Jewels From Upanishads: 2.1 Willed By Whom Do They Work? Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

Willed by whom the mind wings ahead?
Willed by whom is the first breath made?
Willed by whom are words uttered?
Eyes and ears by which god are bestirred?
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Transliteration of the first verse from Kena Upanishad (sandhi separated)is given as under:

aum kena iśhitam patati preśhitam manah
kena prāņah prathamah praiti yuktah |
kena iśhitām vācham imām vadanti
chakśhuh kśhotram kah u devah yunakti || Kena 1.01 ||

The answer to all these questions is: the in dwelling spirit, the soul. It does not do anything, but enables things that happen. The body can't breathe without its will, nor the mind can function, nor can the senses work.

aum: the symbol representing Brahman, the Absolute; kena iśhitam: empowered, willed, enabled by whom; patati: engages, goes (towards its own object): preśhitam: directed; manah: the mind; kena: by whom; prāņah prathamah: vital life force, the first
praiti: goes, walks (towards its own functions): yuktah: engaged with; kena iśhitām:empowered by whom; vācham imām: theses speeches; vadanti: speak, utter;
chakśhuh: the eyes; shrotram: (and)the ears; kah u devah: which god indeed, what power indeed; yunakti: engages.

Topic: soul, mind, senses