Katha Upanishad

 

[Ideal teacher - Death; ideal student - teenage boy]

 

 

Chapter 1

§1

In a fit of anger, Vajrasavasa gave his son Nachiketa to death.  Nachiketa had to wait in death’s house for three days; when Death returned he granted Nachiketa three requests.  Nachiketa asked that his father would cease from his anger; secondly he asked to be taught the ceremony of the sacred fire altar.  Both these were granted.  Death even seeks to tempt Nachiketa by saying that knowledge of this sacred ceremony guarantees entry to heaven.  But when he asked the truth about what happened after death, Death offered him all sorts of worldly delights instead.  Nachiketa rejected them all because they were short-lived pleasures.

 

§2

[The real teaching now begins.]

Death praises Nachiketa for rejecting short-lived pleasures, thus showing wisdom and also proving himself worthy of instruction.  Only those who are aware of what is beneficial (sreyas) can escape the cycle of rebirth.  Awareness of the primeval one [i.e. Brahman] “hidden in the cave of the heart” is achieved through meditation.

 

Death teaches Nachiketa the word OM which represents Brahman.  Then he explains that the Self is eternal and immutable.  It is in the heart of every creature.  It cannot be known through study, or to the person whose life is unrighteous or whose mind is uncontrolled.

 

§3

Metaphor of chariot:

The body is the chariot; the Self is lord of the chariot; the discriminating intellect is the charioteer; the senses are the horses; the mind is the reins.  By making the mind one-pointed [through meditation] it is possible to control the senses.  In this way the intellect can still the mind and purify the heart, and thus achieve the goal of immortality and is no longer reborn.

 

All things derive ultimately from Brahman: the senses derive from sense objects; sense objects derive from mind; mind from intellect; intellect from ego; ego from undifferentiated consciousness; consciousness from Brahman.  Brahman is within everyone, but is revealed only through meditation.

 

 

Chapter 2

§1

The senses look outward, which is why we don’t see the Self within our heart.  But it is in fact the Self which operates the senses and is the real recipient of all of life’s experiences.  The Self is supreme.

 

§2

The Self rules the body.  Those who meditate on the Self are freed from the cycle of rebirth.  The Self is one with all creation.  It takes on the shape of whatever body it enters.  Those who see the Self in their own hearts attain great joy and peace.

 

§3

All things come from Brahman.  Those who do not realise Brahman in this life are reborn.  Brahman cannot be seen, but reveals himself in the heart when the senses, mind and intellect are stilled through meditation.  This is yoga.

 

 

Notes

1. Allegory was a favourite Sanskrit method.

2. Katha was the name of a sage.

3. This is one of the earliest Upanishads.

4. The Katha Upanishad stresses that in human experience it is only the Self that is the enjoyer, so that when one realises the Self, all mortal bonds are loosed.  Death does not happen to the Self.