KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER (VALLI) 3 SHLOK 16

                                                              नाचिकेतमुपाख्यानं 

                                                            मृत्युप्रोक्तँ सनातनम् ।

                                                            उक्त्वा श्रुत्वा च मेधावी 

                                                            ब्रह्मलोके महीयते॥ १6

                                                NACHIKETAM UPAKHYANAM

                                         MRUTYU PROKATAM SANATANAM|

                                           UKTVA SHRUTVA CH MEDHAVI 

                                              BRAHMLOKE MAHIYATE ||16

      THE ANCIENT STORY OF NACHIKET TOLD BY THE LORD OF DEATH AND HEARD 

                       AND REPETED IS GLORIFIED IN THE BRAMHMA LOK ||16

   This Shlok tells us the principle of study of scripture. In Patanjali Sutra Yoga, also we are told how to achieve the ultimate goal. We have to READ scripturas and then think about it  and repeat the process . - so called SHRVAN- MANAN- KIRTAN in Sanskrit language. One can read it but without 'thinking' about irt one may not get the understanding of it and then repeating it will reinforce the meaning  and that leads to understanding and may be putting it in practice. When we ate chopping a wood, one strike may not be enough and we have to hit it many times before it breaks. The same way when we hear it many times and then after we have heard, we meditate upon it - think about what we heard- the meaning is more clear. So this is the main part of it. 

  Now about the BRAHMALOK. There could be different meanings of Brahmaloka . In Hindu scriptures they have described 7 LOKAS or levels of Existence ,one of which is BRHMALOK. So they may be referring to that Astral plain called Brahmlok or they may mean  that when one is done with it he attains place of BRAHMA the creator or BRAHMAM the ultimate SELF. Whatever it may mean , I feel if we hear- repeat- understand and practice- we will be closer to our ultimate GOAL

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 3 SHLOKA 15

                                                      अशब्दमस्पर्शमरूपमव्ययं 

                                                    तथाऽरसं नित्यमगन्धवच्च यत् । 

                                                      अनाद्यनन्तं महतः परं ध्रुवं

                                                  निचाय्य तन्मृत्युमुखात् प्रमुच्यते॥ १5

                       ASHABDAM  ASPARSHAM  ARUPAM  AVYAYAM

                       TATHARASAM  NITYAM  AGANDHAVAT  CH  YAT|

                    ANADYA  ANANTAM  MAHATAH PARAM  DHRUVAM 

                  NICHAYYA  TAN  MRUTYUMUKHAT PRAMUCHYATE ||15

HE WHO KNOWS THAT --WHICH  IS WITHOUT SOUND, WITHOUT TOUCH,WITHOUT

 FORM,WITHOUT DECAY,WITHOUT TASTE,ETERNAL,WITHOUT SMELL,WITHOUT

 BEGINING,WITHOUT END,UNCHANGIN,AND GREATER THAN THE MAHAT--

                                -- IS LIFTED  FROM JAWS OF DEATH||15

   The Lord of Death - Yam is answering the original question posed by Nachiket. He had asked about the death and what happens after Death. So in this Shloka the Yamaraj is answering but at the same time is telling the qualities of the PURUSH or the GOD. He has not told Nachiket if there is Existence or Non Existence after so called death of the physical body.

   In this Shlok there are things that are put in words  and they are are for our understanding only as certain things ac not be explained without words and the words are inadequate to explain the PURUSH  or the Ultimate reality. We as Human beings tend to get our Information by looking through our window of sense organs. With the help of these sense organs we perceive the world . Without them we will have no input and we will be lost. But in this Shlok we are told that the Purush is without all the qualities that we know of any object. The Object could have sound, shape, form, smell, it can be touched  and it has beginning and end and is perishable and changes all the time. We may not notice the change but everything changes even if we not notice it. So something which is without all that we can describe based on our limited experience from our sense organs is what is Ultimate reality. But there is one more point . The MAHAT TATWA which is present at the beginning of the Universe is also not the ultimate Reality. The Ultimate reality is beyond,(I am using Purush and ultimate Reality interchangeably) But we have one more 'curve ball' in this statement . Yam is saying that when when KNOWS THAT, he is lifted from the jaws of Death. So HOW DOES ONE KNOW ? We all KNOW anything and everything with our body instruments of sense organs  and may be Mind  and Intellect . So If something is BEYOND theses instrument, than how do we KNOW? One can not put certain things in words but to explain things we have to put them in words. So if I am talking to a blind man  and I am trying to explain him how dies a rose flower look like . Only way I can explain it is by telling him what he knows or can perceive . So I can say it is very soft because he can feel it . I can say it smells great because he smell. and so on So when Yam is saying THEN ONLY ONE KNOWS , is to be taken as one perceives by means OTHER THAN OUR USUAL instruments of perception.

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 3 SHLOK 14

                                                                 उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत 

                                                             प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।

                                                       क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया

                                                       दुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयोवदन्ति ॥ १4

                                                           UTISHAT JAGRAT

                                                 PRAPYA VARAN NIBODHAT |

                                           KSHURASYA DHARA NISHITA DURATYAYA 

                                          DURGAM PATHAS TAT KAVAYO VADANTI ||14

ARISE ,AWAKE HAVING ACHIEVED THE GREAT,LEARN THE-UNDERSATND AS THE EDGE

                OF THE BLADE IS SHARP AND THE PATH IS DIFFICULT TO CROSS AND 

                                HARD TO TREAD -ACCORODING TO THE WISE ||14

   This Shlok is continuation of the theme and a warning to the student. If you remember when Nachiketa asked to know about what happens after the death, the Yama was not willing to tell him and offered many other mortal options. That was due to the fact that to KNOW the answer is not easy  and the path is hard. If some one asks for the recipe of cooking rice ,one could answer it quickly as it is easy . If one wants to make some special desert then one might say Don't bother asking , just buy from ristorantes as it is hard to make it .Since Yama had agreed to tell Nachiket  about life after death, he is telling that it is not like sitting in easy chair and watching You tube video.. So he is telling the student to Stand up and be Awake. One does not lie down and do the action and so arise means get ready for the action and awake is not regular sleep but the sleep that we are all in where we are mesmerized by this mortal world . So we are in some sort of sleep  and we are seeing things which are like a dream and the Yama is telling us to be ready for action and also wake up. 

   But at the same time he is telling us that according to wise men , the path to achieve the goal is very narrow and is like sharp edge of the razor blade. KSHURA is the blade that used to be put on arrow in those times, So that has to be sharp  and so it is very difficult to treat the path. So when one has a chance of learning this from a Teacher or Guru one is forewarned about the difficulties . So just having a GURU is not enough, but after one has gotten the Guru , he has to be ready for the action and be awake  and tread the sharp path . 

    

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 3 SHLOKA - 13

                                                                 यच्छेद्वाङ्मनसी प्राज्ञ-

                                                              स्तद्यच्छेज्ज्ञान आत्मनि । 

                                                             ज्ञानमात्मनि महति नियच्छे-

                                                              त्तद्यच्छेच्छान्त आत्मनि ॥ १3

                                               YACHHET VAK MANASI PRADNYA

                                                  TAT YACHHET DNYAN ATMANI |

                                        DNYANAM ATMANI MAHATI NIYACHHET 

                                               TAT  YACHHET SHANT ATMANI ||13

     (LET )THE WISE SINK THE WORDS IN THE MIND ,THEN MIND IN TO THE INTELLECT 

                                   AND THE INTELLECT IN TO THE GREAT ATAMN 

                                   AND GREAT ATMAN IN TO PEACEFUL  ATMAN||13

    In this SHLOK we are told the process by which the statements that were made in last Shlokas are to be processed. We have seen the different levels of extent of 'knowledge' that we process any information that come across us. Let me give an example. Say I see a cheese cake. As I see it with my sense organ namely the eyes. only thing that I KNOW is that it  tastes great and I do the action of eating it. The mind is barely involved  and the intellect is not at all involved in the process. If one asks me questions like - how is cheese cake made , what are the ingredients  and further how many carbohydrates and sugar and proteins and fats it has  and lastly is it good or bad for health -then my intellect will be needed to analyze  and answer the questions. So we do not engage the intellect when we hear the words _VAK . If I have no knowledge of Sanskrit, I may hear the WORDS but it will make no sense to me as I do not have Intellect to understand it. 

     So in this Shlok we are told that when we are told certain facts - mentioned in last 2-3 Shlokas, we need to not go to the next one , but we need to allow it to be sunk -analyze by mind  and then analyze by intellect  and then by Atman. In Sanskrit, this is called MAMAN -CONTEMLETING ON THE MEANING  and then digesting it  and then doing meditation on it - DHYAN . So that is involving out Atman. But then this Shlok states that we need to further merge it in to PEACEFUL ATMAN and that may cause some confusion in understanding as to what is Peaceful Atman.? As I understand it there is SELF when it is ignorant  of it's nature and confined or limited by physical body it is  ego or JIVATMA . When we understand that the JIVATMA is reflection or PRAAMATMA , then we try to reflect the JIVATMA - the Great ATMAN in this Shlok on to PARAMATMA - which is PEACEFUL ATMAN. So the process is to understand by mind , thinking about it with intellect and then with meditation reflect on out SELF  and then to PURUSHA or the Ultimate Goal. 

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 3 SHLOKA 12

                                                                एष सर्वेषुभूतेषु 

                                                          गूढोऽऽत्मा न प्रकाशते। 

                                                           दृश्यतेत्वग्र्यया बुद्ध्या 

                                                       सूक्ष्मया सूक्ष्मदर्शिभिः ॥ १2

                                                  ESH SARVESHU BHUTESHU

                                              GHUDH ATMA NA PRAKASHATE |

                                              DRUSHTE TWAGRAYA BUDHYA 

                                       SUKASHMAYA SUKASHMA- DARSHIBHIH ||12

                        THIS ATMAN IS HIDDEN IN ALL BEINGS AND II DOES NOT SHINE,

                                BUT IT IS SEEN BY SHARP AND SUBTLE INTELLECT ||12

     The last Shloka we were told that the Purusha is beyond everything and it is very subtle. Now in this Shloka we are told that the Atman is present in every living being and such that it is not obvious  and is hidden and with sharp and subtle intellect one can know it. So the question may -why is the Atman does not shine. and why do we need SPARP and SUBTLE Intellect.If President of America is in a crowd or a famous Actor is in a party, he or she would be obvious  and not hidden So why is Atman not easily recognized? There are 2 things that I would like to mention. One is that the Atman is the reason for everything which shines  and without it nothing can be seen . It is like the Sun -it throws the light on everything in this solar system  and without the light we could not see anything. So the Sun is needed for  us to see anything but we never think of the Sun as enlightening the whole world . The same is true for the Atman -it is needed for anything in living beings to have any perception. But the Atman is not like Sun which is very obvious in sky. Remember that anything that WE can perceive is NOT ATMAN. So the physical body that we can perceive , the mind that we can  perceive (mind is quite , agitated etc) or even Intellect  -all these things are not ATMAN . But the Atman is needed to throw LIGHT on these things for us to perceive these. So the Atman is present in every living being but it is very subtle and  hidden - hidden by our ignorance  and so we can ot see it . We need special intellect - sharp and subtle - to know it . 

    One of the problem with this is that if ANYTHING that we can perceive is NOT ATMAN OR SELF. So how can we PERCEIVE the ATMAN ?The answer is somewhat difficult to understand . But an example may help . If we have a mirror  and we have a reflection of the Sun in it that is how living beings are . The frame of the mirror is physical body and the Glass is the SUBTLE BODY  SUKSHMA SHARIR and the coating that is applied to the glass so it becomes mirror is the CAUSAL body or KARAN SHARIR  and the reflected Sun is the Atman . So if we reflect the Light from mirror to the Sun then that can be similar to the statement that with sharp and subtler Intellect one can perceive the Atman.  

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 3 SHLOKA 11

                                              महतः परमव्यक्तमव्यक्तात्पुरुषः परः । 

                                          पुरुषान्न परं किंचित्सा काष्ठा सा परा गतिः ॥ 11

                      MAHATAH  PARAM  AVYKTAM  AVAKTYAT  PURUSHAH PARAH |

                     PURUSHAN NA PARAM KINCHIT SA KASHTA SA PARA GATIHI ||11

                      BEYOND THE GREAT- MAHAT IS UNMANIFESTED -AVYAKTA -

                                        BEYOND THE AVYAKATA IS PURUSHA,

                               BEYOND THE PURUSH THERE IS NOTHING AND

                            THAT IS BEST AND THAT IS THE HIGHEST GOAL ||11

     This Shlok is continuation od previous one but has more things added to it This has some information on the concept of origin of this universe. So the objects that we see are definitely Gross  and then senses that perceive them are little bit less gross. Then the mind that understands the nature of the objects is subtler  and the intellect that analyses it is still subtler. But now we are talking about beyond that. So in Hindu concept anything that can be perceived is object and not the CONSCIOUSNESS. So the gross objects are seen outside  and so they are not  and the sense organs are also perceived - i can see clearly or i may have poor vision-etc so they are not  and then the mind . We can perceive the changes in mind - quite mind , agitated mind etc so that is not and then the intellect - .We can see how intellect also changes  and so it is not. The consciousness is beyond it and when that is confined to a PHYSICAL body due to OUR IGNORANCE or MAYA, we call it JIVA. 

   In the beginning of the universe - the Big Bang there is Disturbance in the singularity. The singularity is the result of previous universe having dissolved and becoming ONE. There are 3 Gunas  and everything else. So with the disturbance or imbalance in the 3 Gunas or the Qualities, the new cycle starts . The MAHAT -GREAT, TATVA -PRINCIPLE is manifested. Beyond this Manifested is UN-manifested Principle  and beyond that is the ULTIMATE PRINCIPAL -the so called PURUSH or loosely translated in English as SPIRIT. There is NOTHING beyond the PURUSH. Some believe that the Purush and Prakruti or Nature are different . Other feel that they APPEAR different due to Maya or ignorance  and in fact there are ONE only. But anyway when they come together , new cycle starts.So all the Manifested Unverse is projection of the PURUSH  and THERE IS NOTHING BEYOND IT. AND THIS IS THE FANAL GOAL FOR ALL OF US. 

  ( The origin of 3 Gunas and 5 MAHABHUTE - Great Elements  and Mind , Intellect and Ego  and Chitta , - they all come from NATURE or Prakruti  and if the reader is interested then they can check my blog of Ptanjali Sutra Yoga .It is very interesting  and in my view it is similar to the Scientific Theory of Big Bang.)

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 3 SHHLOKA 10

                                                          इन्द्रियेभ्यः परा ह्यर्था 

                                                           अर्थेभ्यश्च परं मनः । 

                                                           मनसस्तुपरा बुद्धि 

                                                         र्बुद्धेरात्मा महान्परः ॥ १0

                                          INDRIYEBHYAH  PARA HE ARTHA 

                                     ARTHEBHYAS   CHA  PARAM  MANAH |

                                            MANASAS TU PARA BUDDHIR

                                      BUDDHER ATMA MAHAN PARAH || 10

OBJECTS  ARE (PERCEIVED BY) SENSE ORGANS ARE SUPERIOR TO SENSES  AND MIND IS

                   SUPERIOR TO MIND AND INTELLECT IS SUPERIOR TO MIND AND

                                       BEYOND INTELLECT IS GREAT SELF||10   

   This Shloka is in a way simple except the first part. Many of us know that Mind- Intellect-Ego- self is more and more subtler  and may be superior. So how can the external sense objects be superior to the senses that perceive them ? The meaning of word ARTH in this shloka is taken as sense objects by many and then there is confusion. The senses perceive an OBJECT but in reality we perceive not the object but the characters of the object- which is referred to as ARTH . If I see a banana - I am not seeing a banana but my intellect has concluded that I am seeing a banana. In reality I am seeing a shape - form - color etc. by the sense organ -the eye  and that information is given to Mind and then with the experience from past the intellect analyses and knows that it is banana. The shape -form-color etc. are in that way superior to the senses . This can be also applied to other senses ear and sound , touch  and smell and taste . But as stated above, mind act instantly  and intellect is superior as intellect is mind with experiences. So when we have seen a banana in past and have known that what is yellow  and soft and a particular shape is banana  and this experience gives intellect the answer that what eyes are seeing is a banana. 

    This part is somewhat simple to understand .But then it states that beyond is is GREAT SELF. We often confuse our mind or intellect and may be ego as the SELF. The Self is superior  and different that the senses - mind - intellect. So the SELF is DIFFERENET  AND SUPERIOR  TO everything that we perceive -know very easily.