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RAMAKRISHNA ANANDA

Lessons from the Kathopanishad

How does one choose between the good and the pleasant?

Practicing spiritual techniques mechanically, without opening oneself to higher realities, is an ongoing challenge facing devotees on the spiritual path. The Kathopanishad describes the difference between the seeker who only goes through the motions and the devotee who practices with steady commitment and faith. The sincere aspirant, believing in the validity of the spiritual realm, experiences and abides in the soul. Explore the joy and realization available as you devotedly attune with your true nature, the source of love, joy and bliss.

Sunday Morning Talks

The Good and the Pleasant

The Kathopanishad:  One thing is the good and different indeed is the pleasant. Both the good and the pleasant approach a man. The wise one discriminates between the two, having examined them well.

The path of knowledge and the path of pleasure are ever laid before us. We are given the option to choose. The wise one knows that the path of knowledge leads to freedom and the eternal bliss of the atman. The path of pleasure results in temporary sense enjoyments. The renunciant gains the pleasure which lasts.

Show More
  • King Vajashravasa represents external worship (just going through the motions)
  • Nachiketas, the king’s son, represents the aspirant who practices with faith and dedication
  • The Kathopanishad asks: Do you have faith in higher values and believe they are worth sacrificing for?
  • The contrast is clear between the hollow offering of one deluded by the sense world versus the aspirant full of faith and commitment who ultimately achieves everything
  • Yama, the God of Death symbolizes samadhi, a state in which you die to the sense world and the lower planes of consciousness
  • Yama instructs Nachiketas by revealing the higher planes of consciousness and the bliss of the soul or atman

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