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<title>ON UPANISHADIC THOUGHT</title>

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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center; line-height:150%; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0"><b>
<font size="4">ON UPANISHADIC THOUGHT</font><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center; line-height:150%; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0">&nbsp;</p>
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<font size="4">Yama -
Nachiketa </font> <o:p></o:p></b></p>

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<font size="4">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>&nbsp; </b>
</font></span><b><font size="4">(Katha Upanishad)</font><o:p></o:p></b></p>

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none;tab-stops:28.3pt;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><i><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></i></p>

<p class=MsoBodyText style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">VAJASRAVAS desired that he would give away all he had. He
had a son named Nachiketas.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:8.6pt;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>As the boy saw the gifts
being given, his heart was filled with respect and devotion, and he pondered:</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:9.6pt;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>&quot;The realm of
undelight is his portion who makes a gift offering of kine that have drunk
their last drop of water and eaten the last herb, have been sucked to the last
drop of milk and have worn out their organs.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:9.1pt;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>So the boy said to his
father, &quot;To whom are you going to give me, father?&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.35pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>The
father did not give an answer to the senseless question of his ignorant son.
But the boy was insistent. . He asked the same question again, and a third
time. Finally, the father gave an angry reply, &quot;I shall give thee to
Death!&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.6pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>In
the simplicity of his heart, the boy argued to himself thus: &quot;Among many I
occupy the first place, with others I come second, so I am not wholly
worthless. Hence, what my father said must have a meaning, I must have some
work to do with Yama, the Lord of Death.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.6pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>The
boy went on musing on the subject of death, &quot;Look, what has happened to
those who were there before, and to those also who came after. Mortal beings
ripen like the grains in the field and are shed, they come to birth again like
those grains.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:8.15pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>This
indeed is a mystery, a mystery to which the God Yama alone has a clue.
That is why Nachiketas left for the abode of Yama and came and sat on the
latter's doorstep.<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

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<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-115<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>There he lay in wait for
three whole nights in the hope of getting a chance to meet Yama.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.25pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Even
as the boys Dhruva and Prahlada had had a vision of God through their simple
faith, so did the simple but stout-hearted Nachiketas too reach the abode of
Yama and meet him.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.5pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>The
minions of Yam a went and told him, &quot;There has been a Brahmin lad waiting
at our doorstep for three days in order to see you - a Brahmin and on top of
that a guest; this is like playing with fire. You should go and greet him with
all due ceremony. A Brahmin, as you know, arriving at somebody's house and left
to starve, means the waning of all one's virtue and a grave risk to one's
worldly state.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.75pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>We
should take the word &quot;Brahmin&quot; here in the sense given to it by the
Gita: a Brahmin is one who is devoted to brahman, the Highest Reality;
he is a seeker of the Spirit and serves It. A particular duty laid on the
society of that age was to support and give due respect to this topmost class;
for the true prestige and worth of a society depend not on its visible power or
prosperity but on the richness of its inner growth.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:12.45pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Yama
thereupon appeared, as if in a bit of a flurry. Or, perhaps he was putting
Nachiketas' sincerity to a little test. He offered Nachiketas a seat with all
deference and, as if to atone for his earlier neglect, addressed him thus in a
humble tone:</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:13.4pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>&quot;You
have been made to wait here for three days without food, a Brahmin and a guest.
Accept my salutations, may all be well with me.&quot; This meant, in modern
language, &quot;Do be kind enough to pardon me.&quot; Yama meant to suggest
through this eminently human attitude that he was, in spite of being Death, no
uncultivated boor! He continued, &quot;N achiketas, since you have been waiting
here for three nights, you should demand three boons from me.&quot; Nachi­ketas
too accepted the apology with courtesy without an. other word, and asked for
the first boon thus:</p>

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line-height:150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:
none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-116<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-indent:9.6pt;
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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.6pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>&quot;My
dear father must be getting anxious on account of my disappearance, thinking
that I have been gripped by death and would not return. You please give him
peace of mind, remove the feeling of displeasure he has about me, and grant
that when I return from your abode a free man, may he recognise me and receive
me with joy. This, then, O Yama, will be the first boon I desire.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.35pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Yama
said in reply, &quot;It will be certainly as you say. You will get back from
here, your father Auddalaka Aruni will be able to see you as before, he will
have his peace of mind on seeing you freed from the jaws of death, his
annoyance will go, he will have good sleep at night.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.35pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Nachiketas
went on, &quot;It is said: there is no fear in heaven, you too are not there,
nor is there the dread of old age, people live in great joy when, after
crossing beyond both hunger and thirst and passing to the other shore of
sorrow, they come to heaven. O Death, you know about that heavenly Fire, speak
to me about It, I am listening with faith. The dwellers in heaven have gained
immortality. Please tell me about this mystery. This is the second boon I
desire.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.6pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>The
Lord of Death said in reply, &quot;Nachiketas, listen then to the mystery of
this Fire. I have knowledge of this Fire. The Fire takes one to the world of
Infinity. The Fire is the basis of this universe. He is abiding in a cave,
hidden within our secret being.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.1pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Yama
explained to Nachiketas further, &quot;The Fire is the beginning of
creation.&quot; He also revealed the secret knowledge about the method of
kindling this Fire, the number of bricks and their types needed in piling the
altar. Nachi­ketas listened to all this with great attention, and repeated to
the Lord of Death what he had thus learned.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.1pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Death
was pleased and said to him again, &quot;Nachiketas, I am much pleased with
you, so I grant you another boon, namely, that the mystery of the Fire which I
have revealed to you will be named after you; henceforth people will call it
the Fire of Nachiketas. I also give this garland of</p>

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line-height:150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:
none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-117<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>many forms, take it.&quot;
What this garland stood for was explained a little by Death, in the same
language of symbols which he had used in revealing the mystery of the Fire. He
said, &quot;One who lights the three Fires is united with the Three, and goes
on performing the three Works, passes beyond life and death. He then comes to
know that adorable Deity who is born of the Supreme; knowing him he attains to
the supreme Peace.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.3pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Yama
went on dwelling on the same mystery, perhaps making it still more mysterious.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.3pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>.
&quot;One who has gained the three Fires of Nachiketas, one who has gained
knowledge of the Three, one who has thus seen and known and mastered the Fire
of Nachiketas has pushed away from in front all the bonds of death, passed
beyond all sorrow, has enjoyed the bliss of heaven. This then is that heavenly
Fire of Nachiketas which you chose as the second of your boons. Henceforth, all
people will say, this is verily your Fire. Nachiketas, now you are free to
choose your third boon.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.5pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Nachiketas
answered, &quot;Well, there rises a doubt as to the beings who depart from
hence: some say they continue to exist, others say they do not. I want to know
the truth of this matter, you please give me this knowledge. This is the third
boon I ask.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoBodyTextIndent style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">This seemed to create a little difficulty for Yama.
He said, &quot;You see, this debate has been going on even among the gods from
times sempiternal. This is a very subtle point, this knowledge is not easy to
get, nor easy to grasp. You had better ask for some other boon, do not press me
further on this point, give up this quest.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.0pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>But,
as we have no doubt seen by now, Nachiketas was not to be put off like that; He
exclaimed, &quot;But this is strange! Even the gods find it a matter for
debate, you too are saying it is not easily grasped. But I am not going to have
another like you to speak to me about this matter. And do not con­sider any
other boon worth having, as compared to this.&quot;<span style='font-size:10.0pt;
color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

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line-height:150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:
none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-118<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoBodyTextIndent2 style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">Death too on his part tried to cajole the boy into
forgetting about it, perhaps taking him to be a mere child. He said,
&quot;Nachiketas, choose sons and grandsons living to a hundred years, choose
an abundance of cattle, horses and elephants, gold and jewels. Take as your
portion vast stretches of land, live [or as many years as you please. If, in
addition, you consider any other boon equally worth having, ask for it; choose
as much wealth as you like and life eternal. Or else, if you desire a whole
kingdom, I shall fulfil your wish for all these desirable things.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.55pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Yama
went on adding to the list of desirable things, in the hope that perhaps in the
end the boy could be won over. &quot;All the desirable things that are hard to
get on this mortal earth, you can demand exactly as you please. Charming
damsels with their chariots and song and dance, than whom there is nothing more
acceptable to men - all this I shall give you for your enjoyment at will. But
do not ask any more about death.&quot;</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.3pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>But
Nachiketas was no mere boy or unripe youth. His reply was immediate, &quot;All
that you have named, O De­stroyer, lasts only till the morrow. There is no
organ or sense that does not get blunt in course of time. And even if it lasts,
a whole life-time, that too is but little. Let yours, O Yama, be all those
chariots and the damsels, yours the song and the dance. Man is not satisfied by
riches, O Death. And here will be no dearth of wealth when I have looked upon
you in person. I shall live as long as you like, but my choice is for that boon
alone. You might yourself consider this. Once a mortal being dwelling here
below in the grip of physical matter has felt the presence of the unaging
Immortals, gained the true knowledge, has realised the true nature of beauty
and passion and pleasure, what joy can he have in this transient life? Tell me,
O Death, more about this end­less debate on what is or is not after the great
annihilation. The deep secret of the beyond, it is this that I want to under­stand.
Nachiketas demands no other boon of you.&quot;<span style='font-size:
8.0pt'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-indent:10.3pt;
line-height:150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:
none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-119<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:10.3pt;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Yama did not find it
possible to put him off any more. <span style='font-size:7.0pt'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>&nbsp;</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>He went
on expounding his secret knowledge to Nachiketas. He began with that secret
Word which Nachiketas had al­ready received and grasped all by himself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.5pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'>Man has open before him two doors leading to two
different paths: one is that of the good, the other of what is pleasant. The
two lead in opposite directions; Nachiketas had renounced the pleasant and had
chosen the good. On the basis of this choice depend, in the beginning and
through­out at each step, the progress and upward evolution of man. He alone
who can recognise and choose the good gains the Highest, the supreme Reality.
Nachiketas too had made these gains; he had become foremost among spiritual
men, </span>brahmistha<span style='font-size:9.0pt'>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoBodyTextIndent3 style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">There is in this story an unsolved problem which in
its turn might give rise to a &quot;debate&quot;. I am going to take that as my
theme in what follows.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.55pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'>Yama taught Nachiketas about the mystery of the Fire
as the second boon. The fruit of this knowledge, the gain it brings has been
described. It is the winning of the heavenly world where one enjoys
immortality; it is a world of delight where death itself is not, nor old age
and fear and sorrow, nor hunger and thirst.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.0pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'>And what is this Fire? Fire is the Origin of the
worlds, the realms of Infinity; in Its very nature Fire is the Beginning and
the Infinite, Immortality and Delight. And where does It dwell? It lies hidden
as in a cave. What cave this is will be discussed later. For the present, it
will be well to remember that the Fire is a doer of the Triple Work, and It has
knowledge of Him or of what is born of the Supreme. The problem is: does not
all this amount to what the Gita describes as &quot;a mixed word&quot;?
Nachiketas desired to know,</span><span style='font-size:16.0pt'> </span><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'>as his third boon, which of the two opinions
concerning the state of the embodied being on his departure from here after
death, namely, that he continues to exist or ceases to be, is<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-indent:11.0pt;
line-height:150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:
none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-120<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>the real truth of the
matter. But has not the mystery of what lies beyond death been already revealed
by what has been said, in connection with the second question or boon, about
attaining the heavenly world, enjoyment of immortality, the companionship of
the gods and so on? Where then is the point in asking the same question again?<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:.15in;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>As
an initial clue to the problem, we must keep in mind that the heavenly world
can be attained even without the death of the body, &quot;by pushing away from
in front the bonds of death&quot;, as the text says, or as in the usual
interpretation, before succumbing to death. Nachiketas himself had achieved
this feat. The heavenly world has been conceived as just another neighbourhood
or abode, a world of delight where there is no old age, death, or sorrow and
suffering. But it does not imply any victory gained in a battle with death, any
mastery obtained over death. All that seems to happen here is that death has
been pushed aside, or evaded perhaps. There is merely an absence of death here,
it has not been brought under control. Death may not be present in this abode,
but he is sitting in his lair and is free to go where he wills, even if it be
within some limits. There has been no annihilation of death.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:.15in;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>In
his third boon, Nachiketas wants to know if there is beyond the physical
death any surpassing of death. Granted that heaven is attained, but what
happens after that, beyond the heavenly world? For, this too is sometimes said
that the enjoyment of heaven is only for a time, no matter how long that time
be; after the term is over, one has to come back to earth, death has to be encountered
over again. In this view, if the soul of man be immortal, the
immortality does not go beyond heaven, it is nothing more than the enjoyment of
heaven.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoBodyTextIndent style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">In fact, the Upanishads speak of two kinds of
immorta­lity. One is temporal immortality, that is, living for ever, the other
is beyond time, in the ultimate Reality or the su­preme- Truth; one is cosmic,
the other transcendental.<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-121<o:p></o:p></span></p>

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mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>There are likewise two
kinds of eternity and infinity. One is in relation to time, with time as its
basis and inseparable from the progress of time, what in the ordinary view is
described as &quot;lasting as long as the sun and the moon&quot;. The other is
beyond all creation or manifestation, poised above it in the supreme Status.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:12.0pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>What
Nachiketas desired to know was this. The gods are temporal beings. However big
and mighty they may be, they who endure for ever with a life eternal and have
no death, cannot know the secret of death. They may live beyond the pale of
death and death is foreign to them. But they are ignorant of the Truth that is
beyond time, that has to be reached through death and by passing to the other
shore of death. That is why Yama says that the gods are full of doubts and
puzzled about this matter. But Yama himself is in possession of this knowledge,
he is aware of the Truth that lies beyond him, on the other shore. Nachiketas
says to Yama, &quot;Since I have been able to find you, I am sure of gaining
this knowledge; there is none other so wise who can speak about it.&quot; The
reason is that Yama has been called Vaivasvata, he is born of Vivasvan, the
Sun-god, Surya Savitri.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.5pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Surya
Savitri stands for the highest Knowledge, He is the Supreme Consciousness from
which comes the creation of the universe. Yama is the Life-Force, the Ordainer
of the worlds with their rhythms of life. He is here in this manifestation of
the play of life the representative of Savitri, and Fire is his vehicle,
instrument or symbol. Just as Surra is Vivasvan, the Supreme Effulgent One,
Yama is likewise the Cosmic Being, all cosmic power and universal forces are
his. Surya is supra-cosmic, belongs to the Beyond. Fire is cosmic, belongs to
our worlds. Or, to put it more exactly, Surya is the point of transition from
the Beyond to these worlds; Fire is such a point from the worlds to the Beyond.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.55pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>The
mystery of the Fire that was revealed to Nachiketas by Yama would give him the
mundane realisation, namely,</p>

</div>

<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center; text-indent:10.55pt; line-height:150%;margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0">
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-122<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class=Section1>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-indent:10.55pt;
line-height:12.95pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:
none'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

</div>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;tab-stops:3.85in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>the
conquest over time past, present and future, the attain­ment of temporal
immortality or heaven. The mastery thus obtained consists of a set of trios: it
has three lines of fulfilment, it acts in three ways, in the three worlds,
throughout the three divisions of time. The three worlds as we know them are
mind, life and body; all endeavour and attainment here on earth are concerned
with this trio. The altar of the Fire here is provided by man's inner and outer
frame; the bricks of this altar are his body, life and mind with all their
activities; the multiform garland spoken of by Yama is this lower nature with
its multiple forms. Fire is the symbol of the conscious power and energy lying concealed
within the innermost depths of the mortal frame, it is the inner being's power
of askesis.<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoBodyTextIndent2 style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">By following the path of the triple Work;
Nachiketas could achieve the temporal realisation. What he needed now was the
realisation beyond time, this is what he demanded as his third boon: after the
knowledge of the worlds the Knowledge of the Supreme, the transcendental
realisation after the cosmic.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.3pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:3.85in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Fire has been described as the Origin of the worlds, He is
the Beginning of the worlds, their Source. He is also the primeval World, for
the earth-principle, this earth of ours, this physical universe is the
place of Agni, His own abode and field of action. Underlying the gross physical
is the Sub­conscient, and within the Subconscient, this Fire or power of
askesis and conscious force keeps HimseIf concealed. It is under that secret
Impulse that the creation moves. It is this Fire that gives Nachiketas his ultimate
realisation. We may say, in the words of the Isha Upanishad, that first, by
virtue of the second boon, he crosses beyond death by the knowledge of the
Ignorance; next, by his third boon, he wins Immortality on mastering the
supreme Knowledge. This is the fruit promised to him in the end.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.3pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:3.85in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Nachiketas gained this knowledge, the entire method of the
Yoga as revealed to him in person by the Lord of Death.<span
style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-indent:10.3pt;
line-height:150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:3.85in;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-123<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;text-indent:10.3pt;
line-height:12.95pt;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:3.85in;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

</div>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;tab-stops:5.75pt 202.05pt;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Freed
from all impurity and the possibility of death, he at­tained the supreme state.
Anyone else who would follow his path would likewise obtain this realisation of
the Self, even as Nachiketas did.<span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:5.75pt 202.05pt;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;'>Page-124</span><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

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mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:5.75pt 202.05pt;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
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