The Katha Upanishad (kaU) is arguable the most important of the ancient Upanishads that has many references to yoga within it. Here we find the first definition of yoga similar to the one given by Patanjali (KaU 6:11 vs. YS 1:2) which is indicative that some kind of yoga was practiced for greater clarity of mind and final emancipation.
The Upanishad belongs to the Kathaka school of the Black Yajur Veda and is divided into six chapters. M. Witzel and P. Olivelle, two eminent western scholars argue the text, as we know it today is not part of the Brahmana of that school and probably a later compilation. The text indicates influence of Buddhist thoughts and we may assume it was compiled after 5th Century BCE. Many of the metaphors given in this text are constantly referred to in the Yoga and Vedanta tradition as the superior teachings in trying to explain the unexplainable.
This Upanishad features the dialogue between Naciketas and Yama (the Lord of Death). Naciketas has entered the netherworld due to an accidental curse of his father Ushan. Naciketas waits there in good faith for three days and is given a boon of three wishes when Yama eventually appears. Naciketas has neither interest in fame nor fortune or any other material pleasures to be gained. His three wishes are thus:
1. To return to his Father and that his Father will not be angry with him (1.10).
2. Be instructed in the subtle meaning of the fire sacrifices that leads to superior joy and immortality (1.12-13).
3. Acquire the knowledge regarding life after death. Weather a man continues to exist or not (1.20).
The first request is granted immediately and the second is explained in brief as the foundation, lying hidden in the heart of men, enabling access to an all-expansive world. Divine in essence, similar to the golden rays of the sun and will lead a man to heaven when properly understood (1.15-19).
With reference to the final question, Yama does everything he can to pursue Naciketas to raise another question and confirms that whatever he desires will be granted without delay. Nacikets remains steadfast however and the rest of the Upanishad are elaborations on what constitutes the inner essence of man, is eternal, the true knowledge (vidyå) and that which sets man free from the fetters of transmigration. The text is a treasure house of wisdom and this week and next, I will make some brief extracts and make some brief comments on some of the passages. Primarily I have employed Patrick Olivelle’s translation, but in certain places added my own. In this post I will only refer to the first two chapters.
In the beginning of the 2nd chapter Death (Yama) illustrates to Nachiketas how important it is to learn to distinguish between what is good (shreyas) and what is pleasurable (preyas) All actions bind a man, but seeking only pleasure can easily lead astray and cloud the wisdom of man from exploring what is further beneficial for true awakening. In the first two verses we can read:
The good is one thing, the gratifying is quite another; their goals are different, both bind a man. Good things await him who picks the good; by choosing the gratifying , one missed one’s goal. 1
Both the good and the gratifying present themselves to a man; The wise assess them, note their differences; and choose the good over the gratifying; But the fool chooses the gratifying rather than what is beneficial. 2
Life is a mystery unfolding, it involves pleasure and pain. Some people are constantly looking out for pleasures and do their utmost to satisfy their passions and desires. There is of course nothing wrong with neither, but the problem of both is that they cannot give permanent satisfaction. The pull of the senses predicts change and movement, thus whatever our passions or desires may be; they will change shape, interest and habit according to our needs. Their very nature is impermanent and in constant flux, hence they can ultimately not be real. What is real according to the essence of Yoga and Vedanta is an inmost principle of being that does not change. How we may come to perceive ‘That’ is what distinguishes whether our experiences of truth, purity and joy is ultimately real or not. Its essence is beyond speech and learning and the very support of all our activities of the mind. To proclaim what it is will never give justice to it, because it is part of everything and situated in everyone. One may assume it takes a fair bit of intelligence to perceive it, but intelligence is not enough, neither is crammed learning, nor endless information about the facts of the material world:
Scholars, men of high learning, thinking themselves to be intelligent and wise, yet they are wallowing in ignorance like fools. Staggering about like a group of blind men, they are led by a man who is himself blind. 5
This transit lies hidden from a careless fool, who is deluded by the delusion of wealth. Thinking “This is the world; there is no other,” he falls into my power again and again. 6
Many do not get to hear of that transit; and even when they hear, many don’t comprehend it. Rare is the man who teaches it, lucky is the man who grasps it; Rare is the man who knows it, lucky is the man who is taught it. 7
Though one may think a lot, it is difficult to grasp, when an inferior man teaches it. Yet one cannot gain access to it, unless someone else teaches it. For it is smaller than the size of an atom, a thing beyond the realm of reason. 8
A few verses later there we find the first reference to Yoga, but not necessarily as we may think of it. Here it is called Adhyåtma Yoga, meaning the wisdom of the self, gained by insight and contemplation.
The primeval one, who is hard to perceive, wrapped in mystery, hidden in the cave, residing within the impenetrable depth - Regarding Him as god, an insight gained by inner contemplation (adyåtyma-yoga), both sorrow and joy the wise abandon. 12
When a mortal has heard it, understood it; when he has drawn it out, and grasped this subtle point of doctrine; He rejoices for he has found something in which he could rejoice. To him I consider my house to be open, Naciketas. 13
Here yoga is thus first and foremost to be able to comprehend, contemplate and experience something that is more real than our fleeting senses, more stable than the many fluctuations of the mind and infinitely greater than imagination and reason. It is impossible to define as a particular object. It is rather the inmost subjective experience of our being that holds and sustains the many fragments of our mind into a unified whole. A unifying principle is thus needed to center the mind and bring about introspection and wisdom. Yama thus further proclaim that ‘all the sacred syllables that the Vedas disclose, all austerities of man, all efforts made by students near and far may be paraphrased into the single syllable OM (2.15) and this becomes the symbol which is indicative of the inmost truth of Brahman.
The real teaching is thus how to come to experience the one single principle that gives faultless support from within. For it to be ultimately real it must be real at all times and hence is not subject to decay or change. It is constant, the one without the second, and that which remains the same, the unifying whole in the world of totality. This inmost essence is articulated to be Brahman (that which expands everywhere) and when a person comes to know/experience this, he will rejoice in that realm. The inner essence of Brahman is thus articulated to be that which never dies, is eternal, and beyond anything we can identify with our mind and senses.
This inmost essence - he is not born, he does not die; he has not come from anywhere; he has not become anyone. He is unborn and eternal, primeval and everlasting. And he is not killed when the body is killed. 18
This verse is almost verbatim with the BG 2.20 and as Krishna guides Arjuna in becoming free from sorrow and confusion here Yama later instructs Naciketas in how to know the essence of self, which is beyond good and bad, pleasure and need.
Finer than the finest, larger than the largest, is the self (atman) that lies here hidden in the heart of a living being. Without desires and free from sorrow, a man perceives by the creator’s grace the grandeur of the self. 20
To gain the inner experience of self is by no means a simple feature because our senses, mind and intellect seek outwards for entertainment, stimuli and satisfaction. There is thus a constant duality between the subtle fragments that constitute the mind and the inmost consciousness of being, the indweller that is rather the experience of it all. The guidance and teachings thus centers around becoming a more integrated being that is fully aware of all the different sensations of the body and mind, yet ultimately far different from it. When that integration takes place, there is a different outlook, a new perspective, a self-realized experience that opens up to a new way of being.
This self cannot be grasped, by teachings or by intelligence, or even by great learning. Only the man he chooses can grasp him, whose body this self chooses as his own. 23
The irony is of course that it is there equally for everyone to perceive. Good and bad, rich and poor, the learned and the fool. It makes no distinctions of cast, creed, gender, status, stature etc. but in order to perceive it one first have to remove the many layers of ignorance that exists within the individual. Why it is more beneficial to do the good rather than the pleasing, seek altruism rather than selfish ways is simply because all activity of the senses (particularly too much pleasure seeking or selfish pursuits), will lead to greater bondage, due to the laws of karma, and one will continue to live in duality and delusion of what constitutes the inner essence of man. The Yamas and the Niyamas were perhaps not yet articulated, however in order to gain an experience of the inmost stability of mind and that which clears confusion rather than tightening its grip further, certain prerequisites were expected to be gained. Then one was more fit and receptive to the greatest experience to be gained.
Not a man who has not quit his evil ways; Nor a man who is not calm or composed; Nor even a man who is without a tranquil mind; could ever secure it by his mere wit. 24
The beauty of the Upanishads is that they leave you with more questions than they give answer to. They make you think and ponder the great questions of life. It is indeed the highest philosophy and no answers are given, but the very pursuit of it, the tracing of a source we may not be able to think, see, touch, nor feel or taste, is according to the texts, the underlying source of all of our existence. Ok, some of you may think I’ve lost the plot, and in a way I always do, but this yoga we practice is like following a scent, we have no idea where it will lead us, but as the experience becomes stronger, more integrated and heartfelt, we learn to seek out what is good and take support of that all around. Then that continues to guide our further understanding.