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Kathopanisad

Chapter 1 Valli 3 Mantra 9

Lecture

Mantra

vi̱jñāna̱ sāra̍thir ya̱stu̱ mana̍ḥ pragraha̱vā̍n naraḥ |
so̱’dhvana̱ḥ pāra̍m āpno̱ti̱ ta̱d viṣṇo̎ḥ para̱mam pa̱dam ||

yaḥ naraḥ tu = that person who; vijñāna = insight; sārathiḥ = as the charioteer; manaḥ pragrahavān = with the mind as the reins; saḥ = he; āpnoti = reaches, attains; adhvanaḥ pāram = the final destination; tat = that; paramam = is the supreme; padam = place/state; viṣṇoḥ = of Vishnu.

The sense (and the instincts) they say, are the horses, and their roads are the sense objects. The wise call Him the enjoyer (when He is) united with the body, the senses and the mind.

by Swami Chinmayananda:

Concluding the analogy portion, the Sruti states in this stanza that the individual who has allowed his Indriyas to function under the dictatorial charge of his Pure Intellect alone can reach the Supreme Destination. In our ordinary drives, if the driver be a dead drunken fool, it is obvious that we will not reach our place of appointment.

In our life, ordinarily, we ate careless, and, under the instructions of an impure intellect, we run amuck among the sense objects whipped by the lashing strokes of an uncontrolled mind’s vicious urges; panting, and exhausted, weary and fatigued, emaciated and weak, so called man of the world lives a life of unrest and disappointment, even though he is housed in a palace, clothed in silk and rolling in a feather bed! None of the material successes and no amount of sense objects can give such a shattered human personality any taste of the real joy and the Godly peace which are the birthrights of a full grown man.

But, on the other hand, we find a sage or a saint without any of the sense objects about him, housed under some tree, clothed in rags, rolling on stones, yet withal, supremely happy, and divinely peaceful. It becomes evident, if we just open our eyes and observe these two scenes, that the real Shanti is not a product to be concocted from a favorable setting of the sense objects around us. Contentment and inner joy can gurgle up from the bosom of an individual, only if he has trained his mind to function under a well-disciplined self-control, unless we bring the play of the mind under strict and continuous supervision of an ever vigilant intellectual discrimination in us, we shall not, during our life, progress steadily towards our life’s goal, That the Temple of Peace. This Supreme Goal is mentioned here as the Place of Vishnu. It would be absurd if a student of Vedanta were to understand that the “Place of Vishnu” is the Puranic concept of Vaikunta. For purposes of explaining the Scripture, Vishnu is to be conceived. of as one of the Trinities, but, here, the meaning is, the all pervading Vasudeva’, the Paramatman.

by Swami Gurubhaktananda:

1 Vijnāna sārathih yah tu               One who has a good intellect as his charioteer,
2 manah pragrahavān narah;        and a well-controlled mind as his reins,
3 sah adhvanah pāram āpnoti       such a man, attains the end of his journey,
4 tat vishnoh paramam padam.     that Supreme Abode of Vishnu, the all pervading.

1-2 Besides a good intellect, a well-disciplined mind is also needed. This is brought into the equation at this point. Whilst the fruit of a well trained intellect is one pointedness or Chitta Ekagrata, the fruit of a well trained mind is purity or Chitta Shuddhi. The mind has to be well controlled and disciplined, and emotionally stable. A mind that obeys the orders from the intellect is needed.

3-4 The destination reached is the Abode of Vishnu, which will mean different things to the three persons we met in 1.3.1. But that difference is not important at this stage of the text. It is enough for our Sadhana purposes to know that such qualities will certainly take us to our proper destination without a hitch.

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Index…

Kathopanisad

Chapter 1 Valli 3 Mantra 8

Lecture

Mantra

yas tu̍ v̱ijñāna̍vān bhava̍ti sa̱mana̍skas sa̱dā śu̍ciḥ |
sa tu̍ ta̱t pada̍m āpno̱ti̱ ya̱smād bhū̍yo na̱ jāya̍te ||

yaḥ tu = but that [intellect]; bhavati = becoming; vijñānavān = skilfull, having insight and discrimination; sa-manaskaḥ = whose mind is controlled; sadā = always; śuciḥ = pure; saḥ = he, that person; tu = but, indeed; āpnoti = obtains; tat = that; padam = goal; yasmāt = whence; na = not, never; bhūyaḥ = again; jāyate = is born.

But he who is intelligent, ever pure and with the mind controlled reaches that goal from whence none is born again.

by Swami Chinmayananda:

In the previous stanza we were told of the tragic end of a man who does not try to control his sense appetite, but, like an unintelligent animal, ever lives the life of the sensuous excesses and voluptuous revelries. Had the Upanishad left the statement at that, some of us might have come to despair at the feeling that there is no hope of salvation after having been born for once as a man; for, don’t we see around us and is it not our own experience that the sense demands are very powerful and that they are not urges easy to be ignored or controlled: This stanza shows how logical and complete is the style of the Rishis; and the style represents the men and their head and heart personalities to us!!

The stanza under review asserts positively that one who, through steady practice, has come to have a large share of self-control, and therefore is naturally ever pure, reaches, through degrees of spiritual growth, that state of Perfection, which is Eternal and immortal and from which the Yogi, who has once reached it, never comes back.

Whence none is born again (ya̱smād bhū̍yo na̱ jāya̍te): A common doubt that often comes to the early Sadhakas as well as to the uninitiated students is being answered here. During life nobody can ever remain even for a moment without action: and actions have reactions: thus, at death there must surely be a fund of reactions yet to be experienced by every ego-center. And, naturally, the Jivas are born again into such embodiments and are placed in such circumstances where they can find the necessary field and the necessary instruments to reap the required reactions. A true devotee, having lived the life of the Upanishads and having thus reached the Supreme Padam (state) shall not return to this Samsaric whirl of birth and death. Why not?

And if man were to come back thus to the realm of Delusions again, what is the use of his having undergone such an amount of struggles and having practiced so much of self restraint and self-control: In what way is he then different from the sensuous, vicious, self indulgent animal man: This doubt generally dabs the enthusiasm of the Sadhaka. Kind Sruti here gives the answer that such an one reaches the Supreme Goal, “from whence none is born again”.

The Supreme Goal is the realization of our identity with the All Soul, the Brahman. With this true identification, the false identifications with the mind intellect equipment, the ego sense, totally ends. We cannot have the Knowledge of the rope and the serpent at one and the same time; so too, we cannot have at once the Knowledge of the Self and the false delusory identifications with matter, called the Ego, which is the Jiva. Birth and death belong to the ignorance created sense of ego; when the ego has once forever ended in the knowledge of our Real Nature, all dreams of birth and death also end!!

by Swami Gurubhaktananda:

1 Yah to vijnanavan bhavati      But he who is of a discriminating intellect,
2 samanaskah sada shuchih;   ever thoughtful and ever pure,
3 sah tu tat padam apnoti         he verily attains that Goal;
4 yasmad bhooyah na jayate.   whence he is not born again.

The Vijnanavan: The intellect has to be discriminative and thoughtful. With these two, the horses of the senses will certainly be strong and obedient. They cannot do any mischief if the reins are firmly held.

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