Krishjan

Chapter 1 — First Section

Kena

8 Shloka • Translation Only

By whose will does the mind go forth toward its objects? Directed by whom does the vital force (Prāṇa), the foremost among the life energies, perform its functions? Impelled by whom do people utter this speech? What deity directs the eye and the ear?

That which is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of speech, the life of life (Prāṇa of Prāṇa), and the eye of the eye— knowing That, the wise (dhīrāḥ) transcend identification with the senses and the mind. Departing from this world, they attain immortality.

There the eye does not reach, nor speech, nor mind. We do not know It, nor do we understand how one might teach It. It is indeed different from the known, and also beyond the unknown. Thus have we heard from the ancient teachers, who explained this truth to us.

That which speech cannot reveal, but by which speech itself is revealed— know That alone to be Brahman, and not this which people here worship as an object.

That which the mind cannot think, but by which they say the mind itself is able to think— know That alone to be Brahman, and not this which people here worship as an object.

That which the eye cannot see, but by which the eyes themselves are able to see— know That alone to be Brahman, and not this which people here worship as an object.

That which the ear cannot hear, but by which the ear itself is able to hear— know That alone to be Brahman, and not this which people here worship as an object.

That which does not live by the vital force (Prāṇa), but by which the Prāṇa itself is impelled and sustained— know That alone to be Brahman, and not this which people here worship as an object.