KATHOPNISHADA CHAPTER 6 SHLOKA 9

                                                       न संदृशेतिष्ठति रूपमस्य

                                                     न चक्षुषा पश्यति कश्चनैनम् । 

                                                   हृदा मनीषा मनसाऽभिक्लृप्तो 

                                                     य एतद्विदुरमृतास्तेभवन्ति ॥ ९

                                         NA SANDASHE  TISHTATI  RUPAMASHYA

                                 NA  CHAKSHUSHA  PASHYATI  KASCHNA  ENAM |

                                         HRUDA  MANISHA  MANASABHIKIUPTO

                                  YA  ETAD   VIDOOR  AMRUTASTE  BHAVANTI  ||9

                    HIS FORM CAN NOT BE SEEN, NOONE HOLDS HIS FORM IN EYES

                HE IS REVEALED BY (CONTROLLING ) MIND , INTELLECT AND (DEVELOPING

                           INTUITIONTHROUGH )HEART   (THROUGH MEDITATION) , 

                          THOSE WHO KNOW THIS BRAHAMAN,BECOME IMMORTAL||9

     This Shloka is continuation of the same thought process and education  that Yamaraj is giving to Nachiketa. When the Lord of Death says that one cannot see the Brahman, it is meant to be all the sense organs. So it means we cannot see it or hearing it or smell it or touch it or taste it. So the meaning is that sense organs cannot perceive it. But then the question come in as to how do we perceive it? The answer is given in next line. When we quiet the mind and the intellect, then we can perceive with heart. The mins and intellect are not good instrument for perceiving Brahman. But one needs intuition and when on acts based on 'heart', it is not mind or intellect ,but it is with intuition . Also we have seen in some of the previous Shlokas, that IT resides in the cave of heart . 

   So, to perceive it , one has to take mind and intellect out of the equation and also take out the senses  and that can ne done by mediation only. So when one starts doing mediation, one has to stop the activity of senses (this is done with engaging them with light, perfume, calming music etc ) and then the mind and also get intellect out of the process, and then the intellect develops. With that one can perceive the Brahman. 

KATHOPANISHADA CHAPTER 6 SHLOKA 8

                                                                 अव्यक्तात्तुपरः पुरुषो

                                                                 व्यापकोऽलिङ्ग एव च । 

                                                                 यं ज्ञात्वा मुच्यतेजन्तुर

                                                                 मृतत्वं च गच्छति ॥ ८

                                                           AVYAKTAT  TU  PURUSHO

                                                          VYAPKO - LINGA  EVA  CHA |

                                               YAM  DNYANTWA  MUCHYATE JANTUR

                                                     MRUTATVAM  CHA GACHHATI  ||8

BEYOND THE UNMANIFESTED IS THE ALL PERVADING PURUSHA DEVOID OF ALL OR ANY CHARECTERS - DISTICTIVE MARKS (LINGAVASTA )WHEN THE TINY CREATURE (JANTU)                      KNOWS THIS HE IS EMANSIPATED AND ATTAINS IMMORTALITY  ||8

     This one has same meaning or similar meaning as one before and it sounds like repetition. The Un- manifested  and Lingavasta and Alinga are the words that are used to described the origin of Universe . When the Universe started from singularity there was some disturbance and that was related to the imbalance in the 3 qualities or the Gunas The manifested Universe came out of UNMAIFESTED state. This was due to the Stavic,Rajasic and Tamasic Gunas. But in the state before that there was no QUALITIES or MARKSA that can identify the un- manifested . So we are told that beyond that is the PURUSHA which has no identifiable marks  and when i=one KNOWS THAT he is free of birth and death cycle and is immortal  .    

KATHOPNISHADA CHAPTER 6 SHLOKA 7

                                                             इन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनो

                                                            मनसः सत्त्वमुत्तमम् ।

                                                            सत्त्वादधि महानात्मा

                                                         महतोऽव्यक्तमुत्तमम् ॥ ७

                                             INDRIYEBHYAH  PARM  MANO

                                           MANASAH  SATTVAM  UTTAMAM |

                                            SATVADATHI  MAHAN  ATMA 

                                           MAHATO  VYAKTAM UTTAMAM ||7

BEYOND  (SUBTLER THAN) SENSES IS MIND,,BEYOND MIND (SUBTLER THAN )IS

 INTELLECT,BEYOND THE INTELLECT (SUBTLER THAN ) IS THE GREAT ATMAN 

                   SUPERIOR TO THE GREAT ATMAN IS UNMANIFEST.||7

   This Shloka is taken along with Shloka 8. But a brief explanation here will help. We all know that the senses are gross, the eyes and the skin and the nose and the ear - all the DNYANENDRIAS  and the 5 Karmendriyas - the 5 organs of Action - the hand -legs and speech etc. are gross  and we can see them easily . But the Mind is subtler and we can  not SEE the Mind. Our SENSES need Mind  to act  and there Mind is needed . But the Mind is guided by Intellect. The mind may want to DO certain things as the senses want it , but the Intellect tells the the mind that the time is not right The example is simple. One goes to a store to bye some sweets or some food  and that may be on display . So the senses want to eat it . But then mind may want  grab and eat it . But the Intellect tells the mind that the time is not right . He has to pay and buy and then only he can eat it . So this is simple . We are now told that the ATMAN is beyond it This also is easy to understand .The Atman is not seen and not affected by senses or mind or intellect. So it is beyond them . Now we are told that the UNMANIFESTED is even beyond the Great Atman. The manifested is beyond our usual understanding and when that UNMANIFESTED becomes MANFESTED ,then the universe comes to exitance.

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 6 SHLOKA 6

                                                           इन्द्रियाणां पृथग्भावं 

                                                           उदयास्तमयौच यत् ।

                                                           पृथगुत्पद्यमानानां

                                                           मत्वा धीरोन शोचति ॥ ६

                                             INDRIYANAM  PRUTHAG BHAVAM

                                               UDAYAASTAMAYAU CHA  YAT |

                                              PRUTHAK UTPADYAMANANAM

                                              MATVA  DHIRO  NA SHOCHATI ||6

              THE SENSE ORGANS HAVE DIFFERENT NATURE AND HAVE UPS AND DOWN 

                      AND ARE SEPERATE FORM THE ATMAN - HAVING UNDERSTOOD 

                                         THIS WISE MAN DOES NOT GRIEVE ||6

      This Shloka is simple and easy to understand but difficult to practice . We all know that the senses are different  and have ups and down . Our eyesight  and hearing  and many other faculties go down when we get old So there is up and down with age . But we also have up and down when we are looking at certain things . If I am Indian and I see Indian food or sweets, I get excited  and if I eat it I enjoy it . But then when I see beef and if am vegetarian then I have no excitement . The exactly opposite happens when an American meat eating person sees Indian spicy food  and Beef. So the senses are different and have ups and down One can see this with every sense organ. Hearing classical Indian Music or Opera will have different reaction or ups and down with different people  and same with ALL THE SENSES.. So the senses have UPS AND DOWN. They are separate than the ATMAN, as the ATMAN is eternal and UNCHANGING and the senses are CHANGING with age and environment etc. The ATMAN does not change . So, the ATMAN is separate from senses. 

   Once the wise man knows this he does not grieve. Ordinary person is not happy that he cannot use or enjoy his senses as he could when he was younger . Can not chew well as the teeth may be gone or cannot eat same food due to diet restrictions related to diseases or cannot enjoy sex as much and so on  and that makes him unhappy and may be mad. But the wise man understands that the NATURE od senses is to change  and have ups and down and so he knows that only thing unchanging is ATMAN and so he does not feel sorrow with changing senses.  

  This is repeated Shloka.

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 6 SHLOKA -6

                                                                इन्द्रियाणां पृथग्भाववं 

                                                                 उदयास्तमयौच यत् ।

                                                                   पृथगुत्पद्यमानानां 

                                                                मत्वा धीरोन शोचति ॥ ६

                                                 IDRIYANAM RUTHAK-BHAVAM

                                                    UDAYASTAMAYAU CHA  TAT |

                                                 PRUTHAK UTAPADYAMANANAM

                                                  MATVA  DHIRO  NA SHOCHATI ||6

   THE WISE MAN -HAVING UNDERSTOOD THAT THE SENSES ARE PRODUCED

 SEPERATELY,  ARE DISINCT FROM ATMAN AND ALSO HAVE RISING AND SETTING

                                                     -DOES NOT GRIEVE ||6

    This Shloka is similar and interesting. Theses Shlokas may sound like repetition and to some extent they are, but there are subtle differences. In this Shloka there are couple of facts stated. One is that the ATMAN is separate from Senses  and that the Origin of Senses is different than Senses  and the Senses have ups and down. Once one realizes this fact then there is no more sorrow of losing the body or the so called death. 

   So let us see how each of theses statements can be explained . We all know that there are 10 senses - 5 organs of perception and 5 organs of action . All in all these are called as SENSES .We know that our senses have ups and downs . We lose hearing and sight and also out ability to walk and act with our hands and so on. So the senses have UPS and DOWNS. We are told that these senses are different than the Atman and the origin of senses is different than that of the Atman The Atman is not related to or affected by the senses  and the physical body. It is just independent observer or witness of whatever is happening in physical body or the Astral Body- Subtle body consisting of mind and intellect etc. and also the Causal body . The origin of senses are part of NATURE or PRAKRUTI and the ATMAN is not related to NATURE or PRAKRUTI . We have talked about this many a times as these 2 being different. So the Atman which is also CONSCIOUSNESS OR PURUSHA does not DO anything but the Nature or the PRAKRUTI cannot do anything without the PURUSHA .The origin of universe was discussed in Patanjali Sutra Yoga (You can check it in my Book on Amazon or my blog with the same name) So, this Shloka tells us that the Atman or the Consciousness is separate from anything that comes out of Nature or PRAKRUTI ,and the NATURE is always changing while the ATMAN or Consciousness in unchanging. So when one has this KNOWLEDGE he is FREE and does not GRIEVE.

KATHOPNISHAD CHAPTER 6 SHLOKA 5

                                                           यथाऽऽदर्शे तथाऽऽत्मनि

                                                           यथा स्वप्नेतथा पितृलोके । 

                                                             यथाऽप्सुपरीव ददृशे

                                                               तथा गन्धर्वलोके 

                                                          छायातपयोरिव ब्रह्मलोके ॥ ५॥ 

                                              YATHA  ADARSHE  TATHA  ATMANI

                                            YATHA  SWAPNE  TATHA  PITRULOKE |

                                               YATHA  APSU  OARIV  DADRUSHE 

                                                      TATHA  GANDHARVLOKE

                                          CHHAYA  ATAPAYO IV BRAHMALOKE ||5

AS SEEN IN MIRROR (BRAHAMAN ) SEEN IN ATMAN,AS IN DREAM SAME IN WORLD OF FOREFATHERAS IN THE WATER SO IN THE WORLD OF GANDHARV,AS IN SHADOW  AND                                                          LIGHT SO IN WORD OF BRAHMA ||5

    This is very interesting Shloka . In this one we are told about different LOKAS or the levels of existence. There seems to be 7 Lokas or plains of existence. We all are familied with the earth or so called JIVLOKA In Abrahamic religion there are 3 -namely earth- heaven and hell. But we have little different concept . We have different levels described based on evolution of the Souls .Many people use different names Some have 14 lokas. But BHU is the Earth ,BUBAR,SVAR(G),MAHA(r),JANA,TAPA and highest is SATYA LOKA OR BRAHMA LOKA. The one bellow Earth is PATAL loka.  

    As one can imagine, the ignorance is less (AVIDYA) in higher Lokas. So we have major problem or ignorance on Erth  and none in BRAHMA Loka. So in this Shloka we are told that our existance  and understanding on this Erth is like looking in a mirror at the image  and due to ignorance thinking that the physical body is the REAL thing or Braham. We look at a mirror  and we see our image  and we can be mistaken for the real thing We have Brahamn in ourselves but it is covered by physical body and the refelction that we see is that of physical body  and we can not se the real thing - the BRAHAMAN. When we are sleeping our physical body is not working and what we see in dream is all the play of Astral or Subtle or SUKSHMA Sharir or body . This is what happens when our physical body dies. We still have Astral and Causal body and that is the situation in PITRU LOKA - Pitru Loka is our forefather's plane which is the plane of all after we die. So the situation is like having dream - in which we have no physical body. In the Gandharv Loka which is higher than Pitru Loka, we have some differentiation between the 3 bodies and the Brahman  and we are still not 100 % convinced of our REAL Nature . So this is compared to we looking at our image in water. The image is not as clear as in mirror but still it is that of our PHYSICAL body . So we have some understanding of our nature but we are still  not free of our physical body. In the BRAHMA Loka, which is the highest, we have achieved the knowledge of SELF or the BRAHMAN and it is as clear as LIGHT AND A SHADOW. The shadow is not real thing but looks like real thing but we now know that they are different. 

KATHOPNISHADA CHAPTER 6 SHLOKA - 4

                                                                    इह चेदशकद्बोद्धुं 

                                                                  प्राक्षरीरस्य विस्रसः । 

                                                                   ततः सर्गेषुलोकेषु

                                                                शरीरत्वाय कल्पते॥ ४

                                                    EHA  CHEDASHAKAD  BODHUM 

                                                    PRAK  SHARIRASHY  VISRASAH|

                                                     TATAH  SARGESHU  LOKESHU 

                                                       SHARIRTATVAY  KALPATE ||4

                IF HE 'KNOWS'  (BRAHMAN) BEFORE THE DEATH OF THE 

                PHYSICAL  BODY -HE IS LIBERATED (FROM BONDAGE OF THIS WORLD)

               IF NOT   THEN HE HAS TO 'TAKE' A PHYSICAL BODY AGAIN 

                                             IN THE WORLD OF CREATION||4

           This is the Shloka in which there are 2 different things that we are told . One is that there is a goal in this life which is to KNOW BRAHMAN. The goal of life is not to make more money and become rich and leave lots of money for children and grandchildren. The goal is not to do charity or find out new methods or invention for comfort of physical body But the goal is to KNOW BRAHMAN. This does not mean that one should leave everything and take SANYAS. or not do our job or do the duty - teacher doctor , engineer or accountant or soldier etc . All these things must be done  and so is helping poor and sick . But that will not stop the cycle of death and birth. But unless one KNOWS - COMPREHEND the real nature or the Brahman, one will not end the cycle of birth and cycle. 

    So, the first one is that it's possible to KNOW the Brahman in this life  and then we are liberated The second point is related to first. We are told that there is rebirth and there is only one way to end it . So we have reincarnation of physical body. When one does not KNOW the Brahman, then one has end of reincarnation 

     Know the Brahman before you die  and you will be not reborn or will be liberated  and if you don't then you will be born again in different physical body.