Post by jash on Feb 15, 2013 11:54:13 GMT
The second major Upanishad in the Mukhya canon is the Kena Upanishad, which is a dialogue between a teacher and disciple about Brahman, or God. It is in four parts.
In the first part, the disciple asks: "Om. By whose will directed does the mind
proceed to its object? At whose command does the prana, the
foremost, do its duty? At whose will do men utter speech? Who
is the god that directs the eyes and ears?"
The teacher answers: "It is the Ear of the ear, the Mind of the
mind, the Speech of speech, the Life of life and the Eye of the
eye. Having detached the Self from the sense—organs and
renounced the world, the Wise attain to Immortality."
God can't be perceived with the senses, God created the senses. God cannot be understood by the mind, God created the mind and thought. God is beyond all these things, beyond knowledge. Know that the self is different from the senses, and the mind, and you achieve liberation. You are not your body, or your mind. These things change, but you are still there.
The second part is mysterious and mystical. The teacher tells the disciple that if you think you know Brahman, you don't know Brahman.
This is followed by similar statements. Those who know Brahman don't know Brahman. Those who do not know Brahman know Brahman. Those who think they neither know nor do not know Brahman, know Brahman. There is a different between knowing Brahman intellectually, which may be impossible, and knowing that you are Brahman, and hence knowing yourself. How can you know yourself if you are not your knowledge? Knowing Brahman gives us an indirect way of knowing ourselves. It goes on to say that to know Brahman is to realize Brahman in every state of mind.
"Having realised the Self in every being, the wise relinquish the
world and become immortal."
The third part is a story about the gods finding Brahman. Brahman attains a victory for the gods, who think that the victory is theirs. They take the credit for what Brahman does. Through Brahman all things are done.
In response, Brahman appears to the gods, as an adorable spirit. Agni and Vayu, the gods of fire and air, try to find out who the spirit is. But the spirit puts before them a straw that cannot be burnt or blown away, proving that the spirit is more powerful than them.
In part four, Indra, the leader of the deities, approaches Uma, daughter of the Hymalayas, and asks her who the great spirit is. She says it's Brahman, who is the cause of their victory.
Because these three were the first to know Brahman, they excelled further than the other gods. Because Indra knew Brahman first, he becomes the leader of the Gods.
The teacher then tells the disciple that the mind "goes to Brahman", and that the seeker should commune with Brahman with his mind again and again. Brahman should be worshiped as the adorable to all. He who knows Brahman shakes of all sin and establishes himself in the infinite and highest Heaven.
Hinduism says that you can have it all, if you give everything to God.
In the first part, the disciple asks: "Om. By whose will directed does the mind
proceed to its object? At whose command does the prana, the
foremost, do its duty? At whose will do men utter speech? Who
is the god that directs the eyes and ears?"
The teacher answers: "It is the Ear of the ear, the Mind of the
mind, the Speech of speech, the Life of life and the Eye of the
eye. Having detached the Self from the sense—organs and
renounced the world, the Wise attain to Immortality."
God can't be perceived with the senses, God created the senses. God cannot be understood by the mind, God created the mind and thought. God is beyond all these things, beyond knowledge. Know that the self is different from the senses, and the mind, and you achieve liberation. You are not your body, or your mind. These things change, but you are still there.
The second part is mysterious and mystical. The teacher tells the disciple that if you think you know Brahman, you don't know Brahman.
This is followed by similar statements. Those who know Brahman don't know Brahman. Those who do not know Brahman know Brahman. Those who think they neither know nor do not know Brahman, know Brahman. There is a different between knowing Brahman intellectually, which may be impossible, and knowing that you are Brahman, and hence knowing yourself. How can you know yourself if you are not your knowledge? Knowing Brahman gives us an indirect way of knowing ourselves. It goes on to say that to know Brahman is to realize Brahman in every state of mind.
"Having realised the Self in every being, the wise relinquish the
world and become immortal."
The third part is a story about the gods finding Brahman. Brahman attains a victory for the gods, who think that the victory is theirs. They take the credit for what Brahman does. Through Brahman all things are done.
In response, Brahman appears to the gods, as an adorable spirit. Agni and Vayu, the gods of fire and air, try to find out who the spirit is. But the spirit puts before them a straw that cannot be burnt or blown away, proving that the spirit is more powerful than them.
In part four, Indra, the leader of the deities, approaches Uma, daughter of the Hymalayas, and asks her who the great spirit is. She says it's Brahman, who is the cause of their victory.
Because these three were the first to know Brahman, they excelled further than the other gods. Because Indra knew Brahman first, he becomes the leader of the Gods.
The teacher then tells the disciple that the mind "goes to Brahman", and that the seeker should commune with Brahman with his mind again and again. Brahman should be worshiped as the adorable to all. He who knows Brahman shakes of all sin and establishes himself in the infinite and highest Heaven.
Hinduism says that you can have it all, if you give everything to God.
