Kathopanishad: Conversation between Lord Yama and Nachiketa
If here — one can comprehend (Brahman) before the death of the body (is liberated), if not, one is fit to take a body in the worlds of creation.
A human being alone has the capacity to comprehend Brahman and can attain the ultimate goal of liberation within this lifespan. If one fails to achieve this goal, he is verily born to the world of creation, samsara, the cycle of birth and death. The Gurus, scriptures, and shastras, at every stage, constantly tell us the following two things:
- Warn of the consequences of ignorance
- Inspire and motivate to lead the path of vidya knowledge to live a life of truth and wisdom.
The choice to evolve or devolve lies with us. I may choose to identify with my ego/ignorance, experience a sense of bondage and limitations. Alternatively, I have the choice to relate to the higher by liquidating my ego. The moment you identify with the world, you will have ego. The world is going to challenge you, trigger, and instigate your ego. There is bound to be friction, sorrow, and suffering. When you turn towards the Self, the ego gets annihilated.
We need to understand that knowledge and ignorance cannot go together. To the extent you have wisdom, there is no ignorance, and to the extent ignorance prevails, there is no wisdom. Each one of us has to consciously find out to what extent we are trapped in the play of ego. Scriptures are encouraging us to speed up the evolution by stepping up our efforts.
In the path of spirituality, most people go through stagnation at some point. One should be aware of their stagnation.
(Brahman is seen) in oneself as in the mirror, as in the dream, in the world of manes, in the world of Gandharvas, is seen in the water, and in the world of Brahma as light and shade.
This mantra compares various experiences with lokas and states that the experience of self-realisation is the most sacred and beautiful.
- World of manes refers to pitruloka or swargaloka and is compared to a dream.
- World of Gandharvas refers to the divine nymphs who are proficient in music, dance, and allied arts, which is compared to a reflection in the water.
- The world of Brahmaloka as light and shade.
- The experience of self-realisation is compared to seeing oneself in the mirror. When you see the reflection in the mirror, there is perfect clarity, which is self-realisation.
In the mirror we see our reflection. We understand that it is our image and see it as myself. If I see a scar in the image on the mirror, I don’t wipe the mirror but wipe myself. Similarly, an evolved person reflects the light of the eternal wisdom and becomes one with own self.
The knowledge of Brahman is attainable in the 4th stage of self-realisation and the 3rd stage of Brahmaloka. Light and shade is where you experience clarity of perception.
E.g., on a black background, when I write with a white pen, the matter is very clear.
World of Brahma refers to light and shade. In the shade/darkness, light is expressed and stands out. In self-realisation and Brahmaloka, you gain knowledge of the Self.
In pitruloka, compared to dream, which is hazy and disturbed, the knowledge of Brahman is vague. In Gandharvaloka, compared to unsteady water, the knowledge is not clear. In these two experiences we don’t know Brahman. You go through the knowledge, but do not gain the wisdom.
We are using the interpretation of the example given in the mantra.
The above statements are justifiable through philosophical implications. Valli 1, Mantra 17, and other shastras talk of four paths of action:
Each type of action takes you to that particular loka or experience.
The first type of action is selfish actions, which lead to a life of sin
The second category is when you perform unselfish actions; you get punya merit. It is kevalam karma action devoid of knowledge. You experience Swargaloka. In the context of the mantra, even Gandharvaloka is under this category.
The third type of action is unselfish + selfless + meditation; you experience Brahmaloka. This is known as Krama Mukti, which is liberation in stages. This is known as Upasana Sahithi Karma, which means knowledge + action.
The fourth type of action is selfless + meditation, which gives you Kaivalya Mukti, direct liberation, which is referred to as mirror and reflection.
Shastras, when they talk of heaven and hell, Brahmaloka, Swargaloka, are not geographical locations but realms of your experiences in the world.
The majority of your actions are selfish in nature, and the experience of the fruits of such actions will be hell or sin. There will be mental agitations, ego conflict, sorrow, and suffering. They are subjected to a cycle of birth and death, which are devolutionary actions.
The spiritual journey starts with the second type of action, which is evolutionary action. Unselfish actions are performed without knowledge. One is not interested in knowledge or wisdom but performs karma, action. When you do an unselfish action for a larger good, you get punya merit, which is described in the mantra as Swargaloka or Pitruloka. You go through the meritorious world, and it is the path of return. You experience temporary bliss. After you exhaust your punya, you come back to the cycle of the world of sorrow and suffering. Gandharvaloka also falls under this category as you don’t have the experience of Brahman, because there is no knowledge quotient here.
The third and fourth categories of actions talk of a highly spiritually evolved person. These people can gain knowledge of Brahman. The third category talks of light and shade, where you experience Brahmaloka. He is performing Upasana Sahithi Karma. You perform unselfish and selfless actions and go through the last phase of meditation. Then you get liberation in the stage of Krama Mukti. It is liberation in stages because of unselfish work, where you will exhaust the punya in the same birth. Your selfless work and meditation will get you liberation after punya is exhausted.
Fourth category is the rarest of all. He is performing a selfless action where there is no motive. All his actions are towards the goal of self-realisation. Such actions with meditation take him to Kaivalya Mukti, the direction of liberation.
First category of selfish action is not relevant to the mantra. The second category is about Swargaloka, Pitruloka, and Gandharvaloka. Third category is Brahmaloka, and the fourth category is Self-realisation. The third and fourth category is path of no return. The first and second category is path of return.
One has to assess where they belong predominantly in the above categories. None of us is exclusive to one category. The degree of spiritual evolution depends in which category you are performing the actions.
Q: Please clarify the difference between selfless and unselfish action?
A: Selfish and unselfish actions have a motive behind them. The motive behind selfish action is to satisfy your selfish, personal, egoistic agenda. If there is no personal benefit, you will not do it. The motive behind unselfish action is to serve a specific higher cause.
E.g., if this action of teaching is being done 100% to serve, in the interest of your spiritual transformation, then I don’t seek/gain anything from it. My intent and action to serve this knowledge, it can be categorised as unselfish.
In any individual, there are grades of unselfishness and selfishness. One can be 30% unselfish and 70% selfish etc.
The distinct difference between unselfish and selfless action is that there is no motive at all in selfless actions. It is also called motiveless/desireless action; it is with reference to the world. There is only one transcendental desire, i.e., to get to the Self. Selfless actions are acting on a transcendental desire, and it is desireless with reference to the terrestrial.
