KATHOUPANISHAD - 67. Swami Advayananda.

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Wednesday 16, October 2024, 06:55.
KATHA UPANISHAD  
Part 2 – Total 49 Mantras 
Chapters 2.1, 2.2 & 2.3 
Chapter 2.1: (15 Mantras) 
Mantram: 2.1.1: First Obstacle: The “Punished” Senses 
Post - 67.

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Mantram: 2.1.1: First Obstacle: The “Punished” Senses 

|| 2.1.1|| 

 1 

Paraanchi khaani = “Outgoing be thou, O senses!” –   

vyatrinat swayambhooh = thus did the Great Lord curse or afflict them. 

2 

tasmaat paraak pashyati = Therefore, one sees the outer things   

na antaraatman; = and not the inner Self. 

3 

kashchit dheerah = A rare discriminating man arises   

pratyak-aatmaanam aikshat =  who gazes inward on the Self, 

4 

aavritta chakshuh = turning the gaze of his eyes away from sense objects,  

amritatvam icchhan. = and desiring Immortality.

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The first major obstacle is mentioned in this verse. It is the Extroverted Senses. 

The overall cause of this is Avidya or ignorance. 

1

 Vyatrinat: “afflict” or “curse”. The Rishi speaks of the senses as having a  manufacturer’s defect. 

He argues, with tongue in cheek, that we are manufactured with this  fault – with senses turned outwards. 

It cannot be helped. It is not our fault! 

2

 The irony continues. The man of weak will says, “We can hardly be blamed for not  seeing the Self! 

After all, God has made our senses turned outwards; it is not actually our  fault at all. 

It is the nature of the senses to lead our mind outwards and engage it with the outer world. 

They are made like that to fulfill their purpose.  

We are made to enjoy sense pleasures. 

Why should we be asked to restrain our senses?” 

That is as far as we can go with thye irony. 

The curse is, of course, not to be taken literally; 

it is only a euphemism, a mild way of expressing the blunt fact we do not wish to control our senses. 

Our leaning towards pleasure is incorrigible.  

3

 To recognize this defect is possible only through the rare quality of discrimination 

by which the temporary nature of sense objects is understood and a “U-turn” is made to 

turn our attention inward. 

This is the most critical step that begins the spiritual quest. 

One who has such a subtle intellect is called a Dheerah. 

He is able to turn the senses inwards towards the Pratyak Atman (the indwelling Self). 

4

 The reference to ‘turning the eyes away’ should be taken to mean turning all the 

five senses away, not just the eyes. It is not possible to behold the Self and the objects 

together. 

In this context, Vairagya or Dispassion is called for. Vairagya may be defined as 

the desire for the higher which makes us willingly give up the lower. The senses always want 

to be tickled and the mind gets habituated to the tickling. The mind is thus assisted by the 

senses to turn outwards regardless of what the intellect tells it. But when Vairagya dawns, 

the whole process is reversed. 

The question is asked: “Why does the wise man practise Vairagya, which is such an 

enormously difficult task?” The answer is: “It is purely because of his desire to attain 

Immortality.” 

Immortality means putting an end to the cycle of births and deaths once and 

for all. Freedom from this endless cycle is what the seeker desires, and that is what makes 

him practise Vairagya to attain mastery over his senses and mind.

 

Use of ‘Atman’ for the Indwelling Self:

 [This portion is only of interest to very technically minded students. Others can move on 

to the next verse at this point. ] 

A mantram is quoted in the Bhashya from which four meanings arise for the word ‘Atman’. 

The mantram is: “Since It pervades (Yachaapnoti), absorbs (Yadaadatte), and expands and enters 

(Yacchaatti) all objects in the world, and since from It the world derives its continuous 

existence (Yacchaasya).” 

Acharyaji explained all the four roots of the above verbs used in deriving the meaning 

of ‘Atman’. 

i) ‘Aap’ in Yachaapnoti – to pervade. When we arise in the morning, we shift from a 

state of ‘coiled up’ or withdrawn consciousness of deep sleep into a state in which our 

consciousness expands throughout our body. 

ii) ‘Daa’ in Yadaadatte – to hold or absorb. That into which everything is absorbed or 

which holds all our experiences is the indwelling Self. 

 

iii) ‘At’ in Yacchaatti – that which expands and enters everything is the inner Self. 

iv) ‘As’ in Yacchaasya – that which has a continuous presence is also the Self. 

This explains the appropriateness of using the word Atman for the inner Self. 

Another technical correction made is changing Aikshat from past tense to present 

tense – “saw” to “sees”. This is more correct since the seeing can still be done even now. 

*****

Next

Mantram - 2.1.2: Second Obstacle: The Mind’s Thirst for Pleasure 

Continued

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