By Whom Impelled Moves the World?

From Kenopanishad

The evening prayers were just over. Now it was the question hour. The Rishi (Guru) was sitting calm
like a flicker less lamp. The young students came out with their questions. One of the students asked
the Rishi:

“Who makes my mind think?
Who fills my body with vitality?
Who causes my tongue to speak?
Who is that Invisible one who sees through my eyes and hears through my ears?”

Indeed, this was pretty formidable array of questions.
The Rishi then looks at his disciples with all love and says calmly:
“Dear boys, the power that inspires all these, is One and is Indivisible. It is behind and beyond all that
functions visibly. It is the ear of the ear, the eye of the eye, the mind of the mind, the word of the
words and the life of life. Him our eyes cannot see, nor words express; He cannot be grasped even by
the mind. We cannot know, we cannot understand, because He is different from the known and He is
different from the unknown. It is that which makes our tongue speak but cannot be spoken by the
tongue; that which makes the mind think but cannot be thought by the mind; that which makes the
eyes see but cannot be seen by the eyes; that which makes the ears hear but cannot be heard by the
ears; that which makes us draw breath but cannot be drawn by our breath. This power is indeed the
Self and this Self is not someone other than you. He who knows and realizes this truth enjoys
immortality.”

After a pause the Rishi continued saying, “If you think that you know the Self then you really know
not, because all you can see is his external form. Continue therefore meditating on this Self.”

“I do not think I know the Self nor can I say I know him not”, thus the student submitted himself
seeking a positive solution to his problem.

“Not he who says ‘I know’ knows It. He knows little. But the sincere seeker who begins by saying ‘I
know not’ knows the truth in course of time. It gradually illumines his mind. Once fully realized the
spirit is ever present to him through all the states of consciousness. His soul grows from strength to
strength and by the power of his realization of the immaculate presence he becomes immortal”.
Thus the Rishi replied to his seeking disciples, but when he looked at their faces he could see
that some of them have not grasped the full significance of all that he spoke to them just now.
So he narrated a parable to illustrate the essence of his teaching.

“Once upon a time the gods defeated the demons in a certain battle. Though the victory was
brought about by the power of Brahman, the gods boasted saying, ‘ours is the victory, and
ours the power and glory’. The Brahman saw their foolish pride and appeared before them.
But the gods, blinded as they were by egoism and empty vanity could not recognize Him. They
simply saw a wonderful being present before them. They became serious and wanted to know
who that being was. They requested Agni, the god of fire to investigate the matter.

Thus requested by the gods, the god of fire presented himself before that being and then the
mysterious being asked him, “Who are you?” “I am the god of fire” said Agni. “What power do you
have?” asked the being again. “I can burn all on earth”, said Agni. “Good, burn this”. Thus saying, the
being placed a straw in front. The god of fire tried with all his might but failed. He ran back to the
gods and confessed that he had failed.

Then the gods requested Vayu, the wind god, to approach the being and find out who it was. He went with
all confidence but could not prove his might before the being.

The gods begged Indra, the powerful among the gods, to find out who this mysterious being
was. But when Indra approached the being it disappeared instantly and in his place he saw
the lovely goddess Uma, daughter of the Himalayas, the golden goddess. He asked her, “Who
was that being?”

Now the golden goddess replied: “That was Brahman, from whom comes your power and glory. It
was he who won the victory for you all, the victory over the demons.” Indra went to the other gods
and told them the truth.

Then the gods realized their folly.”

Thus having narrated the story of the glory of Brahman, the Rishi summarized his teachings to the
young students, “The light of the Brahman flashes in lightning, and in our eyes. It is the power of
Brahman that makes the mind to think, desire and will. This is the knowledge of the transcendental
and immanent reality. Truth is the very body and abode of Brahman. All knowledge is its limbs.
Meditation, control of the senses and passions, and selfless service of all are its support. Those who
realize the Brahman shall conquer all evil and attain the supreme state.”

The disciples were immensely pleased with the way of their Guru’s teachings and with joy they
dispersed to their respective resting places to reflect upon what they had learnt.