Kaṭha Upaniṣad

nṛṣu tava māyayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ

nṛṣu tava māyayā bhramam amīṣv avagatya bhṛśaṁ
tvayi sudhiyo’bhave dadhati bhāvam anuprabhavam |
katham anuvartatāṁ bhava-bhayaṁ tava yad bhrū-kuṭiḥ
sṛjati muhus trinemir abhavac-charaṇeṣu bhayam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.32)

[Translated according to Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda’s commentary:] “Understanding the ignorance as a consequence of your māyā among these human beings wherefrom repeated birth ensues, the wise foster bhāva [i.e., render service] profusely for you, Non-existence [i.e., you who are the cause of liberation from material existence]. How could your followers have any distress on account of [material] existence, since the furrowing of your brows—time (trinemi)—creates distress perpetually for those who are not in your shelter?”

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na kevalaṁ śuddha-cittatvam eva yogyatā

na kevalaṁ śuddha-cittatvam eva yogyatā | kiṁ tarhi? tad-bhakti-viśeṣāviṣkṛta-tad-icchāmaya-tadīya-sva-prakāśatā-śakti-prakāśa eva mūla-rūpā sā, yat-prakāśena tad api niḥśeṣaṁ sidhyati | … tat-prakāśena niḥśeṣa-śuddha-cittatve siddhe, puruṣa-karaṇāni tadīya-sva-prakāśatā-śakti-tādātmyāpannatayaiva tat-prakāśatābhimānavanti syuḥ | tatra bhakti-viśeṣa-sāpekṣatvam uktam—‘tac-chraddadhānā munayaḥ’ ity ādau | tad-icchā-mayety ādy-udāharaṇaṁ ca brahma-bhagavator aviśeṣatayaiva dṛśyate | yathā satyavrataṁ prati śrī-matsya-deva-vākye—madīyaṁ mahimānaṁ ca paraṁ brahmeti śabditam | vetsyasy anugṛhītaṁ me sampraśnair vivṛtaṁ hṛdi || iti | tathaiva hi brahmāṇaṁ prati śrī-bhagavad-vākye—‘manīṣitānubhāvo’yaṁ mama lokāvalokanam’ iti | śrī-nārāyaṇādhyātme—nityāvyakto’pi bhagavān īkṣyate nija-śaktitaḥ | tām ṛte puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ kaḥ paśyetāmitaṁ prabhum || iti | śrutau ca—‘yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanuṁ svām’ iti |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 7)

“Not only purity of the citta alone is fitness [for direct experience (sākṣātkāra) of Śrī Bhagavān]. Then what [else is required]? Manifestation of his [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān’s] śakti of self-manifestation [alt., self-luminosity], which is revealed [in the citta] by a particular form of bhakti to him and constituted of his will, is the fundamental form [i.e., the fundamental cause of direct experience of him]—that [śakti] by manifestation of which this [i.e., purity of the citta] too is accomplished completely [i.e., since purification of the citta, without which experience of Śrī Bhagavān is impossible, is also reliant upon the purifying influence of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti, it is all the more evident that his svarūpa-śakti, whereby he self-manifests himself, is the fundamental cause of directly experiencing him]. … When complete purity of the citta is effected by a manifestation of that [i.e., of the self-manifestation śakti of Śrī Bhagavān], then the means of a living being [i.e., the external means, viz., the external senses of seeing, hearing, and so forth, and the internal means, viz., the mind, intellect, ahaṅkāra, and citta], because of their having [then] acquired a state of oneness (tādātmya) with his śakti of self-manifestation, will become possessed of the notion of their being the illuminators of him [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān, even though Bhagavān’s own śakti working through them is the primary cause; this is to say that a person’s experience of Śrī Bhagavān will be felt by them to be similar to experiencing an object in the material world by means of the mind and senses even though this experience of Śrī Bhagavān is primarily being carried out by Śrī Bhagavān’s own śakti working through the mind and senses]. Dependence upon a specific form of bhakti in this regard [i.e., in regard to direct experience (sākṣātkāra) of Śrī Bhagavān taking place by means primarily of Bhagavān’s own potency of self-manifestation (sva-prakāśatā-śakti)] is stated [in SB 1.2.12], ‘The sages possessed of śraddhā see the Self (Ātmā) [i.e., the Paramātmā] within the self (ātmā) [i.e., the purified citta] by bhakti replete with knowledge (jñāna) and detachment (vairāgya) received through hearing [the Vedānta and so forth].‘ An illustration of [Bhagavān’s own potency of self-manifestation (sva-prakāśatā-śakti) being] Constituted of his will is also visible in regard to [direct experience of] Brahman and Bhagavān without distinction [between these two types of direct experience of the Para-tattva] as follows in the statement of Śrī Matsyadeva to Satyavrata [in SB 8.24.38], ‘And you will perceive my greatness, known as Parabrahman, favored [i.e., manifested] in [your] heart by me as it is described [by me] in response to [your] inquiries.’ Similarly in a statement of Śrī Bhagavān to Brahmā [in SB 2.9.21], ‘This vision of my abode [that you have had] is the result of my wish.’ And in Śrī Nārāyaṇa-adhyātma: ‘Although Bhagavān is eternally unmanifest, he can be seen by means of his own potency. Without that, who can see the unlimited Lord of lotus eyes?’ Also, in the Śruti [i.e., Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23], ‘He is attainable [i.e., able to be directly perceived] only by one whom he chooses. To him [who is so chosen] the Ātmā reveals his own form.’ Thus, even the requirement of purity of one’s means [i.e., senses] is to be understood to be only for the purpose of reflection of that potency [i.e., Bhagavān’s own potency of self-manifestation (sva-prakāśatā-śakti)].”

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nāvirato duścaritān nāśānto nāsamāhitaḥ

nāvirato duścaritān nāśānto nāsamāhitaḥ |
nāśānta-mānaso vāpi prajñānenainam āpnuyāt ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 1.2.24; cited in the Govinda-bhāṣya on Vedānta-sūtra: 3.3.54; Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 9.31)

“Neither one who has not desisted from misbehavior, nor one who is devoid of peace [i.e., devoid of control of the senses], nor one who is not steadfast [alt., concentrated], nor one whose mind is devoid of peace, can attain this [i.e., the Ātmā] through knowledge.”

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naiva vācā na manasā prāptuṁ śakyo na cakṣuṣā

naiva vācā na manasā prāptuṁ śakyo na cakṣuṣā |
astīti bruvato’nyatra kathaṁ tad-upalabhyate ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 2.3.12)

“He [i.e., the Supreme Puruṣa] is attainable neither by speech, nor by the mind, nor by the eye. How can he be realized other than by one who says, ‘He is’ [i.e., who first of all has śraddhā in his existence]?”

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eko vaśī sarva-bhūtāntarātmā

eko vaśī sarva-bhūtāntarātmā
ekaṁ rūpaṁ bahudhā yaḥ karoti |
tam ātma-sthaṁ ye’nupaśyanti dhīrās
teṣāṁ sukhaṁ śāśvataṁ netareṣām ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 2.2.12)

“The one Ruler, the Inner Ātmā of all beings, who makes his one form manifold—the sagacious (dhīra) who perceive him situated within the ātmā [i.e., within their own self] experience eternal happiness; others do not.”

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śreyaś ca preyaś ca manuṣyam etas

śreyaś ca preyaś ca manuṣyam etas
tau samparītya vivinakti dhīraḥ |
śreyo hi dhīro’bhipreyaso vṛṇīte
preyo mando yoga-kṣemān vṛṇīte ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 1.2.2)

“Śreyas and preyas present themselves to human beings, and the wise fully assess and discriminate between them. The wise choose śreyas exclusively over preyas, but the foolish choose preyas to gain [what they lack] and preserve [what they have, in the worldly sense].”

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anyac chreyo’nyad utaiva preyas

anyac chreyo’nyad utaiva preyas
te ubhe nānārthe puruṣaṁ sinītaḥ |
tayoḥ śreya ādadānasya sādhu
bhavati hīyate’rthād ya u preyo vṛṇīte ||
(Kaṭha Upaniṣad: 1.2.1)

“Śreyas and preyas are distinct from one another, though with various goals, they both bind the living being. One who between them chooses śreyas reaches the true goal, and one who chooses preyas falls from it.”

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