Kathopanishad: Conversation between Lord Yama and Nachiketa
For fear of Him the fire burns; for fear of Him shines the Sun; for fear of Him do Indra, Vayu and Death, the fifth, proceed (with their respective functions).
Fire, Sun, Indra, Vayu, Death: these five go about doing their respective function because of fear of Him (Brahman). Brahman is supervising, and there is a systematic scientific consistency to all the laws operating in nature. Everything is happening in order in the terrestrial world because of transcendental supervision.
Indra represents the Lord of the gods. Gods symbolise the senses, and Indra symbolises the lord of the senses, which is the mind. Any action you are performing, whether an organ of perception like sound, sight, etc or an organ of action, the mind should be in the present for the action/perception to be complete. Any insignificant act you want to make it perfect, you must be conscious, and you are conscious only when the mind backs it. If the mind is not registering and backing the perception, it is incomplete. Mind is paramount, and invariably it is not under our control. Only a strong intellect can govern the mind.
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.
The word comprehends used in this mantra is not an intellectual concept of Brahman. One who can realise the Self is liberated from the cycle of birth and death. If you are not able to comprehend, you will be subjected to the world of creation.
First half of the mantra gives the benefit of knowledge, and the second half gives the consequence of ignorance.
First half says one who has the cognition of the knowledge realises the Self and there is no rebirth. In the second half the Lord says, one who does not have the knowledge is bound and born again in the wretched world of creation. Knowledge and ignorance cannot co-exist. You are either knowledgeable and liberated or ignorant and bound. This mantra highlights the possibility that we can get liberated here in this birth itself. Only a human being can conceive Self-Realisation. There is no more sacred and glorious achievement in life than realising the Self. Presently, we are glorifying our worldly achievements.
When we talk of realisation, there are two schools of thought:
Jeevan Mukhti – You can realise before physical death.
Videha Mukhi – You can realise after the death of the body.
Vedanta supports the school of thought that you can attain realisation before your physical death. Jeevan Mukhti is a person who is alive, carries on his duty, but is 100% detached to everything in the world. They are realised souls carrying on their lives.
Another school of thought is that you attain realisation only after death. It is difficult to accept because the shruti, the Vedas, philosophical messages of the gurus are actual experiences of men of realisation. Hence, it is difficult to accept that these masters have attained realisation only after death. Therefore, Vedanta argues, and this mantra supports that you can attain realisation before death. Shastras say that the only purpose of human life is to realise the Self. If you have realised, then you have lived a life of Satyam. If not, it is a supreme loss. If we fail in doing that, we are fit to be born again in some world of creation based on our action, karma.
One who is ignorant of the Brahman, Self, holds on to the ego of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. The moment you comprehend Brahman, there is no more ego. Death of ego is Jeevan Mukhti. At present, we are bound to our ego. It is when you relinquish the ego that you are liberated from the bondage and realise Brahman. When you consider yourself separate from Brahman, it is ego. Ego is an exclusive identification with your personality, which separates itself from the totality, Brahman. When ego dies, you attain realisation. Ego can die at any time. If physical death happens at the age of 90 years, your ego can die anywhere between 0 and 90 years. If we assume the ego dies at the age of 40, then from 40 to 90 years, one is living a life of a man of Perfection.
Q: What practise should we follow for the death of ego?
A: We cannot practise it. The death of ego is the ultimate state one would reach. We can conduct ourselves in trying to nullify or liquidate the ego to the maximum extent or no ego at all. The more ego we have, more the friction in the world. The less the ego, the more harmony with the world. Ego creates resistance and friction. The degree of ego determines the degree of friction/resistance with the world. With this yardstick, you will consciously be able to liquidate the ego. Death of the ego is when the vasanas have been completely nullified/burnt out / annihilated. It is then that you realise the Self.
