The most interesting feature of this Upaniṣad lies in the fact that it gives a subtle psychological analysis which is so suggestive that anyone who follows it closely is sure to find himself at last led to the very gate of the Transcendent. Though short , its value is great; and Śaṅkara, it is believed, has written two Commentaries, namely, padabhāṣya and vākyabhāṣya.
The Upanṣad is divided into four Parts. The first two Parts are in the form of dialogue, and explain how one can arrive at the Ātman through the analysis of perception. They suggest that the Ātman or the Absolute Consciousness can be intuited by detaching it from the functions of the mind and the senses. It can be done only by the intuitive faculty of the Ātman itself, for the senses are utterly incapable of perceiving it. In the third Part, the principles of the two earlier Parts are described in an allegorical form. Here the devas stand for the senses. In the fourth Part, the Upaniṣad speaks of the subjective and objective ways of meditating on Brahman and of the results of such meditations.
Swami Suprajnananda, a monk of the Ramakrishna Order delivered weekly lecture in Tamil on Kenopanishad, every Thursday at the Math Auditorium. The lecture will begin at 5.30 pm. All are welcome.