeneṣitā vāg-asavaś caranti

The Lord is self-effulgent, unborn and beyond direct perception. He is the Supreme Consciousness and is aware of all things. He is one without a second, He is perceived only after ordinary words cease. He sets into motion the power of speech and the life-airs. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.28.35)

kiṁ varṇaye tava vibho yad-udīrito ‘suḥ
saṁspandate tam anu vāṅ-mana-indriyāṇi
spandanti vai tanu-bhṛtām aja-śarvayoś ca
svasyāpy athāpi bhajatām asi bhāva-bandhuḥ

O Supreme Lord, how can I describe You? You direct the life-air, which then activates the mind, senses and the power of speech. This is true for all embodied beings including Brahmā and Śiva. Thus, it is also for me. Nevertheless, You become the loving friend of those who worship You. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12.8.40)

Therefore, the Supreme Person, Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa, is ultimately the director of the mind, life-airs, speech and senses. The Vedānta-sūtra declares, janmādy asya yataḥ – everything originates from Him. He is the prime cause of all effects in this universe. At the microcosmic level, as Paramātmā, the indwelling Super-consciousness within all living creatures, He directs all the components of the body to act. Macrocosmically, the actions and reactions of His potencies create the universe, and also dissolve it. Whatever effect we perceive in creation is the interaction of His potencies, and because they are manifest from Him, He is ultimately both the cause and effect – simultaneously the same and different. The Bṛhad-Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad says, sarvaṁ khalv-idaṁ brahma – ’Everything is the Absolute.’ From the highest perspective, everything is connected to Him. This is confirmed by Madhva who again quotes the Brahma-sāra, wherein Brahmā says that it is Nārāyaṇa (Viṣṇu) who is the support of all things:

dhyātvā nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ sarvādhāram-anūpamam
sarvajñaṁ sarva-śaktiṁ ca sarva-doṣa-vivarjitam

yaḥ prāṇasya praṇetā ca cakṣurādeś ca sarvaśaḥ
agamyaḥ sarva-devaiś ca pari-pūrṇatva-hetutaḥ

prāṇādināṁ praṇetā ca sarva-vettā ca sarvaśaḥ
sarvottamaś ca sarvatra sa viṣṇur iti dhāryatāṁ

I meditate upon the transcendental Nārāyaṇa, the incomparable support of all things, omniscient, all-powerful, devoid of all faults, who is the life of the life-airs and director of sight and all other things. He is incomprehensible to all the demigods and the means to all perfection. He is the life of the life-airs, etc., the omniscient, the Lord of all. He is the greatest, He is omnipresent, He is Viṣṇu – thus He should be meditated upon.

Thus, those who are wise understand that the Supreme Director is a personality and through worshipping Him with devotion, one attains immortality.

• 📚 Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad Series
• 📚 Kena Upaniṣad Series
• 📚 Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda and the Gītā Series
• Bhakti Siddhānta (Devotional Conclusions) by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura
• Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda and the Gītā – Part 1 by Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja
• The Secret of the Destruction of Devaki’s Six Unborn Children by Śrīla B.P. Purī Mahārāja
• Kṛṣṇa – The Supreme Vedāntist by Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda
• Gītā-Govinda of Jayadeva Gosvāmī by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• Gīta Govinda Revisited by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• The Literalist by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• Advaita Prakāśa Reviewed by Swami B.V. Giri
• The Heart-Pursuit and the Head-Pursuit by Gaura Gopāla Dāsa

• An Assembly to Preserve the Bhakti Śāstra by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Śrī Dayānanda Sarasvatī and the Tantra Śāstra by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• The Essence of the Ten Foundational Principles by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Daśa Mūla by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Daśa Mūla by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Āmnāya Daśa Mūla by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Bhagavad-gītā Daśa Mūla by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• The Secret of the Lord’s Appearance According to the Gītā by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• The Vedānta Philosophy by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Philosophical Treatise by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• The Bhagavat – It’s Philosophy It’s Ethics and It’s Theology by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Preface to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Karṇāmṛta by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Introduction to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Vijaya by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• A Question and Answer Concerning Śrī Kṛṣṇa Saṁhitā by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Vedānta Śāstra by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• ‘Śrī Muralī Vilāsa’ by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
• Samālocana (A Critique) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura