{"id":653,"date":"2013-07-13T01:29:30","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=653"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:29:30","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:29:30","slug":"19-katha-upanishad-vol-12-the-upanishad-volume-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/12-the-upanishad-volume-12\/19-katha-upanishad-vol-12-the-upanishad-volume-12","title":{"rendered":"-19_Katha Upanishad.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n


\nKATHA UPANISHAD
\n <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n


\nFIRST <\/span>CYCLE
\n<\/span>: FIRST <\/span>CHAPTER
\n<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

1. Vajashravasa, desiring, gave all
\nhe had. Now Vajashravasa had a son named Nachiketas. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. As the gifts were led past, faith
\ntook possession of him who was yet a boy unwed and he pondered: <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. "Cattle that have drunk their
\nwater, eaten their grass, yielded their milk, worn out their organs, of
\nundelight are the worlds which he reaches who gives such as these." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. He said to his father, "Me, O my
\nfather, to whom wilt thou give ?" A second time and a third he said it, and he
\nreplied, "To Death I give thee." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

5. "Among many I walk the first,
\namong many I walk the mid-most ; something Death means to do which today by me
\nhe will accomplish. <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 237<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. "Look back and see, even as were
\nthe men of old, \u2014 look round! \u2014 even so are they that have come after. Mortal
\nman withers like the fruits of the field and like the fruits of the field he is
\nborn again." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

His attendants say to Yama:<\/i> <\/p>\n

7. "Fire is the Brahmin who enters as
\na guest the houses of men; him thus they appease. Bring, 0 son of Vivasvan,\u00b9 the
\nwater of the guest-rite. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. "That man of little understanding
\nin whose house a Brahmin dwells fasting, all his hope and his expectation and
\nall he has gained and the good and truth that he has spoken and the wells he has
\ndug and the sacrifices he has offered and all his sons and his cattle are torn
\nfrom him by that guest unhonoured." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

9. "Because for three nights thou
\nhast dwelt in my house, 0 Brahmin, a guest worthy of reverence, \u2014 salutation to
\nthee, 0 Brahmin, on me let there be the weal, \u2014 therefore three boons do thou
\nchoose, for each night a boon." <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\u00b9Yama, lord of death, is also the master of the
\nLaw in the world, and he is therefore the child of the Sun, luminous Master of
\nTruth from which the Law is born. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 238<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Nachiketas speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

10. "Tranquillised in his thought and
\nserene of mind be the Gautama, my father, let his passion over me pass away from
\nhim; assured in heart let him greet me from thy grasp delivered; this boon I
\nchoose, the first of three." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

11. "Even as before assured in
\nheart and by me released, shall he be, Auddalaki Aruni, thy father; sweetly
\nshall he sleep through the nights and his passion shall pass away from him,
\nhaving seen thee from death’s jaws delivered."  <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Nachiketas speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

12. "In heaven fear is not at all, in
\nheaven, 0 Death, thou art not, nor old age and its terrors; crossing over hunger
\nand thirst as over two rivers, leaving sorrow behind the soul in heaven
\nrejoices. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

13. "Therefore that heavenly Flame\u00b9
\nwhich thou, 0 Death, studiest, expound unto me, for I believe. They who win
\ntheir world of heaven, have immortality for their portion. This for the second
\nboon I have chosen."  <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\u00b9The celestial force concealed subconsciently in
\nman’s mortality by the kindling of which and its right ordering man transcends
\nhis earthly nature; not the physical flame of the external sacrifice to which
\nthese profound phrases are inapplicable. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 239<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

14. "Hearken to me and understand, 0
\nNachiketas; I declare to thee that heavenly Flame, for I know it. Know this to
\nbe the possession of infinite existence and the foundation and the thing hidden
\nin the secret cave of our being." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

15. <\/b>Of the Flame that is the
\nworld’s beginning\u00b9 he told him and what are the bricks to him and how many and
\nthe way of their setting; and Nachiketas too repeated it even as it was told;
\nthen Death was pleased and said to him yet farther; <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

16. Yea, the Great Soul was gratified
\nand said to him, "Yet a farther boon today I give thee; for even by thy name
\nshall this Fire be called; this necklace also take unto thee, a necklace\u00b2 of
\nmany figures.  <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

17. "Whoso lights the three fires\u00b3<\/span>
\nof Nachiketas and comes to union with the Three4<\/span><\/sup>
\nand does the triple works,5<\/span><\/sup>
\nbeyond <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00b9The
\nDivine Force, concealed in the subconscient, is that which has originated and
\nbuilt up the worlds. At the other end in the superconscient it reveals itself as
\nthe Divine Being, Lord and Knower who has manifested Himself out of the Brahman.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b2The
\nnecklace of many figures is Prakriti, creative Nature which comes under the
\ncontrol of the soul that has attained to the divine existence. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u00b3Probably, ,the divine force utilised to raise to
\ndivinity the triple being of man. <\/span><\/p>\n


\n4<\/span><\/sup>
\nPossibly, the three Purushas, soul-states or Personalities of the divine Being,
\nindicated by the three letters A U M. The highest Brahman is beyond the three
\nletters of the mystic syllable. <\/span><\/p>\n


\n5<\/span><\/sup>
\nThe sacrifice of the lower existence to the divine, consummated on the three
\nplanes of man\u2019s physical, vital and mental consciousness.<\/span> \n<\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 240<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

birth and death he crosses; for he finds the God of our
\nadoration, the Knower\u00b9 who is born from the Brahman, whom having beheld he
\nattains to surpassing peace. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

18. "When a man has the three flames
\nof Nachiketas and knows this that is Triple, when so knowing he beholds the
\nFlame of Nachiketas, then he thrusts from in front of him the meshes of the
\nsnare of death; leaving sorrow behind him he in heaven rejoices. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

19. "This is the heavenly Flame, 0
\nNachiketas, which thou hast chosen for the second boon; of this Flame the
\npeoples shall speak that it is thine indeed. A third boon choose, 0 Nachiketas."\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Nachiketas speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

20. "This debate that there is over
\nthe man who has passed and some say ‘This he is not’ and some that ‘he is’,
\nthat, taught by thee, I would know; this is the third boon of the boons of my
\nchoosing." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

21. "Even by the gods was this
\ndebated of old; for it is not  man’s physical, vital and mental consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00b9The
\nPurusha or Divine Being, Knower of the Field, who dwells within all and for
\nwhose pleasure Prakriti fulfils the cosmic play. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 241<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

easy of knowledge, since very subtle is the law of it.
\nAnother boon choose, 0 Nachiketas; importune me not, nor urge me; this, this
\nabandon."  <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Nachiketas speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

22. "Even by the gods was this
\ndebated, it is sure, and thou thyself hast said that it is not easy of
\nknowledge; never shall I find another like thee\u00b9<\/span>
\nto tell of it, nor is there any other boon that is equal." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

23. "Choose sons and grandsons who
\nshall live each a hundred years, choose much cattle and elephants and gold and
\nhorses; choose a mighty reach of earth and thyself live for as many years as
\nthou listest. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

24. "This boon if thou deemest equal
\nto that of thy asking, choose wealth and long living; possess thou; 0
\nNachiketas, a mighty country; I give thee thy desire of all desirable things for
\nthy portion. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

25. "Yea, all desires that are hard
\nto win in the world of mortals, all demand at thy pleasure; lo, these delectable
\nwomen with <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\u00b9Yama is the knower and keeper of the cosmic Law
\nthrough which the soul has to rise by death and life to the freedom of
\nImmortality. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 242<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

their chariots and their bugles, whose like are not to be
\nwon by men, these I will give thee, live with them for thy hand-maidens. But of
\ndeath question not, O Nachiketas." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Nachiketas speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

26. "Until the morrow mortal man has
\nthese things, O Ender, and they wear away all this keenness and glory of his
\nsenses; nay, all life is even for a little. Thine are these chariots and thine
\nthe dancing of these women and their singing. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

27. "Man is not to be satisfied by
\nriches, and riches we shall have if we have beheld thee and shall live as long
\nas thou shall be lord of us. \u00b9This boon and no other is for my choosing. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

28. "Who that is a mortal man and
\ngrows old and dwells down upon the unhappy earth, when he has come into the
\npresence
\nof the ageless Immortals and knows, yea, who when he looks very close at beauty
\nand enjoyment and pleasure, can take delight in overlong living? <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

29. "This of which they thus debate,
\nO Death, declare to me, even that which is in the great passage; than this boon
\nwhich enters in into the secret that is hidden from us, no other chooses
\nNachiketas." <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00b9Life being a figure of
\ndeath and Death of life, the only true existence is the infinite, divine and
\nimmortal. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 243<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

\nFIRST <\/span>CYCLE
\n<\/span>: SECOND <\/span>C<\/b><\/font>HAPTER 
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

1. "One thing is the good and quite
\nanother thing is the pleasant, and both seize upon a man with different
\nmeanings. Of these whoso takes the good, it is well with him; he falls from the
\naim of life who chooses the pleasant. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. "The good and the pleasant come to
\na man and the thoughtful mind turns all around them and distinguishes. The wise
\nchooses out the good from the pleasant, but the dull soul chooses the pleasant
\nrather than the getting of his good and its having. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. "And thou, 0 Nachiketas, hast
\nlooked close at the objects of desire, at pleasant things and beautiful, and
\nthou hast cast them from thee: thou hast not entered into the net of riches in
\nwhich many men sink to perdition. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. "For far apart are these,
\nopposite, divergent, the one that is known as the Ignorance and the other the
\nKnowledge. But Nachiketas I deem truly desirous of the knowledge whom so many
\ndesirable things could not make to lust after them. <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 244<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

5.<\/i> "They who dwell in the
\nignorance, within it, wise in their own wit and deeming themselves very learned,
\nmen bewildered are they who wander about stumbling round and round helplessly
\nlike blind men led by the blind. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. "The childish wit bewildered and
\ndrunken with the illusion of riches cannot open its eyes to see the passage to
\nheaven: for
\nhe that thinks this world is and there is no other, comes again and again into
\nDeath’s thraldom. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7. "He that is not easy to be heard
\nof by many, and even of those that have heard, they are many who have not known
\nHim, \u2014 a miracle is the man that can speak of Him wisely or is skilful to win
\nHim, and when one is found, a miracle is the listener who can know Him even when
\ntaught of Him by the knower. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. "An inferior man cannot tell you
\nof Him; for thus told thou canst not truly know Him, since He is thought of in
\nmany aspects. Yet unless told of Him by another thou canst not find thy way to
\nHim; for He is subtler than subtlety and that which logic cannot reach. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

9.<\/i> "This wisdom is not to be
\nhad by reasoning, O beloved  <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 245<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

Nachiketas; only when told thee by another it brings real
\nknowledge, \u2014 the wisdom which thou hast gotten. Truly thou art steadfast in the
\nTruth! Even such a questioner as thou art may I meet with always." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Nachiketas speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

10. "I know of treasure that it is
\nnot for ever; for not by things unstable shall one attain That One which is
\nstable; therefore I heaped the fire of Nachiketas, and by the sacrifice of
\nmomentary things I won the Eternal." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

11. "When thou hast seen in thy
\ngrasp, 0 Nachiketas, the possession of desire and the firm foundation of this
\nworld and an infinity of power and the other shore of security and great praise
\nand wide-moving foundation,1 wise and strong in steadfastness thou didst cast
\nthese things from thee. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

12. "Realising the God by attainment
\nto Him through spiritual Yoga, even the Ancient of Days who hath entered deep
\ninto that which is hidden and is hard to see, for he is established in our
\nsecret being and lodged in the cavern heart of things, the wise and steadfast
\nman casts away from him joy and sorrow. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

1 Or,
\nand great fame chanted through widest regions, <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 246<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

13. "When a mortal man has heard,
\nwhen he has grasped, when he has forcefully separated the Righteous One from his
\nbody and won that subtle Being, then he has delight, for he has got that which
\none can indeed delight in. Verily, I deem of Nachiketas as a house wide open."\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Nachiketas speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

14. "Tell me of That which thou seest
\notherwhere than in virtue and otherwhere than in unrighteousness, otherwhere
\nthan in this created and this uncreated, otherwhere than in that which has been
\nand that which shall be." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

15. "The seat or goal that all the
\nVedas glorify and which austerities declare, for the desire of which men
\npractise holy living, of That will I tell thee in brief compass. OM is that
\ngoal, O Nachiketas. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

16. "For this Syllable is Brahman,
\nthis Syllable is the Most High: this Syllable if one knows, whatsoever one shall
\ndesire, it is his. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

17. "This support is the best, this
\nsupport is the highest, knowing this support one grows great in the world of the
\nBrahman. <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 247<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

18. "The Wise One is not born,
\nneither does he die: he came not from anywhere, neither is he any one: he is
\nunborn, he is everlasting, he is ancient and sempiternal: he is not slain in
\nthe-slaying of the body. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

19. "If the slayer think that he
\nslays, if the slain think that he is slain, both of these have not the
\nknowledge. This slays not, neither is He slain. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

20. ‘ "Finer than the fine, huger
\nthan the huge the self hides in the secret heart of the creature: when a man
\nstrips himself of will and is weaned from sorrow, then he beholds Him; purified
\nfrom the mental elements he sees the greatness of the Self-being. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

21. "Seated He journeys far off,
\nlying down he goes everywhere. Who other than I is fit to know God, even Him who
\nis rapture and the transcendence of rapture? <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

22. "Realising the Bodiless in
\nbodies, the Established in things unsettled, the Great and Omnipresent Self, the
\nwise and steadfast soul grieves no longer.  \n\t\t<\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 248<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

23. "The Self is not to be won by
\neloquent teaching, nor by brain power, nor by much learning: but only he whom
\nthis Being chooses can win Him; for to him this Self bares His body. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

24. "None who has not ceased from
\ndoing evil, or who is not calm, or not concentrated in his being, or whose mind
\nhas not been tranquillised, can by wisdom attain to Him. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

25. <\/b>"He to whom the sages are
\nas meat and heroes as food for his eating and Death is an ingredient of His
\nbanquet, how thus-shall one know of Him where He abides?" <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 249<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

\nFIRST <\/span>CYCLE
\n<\/span>: THIRD <\/span>C<\/font>HAPTER
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

1. "There are two that drink deep of
\nthe truth in the world of work well accomplished: they are lodged in the secret
\nplane of being, in the highest kingdom of the most High: as of light and shade
\nthe knowers of Brahman speak of them, and those of the five fires and those who
\nkindle thrice the fire of Nachiketas. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. "May we have strength to kindle
\nthe Agni of Nachiketas for he is the bridge of those who do sacrifice and he is
\nBrahman Supreme and imperishable, and the far shore of security to those who
\nwould cross this Ocean.  <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. "Know the body for a chariot and
\nthe soul for the master of the chariot: know Reason for the charioteer and the
\nmind for the reins only. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. "The senses they speak of as the
\nsteeds and the objects of sense as the paths in which they move; and One yoked
\nwith self and the mind and the senses, as the enjoyer, say the thinkers.  \n\t\t<\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 250<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

5. "Now he that is without knowledge
\nwith his mind ever unapplied, his senses are to him as wild horses and will not
\nobey their driver of the chariot. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. "But he that has knowledge with
\nhis mind ever applied, his senses are to him as noble steeds and they obey the
\ndriver.  <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7. "Yea, he that is without knowledge
\nand is unmindful and is ever unclean, reaches not that goal, but wanders in the
\ncycle of phenomena. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. "But he that has knowledge and is
\nmindful, pure always, reaches that goal whence he is not born again. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

9. "That man who uses the mind for
\nreins and the knowledge for the driver, reaches the end of his road, the highest
\nseat of Vishnu. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

10. "Than the senses the objects of
\nsense are higher: and higher than the objects of sense is the Mind: and higher
\nthan the <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 251<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

Mind is the faculty of knowledge: and
\nthan that the Great-Self is higher. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

11. "And higher than the Great-Self
\nis the Unmanifest and higher than the Unmanifest is the Purusha: than the
\nPurusha there is none higher: He is the culmination. He is the highest goal of
\nthe journey. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

12. <\/b>"He is the secret Self in
\nall existences and does not manifest Himself to the vision: yet is He seen by
\nthe seers of the subtle by a subtle and perfect understanding.  <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

13. "Let the wise man restrain speech
\nin his mind and mind in Self, and knowledge in the Great-Self, and that again
\nlet him restrain in the Self that is at peace. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

14. "Arise, awake, find out the great
\nones and learn of them:  for sharp as a razor’s edge, hard to traverse,
\ndifficult of going is that path, say the sages. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

15. "That in which sound is not, nor
\ntouch, nor shape, nor diminution, nor taste nor smell, that which is eternal,
\nand It is without end or beginning, higher than the Great-Self, the <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 252<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

stable; that having seen, from the mouth of death there
\nis deliverance." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

16. The man of intelligence having
\nspoken or heard the eternal story of Nachiketas wherein Death was the speaker,
\ngrows great in the world of the Brahman. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

17. <\/b>He who being pure recites
\nthis supreme secret at the time of the Shraddha in the assembly of the Brahmins,
\nthat turns for
\nhim to infinite existence. <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 253<\/span><\/p>\n

\n


\n\tSECOND <\/span>CYCLE 
\n\t<\/span>: FIRST <\/span>C<\/font>HAPTER<\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n


\n\t
\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

1. "The self-born has set the doors
\nof the body to face outwards, therefore the soul of a man gazes outward and not
\nat the Self within: hardly a wise man here and there, desiring immortality,
\nturns his eyes inward and sees the Self within him. <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. "The rest childishly follow after
\ndesire and pleasure and walk into the snare of Death that gapes wide for them.
\nBut calm souls, having learned of immortality, seek not for permanence in the
\nthings of this world that pass and are not.  <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. "By the Self one knows form and
\ntaste and smell, by the Self one knows sound and touch and the joy of man with
\nwoman: what is there left in this world of which the Self not knows?
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. "The calm soul having comprehended
\nthe great Lord, the omnipresent Self by whom one beholds both to the end of
\ndream and to the end of waking, ceases from grieving. <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 254<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

5. "He that has known from the very
\nclose this Eater of sweetness, the Jiva, the self within that is lord of what
\nwas and what shall be, shrinks not thereafter from aught nor abhors any.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. "He is the seer that sees Him who
\ncame into being before austerity and was before the waters: peep in the heart of
\nthe creature he sees Him, for there He stands by the mingling of the elements.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7. "This is Aditi, the mother of the
\nGods, who was born through the Prana and by the mingling of the elements had her
\nbeing: deep in the heart of things she has entered, there she is seated.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. "As a woman carries with care the
\nunborn child in her womb, so is the Master of Knowledge lodged in the tinders: 
\nand day by day should men worship him, who live the waking life and stand before
\nhim with sacrifices; for he is that Agni.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 255<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

9.<\/i> "He from whom the sun
\narises and to whom the sun returns, and in Him are all the Gods established;
\nnone passes beyond Him.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

10. "What is in this world, is also
\nin the other: and what is in the other, that again is in this: who thinks he
\nsees difference here, from death to death he goes. <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

11. "Through the mind must we
\nunderstand that there is nothing in this world that really varies: who thinks he
\nsees difference here, from death to death he goes. <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

12. "The Purusha who is seated in the
\nmidst of our self is no larger than the finger of a man; <\/b>He is the Lord
\nof what was and what shall be. Him having seen one shrinks not from aught, nor
\nabhors any.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

13. "The Purusha that is within us is
\nno larger than the finger of a man: He is like a blazing fire that is without
\nsmoke, He is lord of His past and His future. He alone, is today and He alone
\nshall be tomorrow.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 256<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

14. "As water that rains in the rough
\nand difficult places, runs to many sides on the mountain tops, so he that sees
\nseparate law and action of the <\/b>One Spirit, follows in the track of what
\nhe sees. <\/p>\n


\n <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

15. "But as pure water that is poured
\ninto pure water, even as it was such it remains, so is it with the soul of the
\nthinker who knows God, O seed of Gautama." <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 257<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

\nSECOND <\/span>
\nCYCLE <\/span>: SECOND
\n<\/span>C<\/font>HAPTER
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama speaks:<\/i><\/p>\n

1.<\/i> "The unborn who is not
\ndevious-minded has a city with eleven gates: when he takes up his abode in it,
\nhe grieves not, but when he is set free from it, that is his deliverance.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. "Lo, the Swan whose dwelling is in
\nthe purity, <\/b>He is the Vasu in the inter-regions, the Sacrificer at the
\naltar, the Guest in the vessel of the drinking: He is in man and in the Great
\nOnes and His home is in the law, and His dwelling is in the firmament: He is all
\nthat is born of water and all that is born of earth and all that is born on the
\nmountains. <\/b>He is the Truth and He is the Mighty One. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. "This is <\/b>He that draws the
\nmain breath upward and casts the lower breath downward. The Dwarf that sits in
\nthe centre, to Him all the Gods do homage. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. "When this encased Spirit that is
\nin the body, falls away from it, when <\/b>He is freed from its casing, what
\nis there then that remains?
\nThis<\/i> is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 258<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

5. "Man that is mortal lives not by
\nthe breath, no, nor by the lower breath; but by something else we live in which
\nboth these have their being. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. "Surely, O Gautama, I will tell
\nthee of this secret and eternal Brahman and likewise what becomes of the soul
\nwhen one dies. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7. "For some enter a womb to the
\nembodying of the Spirit and others follow after the Immovable: according to
\ntheir deeds- is their goal and after the measure of their revealed knowledge.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. "This that wakes in the sleepers
\ncreating desire upon desire, this Purusha, Him they call the Bright One, Him
\nBrahman, Him Immortality, and in Him are all the worlds established: none goes
\nbeyond Him.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

9. "Even as one Fire has entered into
\nthe world, but it shapes itself to the forms it meets, so there is one Spirit
\nwithin all creatures, but it shapes itself to form and form: it is likewise
\noutside these. <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 259<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

10. "Even as one Air has entered into
\nthe world, but it shapes itself to the forms it meets, so there is one Spirit
\nwithin all creatures, but it shapes itself to form and form: it is likewise
\noutside these. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

11. "Even as the Sun is the eye of
\nall this world, yet is not soiled by the outward blemishes of the visual, so
\nthere is one Spirit within all creatures, but the sorrow of this world soils it
\nnot: for it is beyond grief and danger. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

12. <\/b>"One calm and controlling
\nSpirit within all creatures that makes one form into many fashions: the calm and
\nstrong who see Him in their self as in a mirror, theirs is eternal felicity and
\n’tis not for others. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

13. "The One Eternal in the
\ntransient, the <\/b>One consciousness in many conscious beings, who being One
\norders the desires of many: the calm and strong who behold Him in their self as
\nin a mirror, theirs is eternal peace and ’tis not for others. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

14. " ‘This is <\/b>He’ is all they
\ncan realise of Him, a highest felicity which none can point to nor any define
\nit. How shall I know of Him whether He shines or reflects one light and another
\n? <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 260<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

15. "There the sun cannot shine and
\nthe moon has no lustre: all the stars are blind: there our lightnings flash not,
\nneither any earthly fire. For all that is bright is but the shadow of His
\nbrightness and by <\/b>His shining all this shines." <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 261<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

\nSECOND <\/span>
\nCYCLE <\/span>: THIRD
\n<\/span>C<\/font>HAPTER
\n<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yama<\/i> speaks:<\/i> <\/p>\n

1. "This is an eternal Ashwattha-tree
\nwhose root is above, but its branches are downward. It is He that is called the
\nBright One and Brahman, and Immortality, and in Him are all the worlds
\nestablished, none goes beyond Him.
\nThis is That thou seekest.<\/i> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. "All this universe of motion moves
\nin the Prana and from the Prana also it proceeded: a mighty terror is He, yea, a
\nthunderbolt uplifted. Who know Him, are the immortals. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. "For fear of Him the Fire burns:
\nfor fear of Him the Sun gives heat: for fear of Him Indra and Vayu and Death
\nhasten in their courses. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. "If in this world of men and
\nbefore thy body fall from thee, thou wert able to apprehend it, then thou
\navaileth for embodiment in the worlds that He creates. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 262<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

5. "In the self one sees God as in a
\nmirror, but as in a dream in the world of the Fathers: and as in water one sees
\nthe surface of an object, so one sees Him in the world of the Gandharvas. But He
\nis seen as light and shade in the heaven of the Spirit. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. "The calm soul having comprehended
\nthe separateness of the senses and the rising of them and their setting and
\ntheir separate emergence, puts from him pain and sorrow. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7. "The mind is higher than the
\nsenses, and higher than the mind is the genius, above the genius is the Mighty
\nSpirit, and higher than the Mighty One is the Unmanifested. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. "But highest above the
\nUnmanifested is the Purusha who pervades all and alone has no sign nor feature.
\nMortal man knowing Him is released into immortality. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

9. "God has not set His body within
\nthe ken of seeing, neither does any man with the eye behold Him, but to the
\nheart and the mind and the super-mind He is manifest. Who know Him are the
\nimmortals. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 263<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

10. "When the five senses cease and
\nare at rest and the mind rests with them and the higher mind ceases from its
\nworkings, that is the highest state, say thinkers. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

11. "The state unperturbed when the
\nsenses are imprisoned in the mind, of this they say ‘It is Yoga’. Then man
\nbecomes very vigilant, for Yoga is the birth of things and their ending.\u00b9<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

12. "Not with the mind has man the
\npower to get God, no, nor through speech, nor by the eye. Unless one says ‘He
\nis’, how can one become sensible of Him? <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

13. "One must apprehend God in the
\nconcept ‘He Is’ and also in His essential: but when he has grasped Him as the
\n‘Is’, then the essential of God dawns upon a man. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

14. "When every desire that finds
\nlodging in the heart of man, has been loosened from its moorings, then this
\nmortal puts on immortality: even here he tastes God, in this human body. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u00b9Shankara
\ninterprets, "as Yoga has a beginning (birth) so has an ending". But this is not
\nwhat the Sruti says. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 264<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

15. "Yea, when all the strings of the
\nheart are rent asunder, even here, in this human birth, then the mortal becomes
\nimmortal.
\nThis is the whole teaching- of the Scriptures. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

16. "A hundred and one are the nerves
\nof the heart, and of all these only one issues out through the head of a man: by
\nthis his soul mounts up to its immortal home, but the rest lead him to all sorts
\nand conditions of births in his passing. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

17. "The Purusha, the Spirit within,
\nwho is no larger than the finger of a man is seated for ever in the heart of
\ncreatures:  one must separate Him with patience from one’s own body as one
\nseparates from a blade of grass its main fibre. Thou shalt know Him for the
\nBright Immortal, yea, for the Bright Immortal." <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

18. Thus did Nachiketas with Death
\nfor his teacher win the God-knowledge: he learned likewise the whole ordinance
\nof Yoga: thereafter he obtained God and became void of stain and void of death.
\nSo shall another be who comes likewise to the Science of the Spirit. <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 265<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KATHA UPANISHAD   FIRST CYCLE : FIRST CHAPTER 1. Vajashravasa, desiring, gave all he had. Now Vajashravasa had a son named Nachiketas. 2. As the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12-the-upanishad-volume-12","wpcat-14-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}