ॐ श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः
Kena Upanishad says
यद्वाचाऽनभ्युदितं येन वागभ्युद्यते ।
तदेव ब्रह्म त्वं विद्धि नेदं यदिदमुपासते ॥ 1.5
"Brahman is that very (consciousness) which is not revealed by speech and by which (consciousness) speech is revealed," Thus you must understand. This (deity), which (people) meditate upon, is not (Brahman)
The second line of the above mantra, repeated in five mantras can be disturbing for a devotee. The Upaasya Devata which has been worshiped is not the real Devata.
Some thoughts on the above mantra:
In the Karma Kanda and the Upasana Kanda of the Vedas and in the Puranas, an all powerful, compassionate Ishwara is introduced to us as an object of worship and meditation, worshipping whom we can fulfil our goals in life. In addition, a way of life - the yagna way of life - a life in which we contribute is also given to us. Many probe very deeply into the descriptions of the Lord given in the Puranas, the form, how that form came about, which one is a superior form etc. etc. and get lost in the same.
Acharyas, when talking of the nature of Lord, ask us not to probe too deeply into the name, form in the initial stages of our sadhanas but to focus on the sadhanas. They teach that, for the purpose of worship and to explain creation etc, a God is introduced by the Veda. They are very clear that the worship, meditation prescribed are only for refining ourselves and preparing us to go to the next stage - the stage of enquiry and probing. They are also very clear that without such worship, service activities and upasanas we cannot be ready to go to the next step. The verses of Chapter 12 of the Gita teach this very clearly and these verses are given below the post - the five stages of Bhakti.
We have a very strong sense of ahankara and mamakara and our lives are governed strongly by our own likes and dislikes. In addition, thinking that security and happiness comes from the world, we cling on to the world, possessions and relationships. To gradually weaken this ahankara, mamakara, to reduce this emotional dependence on the world and shift to God dependence, the Puranas and the earlier portion of the Vedas introduce us to a yagna way of life and introduce a worshippable, meditateable God.
It may happen that one gets stuck to the form and get attached to a particlular form and not go further. It also is noticed that some devotees, are unable to logically accept rituals, or a Lord with a form, not understanding the temporary "Adhyaropa" aspect. They may get confused and drop sadhanas without understanding the purpose. So, it is important to note the above reason for the Veda to introduce a worshippable, meditateable Lord.
Once one is reasonably prepared, and one is ready for enquiry into the real nature of the Lord, the Veda itself says, "Come to the jnana kanda, the Upanishad".
The Lord Himself said in the Gita that karmas are required to grow internally and once you have grown internally, withdraw and come to the jnana kanda...
आरुरुक्षोर्मुनेर्योगं कर्म कारणमुच्यते ।
योगारूढस्य तस्यैव शमः कारणमुच्यते ॥
... and the Mundaka Upanishad says that having examined karmas and the fruits thereof, having refined oneself, one must enquire into the nature of the Truth under the guidance of an Acharya.
परीक्ष्य लोकान् कर्मचितान् ब्राह्मणो
निर्वेदमायान्नास्त्यकृतः कृतेन ।
तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत्
समित्पाणिः श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम् ॥
When you come to the Upanishad, the Veda says - "Until now, I presented Ishwara as a worshippable, meditateable Ishwara. It is only "Adhyaropa" - introduced for the sake of beginners. Now I teach about the real nature of Ishwara". The Upanishad teaches us how to arrive at Ishwara by claiming as "I am that" after negating everything that is an object. We are taken step by step - panchakosha-viveka, avastha-traya-viveka and arrive at the true nature of Ishwara - Sat-Chit-Ananda Atma. This is the true enquiry we have to come to, not a very deep enquiry into the form of the Devataa you have so far prayed to in the temple, to get whose darshan, you have travelled far and made many tirtha yatras.
This is a beautiful prayer of a devotee who has known and claimed Ishwara through the Upanishad.
रूपं रूपविवर्जिताय भवते ध्यानाय यत्कल्पितं
स्तुत्यानिर्वचनीयताखिलगुरो दूरीकृता यन्मया ।
व्यापित्वञ्च निराकृतं भगवतः यत्तीर्थयात्रादिना
क्षन्तव्यं जगदीश तद्विकलता दोषत्रयं मत्कृतम् ॥
O Lord, you are without any form and I gave you form for the sake of meditation and limited you with my kalpana. You who are beyond desciption, I chanted your glories thinking I was glorifying you; actually I was dismissing your अनिर्वचनीयता glory. I went on pilgrimages, not noting that you are all pervading and I limited you. Please forgive threefold mistakes of mine.
Of course, even after seeking apology, jnani does continue to worship God, but that is more as an expression of gratitude and to teach us.
आजीवितं त्रयं सेव्यं वेदन्तो गुरुरीश्वर: ।
आदौ ज्ञानाप्तये पश्चात् कृतघ्नत्वनिवृत्तये ॥
The second line of the Kena mantra does need deep thinking into and these are just some reflections on the same.
As mentioned above, the stages of our spiritual life - in Chapter 12 of the Gita - verses 5 to 11.
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् ॥
अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ॥ १२-५॥
ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्परः ।
अनन्येनैव योगेन मां ध्यायन्त उपासते ॥ १२-६॥
तेषामहं समुद्धर्ता मृत्युसंसारसागरात् ।
भवामि नचिरात्पार्थ मय्यावेशितचेतसाम् ॥ १२-७॥
मय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय ।
निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं न संशयः ॥ १२-८॥
अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम् ।
अभ्यासयोगेन ततो मामिच्छाप्तुं धनञ्जय ॥ १२-९॥
अभ्यासेऽप्यसमर्थोऽसि मत्कर्मपरमो भव ।
मदर्थमपि कर्माणि कुर्वन्सिद्धिमवाप्स्यसि ॥ १२-१०॥
अथैतदप्यशक्तोऽसि कर्तुं मद्योगमाश्रितः ।
सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं ततः कुरु यतात्मवान् ॥ १२-११॥
ॐ तत् सत्
