An Excellent Lesson from Kena Upanishad!

The fight between Devas and Danavas ( Rakshasa) was constantly going on vying for power and dominance in the three worlds! There was no clear victory for any party! Sometimes the Devas won, and next time the Danavas like a see-saw game! However, in one such battle, Devas won by the grace of the Supreme Brahman! Instead of showing gratitude to the Almighty, they assumed the victory was achieved only by their unwavering effort and power! They began thinking their strength is supreme. Their heart was filled with pride and false vanity. They forgot the actual power worked behind their victory!

The Supreme Lord (Brahman) could understand their pride and wished to teach them a lesson! He thought that to attain true bliss, the Devas should attain the knowledge of Brahman, who is the root cause of all Power! The Devas have been overcome by evil instinct. It is time to teach them a lesson. With this thought, Paramatma (Supreme Soul) manifested in the form of a  Yaksha and appeared before them. Being engrossed in their victory celebration, Devas saw him but could not recognise who he was! 

Indra asked Agnidev to inquire of the stranger about his identity. But, before Agnidev could ask anything, the Yaksha asked, ‘Who are you?’

‘I am Agni. I am also known as Jataveda,’ he proudly replied.

‘What can you do?’ Yaksha asked him further.

‘I can burn anything on this earth!’ boasted himself.

Hearing his boastful words, Yaksha placed a blade of grass in front of him and asked him to burn it. Agni tried to burn it, applied all his force, but failed miserably. Being embarrassed by the Yaksha, Agni went back with his downcast face. Next, Lord Indra asked the Vayu god to attend the stranger. He was asked the same question by the Yaksha.

‘Who are you?’  asked the Yaksha.

‘I am Vayu Dev,’ he replied.

‘What's your ability?’

‘I can blow anything and everything on this earth,’ he too replied proudly.

Beholding the confidence of his words, Yaksha put the blade of grass in front of him and asked him to blow it away.

Vayu felt insulted for doing such a mere work, but as he was asked for it, he tried to blow it away. But, to his surprise, despite of his full strength applied, he couldn't budge it to an inch! His ego was shattered and he came back crestfallen. He dared not to ask Yaksha who he was!

When both these, Agni and Vayu became unsuccessful, Indra himself wished to go there. But when he reached there, Yaksha disappeared. Instead of Yaksha, a beautiful woman was there. She was no one but Goddess Parvati. Indra asked her about the Yaksha. She said, ‘O Indra! The Yaksha was Paramatma, the Supreme Lord himself! With His grace only, you overpowered the Asuras! Revealing the truth to Indra, goddess Parvati disappeared.’

Being the first deva to attain the knowledge, Indra became the most powerful. He realised the Truth! Without the grace and wish of the Supreme Soul, nothing can be possible! No one can do anything! He is the active agent of everything to accomplish the work to be done!

The most important lesson of this story is- One should never be arrogant! And try to understand the means given in this Upanishad to grasp the all-doership of Supreme Being, Paramatma! When one realises Paramatma as the all-doer, he becomes free from desires, apakarma (evil deeds), and ignorance, and he obtains liberation! True understanding doesn't come from individual power or pride but from recognizing the ultimate reality of Brahman and acknowledging that everything in this Universe is guided by it only!