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Kathopanisad

Chapter 2 Valli 3 Mantra 18

Lecture

Mantra

mṛtyu̍-pro̱ktāṁ nāci̍keto’tha labdhvā
vidyā̍m e̱tām yo̱ga vidhi̍ṁ ca kṛtsnam |
brahma̍-prāpto vi̱rajo̱ ‘bhūd vi̱mṛtyu̍r
anyo’py evam yo̱ vid adhyātmam eva ||

naciketas atha labdhvā = Nachiketas then having obtained; vidyām etām mṛtyu-proktāṁ = this Knowledge of Brahman imparted by Yama; ca kṛtsnam yoga vidhiṁ = and the methodology of Yoga in its entirety;  brahma-prāptaḥ abhūt = attained the state of brahman-realization; viraja = free from rajas; vimṛtyuḥ = free from death; anya api = and anyone else too; evam yah vit = who realize this;  adhyātmam eva = with regards to Spirituality.

Nachiketas, having been so instructed by Death in this knowledge and in the whole process of Yoga, became free from all impurities and death, and attained Brahman; and so, will he too attain who knows thus the Inner Self.

(Thus ends the Sixth Valli of the Second Chapter)

by Swami Chinmayananda:

The previous stanza with its repetition in its last line and the particle Ith” had already given us the indication that the Upanishad had ended. This Mantra can therefore be only interpreted as the words of Sruti Bhagavati herself. Nachiketas, after listening to the entire Upanishadic advice of his Master, and having acquired a thorough knowledge of the technique (Yoga Vidhi) of Self-perfection by which he can come to experience Absolute Perfection as his own Real Nature, retired to a quiet retreat, where he, practicing the Brahma Vidya came to be pure in mind and intellect, and through the processes of higher meditations, realized his Self.

Virajah (free from Rajas or sin, free from impurities; free from vice and virtue). The Gyana Sadhana consists in controlling the flow of the sense organs towards their sense objects, by a powerful application of the powers of discrimination and severe mental discipline. The mind is thus redeemed, in slow and steady stages, from its dross such as egoistic vanities, selfish self-centered passions and desires, attachments, lusts, greed, etc., and by applying such a controlled and purified mind to dwell at a limited chosen form or idea, its powers of concentration are developed. Lastly, these newly developed powers of continued concentration, are applied, with greater intensity for delving deep beneath the delusory five matter envelopments of the spirit to contact the Self, which is of nature, Pure Consciousness, Eternal and Absolute.

If one seeker at the period of the Vedic era had realized the Self in him, through the blessings of such a Super divine master as Lord Death, to many of us, it may seem to be a historical accident and not a sure achievement for all seekers at all times.

To checkmate this possible doubt in her readers, Sruti herein emphatically asserts, “So will he too attain who knows thus the inner Self”. Even today, he who can fulfill in himself all the necessary qualifications, explained so vividly in this Upanishad, and then practice the entire technique of Brahma Vidya, as diligently as Nachiketas did, he, too, can realize the Self and become one with Truth…. A God-man upon earth.

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