Kena · That through which · Elias Thorn
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Kena · That through which

Kena Upanishad I.1–8; II.1–5

I.1 By whom directed and sent does the mind go forth? Impelled by whom does breath first move? At whose will do people utter this speech? What deity directs the eye and ear?

I.2 That which is the hearing of hearing, the mind of mind, the speech of speech, the breath of breath and the eye of the eye: knowing this, the wise, freed and departed from this world, become immortal.

I.3 The eye does not reach it, nor speech, nor the mind. We do not know or understand how to teach it. It is other than the known and beyond the unknown. So we have heard from the earlier teachers who explained it to us.

I.4 That which speech does not express, but through which speech is expressed: know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship here.

I.5 That which is not thought by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is known: know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship here.

I.6 That which is not seen by the eye, but by which [he] sees the eyes: know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship here.

I.7 That which is not heard by the ear, but by which this ear is heard: know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship here.

I.8 That which does not breathe through breath, but through which breath moves: know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship here.

II.1 If you think, “I know it well,” you surely know only a small form of Brahman: what is in you and what is among the gods. Therefore you must still investigate it. “I think I have come to know.”

II.2 I do not think I know it well; yet I do not think I do not know it: I know. Whoever among us understands this knows it: not that he does not know, and yet he knows.

II.3 It is known to the one for whom it is not an object of thought; the one who considers it an object of thought does not know it. It is unknown to those who think they have known it, and known to those who do not think they have known it.

II.4 It is known when recognized in each act of awareness: thus immortality is attained. Through Atman one gains strength; through knowledge one gains immortality.

II.5 If one has known it here, then there is truth; if one has not known it here, the loss is great. Discerning it in every being, the wise, departing from this world, become immortal.

Reading notes

The question about what directs hearing, speech, and thought concerns the conditions of perception itself. The answers do not supply another object to observe: that through which one hears and thinks is not reduced to what is heard or thought.

The second part challenges the assurance “I know well.” This is not a rejection of all knowledge, but a distinction between knowing an object and the realization of Brahman described by the Upanishad.

English rendering of the Russian working translation, with the same passage boundaries and uncertainties. Manas means mind; prāṇa is breath or vital breath. Numbering follows the two sections. I.5–7 retain the paradoxical syntax: “by which the mind is known,” “by which [he] sees the eyes,” “by which this ear is heard.” A traditional interpretation instead describes thinking, seeing and hearing through Brahman. The supplied subject in I.6 is bracketed: the Sanskrit does not separately name it.

Open source ↗ (https://texts.wara.in/upanishads/mukhya/kena/)