Fools dwelling in ignorance, yet imagining themselves wise and learned, go round and round in crooked way, like the blind led by the blind

— Katha Upanishad 2.5

 

Look back to those who lived before, and look to those who live now. Like grain, the mortal decays and like grain, again springs up, by being reborn.

— Katha Upanishad Verse 6

 

The wise, who by means of the Highest Meditation, gets to know of the Supreme One, who is difficult to perceive, who is hidden in the cave of the heart, dwelling in the depth of the Inner Soul, he who knows that Supreme One as God, is liberated from the chains of sorrow and pleasure.

– Katha Upanishad 2.12

 

Know The Body as The Chariot, and the Atman (Soul / Self) as the lord of the Chariot. Know the intellect to be the driver and mind, the reins.

– Katha Upanishad 3.3

 

He who has not turned away from evil conduct, whose senses are uncontrolled, who is not tranquil, whose mind is not at rest, He can never attain this Atman (Spiritual Energy) even by knowledge.

– Katha Upanishad 2.24

 

Yama Replied :- That goal which all the Vedas glorify, desiring which people practice Brahmacharya (A Life of Continence, Peace and Selfless Service), that goal, I tell thee briefly – It is Aum. This word is indeed Brahman. This word is indeed Supreme. He who knows this word attains the peace he desires. This is the best support; This is the highest support. He who knows this support is glorified in the world of Brahman.”

– Katha Upanishad 2.15 – 17

 

The foolish man, in whose house a Guest remains without food, All his hopes and expectations, all the merit he gained by his association with the holy, by his good words and deeds, and all his cattle, are destroyed.

— Katha Upanishad Verse 8 (Athiti Devo Bhava)

 

O Gautama, as pure water poured into pure water becomes one, So also does the Enlightened Soul, as they become one with the Supreme.

– Katha Upanishad 4.15

 

A wise man should control speech by mind, mind by intellect, intellect by Atman (Soul), and Atman by the Supreme One.

— Katha Upanishad 3.13

 

He who knows the three-fold Nachiketa Fire and performs the Nachiketa Fire Sacrifice with three-fold knowledge, Having cast off the shackles of death and being beyond grief, he rejoiced in the realm of Heaven.

– Katha Upanishad Verse 18

 

Man cannot be satisfied by wealth. Shall we possess wealth when we see Death? Shall we continue to live as long as the land we rule? Therefore that boon alone is the one chosen by me.

– Katha Upanishad Verse 27

 

What man dwelling in the decaying mortal realm, having approached the undecaying immortal one, And having reflected upon the nature of enjoyment through beauty and sense pleasure, would delight in long life?

– Katha Upanishad Verse 28

 

The good is one thing and the pleasant, another. These two, having two different ends, bind a man. It is well with him who chooses the good. He who chooses the pleasant misses the true end.

– Katha Upanishad 2.1

 

The good and the pleasant approach the man. The wise examines both and chooses only one of them; the wise prefers the good to the pleasant. But the foolish man chooses the pleasant through love for pleasure.

– Katha Upanishad 2.2

 

Wide apart are these two — Ignorance and Wisdom, leading in completely opposite directions. I believe Nachiketas to be the one who longs for wisdom, since many tempting objects have not turned thee inside.

– Katha Upanishad 2.4

 

The afterlife never rises before the thoughtless child, or the ignorant, who are deluded by the glamour of wealth. “This world alone is, there is no other!” – Thinking so, he falls under sway again… and again.

– Katha Upanishad 2.6

 

O Dearest, this Atman (Inner Soul) cannot be attained by argument; It is truly known only when taught by an enlightened person. O Nachiketas, thou hast attained it. Thou art fixed in Truth. May we find a questioner like Thee.

– Katha Upanishad 2. 9

 

If the slayer thinks he slays, or if the slain thought he was slain, both of them are wrong. For he neither slays, nor is he slain. – Katha Upanishad 2.19

 

The Self-existent created the senses out-going. This is the reason man sees the External, but not the inner Atman (Soul). Some wise men, however, desiring durability, with eyes turned away from the External, only see the Atman (Soul) within.

– Katha Upanishad 4.1

 

Children, or the ignorant, pursue external pleasures. Thus, they fall into the wide-spread trap of death. But the wise, knowing the nature of immortality, do not seek among temporary things.

– Katha Upanishad 4.2

 

That by which one knows form, taste, sound, smell, touch and sense enjoyments, by That also one knows whatever remains to be known. The Atman (Soul) verily is “That”. That by which a mortal perceives, both in dream and in waking, by completely recognizing the great all-pervading Atman, only then, the wise man grieves no more.

– Katha Upanishad 4.3 – 4

 

He who knows The Atman (Soul) ever near, as the lord of the past and the future, fears no more.

– Katha Upanishad 4.5

 

What is here in the visible world, that is there in the invisible world, too. He who sees difference between the visible and invisible goes from death to death. By mind alone this has to be realized. There is no difference whatsover, between the visible and invisible worlds. He who sees any difference between two two, goes from death to death.

– Katha Upanishad 4.10 – 11

 

O Gautama, I shall declare unto you the secret of the Eternal Brahman and what happens to the Self after death. Some Souls enter new wombs to be embodied, others go into fixed forms, according to their deeds and knowledge.

The being who is everywhere remains awake all the time and grants peace, that is pure. That alone is said to be immortal. On that, all the worlds rest. None goes beyond that.

– Katha Upanishad 5.6 – 8

 

As the Sun, the eye of Earth, is not spoiled by external impurities, Thus the Inner Self is also not defiled by the great misery of the outside world.

– Katha Upanishad 5.11

 

The wise recognize that indescribable highest bliss, saying “This Is That (The Soul is The Supreme Lord). Does it shine by it’s own light, or does it shine by reflected light?”

– Katha Upanishad 5.15

 

There is only One Ruler for all living beings, their own inner self. The wise who recognize this Inner Self as seated within them, to them belongs eternal bliss, not to others. Eternal among the changing, consciousness of the conscious. The wise, who perceive Him, The Supreme, seated within their Inner Self, to them belongs eternal peace, not to others.

– Katha Upanishad 5.12 – 13

 

If a man is not able to know the Supreme before dying, then he becomes embodied again in the created worlds.

– Katha Upanishad 6.4

 

Knowing that feelings and senses are different from the Atman (Soul), a wise man grieves no more.

Higher than the senses is the mind, higher than the mind is the intellect, higher than the intellect is the great Atman (Soul), higher than Atman is the Unmanifested. Beyond the Unmanifested is the all-pervading and undetectable Supreme Being. By knowing the Supreme, the mortal is liberated. The Supreme is not to be seen. He is perceived by the heart, the intellect, and the mind. They who perceive become liberated.

– Katha Upanishad 6.6 – 9

 

When the organs of perception become still, and the mind and intellect cease to be a distraction – That is the highest state. – Katha Upanishad 6.10

 

The Kingdom of the Unborn, with Unchanging Knowledge, Has Eleven Gates.
Thinking on the Supreme, man grieves no more; and being freed from ignorance, he attains Liberation.
This Kingdom verily is that Liberation.

(After attaining Liberation) He lives in the bright heaven; He lives in the blazing fire; He lives in every Guest in the house.
He dwells in man. He dwells in those greater than man. He dwells in Virtue and Sacrifice.
He dwells in water, on earth, or mountains; true and great.

— Katha Upanishad 5.1 & 2

 

When this Atman (Soul), which is seated in the body, goes out from the body, what remains in the body? The Supreme Lord, is what remains. No mortal lives only by the inhale or the exhale, but he lives by something more, on which these two depend.

– Katha Upanishad 5.4 – 5

 

The Supreme Brahman cannot be attained by speech, by the mind, or by the eye. How can he be realized except by the people who say “He is”? Brahman should be realized as “He Is” and also, the reality of both the visible, and the invisible. He who knows him as “He Is”, to him alone his True Nature is revealed.

– Katha Upanishad 6.12 – 13

 

When all desires dwelling in the heart are reduced, then the mortal becomes “immortal” and attains Brahman here. When all the ties of your heart are cut asunder here, only then the mortal becomes “immortal”. Such is the teaching.

– Katha Upanishad Part 6.14 – 15

 

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