Upanishads · Kena 1.7
॥
Devanāgarī
यच् चक्षुषा न पश्यति येन चक्षूंषि पश्यति ।
तद् एव ब्रह्म त्वं विद्धि नेदं यद् इदम् उपासते ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
yac cakṣuṣā na paśyati yena cakṣūṃṣi paśyati |
tad eva brahma tvaṃ viddhi nedaṃ yad idam upāsate ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्yatwhat; that which
चक्षुषाcakṣuṣāby the eye; by sight
नnanot; no
पश्यतिpaśyatisees; beholds
येनyenaby which; thanks to which
चक्षूंषिcakṣūṃṣithe eyes (plural); all eyes; the sight of all beings
पश्यतिpaśyatisees; looks
तत्tatthat; precisely this
एवevaindeed; truly
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; the Absolute
त्वम्tvamyou; you yourself
विद्धिviddhiknow; understand
नnanot; no
इदम्idamthis; this here
यत्yatwhich; that which
इदम्idamthis; here
उपासतेupāsatethey worship; they contemplate
Translation
That which the eye does not see, but by which the eyes themselves see — know that alone to be Brahman, and not what men here worship.
Version
6a8e57cdcd92 · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:28:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third step — sight. The eye cannot see Him by whom it sees, as a point cannot prick itself. cakṣūṁṣi paśyati — "by whom the eyes see", in the plural: all the eyes of all beings look with one borrowed sight, and its Giver is one.
That sight is a gift and not a possession is clear from a simple fact: in deep sleep the eye is whole but does not see; in a dead body the whole apparatus of vision is preserved to the last cell — and is blind. It is not the organ that sees; the soul sees through the organ, and to the soul itself the power of awareness is given by Him who is "the eye of the eye". Every glance with which we take in the world is a mercy continuously supplied.
Hence also the right way to seeing Him: not to strengthen the eye, but to ask the Lord of sight to reveal Himself. The Īśa Upaniṣad (mantras 15–16) utters this prayer: "remove the covering, that I may see". Invisible as an object, He is visible as the One who discloses Himself — to whomever He chooses to show Himself; and the whole third khaṇḍa of the Kena will be the story of how He showed Himself — and was not recognised.