Katha Upanishad

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The Katha Upanishad ( Devanagari : कठ उपनिषद्) ( Kaṭhopaniṣad , also Kāṭhaka ) is one of the mukhya (“first”) Upanishads , commented on by Shankara . It is also entitled with the phrase Death as a teacher . It is a medium sized Upanishad. It is listed third in the muktika collection of the 108 Upanishads. It consists of two chapters ( adhyāyas ), each is divided into three sections ( vallis ), each containing between 15 and 29 verses ( ślokas ). The name Katha- or Kathaka-Upanishad is derived from a Vedic school associated with the black Yayur-Veda. The fourth or fifth century BC is generally given as the period for the creation of the Upanishad. However, since no clear traces of Buddhism can be found in it, an earlier date (up to 1000 BC) is also possible.

meaning

The Katha Upanishad is considered to be the world's oldest, explicitly yoga-based Upanishad. It contains some of the fundamental ideas on which every yoga practice is based. They are expressed in poetic form. This work by an anonymous author thus represents the transition between the esotericism of the earliest Upanishads and pre-classical yoga.

Form and content

The Upanishad is formulated in verse and consists of two different parts.

The first part, which is made up of sections (Valli) 1 to 3, is the older part , according to the Indologist Paul Deussen .

In part two, which consists of sections 4 to 6, the exclamation etad vai tad is inserted in prose at various points - a total of twelve times . Similar to the exclamation tat tvam asi (That is you) in an older Upanishad, this formula solemnly affirms the unity of Atman and Brahman . In the notes to this Upanishad, Deussen writes:

“..., rather, the key lies in in 5.14, where even the highest consciousness 'tat etad' is called indescribable supreme pleasure. Such can only exist in the awareness of the unity of the soul with Brahman, and so we will also have to interpret the formula etad vai tad: 'Verily, this (what was spoken of above) is that (Brahman)'. "

- Paul Deussen : Upanishads

In verse 14 in the 5th Valli the saying is part of the verse:

"

'This is that!' - One feels this word
as inexpressible supreme pleasure;
But how can you perceive it?
Does it shine or shine?

There the sun does not shine, neither moon nor star shine, nor
those lightning bolts, let alone earthly fire,
everything else shines after him who shines alone,
the whole world shines with his shine.

"

- Paul Deussen : Upanishads

Sections

First Valli

The Upanishad develops its new theses by starting with an ancient legend. It chooses the same words as Taitt. Br. 3.11,8, as if she wanted to refer to this passage and assume that the following story is known and only call it back to the listeners' minds. The sage Vajasravasa (already mentioned in the Rig-Veda) gives his “sacrificial cows” as a gift to the Brahmins in the ritual of the “sacrifice for all good”. In the face of the skinny, milked, lame cows, Nachiketa's son worries about his father's salvation and offers himself as a more appropriate gift. This angered the father and he sent the son to the house of Yama, the god of death. Because the master is away, the son has to wait three days. He does this with patience. As a reward for his behavior, Yama grants him three wishes. The boy's first wish to be allowed back to his father alive is fulfilled. Naciketa also fulfills the second wish, to learn how the sacrificial fire is layered and which mantras should be spoken in order to (temporarily) reach heaven. At first, Yama does not want to answer the boy's third wish to find out what happens to the innermost core of a person after death. Instead, he offers the boy the fulfillment of other wishes:

Verse 1.23

Choose hundred-year-old children for yourself and grandchildren,
Much herds, elephants, gold and horses,
Choose large estates on land for yourself,
And live as much as you want the autumn.

But the boy resolutely remains true to his purpose and the last verse of the section reads:

Verse 1.29

What that doubt reigns down here,
What will happen with the great entrance, tell us;
The desire
that searches this secret, chooses Den and no other, Naciketas.

Second Valli

The teaching presented in the Katha Uanishad is called adhyamta yoga, yoga of the deep self .

Verse 2.20

The smallest of the small and the greatest of the great he
lives as himself here in the heart of the creature;
Free from desire, far from sorrow, one looks at the
satisfied urge of the Atman glory.

The conclusion of the considerations is again the question of the conditions of the knowledge of the Atman.

Verse 2.23

The Atman is
not attained through instruction, not through understanding and many scribes;
Only the one he chooses; from which he is understood:
the Atman reveals his essence to him.

Third Valli

A parable describes the psychic organism as the Rishi sees it.

Verse 3.3:

A chariot driver is, know
the atman , chariot is the body,
driving the chariot is Buddhi
Manas , know the reins.

The unmanifested (Avyaktam) stands higher than the Atman, and above it the Purusha , which resides invisibly in all beings as Atman. Finally, students are encouraged to follow this path indicated by the wise.

Verse 3.14:

Stands up! Wake up!
Excellent teachers have attained, take note of them,
How difficult it is to walk with a sharp knife edge,
Difficult is the way! This is what the wise teach you.

Fourth Valli

The sage emphasizes that the Atman is the sole bearer of reality, both in waking and in dreaming.

Vers. 4.3

Through whom one sees, tastes, smells, hears
and touches each other,
through him alone one recognizes -
What do you ask about the rest
Verily this is it!

Fifth Valli

The author proclaims that the Atman is the true giver of life and in beautiful parables he speaks of the fact that it enters into beings and yet stands outside of them.

Verse 5.5

Not by breathing in and by breathing in
.
A mortal has his life: Another makes him live,
On which those two are based.

Verse 5.9

The light as one penetrates into space
and nevertheless hugs any shape;
This is how the inner self of beings dwells, nestled
in every form, and yet remains outside.

Sixth Valli

In this section the author sets out in several verses how the way must be to know Atman / Brahman. He calls this psychological process yoga.

Verses 6.7-6.11

Higher than the senses is Manas,
Higher than Manas Sattvam,
Higher than this "great Self",
above this Avyaktam.

This dominates the Purusha,
all-pervasive and unmarked.
Whoever recognizes him, is redeemed, he
enters into immortality.

The shape of it is
not to be seen , no one sees him with his eye;
Only those who prepare in heart and mind and spirit - become
immortal, who therefore know him.

Only when
manas comes to a standstill with the five senses,
and buddhi stands motionless,
this is what they call the highest gear.

That is what is called yoga, the
strong bondage of the senses , but one
is not casual about it:
yoga is creation and the past.

literature

credentials

  1. a b Georg Feuerstein : The Yoga Tradition. History, literature, philosophy & practice. Yoga-Verlag, Wiggensbach 2008, ISBN 978-3-935001-06-9 , p. 241.
  2. Peter Michel (Ed.): Upanishads. 2006, p. 340.
  3. Peter Michel (Ed.): Upanishads. 2006, p. 362.
  4. Peter Michel (Ed.): Upanishads. 2006, p. 346.
  5. Peter Michel (Ed.): Upanishads. 2006, p. 347.
  6. Peter Michel (Ed.): Upanishads. 2006, p. 351.
  7. Peter Michel (Ed.): Upanishads. 2006, p. 352.
  8. Peter Michel (Ed.): Upanishads. 2006, p. 353.
  9. Peter Michel (Ed.): Upanishads. 2006, p. 355.
  10. Peter Michel (Ed.): Upanishads. 2006, pp. 364-365.