Kathopanishad

One who walks on the spiritual path and who wants to attain the highest Truth should not depend on any external motivation to act. Most people are distracted by the temporary temptations of life and forget the very purpose of their lives.

jñāna (knowledge) teaches us how to develop vairāgya (detachment). vairāgya without jñāna is like one who blindly follows and acts, potentially discarding the right things in life instead of the wrong things. jñāna tells one that from the temporary, permanence cannot be attained. vairāgya helps one discard all outward desires. 

The relationship between jñāna and vairāgya enables one to ultimately realize the Truth.

If you'd like to get the links and show notes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP40

God created the senses to function in an outgoing manner, but it is our task to withdraw our attention from the outgoing sense and focus inwards. Those who run after outward distractions finally meet their death and get lost in the repeated cycle of birth and death. The discerning one, however, learns to turn his gaze inwards. He does this by shielding his senses from the pull of the outside world.

When one closes their eyes to the outside world, the mind instead turns inwards. By training our mind to listen to us and not be worried, fearful or restless, we have won the battle of life. A trained mind can be used to do anything, including realise God.

If you'd like to get the links and shownotes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP39

It is said that the spiritual path is like a sharpened razor’s edge, difficult for those who have never had concentration of mind.  Yama describes to Nachiketa in detail the process of attaining the highest level of consciousness. The process involves withdrawing from the object of the senses all the way to parabrahman in eight steps. This process of withdrawal also aligns with the hierarchy of consciousness described in the aitareyopaniṣad.

Having learned this, it is now the duty of the seeker to arise, awake, and to not stop until the goal is reached. Once the Truth is known, the seeker escapes the jaws of death and is free from the endless cycles of birth and death.

If you'd like to get the links and shownotes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP38

In the Kathopanishad, it is not a mere coincidence that Nachiketa is granted three boons. Each of the three boons has a deep inner significance which aligns to the stages of progress in any spiritual seeker’s journey. In this episode, Sadguru lovingly takes us back to the start of the story and retraces the three boons in detail. Within the third boon, Yama reveals to Nachiketa the highest Truth that one is not the body but instead is That one which is never born nor does it ever die.  It alone is, at all times, at all places – It is ever present.

If you'd like to get the links and shownotes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP37

The study of kaṭhopaniṣad will teach one that one’s true nature as the atman is always pure.  The senses, mind and buddhi are not required. All that is required is just this belief that one is the atman through the practise of adhyātma yoga (yoga of the Self).  However,  due to the mind, one is affected by the three confusions in life: jagat, jīva, and īśvara.

• jagat: I am the body observing the world through my physical eyes.
• jīva: I am a spark of divinity.
• īśvara: There is one God who is in everyone.

In this discourse, Sadguru lovingly guides us to move beyond these three confusions.

If you'd like to get the links and shownotes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP36

This path is difficult for one who has never attempted it before. That is why one needs a guru. The first step has to be taken by the spiritual aspirant who has to wake up and arise from their spiritual slumber. Then, the next 99 steps will be taken by the guru who will hold one’s hand and take one across. A guru will teach one how to manage the mind, how to take care of one’s senses, and how not to allow one’s ego to interfere with God’s will.  Eventually, this path will become very, very easy.

In this episode, Sadguru lovingly describes this path as a gradual process of withdrawal. Sadguru says,
“When one feels one is the body, it is jñāna ātmani, where one is only the servant of God. When one identifies as the jīva, it is mahati ātmani, where one feels that they are a part of God and an instrument in God’s hand. Slowly as one becomes totally absorbed in the thought of God, one ascends to the śānta ātmani state and becomes one with the Lord – there is no surrendering anymore.”

If you'd like to get the links and shownotes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP35

At all times, the blueprint of four is operating. The terms may be different, but the essence is always the same. 

1. virāt
2. hiraṇyagarbha
3. īśvara
4. brahman
   
   
5. jāgrat avasthā
6. svapna avasthā
7. suṣupti avasthā
8. turīya avasthā
   
   
9. Gross body
10. Subtle body
11. Causal body
12. Universal Consciousness

No matter which terms are used, the path should always lead one from the physical presence to omnipresence. Yet, Sadguru cautions us in this discourse, that this path is not at all an easy one to follow. Once the seeker (who has found the right guru) has arisen from spiritual slumber, he should not waste any more time and not take the truth of the scriptures lightly any longer. He should not stop until he experiences the Truth for himself. Only a true guru can bestow this bodha (living experiential reality).

If you'd like to get the links and shownotes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP34

Only those with a subtle intellect (sūkṣma buddhi) have the right kind of focus to perceive the truth that appears to be hidden in secret, although present in all beings. In this episode, Sadguru carefully and clearly guides us through the methodology of going within through the practice of adhyātma yoga.

If practised correctly, this meditation or methodology will bring us all the way to the highest level of peace (śānta ātmani) attainable only on the supreme level of Consciousness which is the level of parabrahman.

If you'd like to get the links and shownotes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP33

It is said that only those whose buddhi is completely focused and one-pointed will be able to perceive the truth of the Self. This is because one requires a subtle vision in order to see, find and figure It out – even though It is always present there within us. For ordinary people whose mind is scattered, and used for unimportant pursuits, the Truth remains hidden and cannot be perceived.

Only when one’s buddhi is sharp, one is able to find brahman within and without.
In this episode, Sadguru shows us what is required in order to refine and develop this special faculty of subtle vision.

If you'd like to get the links and shownotes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP32

The story of creation has always captured the wonder and imagination of many. There are countless versions of this story, be it the scientific theory of evolution or those depicted in various religious texts.

In this discourse, Sadguru takes us step by step through the evolution of creation itself as described in aitareyopaniṣad. What took millions of years to happen, has been summarised in a few lines. Sadguru lovingly expounds this summary in detail for our benefit.

If you'd like to get the links and shownotes for this episode, visit:

https://www.saiprakashana.org/KU-EP31