“He, the self- the atman- of whom many are not even able to hear”

Nachiketa the story of Upnishad

The story of Katha Upanishad of Yagur Veda famously known and narrated in Hindus for hundreds of years known as Nachiketa. The story signifies way of life, rituals, and customs and most importantly the rationality of Hindu thoughts in past of this land. Through narration of the story and the sketch was given that Hindu even in past were rational and understand the meaning of life. The story also emphasise the need of spiritualism on material world.   

There was a Brahmin named Vagassarvas and he conducted Havana on very large scale and promised to give everything as sacrifices to get heavenly rewards. The Havana was conducted and hundreds of Brahmins participated and there was food and prayers everywhere.  When the Havana was over, Vagassarvas started giving everything of his belongings, first to different gods through Havana and later his left over belongings to priests and people that came to attend and participate in the Havana.

When Vagassarvas was offering everything at that time his 7 year old son Nachiketa came out and asked his father, “To whom you will give me as sacrifice?” 

Vagassarvas ignored his son because he conducted the most important Havana of his life and was busy. But Nachiketa while seeing his father offering everything to priests and people, he repeated his question, “Father to whom you will give me as sacrifice?

Vagassarvas again ignored his son but his son third time asked him, “Please father tell me to whom you give me as sacrifice?

Vagassarvas went angry as he was losing his concentration on the question of his son and in anger and haste he shouted, “I give you as sacrifice to the lord of the death Yama.”

Once said is said and Vagassarvas was in guilt that he cannot take his words back. His son Nachiketa has to go to the lord of death before those who have to die and before who are not dying and before who are nearly going to die.

Nachiketa went to the abode of death- the Yama and there was no one to receive him and the guard had not allowed him to enter inside. The gaurd asked him to go back but Nachiketa was adamant because his father has sacrificed him to the lord of death.

 The Yama- the lord of death is always on work and bringing souls of dead people whose time over in this world. Nachiketa remained sitting outside the abode of Yama- the lord of death and waited for the long three days without food and water and without any rest. He just waited for the lord of death the Yama to return back to his abode.

 

And after three days, The Yama returned back to his abode and saw a boy sitting outside the main gate week and frail. Yama through is power understood who the boy is and what had happened and he was sad to know that a little boy sat for long three days outside the gates of his abode without food, water and rest and therefore he decided to reward this little boy for his patience.

He said, “O Little boy the venerable guest of mine who sat outside of my house without food, water and rest. I am happy with you and ask you to ask any three boons from me so I can do welfare of you.”

Nachiketa saluted the lord of death, the Yama and on his permission stood and asked his first boon- “O lord of death the first of the three boons is that my father will not angry of me and he will not feel any wrong of me.”

The Yama smiled and said, “Yes I do, yes I do, and your father will treat you as he treated you before and he will not angry with you and sleep in peace as before.”

Nachiketa happy with the word of the lord of death, come a step forward and asked the second boon,” How can anything sacrificed in fire leads to heaven? Is this right that those who live in heavens are immoral?”

 Yama- the lord smiled and replied- “There are hidden eternal worlds and there is hidden darkness in the universe. And there is a way in which the universe has begin and there was a fire after the universe emerged and therefore this fire took the things or matter in the form of energy to those worlds where only energy prevails and this energy remain eternal for long in those hidden worlds. Fire is the mode of changing matter into energy and taking them to the upper world which is full of energy.”This way the Yama taught a little boy the metaphysics of how the universe is formed and Nachiketa repeated after him to understand the birth of Universe.

 

Yama- “Now little boy ask me your third boon?”

Nachiketa replied, “  Some say that when man died his soul remain eternal and some say it is not and therefore some say it is doubtful please teach me this to satisfy my mind as my third boon.”

 

Yama was confused on this question and said, “Even gods are in doubt on such critical subject and it is not easy to understand for you as a small boy. The subject of death is not easy for even learned persons and death is the subject which cannot be understood by words and therefore I request you to choose any other boon.”

Yama again said- “Choose sons and grandsons who will live for hundreds of years and choose for cattle, elephants and gold and horses. Choose the vast land on this earth and choose all your desires to fulfil. Choose wealth and long life and choose to be king of Nachiketa and the enjoyer of all desires.”

Nachiketa remained silent and then the king of death again asks the little boy, “Choose anything that mortal desires, choose chariots and musical instruments and choose anything that a human wish to have.  You ask anything from me and I give you to make your life happy but my son, the question on dying and what about death happens cannot help you in life,”

Nachiketa remained silence for some time and said, “O Lord of death!  Thought of death wear out the present strength of present and even the whole life is short as man die every day and man die every moment because he knows that one day he will die. What horses and what dances can sooth him when he knows that one day he is dying.”

Nachiketa again said, “O Lord of Lord! No man can be made happy through wealth, if I will blessed with wealth that what I will get because one day I have to die without knowing what happen after my death.  The freedom of immortals which is freedom from decaying is the real good and delight in a long life and therefore I am not in any doubt and therefore o lord of death tell me what there is in that great hereafter. And therefore I will not choose any other boon which I have already asked.”  

He again said, “O god of death! Tell us what is there after the great hereafter and I will not choose any other boon then the knowledge because knowing what is hidden is the greatest wealth on this earth.”

(Here comes the methodology of Hindu rationality to put the subject into a form of questioning so that reader can understand the importance of subject and curiosity increase to know the concept establish by Hindus)

The lord of death remained silent for some time and then advance, “There is one thing which is called joyful or pleasant and another thing is called good. These two are different thoughts and with these two concepts man dwells into different way and to find different objects and this chain a man in his life time.  The one who search good live a good life but who went after joy and pleasant miss the aim of his life.   There is a time when both good and joy approach to a man but the wise goes with good and make different between good and joy and prefer good over joy in his life time. But the full choose joy leaving good aside because of greed and avarice.”

The Yama continued, “You Nachiketa! After pondering all pleasures and proposals of all joy that are seem to be delightful you dismissed them all and you had not went on the road which lead to wealth and pleasure as mostly man went on this road and perish away. This is the main difference between wise and ignorant. The wise choose not the joy but good and right but the ignorant is attracted to joy and mislead the life. The one who desire knowledge over many pleasures lead his life on the right way.”

“Fools dwell in darkness of ignorance and wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain knowledge and go round and round confounding to and fro like blind men led by the blind. The hereafter (what after death) never arises before the eyes of the careless child, delude by the delusion of wealth.  He thinks that this is the only world and there is no other world. And therefore he falls again and again under my sway of birth and death like in a circle.”

Yama start the teaching, “He, the self- the atman- of whom many are not even able to hear, whom many even when they hear of him do not comprehend but great is the one who when he found and he who is able to teach this atman and great is the one who comprehends this when taught by an able teacher. The doctrine of understanding life and death is not understood by the method of argument but when it is declared by another self. Then o my dear Nachiketa I tell you now that it is easy to understand that which can be obtained that art which can be truly a man of true can resolve. And therefore to know it is important to be an enquirer like this.”

 

Nachiketa- “I know that what is called treasure is transient or momentary and for the eternal is not obtained by thing which are not eternal.  Hence the fire sacrifice has been done first then by mean of transient things we can obtain what is not transient.”

Yama said, “ I tell you that knowing the right is the fulfilment of all desires, the foundation of the world and the endless rewards of good deeds, the shore where there is no fear and that which is magnified by praises, the wide abode, the rest, yet being wise with firm resolve, he dismiss it all. The wise is one who by means of meditation on the own self recognize the earliest form and who is difficult to be seen and who has entered into darkness and who is hidden in the cave and who is dwelling in the abyss as god and he indeed who leaves joy and sorrow far behind of him.”

 

“..... A mortal who has heard this and embraced by it who has removed from it all qualities and has this reached that subtle being rejoices because he has obtained what is a cause of rejoicing and there le lead to the house which is singularity. It is important to know that self is not born and therefore the self will not die and it sprang from nothing and nothing can sprang from it. The oldest is unborn, eternal, and everlasting and never destroy. He the oldest and true self which is atman can never be killed and therefore when body died he never die.”

“Listen carefully, if the killer thinks that he can kill the self and if the one who is killed thinks that he is killed and they do not understand for the reason that for the one who does kill and the one who killed is not true in any form. The self therefore which is smaller than small and greater than great is hidden in the heart of the creature. A man who is free from all desires and free from all grieves, seed the majesty of the self by the grace of the creator which is the serenity of the all elements.”

 

“Though sitting still he can walk far and though lying down he goes everywhere and who save and the one who rejoices and therefore rejoices not. The wise who knows that the self as body less within bodies and the wise is one who knows an unchanging among changing things as great and omnipresent he never grieves on any grief. This self which is oldest and pure and true cannot be known through Vedas nor by understanding and nor by argument or nor by learning. He whom the self chooses by the self can be gained by self chooses his body of his own is the self known to the self. And to understand the own self one has first to turn away from his wickedness and who is not tranquil and subdued or whose mind is not at rest he can never obtain or understand the self even by knowledge of self.”