Analysis of Kathopanishad Chapter 1, Valli 2 - Part 2

Let’s move on to the third verse. The third verse is: “Sattvam priya priyarūpānś kāmān….”
It means: “O Nachiketa, you are so free from craving that even after clearly understanding the pleasant and extremely attractive enjoyments of this world and the next, you gave them up. You did not get caught in the chain of wealth that traps so many people.”

So in this third verse also, Yama is praising Nachiketa. Earlier there had been a long discussion about heaven, and Nachiketa said, “I don’t want any of that. I only want knowledge of the Self.” So Yama is praising him again, saying that people like him are very rare—people who do not get caught in such attractions.

Yama says, “Nachiketa, by testing you I have clearly seen that you are intelligent, discerning, and filled with detachment. You didn’t fall for the glitter of worldly wealth; you rejected it. Therefore, you are the most worthy listener of the highest truth, the truth of the Supreme Self.”

So the third verse is not about self-knowledge yet—it's still praise for Nachiketa.

Now the fourth verse. Yama says:
These two paths—Vidya (knowledge) and Avidya (ignorance)—are completely opposite and lead to entirely different results. I consider you, Nachiketa, to be the one who desires Vidya because all the pleasures I offered could not attract you.

Earlier Yama had explained the same idea as śreyas and preyas—the good and the merely pleasant. Now he describes the same in another way: as Vidya and Avidya. He tells Nachiketa that people who run after pleasures can never move forward on the path of true welfare. But one who walks the path of welfare never even looks toward pleasures. He sees them as sources of suffering and gives them up.

So Yama says, “Nachiketa, I believe you desire Vidya. No temptation can attract your mind. Therefore, you are qualified to hear about the Supreme Self.”
Again, this verse is another form of praise for Nachiketa.

Now the fifth verse:
Avidyāyām antare vartamānāḥ…
Those who dwell in ignorance and still think themselves wise wander through various births. They stumble just like blind people led by another blind person—never reaching their destination, only suffering again and again.

Through this example, Yama explains that people who live in ignorance suffer like someone blind being guided by another blind person. Just as such a person will keep falling, hurting himself, hitting stones and walls, and suffering endlessly, in the same way the ignorant person, who considers himself knowledgeable but neglects scripture and the wisdom of saints, wanders through countless births—animal, bird, insect, and hellish realms—undergoing endless pain.

Yama says, “Nachiketa, you did not fall into this. That is why I consider you worthy of hearing the truth of the Supreme Self.”
This is the fifth verse—again, praise for Nachiketa.

Now the sixth verse:
People who are deluded by wealth and constantly careless cannot see the higher world. They think the visible world alone is real. Such people come under my control—death’s control—again and again.

Once again Yama is explaining who repeatedly becomes subject to death:
those who are attached to wealth, careless, ignorant, and who believe that this visible world is everything. Western philosophy is largely built on this idea—that only this life is real, and when this ends, everything ends. They do not consider future lives or the consequences carried forward.

Whatever we earn—good or bad—goes with us into future births. So in the sixth verse Yama repeats the same point in another way: “Nachiketa, you are not like them. I have tested you.”

Now the seventh verse:
The Self is so subtle that many never get even a chance to hear of it. Many who hear of it still don’t understand it. The teacher who can expound it is rare, and the one who gains it through such a teacher is also rare. Such a person is truly blessed.

Yama says, “Nachiketa, all these qualities exist in you, so you are worthy to hear the truth of the Self.”

Now he hints at the rarity of realizing the Self.

The eighth verse explains why self-knowledge is so rare:
When an ordinary, limited person tries to explain it, even thinking about it in many ways does not make it easy to understand. Unless a true knower teaches it, one cannot enter this knowledge because it is subtler than the subtlest and beyond logic.

Yama says self-knowledge cannot be attained through reasoning. It requires a pure, simple, subtle mind. And the one who teaches must also be a real knower, not someone who has only read about it. Only one who has realized it can teach it properly.

Thus, both the teacher and the student must be qualified. Yama says, “Nachiketa, you are fortunate to have a teacher like me, and I am fortunate to have a student like you.”
This is the eighth verse.

Now the ninth verse:
“O dear one, the understanding you have gained cannot come from logic. Even hearing it from someone else becomes meaningful only when the mind is steady and pure. Truly, you are firm and patient, Nachiketa. I wish that those who come to ask me were always like you.”

Again, Yama praises Nachiketa, calling him “dear one,” and says that such purity and steadfastness come only from being in the company of great souls and consistently hearing the glory of the Supreme. That inspires a person to pursue self-knowledge.

So, again, praise for Nachiketa.

Now the tenth verse:
Yama says, “I know that the results of actions are impermanent. The eternal cannot be attained through the impermanent. That is why, earlier, I spoke of performing the Nachiketa fire ritual using impermanent means. But in reality, the eternal Supreme cannot be attained by impermanent things.”

In the eleventh verse, Yama praises Nachiketa’s desireless nature.
The verse describes heaven with many qualities: a place where all pleasures are available, the basis of the world, the long-lasting fruit of sacrifice, a state of fearlessness, glorified by the Vedas, and enjoyed for a very long time.

Yama says, “Nachiketa, even after seeing such a heaven, you calmly renounced it. Therefore, I consider you very wise, desireless, unattached, and completely selfless. You alone are worthy of knowing the Supreme Self.”

Now the twelfth and thirteenth verses shift from praising Nachiketa to praising the Supreme:

The twelfth verse says:
The Supreme is hidden behind the veil of divine illusion, present in all, dwelling in the cave of the heart, ancient, and living in the dense forest of the world. The seeker with a pure intellect realizes Him through the yoga of inner discipline and becomes free from both joy and sorrow.
The glory of Self-knowledge is that the realized one rises beyond all dualities.

The thirteenth verse continues:
When a person hears this teaching, understands it, reflects on it, and directly realizes this subtle Self, he becomes one with the blissful Supreme and lives in that joy.

Yama adds, “Nachiketa, for you the gateway to the Supreme abode is open.”

By this time Nachiketa must have grown impatient—like we do—thinking, “When will he finally speak about the main teaching?”

So Nachiketa interrupts:

“Please tell me about that Supreme—beyond dharma and adharma, beyond cause and effect, beyond past, present, and future. Tell me about That.”

This took courage. Interrupting a teacher is not easy, but Nachiketa does it because his mind is pure and sincere.

Now comes the verse where Yama finally begins the actual teaching of the Supreme:

“All the Vedas speak repeatedly of that Supreme goal. All austerities aim toward that same goal. Those who desire it follow the path of discipline and celibacy. That goal, O Nachiketa, I will now explain to you briefly. It is this one imperishable syllable—this is the name of that Supreme goal.”