The Katha Upanishad ...
In one sense a "children's" story, which may find good company amidst a creepy campfire collection, yet with surprisingly advanced themes, the Katha Upanishad (कठोपनिषद् / कठ उपनिषद्) is a Sanskrit text of India dating to roughly the fifth century before the common era. It tells the tale of a young boy, Naciketas, son of the sage Vājashravas, and his encounters with the personification of Death.
Existential in content, the Katha Upanishad depicts lessons imparted by Death to the young Naciketas about the nature of the soul, Ātman, and its liberation, Moksha/Mokṣa. Despite his youth, Naciketas bravely confronts the reality of morality. Such topics are by no means off limits. Even children may die young.
Here dissect both the flesh and bones of death, examining the chapter-wise structure of the Katha Upanishad, its skeleton, while also fleshing out its content, the beating heart and soul that fills it with life, animating the text as corpus, as corpse. Halloween may be behind us, but death is always looming.
Mortality and Immortality
Setting the stage for the Katha Upanishad is an impactful image of death, shown to us at the very outset of its treatment of mortality. At the beginning of the text, in its very first chapter, the young Naciketas beholds an existential scene unfolding before his eyes. Watching cows being led to their slaughter, for the sake of ritual sacrifice, the curious child asks his father: Who will receive the sacrifice? In response to his son's inquiry, Vājashravas names "Death."
Naciketas thus begins his confrontation with life's final moments and the afterlife that follows. In the course of his education, both mortality and immortality show their faces. During his contemplations, Naciketas symbolically stays as “guest” in the “house” of Death, a central character in the encounter who oddly grants him three wishes.
Interestingly, Naciketas asks:
- 1. To be greeted with joy upon death
- 2. For "Death" (the character) to explain how a man with faith enjoys immortality in heaven
- 3. Whether a man who is dead exists or does not exist
Skirting around these questions, particularly the last, the personification of Death replies that such an inquiry is too complex — even the gods do not understand the nature of death and existence. Being but a child, perhaps Death underestimates Naciketas, dismissing him as lacking the spiritual maturity to comprehend what even the gods cannot fathom. Thus, Naciketas is asked to make an alternative wish in place of his question.
A stubborn child, perhaps determined to find an answer, Naciketas stands by his original question about death. Attempting to dissuade him, the character "Death" offers to fulfill Naciketas’s desires with material goods. Even so, Naciketas is unrelenting, acknowledging that material wealth is impermanent and ultimately unsatisfactory, demanding an answer to his question instead.
The Abode of Death
Given the child's unyielding persistence, Death realizes that Naciketas genuinely yearns for knowledge. Indeed, Death is forced to admit that the young boy, unusual for a mortal, much more for a child, remains unblinded by worldly desires. Evidently quite mature for his age, Naciketas confirms his advanced insights, noting, “What you call a treasure, I know to be transient; for by fleeting things one cannot gain the perennial.” Recognizing the boy's sincerity, Death reflects that for the vast majority, “satisfying desire is the foundation of the world,” but seeing that Naciketas has gone beyond this, offers the boy his “house.”
Accepting this invitation, Naciketas enters the abode of Death.
Deeming Naciketas as worthy of an answer upon bravely entering the abode of Death, it comes time to impart a core contemplative practice for the young boy's use. Given their undeniable presence and persistence, his spiritual inclinations should be nurtured. Death thus reveals the syllable “Om” (ॐ) which he deems the secret to obtaining one’s every wish. Psychologically, the vibrations its chanting induces exert a powerful calming and quieting effect over the otherwise scattered mind. In response to his question, Naciketas is informed by Death that the wise one is not born and does not die. Such is the eternal, imperishable soul, Ātman.
The Chariot
In the Katha Upanishad's discussion of Ātman, broadly representing the self or soul, we find the image of the chariot make its appearance. Also employed in Buddhist contexts, in the Katha Upanishad the chariot stands for the body. Its rider, the one holding the reins, is the eternal self, imperishable soul, Ātman.
All that is composed of myriad component parts must also decompose, dis-integrate, deteriorate—a lesson of the Katha Upanishad instilled in the young Naciketas by none other than Death, himself. Only Ātman is eternal, unified, whole without parts. The analogy is outlined in detail:
Ātman is the rider, while the body is the chariot.
Intellect is the charioteer, while mind is symbolized by the reins.
The senses are horses, while sense objects are the paths around them.
With these parallels, one may perhaps visualize a battle scene, with each character, each aspect of what we may typically consider a "being," depicted by each symbol. Ātman takes up the body as its vehicle, like a rider in a chariot, with its senses galloping toward sense objects, like horses navigating winding paths. Naciketas learns that Ātman is "the one who enjoys," the one who remains even when the chariot falls apart and its horses scatter.
Self-Control
Upon receiving this metaphor of the chariot, Naciketas also learns the importance of self control. As a young boy, he intuitively grasps what often takes people decades to understand, some entering old age without ever having learned. Namely, with mind uncontrolled, the senses disobey their master and one experiences sorrow, dissatisfaction, unease. However, with mind controlled, the senses obey their master and one experiences the complete and utter bliss of self-control. In like manner to a charioteer's reins controlling the direction taken by horses, the mind routes and re-routes the senses.
Mastery of this ability requires extensive training in self-control, but once achieved, the imperishable Ātman is at complete peace.
Consistent with other Upanishadic teachings, Naciketas also learns that God, Brahman is supreme. Not only that, but God is not separate from us. The contemplative path, which includes exercises in self-control, reunites us with God. For Upanishadic contemplatives, Brahman is the ultimate reality — the immortal, the pure, the source of all. Given their non-separation, both Brahman and Ātman are radiant, like light.
Most importantly, Naciketas learns that while fools seek externally for the divine, the wise look within. Here, one experiences liberation, Moksha/Mokṣa.
Yoga as Union
This reorientation, from seeking externally to turning within, reconnects us to God in the broad "Hindu" tradition, largely shaped by texts such as the Katha Upanishad. Drawing a distinction between the material and the immaterial worlds, the Katha Upanishad teaches that the soul is its own substance distinct from yet interacting with the senses and body. Whereas the senses and body come and go, only Brahman and Ātman are eternal.
Naciketas learns that knowing Brahman and Ātman, not merely intellectually, but in their totality through spiritual contemplation is the practice of yoga. Here, we may understand yoga as union, the seamless yoking together of Brahman and Ātman, which were never separate in the first place but are only misperceived as such by the unsettled mind. Understanding their union entails access to true immortality in the Upanishadic worldview.
We hope this abbreviated exploration of the Katha Upanishad illuminates the timeless wisdom of this Indian classic and its relevance to continued encounters with Death, a timeless existential truth. To be continued.
