This is a continuation of an earlier blog with same title. Upanishadic tales have a deeper meaning in them even as they seem very simple. It is important understand and grasp the deeper and hidden meanings of these tales. Each and every character depicted in the tale corresponds to a deeper and spiritual aspect of our being. In the Kathopanishad the tale starts with a conversation with the father and the son. The father being a king named Vajashravas and the son Nachiketas who is 5 years old.
The father has just performed a fire sacrifice so that he can gain a place in the kingdom of heaven. As the fire sacrifice comes to an end there is a ritual of donating cows and money to the priests who have performed the Yaga (fire sacrifice). But it is seen that the king is donating impotent and old cows who are of no use to the priests. As the young Nachiketas watches this he is perturbed. The Upanishad says he is entered with faith. In order to question his father’s donation, he repeatedly asks him to whom shall he donate his son to. The angry father in a fit of anger says that he donates him to death.
On the surface this tale seems quite ordinary. But the Vedic sages have very peculiar habit of departing deepest of spiritual knowledge in the simplest of manners.
Here the King Vajashravas is seen as a person who does action keeping its fruit in mind i.e. heavenly kingdom and in order to do so this his indriyas the organs of sense i.e. represented by the cows have become weak and impotent. In short, the Upanishad is telling an aspirant that you will become weak if you take action by just keeping its fruit in mind.
While the son Nachiketas the Upsnishad calls him ‘unwed’ is a symbol of selfless action and devotion. As he is a young child, he is very pure hearted and his sense organs are under his control. This short excerpt tells us to question our elders whenever we feel they are wrong and in a way that is respectful to them.
- Pure hearted
- Should try to aware of all his actions in order to keep his/her sense organs in control
- Be self-less in his/her practices
- Be respectful of his/her elders
- Should be full of empathy.
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