KATHA

The Katha Upanishad has a few verses in common with the Bhagavadgita and the conversation between Lord Yama and young Nachiketa is spiritually as profound as that between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. While Nachiketa had a long conversation with Death itself in the house of Death, Arjuna saw the most terrifying universal form of Death (Kala) in the battlefield of life. The similarities are thus very striking and profound. The Upanishad also signifies the importance of Aum and the practice of yoga. Most importantly, some important lessons are hidden in the legend of the Nachiketa which are relevant to modern life and they are listed below.

We get limited opportunities in life. Make use of them. Life is short. Most of the time it is our actions which determine our destiny; but sometimes we get chances or opportunities to improve things or redirect our life in the direction of our desires and dreams. Nachiketa got one, though under unfortunate circumstances. Because of a mistake committed by Lord Yama, he was offered three boons, and he made good use of them not only to acquire knowledge and become liberated, but also help his father, who wronged him, to live in peace with a tranquil mind.

We have to remain steadfast in our aims. Nachiketa was determined to seek knowledge for his liberation. He wanted to know about the secret knowledge of the individual Self and the Supreme Self and how one might escape from the bonds of the phenomenal world. Despite Lord Yama's persistent efforts to distract him with the temptations of material wealth and worldly pleasures, he remained committed to his spiritual goals and affirmed them repeatedly to Lord Yama. In life, we often get distracted by problems as well as fresh opportunities that are seemingly good but may actually interfere with our goals and hamper our progress. We must therefore remain steadfast in our aims, once we choose them and make up our minds, even in the midst of problems and distractions.

If we are persistent we will have our way. Dreams and desires are part of life. Even aimless people aspire for things. All may not have clear and precise goals, but everyone entertains vague ideas about their future, where they want to go, what they want to do to make themselves happy or prosperous or how they want to help their children and family to succeed in their lives. In the end, only a few manage to reach their goals. What makes the difference and contributes to their success is their persistence or perseverance. Nachiketa's kept his conversation limited to the knowledge he wanted to gain. Keeping the mind focused in a world like hell, where not a moment passes by without someone being punished in the most gruesome manner, is not easy. 

Death is a teacher we all can learn from. We usually avoid thinking of death. We are afraid of death. We look at life and turn away from any haunting memories associated with it. From the Katha Upanishad, we learn that even death has lessons to teach and for a pure and resolute soul, it willingly imparts liberating knowledge. There also, He taught him valuable lessons about duty, knowledge, intelligence, liberation, the real Self and how we may relate to God in a mortal world.

Our character speaks for itself in adversity. Under unfortunate circumstances, Nachiketa incurred the displeasure of his father and became a sacrificial offering, which resulted in his death. Death did not deter him. Death did not terrify him. He waited patiently for Lord Yama to come to him and speak to him. He did not lose his balance, when he was neglected for three days without proper care. He did not succumb to distractions and temptations when Lord Yama offer them to him. He impressed Lord Yama so much that, he earned his respect as well as his favours. 

We are here to perform certain duties even in death. Death is a phase in the life of a being, a door to another existence. It is a pause in the long journey of the soul upon earth. In death is hidden the process of renewal, a new becoming, a new opportunity for the soul to begin a new, atone for the past, and make peace with it. Death does not end our duties. Until we achieve liberation, our duties and obligations continue even after death in the other worlds. The wheels of karma keep moving, life after life, and in between. Our actions keep producing consequences, even after we depart from here. 

Katha Upanishad is about overcoming death by understanding it and learning from it. Immortality cannot be reached without understanding mortality. Death is here to teach us lessons, to let us know that we cannot take our lives for granted, we cannot become overly attached to things, that our purpose here is to understand our existence and see how we may use the opportunities to broaden our knowledge and establish a basis for our permanence and freedom from death itself. From the Katha Upanishad, we learn that we cannot bargain with death. We can only make peace with it, with character, spiritual aims, restraint, dutifulness, knowledge and purity.

Let's grind untill our last breath for happiness, but never let our last breath grind for happiness.

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