The shastras take a logical approach to convey the unknown truth through known faculties. The Lord uses the sensory perceptions and negates them so that you cannot reach God through your organs of perception, emotion or thought. God is not an object that can be captured with your limited equipment of body, mind, and intellect. Brahman is the very subject within you which enlivens your perception, emotion and thought. The purpose of the spiritual sadhana – karma, bhakti, jnana is to take care of vasanas, which are impediments between man and God. Having done the sadhana to a large extent, you come to the last stage of your journey, which is dharana, dhyana, moksha, and samadhi. Through this concept, it is clear that you cannot gain the infinite through the finite.
Medicine can only remove the disease but not give you health. Health is your original nature it reveals itself. Similarly, shastras say the Atman Self is your original nature, which cannot be attained with finite efforts. Finite only takes care of finite obstacles of vasanas. Once they are removed, Atman reveals itself.
The intelligent one, having heard and related this eternal teaching received by Nachiketa as imparted by the Lord of death, is glorified in the world of Brahman.
When guru imparts the knowledge of Sanatana dharma, a smart student who has received this knowledge has registered it and can recall it again and again. Such a student is referred to as an intelligent one, medhāvī – a person who has medha shakti. It is the capacity of your intellect to receive, retain, recap, recall, memorise, and do manana reflection over what has been heard. Sadhana is having heard and related, śrutvā, indicates sravana, and uktvā indicates manana. One who does the sadhana of sravana and manana will attain the wisdom, immortal and is glorified. The Guru has imparted the Sanatana Dharma, but it is for the student to practise till he becomes one with it. That is the exercise of manana. To recall what you have heard in your day-to-day life is on your medha shakti, which is the quality of intellect. This process of churning gives you wisdom. Eg: It is like the food we eat, the system breaks it down, digesting and gives us the energy. It’s also like the chewing of cud by the cattle.
When you receive the knowledge from the Guru, who is teaching the truth, the students should receive the knowledge without filtering, start examining, and process it. With an independent enquiry and an open mind to receive what is said. Over a period of time, you will be able to follow the essential teaching and come to the right understanding. Every student becomes a Guru at some point in life. That parampara lineage continues in the process.
Eg: If a jar is empty, water can be filled from another jar. If it is half full, then you can fill only the other half. Whatever is poured beyond it will spill over. Similarly, a Guru can fill when you come with an empty mind. If you come with pre conceived notion, then your receptivity will be limited.
Whoever with devotion recites before an assembly of brahmanas or at the time of sraddha (ceremony of forefathers), this highest secret, thereby attains immortality.
Any phrase repeated twice in a Upanishad, it means it is the end of a section or the end of a chapter. Mantra 17 is the end of Valli 3. Next is the beginning of Section 2, Valli 4.
The Sanatana dharma has been revealed in previous mantras and is no longer a secret, and yet the mantra says guhyam a secret. Even though we have heard it, we have not experienced it; thus, you don’t know it. In that sense, it is a secret. Accent is not confined to just recitation but should be done with devotion. Devotion means giving the heart and soul. Recitation without devotion is a mechanical ritual.
The three non-essentials of religion are mechanical rituals, superstitious beliefs, and blind faith. You cannot perform your sadhana without rituals. Rituals are an essential part of the sadhana. But rituals have limitations because rituals are mere idols conveying a deeper philosophical message, the ideal. They should not supersede the essentials, which are the knowledge or wisdom.
