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The Upaniṣads are also called Vedānta. "Veda" means knowing, and "anta" means ending. Thus, Vedānta signifies the culmination of the Vedas, the ultimate conclusion of the knowledge contained within them. The philosophy of Vedānta derives its name and essence from the Upaniṣads, for it is the philosophy expounded in the Upaniṣads. The word "Upaniṣad" means to sit close to the Master. "Upa" means near or towards, and "ni" means down. It signifies sitting down with reverence. "Śiṣya" (disciple) comes from the root "śī," meaning the disciple sits down. This does not refer merely to physical sitting; the mind must also settle. A true spiritual gathering, or satsaṅga, is itself an Upaniṣad. When we come to satsaṅga, we should sit down physically, but we must also remain mentally calm and receptive. Śaṅkarācārya explained that Upaniṣad means that which destroys the darkness of ignorance with the help of the Vedic wisdom. Brahman is the highest reality, the Absolute. Brahman is the highest Self, devoid of any qualities; it is pure being. As it possesses neither masculine nor feminine qualities, it is grammatically assigned the neuter gender. "Vidyā" means knowledge, so the Upaniṣads are the science of Being. There are several Upaniṣads. Some say there are ten, or even thirteen, that were authorized by Śaṅkarācārya. The Kena Upaniṣad is among them. It is named after the first word of its first verse, which begins with "Kena," meaning "By whom?" The disciple asks the master: "By whom is the prāṇa (vital force) directed? By whom are the senses led to their objects? Who impels the faculty of speech?" The Master answers that this "who" is Brahman, the Absolute Self. He declares: "Brahman is the Eye of the eye, the Ear of the ear, and the Mind of the mind." This is what one should seek to know. The wise who realize this within themselves attain immortality. The Upaniṣad states: "That which is the power behind seeing, but which itself cannot be seen by the eye; which is the power behind hearing, but which itself cannot be heard; which is the power behind thinking, but which itself cannot be thought—that is truly Brahman. It is certainly not what people commonly worship." The Upaniṣad says people adore many gods, but all those deities are merely forms of the one God. I use the terminology of the Upaniṣad—Brahman—but we can also say the Cosmic Self, Śiva Consciousness, or use other definitions. The Upaniṣad declares that we cannot know this Brahman, this Being, through the senses. The senses are designed for the world of duality, not for that Knowing. This is also why the mind cannot grasp it. We can only realize it as a personal, inner experience. When we suddenly realize "I am that Brahman," we become Brahman again. There are many beautiful teachings in the Upaniṣads, including a story about the gods and demons who fought. This battle occurs perpetually. It is the fight between the devic (divine) and āsuric (demonic) śaktis (powers). Symbolically, this represents the internal conflict within us between positive and negative qualities, good and bad tendencies. The winner is whichever side we concentrate our energy upon. In this instance, the gods were victorious. They were very happy and celebrated their success, feeling proud of their skill and prowess. Brahman decided to teach them a lesson and took the form of a Yakṣa, a semi-divine being. This Yakṣa appeared in Devaloka, where the gods were celebrating. The gods were surprised and did not know how the Yakṣa could appear there or who he was. They sent Agni, the god of fire, to investigate. Agni approached the Yakṣa, who asked him, "Who are you?" Agni replied, "I am Agni, the god of fire. Everyone knows me. I am also called Jātavedas," meaning "the one who knows all births" or "who knows all the Vedas." The Yakṣa simply said, "Well," and gave Agni a dry blade of grass, instructing him to burn it. Agni tried with all his might but could not ignite it. He returned in failure. The gods then sent Vāyu, the god of wind. Vāyu arrived, and the Yakṣa asked, "Who are you?" Vāyu said, "I am Vāyu. Everyone knows me. I am the god of wind and space. I am also known by the name Mātariśvan." "Mātā" means mother or matter, and this name signifies "the one who penetrates through matter," representing prāṇa, as Vāyudeva also embodies the vital force. Again, the Yakṣa gave him a dry blade of grass and said, "Blow it away." Vāyu tried and tried, but could not move it. Suddenly, the Yakṣa disappeared. In his place appeared the shining goddess Umā. She explained to Indra, the king of gods, that the Yakṣa was a manifestation of Brahman, of pure Being. She revealed that this victory was not the victory of the gods, but the victory of Brahman, who is the true active agent. There are two primary lessons from this story. The first is that you cannot attain true knowledge without a guru. The gods were unable to discover the identity of the Yakṣa by themselves. In this story, the Yakṣa himself played the role of the guru, and Umā later provided the explanation. The second lesson is encapsulated in the mantra: "I am not the doer; only God is the doer." Mahāprabhujī (the Great Lord) is the one who acts, and we should become aware of this truth before any action. Yoga teachers confirm that when they remind themselves of this mantra, their lesson proceeds in a completely different manner compared to when they forget it. Finally, the Upaniṣad concludes that all the power of the mind is the power of Brahman. All the power in nature is the power of Brahman. We should meditate on this Brahman as that which is most dear to us.