Brahman- The Supreme Truth

 Yan manasaa na manute yenaahur mano matam

tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedam yad idam upasate

"That which cannot be thought of by the mind' - yan manasaa na manute. The mind cannot think of it but because of it, the mind acquires the capacity to think.

Tad eva Brahma tvam viddhi - "That alone is the "Truth,' the Brahman.' Nedam yad idam upaasate - 'nothing that you worship here, nothing that you adore here'. When we say,' I adore something' or ' I worship something,' three things are involved - the worshipper, the worshipped and the act of worship. If anyone looking for the 'Supreme, Unconditioned Self,' the Brahman, then these three separate entities are not required.

Now, please understand that the Upanishad is not saying,'Don't worship,'! Worship is indeed required with a different level of understanding. Even Shankaracharya, after having written commentaries on the Upanishads, established temples because they were necessary for another level of understanding. Everyone cannot start swimming in the ocean right away, but have to be led to that stage gradually, in steps. But when one begin to seriously understand the 'Supreme Truth', these intermediate steps are not important. This is very significant. So it is said, "That which the mind cannot understand, grasp or express, but because of which the mind exists, "That' alone is the "Truth', please understand, nothing that you adore here!'

yat praanena na praaniti yena praanah praniyate

tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedam yad idam upaasate.

'That which is not breathed by life, but, by which life breathes.' It is the origin of all life. "That  alone is the Supreme Brahman, know this, nothing that you adore or worship here!'

Reference - Kenopanishad by Sri M.

What is Bhakti ?

 In Bhakti there is not only singing of Kirtans, bhajans and other act of devotion, as most people think it to be. Bhakti is essentially an attitude by which a person begins to understand the limitations of the movement of the intellect. When the intellect begins to understand how limited its reach is, then it cuts itself out. It becomes absolutely silent. When fancy can no more unfurl its wings, when it settles down, then what remains is the experience of the Supreme Self. That means, the little "I" has to go. Someone once said that the shortest cut is to cut the ego into two! That is easier said than done!

It has explained how anything that you know, in the ordinary sense, is merely knowledge that is stored in the memory, and therefore, not a thing which is in the present. You recall it, then you say, " I have the knowledge of it." But the Supreme Being, if one has to know at all, is always present now, at this moment! It is nothing that can be stored in the memory. Therefore, it cannot be known in the usual mode, like when we say, "I know something, I have understood something." This understanding is a permanent affair. Once understood, always understood!

Source: Kenopanishad