Nachiketa

Around 1800 B.C. Aryan (or Arya nobles) moved into Gangetic valley. Basically, nomadic by nature found northern Indian plains to be fertile enough for them to settle down and turn into an Agrarian civilization. They developed a very extensive farm culture. During this period they wrote the ‘Vedas’ and the most profound ideology and philosophy of the bronze and the iron age.
One of the great works of literature is Katha Upnishad which comes from Krishna Yajurveda. The story which has haunted me since the days of ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ is Nachiketa. That extraordinary boy who tamed death. When ever I heard the story or read it in my childhood I was haunted by loneliness of loosing parents. It scared me with the images of Yama. And of course inspired me to be brave. However, when grew older I realised the importance and the philosophy behind the story itself.
Yama, the Death is the central character in this story.Son of Surya (Sun) the giver of life. He is the brother of Manu ‘the first man’ and is twin of Yami or Yamuna, his twin sister . His wife is Dhumorna, the personification of the sacred fire that consumes the dead. He is assisted by Chitragupta. What is very interesting is the concept of Yama is very prevalent in India where the Vedic religion still flourishes but Yama exists in most olden religions and cultures in very similar form. Only some of the characteristics changes. It’s called Yanlouwang or Yan in Chinese and Japanese cultures, Yamir in nordic races, Yama Xaesta in Zoroastrianism or the old Persian culture, Yamaxaesta changed into Jamshid in modern Persia.

Once upon a time there lived a Brahman priest called Vaajshravas, which means 'the food giver'. He had a son called Nachiketa. When Nachiketa was around 10 years old, Vaajashrava decided to perform a yagyan to give away his possessions as a sacrifice. This yagyan wanted the performer to give away all the prized possessions as an act of sacrifice.
During a particular ceremony called Vishvajit the defective goods were given away. The cows that were given to the brahmins were thin and bony. The udders had no milk and teeth couldn’t chew. Vaajashrava was confounded with the dual problem of giving away the worn-out cows and yet being able to finish the yagnya. His son Nachiketa watched his father’s dilemma. He was a very astute ten year old. To absolve his father from giving away paltry offering which might offend god, he walked up to his father and said.
“Father, why don’t you give away your most prized possession”
Vaajashrava was surprised, he said, “ I have given away everything apart from these cows, what am I left with?” Nachiketa says “It’s your son father",Vaajashrava ignored him, but Nachiketa repeated it many a times, “Father, to whom will you give me.”Vaajashrava was outraged, he thought his son was kidding around and snickering at his misery of giving away these useless cows. He looked at Nachiketa in anger and said, “I am giving you to Yama (the god of death) himself.”
Nachiketa looked at his father in desperation and sadness. He thought to himself that am I so bad that my father would give me away to Death. Then he thought, my father is an intelligent man, he must have thought of something before giving me away, there must be something more than that meets the eye. There was a new resolve in him, with steely eyes he walked away. He thought that a human being is nothing more than a crop which is grown only to be harvested during the fall. New growth happens in the spring.
The moment Vaajashrava realised that Nachiketa had left he bawled and howled for his son. He shouted towards the sky and ran like a mad man all around the jungle in search of his son. At last he realised that his son had left to meet his new master, ‘The Death’. Exhausted and sad he fell on the ground crying for the loss.
Nachiketa on the other was brave and grew braver. He walked towards the Yama’s home. He braved all kinds of dangers that jungle and hell had to throw at him.
Once at the door of ‘Yama’, he knocked and politely waited for someone open to the door. The door was opened by Dhumorna, Yama’s wife. She said, Yama is not here, you have to wait. Nachiketa sat at the door without food and water for three days. When ‘Yama’ arrived, his wife said, “Yama, there is a brahmin boy sitting outside to meet you.” Yama rushed outside, he was furious with his employees on not treating a brahmin in an appropriate manner.He went outside bowed and said, “ I am sorry that you had wait here for three days. To apologise and to show my respect to a brahmin, I would give you three boons.”
Yama, also lived under the laws and customs of Veda. Nachiketa was flattered, he bowed before the Death himself and said, “ The first one, I ask that my father should forgive me.”Yama smiled and said, ”Done, he won’t be angry with you any more.”
The second boon I ask is to know the truth behind the sacrificial fire. “ Why do they say that sacrificial fire is the only way to heaven. What good does it do?”, “ How come someone reach heaven with by praying and chanting all night?”, “ How throwing Ghee (purified butter) and herbs into the fire helps us. What is the connection between going to heaven and sacrifice to a Charvaka (a materialistic skeptic)?” Yama was astonished at the young boy. He looked at him with love and compassion and said, “ My son, come here and sit with me, you could have asked for anything material or anything for afterlife”, “ but you chose to ask for knowledge and I am tickled.”
Yama, goes on to say, “ I will do a favour to the world and name the sacred fire, ‘Nachiketa’”. “ Now, I am going to give you that boon, listen to me carefully.”

Nachiketa listened to him very carefully, Yama said,

“Nachiketa there are three kinds of knowledge for the KNOWER. There is knowledge of Veda, scriptures or your basic education. Then there is a knowledge of perception or the familiarity that you gain out of a state. The third kind is inferential knowledge that you imbibe either by experience or by inferring by the surroundings.”

“Nachiketa, my son, it is like how to light a fire is knowledge that you gain by studying, fire gives light and heat is the knowledge that you gain by perception and familiarity. Fire can be controlled and utilized or it can burn you is the knowledge that you infer with or without actually being burnt. “

“No one goes to heaven by putting liquefied butter in the sacred fire. People go to heaven when they have pure soul. The act of sacrifice or yagnya is just a purification of your soul. Just be a good person and keep your soul clean. Don’t be greedy or pushy. There is a significant difference between aiming high and desiring. Always aim higher but never desire the higher position. Your desires are root to all evil."

“Be happy in every circumstance, take these beads and remember all the pure ether that surrounds us. If you act with purity, intelligence, peacefulness and love, you would reach heaven for sure. That’s my promise.”

In the mean time Vaajashrava is standing with a herd of cows and but he doesn’t have energy to go through the Yagnya. He is still lost in the thoughts of his son.

Yama continues, “ Now my son what else do you want, think wisely, you already have a heavenly afterlife, I can give you anything for this one too.”

Nachiketa, was keen to know more about here and now. He thought heaven is promising enough, however, we all live in the present. He framed his question very thoughtfully and asked “When a man dies there are many many doubts that most people are confused, some say ‘he exists’ and others say ‘he does not’. You are the perfect person to answer this question.” “ Who else would know the answer to this.”

Yama was pleased, showing his fake anger he said, “ You know Nachiketa, even Gods are scared to discuss this. It is too technical and a very subtle question. Very hard to understand. Do you understand what would happen if a ten year old boy starts to tell this to his friends. It would make everyone very uneasy. You shouldn’t be asking this, why don’t you ask for something else.“

Nachiketa held still, he said, “ God, if Gods have trouble answering the question about death then you are the perfect one to ask this question. How can I miss the opportunity to know it when I have a chance of speaking to the Death itself.”

Yama contemplated and uttered, “Son, why don’t you choose, sons and grandsons, herds of cattle and elephants, horses or gold, choose kingdom with vast territory. Ask to live as long as you want. I will give you all the nymphs, best musicians with their musical instruments. Or take all of this but don’t ask about death, Nachiketa.”

Nachiketa responded, ”Sir, all of it that you are offering are transient, they worn out like old clothes. Your senses also get jaded. The wealth is never satisfies anyone, the more you have the more you need.”

“You just told me that sacrifice is the leads to heaven, I really don’t need this things.”

“To be so near to Death has given my life an entire new meaning, you know being near you is the self realization.”

Now Yama was charged up and he started, “ You know Nachiketa, it is one thing to do something which makes you happy and totally another to do what is good or to follow the ‘Truth’. The person who only wants to do what is pleasant to himself/herself looses the goal of life. The truth and the pleasant are offered as a choice to a person, wise person chooses the righteous path even if it is filled with hardships and fools choose the pleasant one, through avarice and narcissism. “

“You were offered all the luxuries of life and yet you chose the path of self relaization. I am proud of you. You are a worthy disciple.”

“Some people get fooled by the wealth and anything that makes them feel better about themselves. For such people inner bliss never comes to them.”

“It’s incredible to see someone realize the importance of realization in this life itself. It is a stuff that great men are made of. It is a miracle.”

“The self realization is more complex than nuclear physics or pure maths, without a good Guru it is impossible to achieve. It is so subtle that trying to understand it fully, is to insult its complexity”

“It is transcendental and you resolve to achieve this knowledge is legendary.”

Nachiketa was happy now and Yama was happy that like many people who go into nindra or half sleep, he was happy that Nachiketa’s concentration was at the discourse.

Yama started again, ”All treasures that you accumulate are transient and death wins at the end, whenever you feel that you have the treasure in your grasp, I will swallow you. I visit everyone, what is transient or non-eternal cannot be eternal and escape me. “

“The wise men leave ‘Janm Chakra’ or the cycle of birth by leaving behind good or bad, truth or untruth, or joy or sorrow.” “You have shown those signs.”

“Meditate to find the subtle, hard to reach and seated deep in heart point where you let go of worldly desires.” “The person who knows this law can truly rejoice, he can rejoice because he has reached this point where the knowledge is self realization that you live without desires and according to Dharma (Law plus Righteousness)”

At this point Nachiketa intervened and asked, “Yama, which is that you interpret or distinguish as Dhrama and Adharma, as different from cause and effect or what had been and what shall be.”

The death spoke,

“Nachiketa, that is a brilliant question, our brain is a complex thing, it holds all and yet it holds nothing. Every action that we take is responsible for every future action that we and our sorroundings take. It’s like throwing a peblle in the pond, once the pebble hits the water it creates a wave after wave in every direction.”

“ What you sow is what you reap. That is eternal law of Karma.”

“ There is a cause of every effect and every effect has a cause. However, sometimes it’s our inability to see the cause of the effect and we blame our present instead of our old karmas. Our brain does not remember and sometimes even it does it fails to recognise our part actions which are responsible for the effect in the present. This effect could be good or bad and could bring us happiness or pain.”

“ Our every action will bear either the fruit of happiness or sadness. This could be from our immidiate action or from our past karmas ranging from this life to our past ones.”

“Every action will have some reaction, even if claim or justify our actions, a wrong action taken in lieu of lust, greed, ego or anger is the basis of eventual sadness.”

Any righteous action which benefits the society or the other being is ‘Dharma’ and any action, taken under lust, greed, anger, revenge or that is caused by ego is ‘Adharma’. ‘Dharma gives you happiness and bliss, ‘Adharma’ pain. Even if our action looks pleasurable at that moment will bear pain in the end if that action has caused pain to others.”

“Nachiketa, your destiny is in your hand, past is gone, present and future is all you have.”

“Oh, your goal is what every scripture trumpets and which is the culmination of all efforts and sacrifice, penance and austerities. This leads you to Brahmn, that power which is omnipotent and omnipresent. It lies in everyone and everyone lies in it. It begins with that cosmic sound of OM. You can get everything if you merge yourself with that cosmic sound. It’s the perfect syllable.”

“The soul is pure Knower and it is which knows the Knowingness. It is the consiousness. This consiousness never dies or is never born. This consiousness or the aware soul is the pure being ‘Brahmn’.”

“The soul doesn’t originate from anything emanate from it. It remains pure from aldutaration. It is without the beginning and without the end. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. The one who thinks that the Atma is destroyed when the body dies is wrong. The soul is undestructable. The Atma is smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. It is in every creature. True soul which desires nothing is the one rejoices life. This thought of self awareness comes to those who do not refrain from bad news, troubles and sorrow. It is for those who do their duty for their loved ones and humanity. Otherwise how would a person know the real meaning of It. It, whose food are priests and warriors. Whose condiment is Me, The Death itself.”

“Try to understand the irony.”

They talked and talked. Nachiketa understood and merged into the cosmos like a drop in the ocean.

“Go now Nachiketa, go back to your father, tell him that Yama has reliesed you from his service and is greatful to him for giving him the sacrifice of such a desciple.”