Nachiketas

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nachiketas ( Sanskrit नचिकेतस् naciketas ; also Nachiketa ) was a Brahmin son and is the main actor of the Katha Upanishad . In a conversation with the god of death Yama , he is introduced to the path of knowledge.

action

Vajashravasa Gautama , the father of Nachiketas, organizes an all-good sacrifice to secure a seat with Indra after death . When the son sees that only emaciated cows are available, he considers the sacrifice to be insufficient. Three times he asks his father: "Who are you going to give me to?" Then the father becomes angry and consecrates him to the god of death, Yama. Once in the afterlife, Nachiketas has to wait three days without being entertained by Yama, as it should be for a Brahmin son. In compensation, Yama grants him three wishes.

First of all, Nachiketas wishes to be released from the realm of the dead and to be reconciled with his father and for him to give up his resentment against him. This wish is granted to him.

Next, he wishes to be instructed on the nature of the sacrificial fire and the correct stacking of the sacrificial altar. This wish is also granted to him.

The third and final wish, however, is to be enlightened about life after death. But Yama at first evades and offers Nachiketas all imaginable worldly possessions in return, since the answer to this question is very difficult. However, this refuses, because he recognizes the insignificance and transience of earthly wealth and treasures and instead insists on his wish. Yama recognizes the honesty and seriousness of Nachiketas' wish and lets himself be convinced.

Meaning of the Katha Upanishad

This article or section needs to be revised. Details should be given on the talk page. Please help to improve it , and then remove this flag.

While in Vedic times the external ritual of sacrifice was clearly in the foreground of religious considerations, the Upanishads now emphasize the inwardness of sacrifice and the ritual, which is of far greater importance. Central themes of the Upanishads are the nature of Brahman , Atman , Karma , Moksha , Samsara , Guruism , the meaning of life, the nature of the soul and human existence as well as the nature of death. The teachings of meditation , ahimsa of asceticism and yoga start here. The Upanishads are esoteric.

See also

Katha Upanishad

Upanishads

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Rachel Storm, Encyclopedia of Eastern Mythology , Reichelsheim 2000, Nachiketas

literature

  • Georg Feuerstein : The Yoga Tradition. Wiggensbach, Yoga-Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-935001-06-9 , pp. 240-243.
  • Walter Slaje: Upanishads: Arcanum of the Veda. Verlag der Weltreligionen, 2009, ISBN 978-3-458-70020-3 . ( Translation of the Kathopanishad )
  • Helmtrud Wieland: The spectrum of yoga. Hinder + Deelmann, Gladenbach 2006, ISBN 3-87348-150-2 , pp. 225-228.
  • Upanishads. The Indian doctrine. Hugendubel, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2003, ISBN 3-89631-426-2 . (Diedrichs yellow row)
  • Rachel Storm, Encyclopedia of Eastern Mythology , Reichelsheim 2000, Nachiketas