Commentary on the Kathopanishad

by Swami Krishnananda

Discourse 7: The Method of Yoga

We had the description of the chariot of the body, which is said to be driven along the road of the sense objects by the charioteer, who is the reason, or the intellect. The Lord is seated there, the jivatman, with the mind being the reins controlling the sense organs as horses. It was said that if the horses are not properly trained they may become restive and cast the chariot somewhere on the way, and the Lord seated in the chariot may not reach the destination unless the charioteer is very reliable, which means to say, unless the reason is purified and free from the faults characteristic of egoism such as greed and passion, etc. In connection with this, the gradation of the categories of the universe is mentioned in the subsequent two verses.

Indriyebhyaḥ parā hy arthā, arthebhyaś ca param manaḥ, manasaś ca parā buddhir buddher ātmā mahān paraḥ; mahataḥ param avyaktam, avyaktāt puruṣaḥ paraḥ, puruṣān na paraṁ kiñcit: sā kāṣṭhā, sā parā gatiḥ (1.3.10-11). In connection with the horses, the chariot, etc., indication is given of the manner of the ascent or the progress of the chariot of this individuality in the direction of the goal, which is referred to here as viṣṇoḥ paramam padam (1.3.9), the supreme abode of Vishnu, the all-pervading Being.

What are the stages of the movement of this ascent, or progress? What is the first thing that we encounter? The objects of the senses are the first things that we behold. They are the grossest manifestations in the evolutionary process. They strike us every day. We hit our heads against them, as it were, and we see nothing in the world except objects which are cognised by the sense organs. The sense organs are to be considered as somehow superior to the objects because the manner in which the consciousness of an object arises within is determined by the manner in which the sense organs comprehend the object. The way in which the senses are constituted is also the way in which the object will appear to us in our consciousness as, for instance, the kind of lens that we wear on our eyes will decide the way in which the objects appear to our eyes. If the lens is concave, convex, broken, coloured or distorted, accordingly we will see the objects as topsy-turvy, small, big, distorted, expanded, broken, coloured, and so on, though the objects themselves are really not so affected. Inasmuch as there is a tremendous conditioning power of the sense organs over the objects, they are said to be superior to the objects of their perception.

But superior to the sense organs are the subtle principles which constitute them, the tanmatras, as they are called—sabda, sparsa, rupa, rasa, gandha—the principles of hearing, touching, seeing, tasting and smelling. These are the subtle rudimentary principles which go to form the power of the sense organs. Therefore, the sense organs can perform only five functions. We can see, we can hear, we can touch, we can smell, and we can taste. We cannot do anything more than this in this world. We see a fivefold manifestation of the universe—earth, water, fire, air and ether—because of the organs which are fivefold. Some wise men have held that if we had millions of sense organs, we would behold the world in a million ways, and not only in the limited way as it appears to the fivefold senses.

Inasmuch as the senses are constituted of a higher essence called tanmatras, which I have already mentioned, the causes thereof naturally should be considered as higher than, or superior to, the sense organs. Artha here means the potential of the sense organs. They are the tanmatras mentioned. The objects are the lowest, the sense organs are higher, and the tanmatras are superior still. The mind is subtler than even the tanmatras because it can conceive; it can think the tanmatras. The mind can understand what sabda, sparsa, rupa, rasa, gandha are. The mind is potentially sattvic in its nature, though it is also affected with rajas and tamas. There is torpidity and immobility on the part of the mind in tamas. It is distracted many a time on account of rajas, but it also has some sattvic qualities, on account of which it often feels happy inside. It is intelligent, and can understand the pros and cons of things. The joys that we feel inside are a reflection of the Atman. The sattva guna of Prakriti occasionally manifests through the mind. The mind, therefore, is superior even to the tanmatras which it knows. The knower is superior to the known. Manasaś ca parā buddhir buddher: The intellect is superior to the mind. The mind generally thinks in an indeterminate manner, but the buddhi, or the intellect, determinedly cognises, decides and concludes. The intellect is purified mind. Some say the intellect is like sugar and the mind is like jaggery, out of which the sugar is made by a purification process.

But there is something superior to the intellect of the human being, which is mahat-tattva. Mahat-tattva is the cosmic intellect. The word mahat is used in Sankhya philosophy. According to the Sankhya philosophy, Prakriti is the supreme potential for creation. It is constituted of the properties of sattva, rajas and tamas. In the beginning of things, Prakriti remains in an equilibrated condition where the three properties are in a state of harmony; therefore, there is no perception or knowledge of anything at that time. Suddenly there is a disturbance of Prakriti, and one property rises to the surface and has an upper hand over the other two properties, and that particular property becomes the medium for the reflection of the Cosmic Being through it. Various mediums through which the Supreme Being manifests itself are said to be of the cosmic sattva guna. The cosmic sattva pervading all things is mahat, according to the Sankhya doctrine. It is identifiable with Hiranyagarbha-tattva of the Vedanta doctrine.

Hence, the intellect of individuals is to be considered as only a fraction of this universal intellect, which is mahat-tattva, which has omniscience and omnipotence, whereas the individual intellect has no such power. It has limited knowledge and limited power. The mahat-tattva, or cosmic intelligence, is like the ocean of knowledge, and the human intellect is like a drop of it, but even this drop is a distorted drop. It does not mean that the human intellect is qualitatively equal to the mahat-tattva, though quantitatively small. A spark of fire is quantitatively smaller than a huge conflagration of fire, but qualitatively it is the same as fire. Here, when we say that the intellect of the human being is a part, a little fraction of the universal intelligence, we should not conclude that it is qualitatively the same. Otherwise, we would be thinking like small gods, and that we are not doing. We are not thinking like gods at all but as suffering, distorted and finite individuals. There is a topsy-turvy activity going on in the human intellect; though it is part and parcel of the universal Consciousness, it is also a reflection.

Now, the sun can be reflected in water. We can see that when the water shakes, it appears to make the sun also split or fraction into little bits, as it were. On the one hand, the reflection has created the segmentation of the original into little bits, and on the other hand, being a reflection, it does not have the quality of the sun. The heat that is perceived in the sun is not there when we see the sun in the reflection. In a similar manner, the intellect, which is the highest faculty in the human being, has a double disadvantage in that it is, first of all, a fraction or a little part of the cosmic intelligence, and secondly, it is a reflection. Therefore, it is not qualitatively equal. So, quantitatively it is not equal, and also qualitatively it is not equal. Therefore, the mahat-tattva is supremely above the human intellect.

Mahataḥ param avyaktam. As I mentioned, the mahat-tattva is a manifestation of the Supreme Being through the sattva guna of Prakriti; therefore, the very appearance and the very possibility of the existence of such a thing called mahat-tattva is due to the existence of another principle above it, called Prakriti. So Prakriti avyakta, as it is called, is above the mahat-tattva. Avyaktāt puruṣaḥ paraḥ: The Supreme Being—Purusha, as it is called, or Brahman as it is called in the Vedanta—is superior even to Prakriti, because Prakriti acts only as a medium of reflecting the original Consciousness. Consciousness is the Ultimate Reality. Brahman, Purusha, is Supreme.

So what are the gradations? From the objects we go to the sense organs. This is also a method of meditation—how we have to gradually withdraw the mind from the lower categories to the higher categories. This is the system of meditation that is being described in these two verses. Withdraw the consciousness from the objects to the senses, withdraw the consciousness from the senses to the mind, withdraw the consciousness from the mind to the intellect, and withdraw the consciousness from the intellect to the cosmic intellect. From there, withdraw the consciousness to the potential of creation, called Prakriti. Then withdraw this potential to the purely universal existence, the Mahapurusha.

Puruṣān na paraṁ kiñcit: There is nothing superior to the Purusha. It has been said that there is something superior to every category in this list mentioned, but when we reach the Purusha there is nothing superior to it, and there is no further ascent. That is the goal, and that is the end of all things. Sā kāṣṭhā: That is the final abode, and that is the blessedness which we all seek. It is the goal, the beatitude, the blessedness, and the eternal that we seek in our life. Sā kāṣṭhā, sā parā gatiḥ: It is the abode of blessedness. Nothing beyond that exists.

Eṣa sarveṣu bhūteṣu gūdho'tmā na prakāśate, dṛśyate tvagryayā buddhyā sūkṣmayā sūkṣma-darśibhiḥ (1.3.12): This Purusha is present everywhere. The Purusha manifests itself through Prakriti, then indirectly through Prakriti it manifests itself in mahat, through mahat it reflects itself in the intellect, through the intellect it reflects itself in the mind, through the mind it reflects itself through the sense organs, and through the sense organs it illumines the objects. So this Supreme Purusha, though above all things, is also in all things. Though it is transcendent, it is also immanent.

Therefore, it is not difficult to contact the Purusha. We can contact the Purusha even in the objects of sense. Though it is the lowest manifestation of the Purusha, it is nevertheless a manifestation. Even the smallest official in the government is capable of contacting the government at the highest level. Similar is the case with this. All things in the world are roads, passages, paths leading to the Supreme Reality. This Supreme Purusha is manifest in all things, and yet is not visible to the sense organs. It is present even in objects, but it cannot be seen with the eyes in objects. Objects can be seen only with the eyes, with the sense organs, but the Purusha is not an object. It is the Subject that knows. Therefore, when we behold objects through the sense organs, we do not realise that we are actually seeing the Purusha in the form of the object. Externality, which is the characteristic of the activity of the senses, vitiates all perception and connects even the Purusha with the object, and we think that the object is outside, due to which reason the Purusha is not recognised, though it is really present there. The whole world is flooded with God-consciousness, but we cannot know that because we mistake the world for an externality, whereas God is universality.

Eṣa sarveṣu bhūteṣu gūdho'tmā na prakāśate: Subtle Reality as it is, it is not visible to the sense organs. Dṛśyate tvagryayā buddhyā: But subtle analytic understanding can recognise the presence of the Supreme Being by philosophical acts of inference, and in meditation. Sūkṣmayā sūkṣma-darśibhiḥ: With a subtle mind, with a purified intellect, great geniuses on the spiritual path such as rishis, sages and saints recognise Brahman present in this very world of material manifestation, though the sense organs cannot behold it in that manner.

Yacched vāṅ manasī prājñas tad yacchej jñāna-ātmani, jñānam ātmani mahati niyacchet, tad yacchec chānta-ātmani (1.3.13). This is another verse which briefly states the categories of ascent, which was mentioned in a little more detail in the earlier verse. What should we do in meditation? The sense organs should be settled in the mind. Here vak, which means 'speech', is to be considered as representative of all the sense organs. It is not merely the speech that has to be withdrawn, but everything that represents sensuality, or sensory cognition. The mind should withdraw the power of the sense organs. The seeker should withdraw the consciousness from the senses and fix it in the mind, and then he should withdraw the consciousness from the mind and fix it in the intelligence. Then he should withdraw the consciousness from the intelligence and fix it in the cosmic intellect. Then he should withdraw it from there and fix it in the universal Atman. This is a brief statement of what has already been said in the previous verse. Chānta-ātman is the Supreme Being, Brahman, in which we have to settle ourselves finally in meditation.

Uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata: kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā; durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti (1.3.14): Arise, awake! This is a call for us. The Upanishad tells us, “Sleep not, wake up, stand up, gird up your loins.” Prāpya varān nibodhata: Go to competent teachers and Masters and know the secret of this path, because it has already been mentioned that unless the teacher is competent in his approach, knowledge cannot be gained. The competent person has been described as one who is identical with the knowledge, or rather, identical with the object of his knowledge. That is a God-realised man, we may say. A Godman should be your teacher, and until this is achieved, progress is not likely to be speedy. So wake up from your slumber of ignorance. Stand up and prepare yourself for the practice of yoga by contacting great Masters who will bless you with instruction.

Kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā: This path of the Spirit is very subtle, sharp, cutting, invisible to the eyes, like the edge of a razor. The edge of a razor is cutting, sharp, but invisible to the eyes. So is this path. It can cut us if we are not able to walk on it properly. The path to God is invisible to the sense organs. It is said that it is like the path of fish in the water or the path of birds in the air. Birds have a path in space, but we cannot know where that path is. It is invisible. Similar is the path of fish in water; we cannot track them. Likewise is the path of the great souls who tread the path of the Spirit. It is very subtle.

Durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti: A great difficulty is before you. Almost impossible is this achievement. The path of God is an almost impossible endeavour for inefficient people because it is sharp, subtle, invisible, slippery, and not easy to confront. Therefore, take resort to a great Master who will guide you. Do not sleep. Wake up, stand up, and be ready for the great onslaught of this spiritual conquest. This is a great mantra: uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata: kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā; durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti.

Aśabdam asparśam arūpam avyayam tathā arasaṁ nityam agandhavac ca yat, anādy anantam mahataḥ paraṁ dhruvaṁ nicāyya tam mṛtyu-mukhāt pramucyate (1.3.15): One can be freed from the jaws of death by knowing that which is above all that is audible, all that is tangible, all that is visible, all that is capable of comprehension through the sense organs. That which cannot be tasted or touched or smelt because of its eternity of character, such a thing which has no beginning and no end, which is above mahat-tattva; mahataḥ paraṁ, dhruvaṁ: permanent, ancient, perpetual; nicāyya: knowing that, one is freed from the clutches of death. There is no other way. A proper concentration of the mind every day is necessary to adjust oneself with the requirements of the spiritual reality which masquerades in this very world as the visible objects.

Nāciketam upākhyānam mṛtyu-proktaṁ sanātanam, uktvā śrutvā ca medhāvī brahma-loka mahīyate (1.3.16): Here a tentative closing of the teaching takes place. Many people think that the Upanishad closes here and perhaps it is taken up again in the Second Section, or perhaps the Second Section is an independent Upanishad itself, etc., on account of the words that are used here in this verse. This is the story of Nachiketas. This is the wisdom imparted to Nachiketas by Mrityu, the great Lord of Death. Whoever speaks it, whoever hears it, such a blessed soul, highly intelligent, glories in Brahmaloka, the region of the eternal. Whoever reads this, whoever studies this, whoever speaks this, whoever hears this, understands it, and practises it according to the rules mentioned here will reach the abode of the Absolute.

Ya imam paramaṁ guhyaṁ śrāvayed brahma-saṁsadi, prayataś śrāddha-kāle vā tad ānantyāya kalpate, tad ānantyāya kalpate, tad ānantyāya kalpate iti (1.3.17): This is a supreme secret that has been described in this Upanishad, not easy to understand by a casual mind. If anyone will be good enough and great enough to expound this secret to an audience of seekers, with eagerness to expound it, or expounds it to an audience of people who have come to attend a shraddha ceremony—which is the ceremony performed for the well-being of the forefathers or departed souls—whoever teaches, expounds, and makes a large audience of seekers and good people understand the great truth of this Upanishad, such a person will attain to the limitless abode, tadānantyāya kalpate. He will not come back to this world. He will reach eternity instantly. Tadānantyāya kalpate iti. It is repeated a second time. There is no doubt about this.

Here concludes the First Chapter, as it is called, of the Kathopanishad, of which we already had three subsections. This Upanishad contains two chapters, each chapter containing three subsections. In that way, we can say it has six subsections. Now we go to the Second Chapter.

Parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhūs tasmāt parāṅ paśyati nāntarātman: kaś cid dhīraḥ pratyag-ātmānam aikṣad āvṛtta-cakṣur amṛtatvam icchan (2.1.1): It appears as if the Creator pierced the sense organs in an externalised manner to punish them, as it were, so that they move outwardly like the rushing waters of a gushing river, and the river will not go back; it will always move onward. Externally oriented are the sense organs. This is the cause of knowing everything as if it is outside, and not in the universal context. Therefore it is that the Universal Being is never seen in this world, though it is actually present everywhere. We see only the objects that are in space and time, but never see that which is hidden inside space and time. But there are great souls who withdraw the powers of the senses and do not permit the sense organs to construe things in an externalised manner. They behold what is inside, rather than what is outside, by turning their gaze to the very consciousness that is the responsible power for the operation of the mind and the sense organs. By analysis of the process of the operation of consciousness, great souls withdraw their consciousness from its involvement in the externality of things, involvement in the sense organs, involvement in the mind, involvement in the intellect, etc., and turn it back to the original universal source which is mahat-tattva and Parama-purusha, Brahman, the Absolute. Only great souls can achieve this. Ordinary souls are sunk in the mire of this erroneous perception caused by the distorted activity of the sense organs.

Parācaḥ kāmān anuyanti bālās te mṛtyor yanti vitatasya pāśam, atha dhīrā amṛtatvaṁ viditvā dhruvam adhruveṣv iha na prārthayante (2.1.2): Children run after the sense organs and their objects. Ignorant people are like children. Children are people who have little knowledge, and children, in their ignorance, run after the joys of the objects of sense. Te mṛtyor yanti vitatasya pāśam: Whoever runs after the joys of the objects of sense will be caught by the noose of death. Death is pervading the whole world. There is no place, no atom where death is not present. Yama is ruling this world as the immanent force of destruction, as the power of time that swallows everybody. Whoever is foolish enough to conclude that joys are only in the objects of sense, and runs after them day in and day out, and does not believe that anything is superior to this world, he shall be caught by death, and he shall have to meet the consequences thereof.

Atha dhīrā amṛtatvaṁ viditvā: But the great heroes of the Spirit, knowing that there is such a thing called immortality, never seek the permanent among impermanent things. You want permanent happiness, but you seek it in the impermanent fluxations of the physical constituents of the world. Therefore, be not caught by this transient picturesque manifestation of the colours and the sounds of the objects of sense. Seek not the eternal in the non-eternal world. Knowing this, great souls withdraw themselves from even the perception of objects, leave alone an interest in them. They settle themselves in the permanent that is within them and attain to the Atman, which is the same as Brahman.