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Kathopanisad

Chapter 1 Valli 2 Mantra 24

Lecture

Mantra

nāvi̍rato duśca̱ritān nā̍śānto nāsa̱māhi̍taḥ
nāśā̍nta̱-māna̍so vā̱’pi̱ pra̱jñāne̍naina̱m āpnu̍yāt

na avirataḥ  = one who has not desisted; duścaritāt = from bad conduct, from those acts which are prohibited by Dharma such as causing pain to sentient beings etc; na aśāntaḥ = one who is unrestrained [this must apply to the body and senses because shanti or peace is specifically mentioned again in connection with the mind];  na asamāhitaḥ = one who does not have the powers of concentration; vā-api = or even indeed; na aśānta-mānasaḥ = one who does not have a still or peaceful mind [because of excess hankering after the fruits of concentration; prajñānena = through profound knowledge [Scriptual learning only]; āpnuyāt = can  realize; enam = this Supreme Truth.

But he who has not turned away from bad conduct, whose senses are not subdued, whose mind is not concentrated, whose mind is not pacified, can never obtain this Atman by knowledge.

by Swami Chinmayananda:

This stanza is to be read along with the previous one, since it seems to be a continuation of the ideas expressed in the earlier one where the Eternal Peace and the joy of Perfection that accrue with the Darshan of the Atman are denied to those who have merely learnt the texts by heart or to those who can only give long discourses upon them or again to those who are religiously regular only in reaching the halls of such discourses!!

Here Lord Death continues explaining the inner barricades that we in our ignorance have raised between ourselves and our own Self.

Self-realization and the consequent Joy of Godhood are denied in this Mantra to him –

1. who has not turned away from acts of Adharma,
2. who has not brought his senses under control, whose mind has not therefore gained any tranquility to concentrate and
3. who has not found in his mind a peace within itself, because of its thudding palpitations and anxieties regarding the fruits of its actions.

In this Mantra we have all the necessary hints by which we can come to intensify our spiritual Sadhana. First of all, the Sadhaka must retire from all his activities which are immoral and unethical. Unless one is well grown in his moral and ethical life no amount of Japa or Tapa, bell and flower, sandalwood and camphor, temples, churches and mosques can be of any help to him in his spiritual growth. The meaningless cry against the efficiency of religion that we are now so accustomed to hear, is all raised, perhaps by sincere devotees themselves, who are fathers to some twelve children, who will tell any lie (if thereby they can gain even a quarter-anna-coin) and who can taste the sugar in their cup-of-milk better only when they have the added satisfaction of scalding a few ants along with their spoons of sugar. Neither are they self-controlled nor are they honest, nor non-violent; and our entire religion rests upon the triple-principles of Brahmacharya, Satyam and Ahimsa.

When an individual has lived at least for a time respecting Dharma he has the necessary gate pass to the arena of spiritual practices. Then again, to gain the higher worlds of greater reflections the aspirant should learn slowly the art of controlling bis sense-organs from their habits of reveling madly and gushing forth ceaselessly into the backwater of sorrow-breeding sense objects. By a pursuit of Dharmic actions, an individual comes to limit his activities and when he gains a certain amount of control over his Indriyas, the mind, of its own accord, grows in its potencies to concentrate and to apply itself with greater vigor and efficiency. Even at this stage the seeker will not be fully fit for success if he has not disciplined himself to get completely detached from his mental anxieties for the enjoyment of the fruits of his Tapascharya (self-denials and such other methods of subduing the senses. About this Ranade says: “Lord Death, in short, means that there are very few, indeed, who are such full-fledged and sincere seekers! At the same time a fit candidate for Vedanta path is not a fairy one who falls from the sky with the morning dew and who, nestling for a while in the opening buds, falls down with the weight of his own sheer competency! A fit student is pressed out between the diligent urgency felt and the sincerity of pursuit put in: and how rare are such Press Houses!

It was with this idea in mind that Lord Death was compelled to cry earlier in Mantra 21: “Who else therefore, save myself, is able to comprehend the God.”

by Swami Gurubhaktananda:

From the seeker possessing the desirable quality of wanting God alone, we now move to the other end of the scale to the Dush-Charitāt, the man of “undesirable conduct” who does not want to even hear the Name of God. He has everything that a seeker should not be:

• The man of bad conduct engages in Nishidha (prohibited) as well as Kamya (desire- ridden) Karmas; he neglects Nitya and Nimitta Karmas (daily and occasional duties) which he is supposed to
• Not quietening the senses; and not having the mind focused on the goal. A restless mind that is uncontrolled indulges in sinful tendencies. Without Shama and Dama (internal and external checkpoints) the mind is not focused or It rejoices in Adharma.
• Even if mind is well trained, it has its eye on the fruit, on the trophy that it expects to get for the Sadhana that is There is a business-like mentality of being rewarded.

A mind that is set on the future, i.e. result-oriented, is not fit for the vision of the Self. It does not give time for evolution to unfold itself. It is impatient, wanting to grab the fruit now itself. He wants to achieve things fast, and carries the same mentality into the spiritual realm as well. Just as a footballer performs well only if his whole mind is on the ball, not on the glory after winning; and as a student writing an exam has to have his mind on the knowledge acquired, and not on the marks he is going to get – so also, a seeker has to keep focused on God for God’s sake, with no other motive contaminating his search.

There is a Buddhist saying which goes: “Don’t ask how far; just keep walking!”

• This Self is not for such people, even if they have all the knowledge!

We should therefore do Sadhana for the love of it. We must enjoy being dispassionate, not feel that we are losing out on anything. Self-denial should never be done grudgingly. For this reason, a Bhakta is taught never to want even Liberation, since it takes away his ‘presence of mind.’ Hanuman was not interested in Vaikuntha. Only such disinterested, yet passionate devotee who enjoys what he does, can reach the Self. One who is pre-occupied with results cannot attain It.

In the Bhashya, Śaṅkaracharya adds one more requirement – the presence of a Guru. The path is so subtle, and self-delusion can be so overwhelming, that a Guru is needed to prevent one from being content with little gains and miss the Self.

Acharyaji concluded in grand style with a beautiful simile: “A caterpillar is on a eucalyptus leaf. It does not like being there, but it has no other choice. It has to eat what is there, even though its mouth is burning with the eucalyptus taste. But if you place a mulberry leaf next to it, it will, so to speak, fly to it without hesitation to enjoy its favorite flavor. Similarly, we should wean the mind away from sensuality by offering it better pastures of Sattvic joys. Once it tastes the higher, it will not be dragged to the lower.”

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