Jewels From Upanishads: 2.6 If Ye Feel Ye Know Brahman… Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

If ye believe to know Brahman well,
Too li'le indeed ye know of the spell
That of Him there's in thee,
As also in deity,
So, thine faith that ye know Him so well,
Debatable, must be dwelt on deeply.
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The transliteration of the verse is given as under:

yadi manyase su-veda iti daharam eva api
nūnam tvam vettha brahmaņah rūpam |
yat asya tvam yat asya deveśhu atha nu
mīmānsyam eva te manye viditam ||Kena 2.01 |

The second canto adopts the well-known Upanishadic method known as neti, neti (not this, not this)to explain what Brahman is— by telling what it is not.

yadi manyase: if (you)think; su-veda iti: (that you)know (Brahman)well, completely; daharam eva api: very little indeed, it is childish indeed (Some texts use dabhram= to some extent only; nūnam tvam vettha: in reality/truth you know; brahmaņah rūpam: the form/aspect (of) /expression of Brahman; yat asya tvam: whatso of its (form be)in you; yat asya deveśhu: (and)whatso of its (form be)in gods; (tat alpam eva) : (that is minuscule only- in both of them): atha nu: then, in that case, therefore; mīmāmsyam eva: (it is)debatable, need more deliberation; te manye: (if)you think; viditam: (Brahman is)known.

The guru here warns his disciple. From whatever we taught you about Brahman if you feel you know Him well, then you are mistaken. Very little indeed you know. It is childish to feel you know. It's debatable and you need to contemplate more. The disciple replies in the next verse.

Topic: soul