The Secret of the Katha Upanishad : 4.3. Swami Krishnananda.

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Wednesday, February  01, 2023. 06:00

Discourse - 4.3.

Post -22.

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Our soul within may be compared to the Lord seated in a chariot. This body of ours, this individuality, this personality, may be regarded as a chariot in which is seated the soul- consciousness. The chariot is driven by a charioteer, a driver. The intellect in us is the charioteer. The reins are the operations of the mind. The horses which pull or drag this chariot are the senses—the eyes, ears, etc. The roads along which this chariot is driven by the charioteer with the help of the horses are the objects of the senses. All this is made possible by a joint activity of the Atman, the senses and the mind. This is a very concise and beautiful description, symbolic, dramatic, full of meaning and profundity. This chariot is to be driven right to the Abode of Vishnu—tad vishnoh paramam padam. If the horses are restive, if they are tired, if they are unwilling, if they cannot see the road properly, they may dash down the chariot into a ditch. Sometimes, we see horses dragging tongas and going backwards! They will not go forward. Then the tongawalla gets down and catches hold of the reins. Either the horses are exhausted, or they are annoyed. Sometimes, these horses of our senses behave in this manner.

The chariot is also to be made of good material; otherwise it may get disintegrated by wear and tear of movement. The charioteer plays the most important part in this entire activity of the locomotion of the chariot. You know the role Sri Krishna played in driving the chariot of Arjuna. Everything was dependent on him. The driver of a car, even in your own case, is very important. You sit in the car comfortably, and doze there, but what is the responsibility of the driver? Your life is in his hands. If he also starts dozing, what will happen? So, the charioteer, the intellect, the understanding, the rationality in us is the primeval faculty which determines the extent of our progress in this effort, called the practice of yoga. Look at the various aspects of this movement of the chariot described in this passage. The roads are the objects of sense. The senses are the horses. The intellect is the charioteer. The rider is the soul. The body is the chariot. Everything is very essential. There is no unimportant part in this description.

The chariot may be considered first and foremost. What should be the nature of the chariot? It should be strongly built—na ayam atma balahinena labhyah. A weakling cannot attain to this Atman. Now, the strength or the bala that is demanded of the aspirant is not an elephantine strength of the muscles and the bones merely; otherwise, elephants would be the best seekers of yoga. What is required of a seeker is the strength of integrity and character. You should be sufficiently tough in your physical build also, though you need not be a sandow. Strength of the body is different from bulkiness of personality or the heaviness of the body. It is the capacity to endure hardship—that is called strength. To what extent can you bear the pairs of opposites? From that you can know the strength of your personality. Now, the personality is not merely the body. This body that is described as the chariot in the Upanishad is not simply the physical body, but the entire vesture of the personality, the pancha-koshas—annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya, and anandamaya. All this is the chariot described in the Upanishad. These layers have to be kept in unison and should be made of very hard timber. Also, the parts of the chariot should be well and harmoniously adjusted. Suppose one wheel moves this way and the other wheel moves that way, they are loosely connected; then, there would be no proper motion of the chariot. It should not be shaky. It should be systematically built, harmoniously constructed, strong in its make and fit to bear the wear and tear of the motion towards the ultimate goal of life. For this purpose, we have to observe what we call the golden mean of conduct, which is beautifully described in the sixth chapter of the Bhagavadgita. Moderation in our conduct, balance in our behaviour, harmony in our activity, is a pre-condition to yoga.

Extreme of any kind is opposed to yoga. Yoga is the course via media, the madhyama-marga in every type of engagement, physically, verbally as well as mentally. In our behaviour we must be moderate. We should not be excessive in our behaviour with others or with our own selves. When we talk, we should not talk the head off a person, as if the lid is open—go on talking until the man is tired and wants to get away. This is a weakness. Speak what is necessary. Speak in proper terms. Speak in the proper mood, and speak at the proper time, in a proper manner. Then you will succeed in your aims. You should not tell the wrong thing, at a wrong time, in a wrong manner. Nor should you be in an agitated mood when you speak, with curled lips and red eyes. Let not the mind be agitated when you express yourself in action or speech. All this is a part of the composure of personality. It is only in this composed nature that we can say the right charioteer is seated. The chariot of Arjuna was very peculiarly made. It was protected by Hanuman on the top, Krishna in the front as well as the blessing of the Lord of Fire, Agnideva, who presented Arjuna with the Gandiva bow. It had blessings of various kinds. If you read the Mahabharata, you will know it. On such a chariot was Arjuna seated, the best of archers, with the best of charioteers endowed with the highest wisdom and power. This is described to some extent in the Katha Upanishad itself, in certain other contexts as well.

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To be continued

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