KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 2 - SHLOKA 10

                                                  जानाम्यहं शेवधिरित्यनित्यं 

                                                 न ह्यध्रुवैः प्राप्यतेहि ध्रुवं तत् । 

                                                 ततोमया नाचिकेतश्चितोऽग्निः 

                                          अनित्यैर्द्रव्यैः प्राप्तवानस्मि नित्यम् ॥ १0

                             JANAMYAHAM SHEVADHIR ITI ANITYAM 

                       NA HY ADRUVAIH PRAPYATE HI DRUVAM TAT |

                          TATO MAYA NACHIKEASYA CHITO AGNIR 

                  ANITYAIR DRAVYAIH PRAPTAVAN ASMI NITYAM ||10

I KNOW THAT BY DOING (KARMA) NON ETERNAL THINGS, ONE CAN NOT OBTAIN 

     ETERNAL SO BY DOING THE NACHIKETA FIRE WITH PERISHABLE THINGS,

                                         I OBTAINED ETERNAL||10

This Shloka is little confusing . One may think that it is said by Lord of Death and there are some who feel it is statement by Nachiket. I feel that this is continuation of statements by Yama. So he is saying that one can not expect to have non eternal things becoming eternal. But then in same breath he is stating that I did Nachiketa fire with  perishable things  and i achieved Eternal. So how do you explain this statement. ?

    The first part is easy to understand. One can nt sow seed for oranges  and expect mango fruits. One can not use brass to make ornaments  and expect that they are of Gold , even though they may look like gold. So when one uses perishable things the product is going to be perishable. So this part is easy to understand. But the second line or part is confusing as HE is stating that In Nachiketa fire he used perishable things  and obtained eternity. So one has to understand that things though perishable may have different life span . If one constructs house with mud , it will last much shorter time than house made out of steel and cement. So when we see a house constructed with steel, we FEEL that it is ever lasting as it may last out life time. 

   Something similar situation is here with the position of Lord of Death. When we talk about the god and the GOD , there is a difference.The GOD is only one  and unique and omnipresent and omniscient etc, But withe Creation of PERISHABLE -NONETERNAL UNIVERSE, there are different governing bodies or positions  and these last for many many years  and may look eternal when one compares the duration to life span of human being , But they will also ultimately perish. One can achieve these positions by doing things like NACHIKET FIRE. So the YAMA is saying that i did do such Fire with perishable things  and got (RELATIVELY) ETERNAL position.

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 2 SHLOKA 9

                                                              नैषा तर्केण मतिरापनेया 

                                                             प्रोक्तान्येनैव सुज्ञानाय प्रेष्ठ । 

                                                             यां त्वमापः सत्यधृतिर्बतासि 

                                                           त्वादृङ्नोभूयान्नचिकेतः प्रष्टा ॥ ९

                                                  NAISH TAKAREN MATIRAPANEYA

                                                  PROKTA NYENA EVA SUDNYANAY|

                                         YAM TWAMAPAH SATYADHRUTIR BATA ASI 

                                  TRADRNK NO BHUYAR NACHIKETAH PRASHTHA ||9

THIS KNOWLEDGE IS NOT OBTAINED BY IMAGINATION OR ARGUMENT,BUT IT IS EASY 

                          TO UNDERSTAND WHEN TAUGHT BY A TEACHER.

     O DEAR.YOU ARE FIXED IN.TRUTH.MAY WE HAVE CURIOUS ONE LIKE YOU  

                                                               NACHIKETA||9 

         This Shloka is continuation of the previous ones  and the Lord of Death is giving compliments to Nachiket. One may think that when Nachiket had to come to Lord of death  and gave up all the temptations that were offered by Lord of Death, in trying to avoid to answer the question, the answer must be complicated and difficult to understand. 

   So the Yama is telling that the answer is easy to understand.We have often seen the discussions when the questions related to religion comes in.Everybody has their opinion and then there are people who think that the religion is very mystic and they don't want to be bothered with the answers. There is another point that is made here. This may be subtle ,but important to know.We normally we think that we KNOW with our mind or Intellect. But the Knowledge that we are talking about CAN NOT BE UNDERSTOOD  by mind or intellect. The SELF or the Atman is something which can not be observed . So the changes in mind - sad , happy, can be perceived  and so it is not part of Self . The same thing is about Intelligence. We can see how it changes  and so ANYTHING THAT CAN BE OBSERVED IS NOT SELF . So to know SELF one can not use mind or intellect. And may be if we can understand or observe anything,then it is not SELF . 

   So we are told here that it is not understood by argument or usual means of understanding any subject, as anything that can be understood that way is not SELF.  

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 2 - SHLOKA 8

                                                   न नरेणावरेण प्रोक्त एष 

                                                 सुविज्ञेयोबहुधा चिन्त्यमानः । 

                                                अनन्यप्रोक्ते गतिरत्र नास्ति 

                                              अणीयान् ह्यतर्क्यमणुप्रमाणात् ॥ ८

                                         N NARENAVAREN PROKT ESH

                               SUVIDNYEYOBAHUDHA CHINTYAMAN|

                                 ANANYA-PROKTE GATIR ATRA NASTI 

                            ANIYAM HYA ATARKYAM ANUPRAMANAT ||8

WHEN THE 'SELF' IS TAUGHT BY (ORDINARY)MAN IT IS NOT UNDERSTOOD IT IS 

THOUGHT TO BE OF VARIOUS WAYS , BUT (WHEN TAUGHT BY SOMEONE WHO IS ONE 

WITH BRAHMAN)THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT IT IS SUBTLER THAN SUBTLE AND 

                   NOT OBTAINED  BY IMAGINATION OR ARGUMENT ||8

We have seen in our life that there are many people who are learned (and some like me who know very little but can translate or write) and can give lecture on Braman and then there is discussions  and questions  and arguments about this  and that. But these people who have not been one with Braman and have only read  and not perceived, can not teach about this Brahman. The scriptures are written in mystic ways  and are open to interpretation, but when one has become one with Brahman, then there is no doubt. The Brahman is subtler than subtler. Her there is reference to the physical body which is gross  and the mind is subtle and the intellect and the ego are still subtle. The ATMAN or SELF is SUBTLER THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD. 

     The word GATI has different meanings when interpreted by different people. Gati may mean speed or movement or choice, So PRKTE GATIR ATRA NASTI - may mean there is no choice or doubt or one has no movement other than understanding it -when taught by one who has been one with Brahman. The examples of such highly evolved soul explaining would be Lord Krishna himself teaching Arjun and then SHOWING HIM ENTIRE UNIVERSE - SO CALLED VISHVA ROOP DARSHAN. The other is when Paranhauns Yoganand (of self realization fellowship or author of Autobiogralgy of Yogi) wanted to know- his teacher Yukteshvar touched him and he saw entire universe . Again these are extreme examples  and one has to work on achieving it  and these kind of teachers are rare in our life. 

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER2 SHLOKA -7

                                                श्रवणायापि बहुभिर्यो न लभ्यः 

                                               शृण्वन्तोऽपि बहवोयं न विद्युः | 

                                              आश्चर्यो वक्ता कुशलोऽस्य लब्धा 

                                               आश्चर्यो ज्ञाता कुशलानुशिष्टः ॥ ७

                                 SHRAVANAPI BAHUBHIRYO NA LABHYAH

                              SHRUNVANTO API BAHAVO YAM NA VIDYUH|

                                ASCHARYO VAKTA KUSHALOSYA  LABDHA 

                                 ASCHRYO DNYATA KUSHALANUSHISHTAH ||7

       FOR MANY WHAT IS NOT  HEARD  AND WHAT IS NOT AVAILABLE

SO IT IS WONDERFUL TO HAVE KNOWLEDGEABLE TEACHER(SPEAKER) 

                            AND KNOWLEDGEABLE STUDENT ||7

In this Shloka, the lord of Death or Yama is making a statement that how rare it is to have such combination of good student and a good teacher . So I am not sure if this statement is done by Yama or it is just a observation by the Teacher in Upanishad it self. The Upanishad is a conversation between a teacher and a student and it is in a story form and so the Teacher in this Upanishad is making a statement that for many of us have not heard of or never had knowledge of this (Eternal Knowledge). Many of us have not even curiosity about it and we are so engrossed in material world ,that we do not care to know beyond it Yes we do go to Listen to someone who is knowledgeable in a lecture when arranged by some organisation and we do attend the lecture for short time , we are not 'in to it'. and we are not the great student and even the teacher may not be great one . 

    So to have a student such as Nachiket, who is not in to mortal enjoyment  and who 'understands' the futility of the mortal existence , is a rare picture . His father was a teacher , but  was also involved in mortal attractions - not donating good cows - so to see no one else but the God of death - YAMARAJ , teaching student like Nachiket is rare  and this is a sight to be captured .