KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 2 -SKLOKA -13

                                                        एतच्छ्रुत्वा सम्परिगृह्य मर्त्यः 

                                                         प्रवृह्य धर्म्यमणुमेतमाप्य । 

                                                        स मोदतेमोदनीयँहि लब्ध्वा

                                                      विवृतँसद्म नचिकेतसं मन्ये॥ १3

                               ETAT SHRUTVA SAMPARIGRUHYA  MARTYAH 

                                PRAVYUHYA DHARMAM ANUMETAM APYA|

                                   SA MODATE MODANIYAM KI LABDHVA 

                            VIVRUTAM SADNA NACHIKETASAM MANYE ||13

AFTER HAVING HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD AND ATTAINED THE SUBTLE AND VIRTIOUS 

ATMAN OR SELF , MORTALS REJOICE AS IT(SELF) IS THE CAUSE OF ALL JOY I THINK THE                       

                        HOME OF BRAHAMAN IS WIDE OPEN TO NACHIKET||13

    This shloka tells us something that we have heard before  and we know about it but have not experienced it . We have heard all sorts of things about Knowing the SELF  and how do you feel when you achieve the goal. So Lord of Death is using the language that we all know very well. If I ask someone who loves sweet deserts as to how you feel when you eat it, He will answer that it is most joy that I can imagine or it is like as if you are in heavens. So we all know the Joy and happiness. We all do EVERYTHING in life to be happy or get Joy . One can look at our behaviors, we are always trying to be Happy and seek comfort . We sit not on a hard surface as we want to be comfortable. We have temperature control with Air Conditioning or heat so we have comfortable temperature  and we cook only that food that we like  and every other thing that we do is for comfort. But as mentioned in past these all things that cause happiness are not permanent . Her we are told that when once we have understood the ATMAN or the SELF  and experienced it, we have most joyous experience  and the SELF is the source of all joy. 

     We are also told that not only the experiencing the SELF is joyous , but IT is the source of Joy. One can think of this as 2 different way. One is that without the ATMAN or SELF ,which is different that physical body mind intellect - all part of PRAKRUTI, we can not experience the JOY . The second way is that the SELF has created everything that gives us the JOY (and also the things that give us sorrow)But please remember that the SELF is independent witness  and the JIVA which is limited to Body feel that it is part of the body and is ENJOYING all the pleasures. 

   He is also telling that once you have this you have wide open the house of Brahaman This is like getting in to exclusive club where you have to fulfill all the requirements for the admission to the club and once you pass all the tests, you can enjoy all the things that the club offers - golf ,tennis , dinning room and many other . So here we are told that Nachiket, now the entire home of BRAMAN is open to you . 

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 2 SHLOKA -12

                                                       तं दुर्दर्शं गूढमनुप्रविष्टं 

                                                     गुहाहितं गह्वरेष्ठं पुराणम् । 

                                                     अध्यात्मयोगाधिगमेन देवं 

                                                  मत्वा धीरोहर्षशोकौजहाति ॥ १2

                                      TAM DURDASHAM GUDHAM ANUPRAVISHTAM

                                          GUHAHITAM GAVHYRESHTAM PURANAM |

                                             ADHYTMAYOGA ADHIGAMEN DEVAM

                                            MATVA DHIRO HARSHSHOKAU JAHATI ||12

THE SAGE WHO MEDITATES ON SELF RECOGNISES THE ANCIENT , DIFFICULT ONE 

HIIDDEN IN THE CAVE OF HEART,AND DWELLS IN AS IF BOTTOMLESS PIT,

                                RENOUNCES BOTH JOY AND SORROW.||12

 This is the shloka where the Lord of Death is telling the truth about the KNOWLEDGE or achieving the goal. In this Shloka it is made very clear that this understanding of SELF is not easy. The Self is not  easy to see - Difficult to see and not even seen by the usual eye. It is hidden and it lies deep inside - Some feel that it is hidden in the heart cavity. But this is very difficult  and it is hidden  and may feel like it is in a pit without the bottom. When one tries to go deeper to get to it the path or the pit may feel like bottomless. But as much as this is very difficult , it is not impossible. One can do mediation and GIVE UP both joy and sorrow.. Again the message is repeated . 

    One has to see without eyes and feel without touching and anything that can be seen by ordinary eyes can not be SELF . Anything that can be perceived by PRAKRUTI PRODUCED SENSE ORGANS, can not be SELF. So one has to do mediation and get to it , but when I say GET it ,it may sound like I am not separate from SELF. But the Self is all pervading  and so it is not separate from us. 

   Second message is that as long as we continue to have feeling of Joy and Sorrow, which are related to everything that comes out of Prakruti or the matter ,we will not get to Self . So when one gives up that feeling of Joy or Sorrow  and one does mediation and looks INSIDE OURSELF , then only we can get it or get to it or perceive it . 

  (one can reflect reflection of SUN in a mirror back to the SUN in the sky , that can be the closest I can describe as to how to SEE SELF with self)

     

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 2 - SHLOKA 11

                                                           कामस्याप्तिं जगतः प्रतिष्ठां 

                                                           क्रतोरानन्त्यमभयस्य पारम् । 

                                                          स्तोममहदुरुगायं प्रतिष्ठां दृष्ट्वा 

                                                         धृत्या धीरोनचिकेतोऽत्यस्राक्षीः ॥ 11

                                            KAMASYA APTI JAGATAH PRATISHAM

                                         KRATORANANTYAM ABHAYASYA PARAM|

                               STOM MAHAD URUGYAM PRATISHTAM DRUSHTVA 

                                 DHRUTYA DHIRO NACHIKETE TYASTRAKSHIH ||11

THE WORLD IS BASED ON FULFILLMENT OF ALL DESIRES,ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SHIRE ,THERE IS ENDLESS REWARDS FOR THE SACRIFICE WHICH ARE PRAISEWORTHY,(WHICH IS BASIS OF THAT WORLD) YOU HAVE REJECTED BOTH OH NACHIKETA ||11

    This one is continuation of the last few of them , But some have interpreted it differently. I will tell what I make of this one. We all know the physical universe.  and we all also have some imagination of the 'other world' which is called heaven in many religions. As a concept -that is accepted by all- the heven is where one gets all the pleasures. So we are usually told to NOT ENJOY in THIS world  and sacrifice  and then we will GET all the pleasures in OTHER WORLD or Heaven. So don't get attach to sweets or good tasting food , don't drink alcohol even though you may feel High  and happy , don't have sex etc . So we do all these sacrifices  and certainly in old time we did Yadnya  - which is also one way of sacrifice. So with all the PUNYA  that we have collected by doing all the sacrifices , we will go to heaven - other side of the shores. And in Heaven we have endless pleasures -we can eat whatever we want and drink and we will have this and that. In old time we had SURA which which was alcoholic drink of heaven and we had APSARAS , beautiful ladies dancing etc as the description of heaven - in the time where it was mail dominant society. So in any case we sacrifice so called pleasures in this worls so we can get pleasures which are endless - contrast to pleasures that end in this physical world as was told in some of the previous shlokas . Nachiketa does not want any such things in this world or the other world - so called heaven . He wants something bigger and better and may be eternal.