KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 2 SHLOKA 16

                                                एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ब्रह्म एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं परम् ।

                                            एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ज्ञात्वा योयदिच्छति तस्य तत् ॥ १6

               ETAD HI EVA AKSHARAM BRAHM ETAD HI EVA  AKSHARAM PARAM |

               ETAD HI EVA AKSHARAM DNYATWA TO YADI ICHHANTI TASYA TAT ||16

                             BRAHMAM IS IMMORTAL BRAHMAM IS HIGHEST 

                 HE WHO KNOWS THIS , WILL OBTAIN WHATEVER HE DESIRES ||16

In this Shloka we are told about the secrete or so called secrete . We are told that every SEEKER wants to Know about Brahma or wants to get to Brahma. We know this  and what it states further that when one gets to that BRAHMAM is IMMORTAL and there is nothing beyond  and it is highest achievement .If we look at any thing in mortal world, we know that there are gradations . One may be  physician but then there is Internist who has 3 years of training after medical school  and then there is specialist and there is subspecialist . And then there are professors  and Chair of the department and then there are heads that are in Ivy League schools  and so on . The same thing in any profession. There is a mayor of the town and then there is Governor  and then senator and the president . The same is  in religious hagiarchy. So we are told that the Brahmam is highest and everyone's spiritual goal when we talk about spiritual seekers.

     The second point this Shloka makes is that once we KNOW Brahmam, we know EVERYTHING . This is also stated in Patanjali sutra yoga. When one has perfected mediation and experienced the Brahmam, he will know everything about everything in this world. (Please see my blog PATANJALISUTRAYOGA.BLOGSPOT.COM for details of SIDHHIS)

    Just a foot note to one word in this  and many Shlokas is on AKSHAR. The word is used for immortal  as AKSHAR means one which does not change or is destroyed . So everything that we think is permeant is not AKSHAR as everything CHANGES  and also gets destroyed - as in it's original form. But BRAHMAM does not .Brahmam has no form and is infinite. 

        

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 2 SHLOKA -15

                                                         सर्वे वेदा यत्पदमामनन्ति 

                                                     तपा सि सर्वाणि च यद्वदन्ति । 

                                                        यदिच्छन्तोब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति 

                                                 तत्तेपद संग्रहेण ब्रवीम्योमित्येतत् ॥ १5

                                         SAEVE VEDA TAT PADAM AMANANTI

                                          TAPANSI SARVANI CH YAD VADANTI |

                            YADICHHANTO BRAHMYACHARYAM  CHARANTI 

                          TAT TE PAD DANGRAHEN BRAVIMI OM ITI ETAT ||15

THE GOAL THAT ALL VEDAS TALK ABOUT AND PEOPLE DO PENANNCE FOR (ACHIEVING 

           THAT GOAL) AND LEAD THE LIFE OF BRAHMYACHARI , I WILL TELL YOU ||15

  This SHLOKA  as such seems to be the beginning of the discourse of the Lord of Death -YAMA to Nachiket. He is telling the student that he is going to tell Nachiket what everyone craves for. There are 2 kinds of people in this world. One group is where that want to SEE God  and their life  and Dharma is based on the GOD . Most of the religions of the world are based on existence of the GOD. Without GOD theses people will have nothing to talk about or achieve. They do everything to please God  and also their goal is to achieve the GOD. But then in sanatan Dharma or Vedic Dharma , that is not the goal. This is second type of people. They do meditation and TAPAS or penance to achieve the merger with ultimate SPIRIT .The first kind of people ask God to help them in THIS Mortal life  and also to some extent have heavenly life after death , But the second kind of people do not care about the life on earth - the mortal world , but want no separate existence from the God or spirit. They do fasting and practice meditation and have followed celibacies and do penance. So Yama is telling that what people are craving for , working for many lives as a goal, I will tell you .  

   If you remember ,Nachiket asked a question to Yama ,What happens after Death, and this the beginning of the answer that Lord of Death is going to give . 

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 2 SHLOKA- 14

                                                          अन्यत्र धर्मादन्यत्राधर्मा-

                                                          दन्यत्रास्मात्कृताकृतात् । 

                                                           अन्यत्र भूताच्च भव्याच्च  

                                                           यत्तत्पश्यसि तद्वद ॥ १4

                                ANYATRA DHARMAT ANYATRA ADHARMAT

                                      ANYATRA ASMAT KRUTA AKRUTAT|

                                      ANYATRA BHUTAT CH BHAVYAT CH

                                           TAT TAT PASHYASI TAD VAD ||14

(NACHIKETA SAID ) TELL ME THAT WHICH IS OTHER THAN VIRTUE AND VICE, AS RIGHT AND WRONG, OTHER THAN CAUSE AND EFFECT,OTHER THAN PAST AND FUTURE ||14

        This SHLOKA is the question from Nachiketa. But in reality it is the description of the REALITY . So he is asking Yama to tell him about something which is described in the adjectives in this Shloka. So in this world we have DUALITY  and RALATIVITY. When we say someone is tall we are comparing that person who is less in height that the one that we are looking at. Without the reference to someone or something else , we can not state tall or short. In this shloka Nachiketa wants to know something which not considered as Virtue or Non virtue - or vice. He wants to know THAT which is neither Right nor Wrong. And also the one which is not cause or effect. and also one that does not have past or future. 

    These pairs of opposite  qualities show all the things that are in this universe. When someone says that BRANHAM is REAL and the Universe is not, it does not mean that there is no Universe. It means that that in this Universe, everything is CHANGING. Everything has past and future . Everything has cause and effects . Water comes from ice or vice - versa . Yogurt comes from milk and so on. This type of questioning can go on as one can ask where does milk come from and the answer is cow and then where does cow comes from or what causes the milk to be formed  and the chain of such questions can be unchanging. But in our religion the GOD or the REALITY is SWAYANBHU , which means it had no cause or parents. 

   So Nachiketa knows that the reality is beyond these worldy qualities  and the so in this shloka we are reminded of the mortal universal qualities and told that Reality or God is beyond it.