The famous story of Kathopanishad is that once Uddalak Rishi was performing a Yagya named Vishwajeet, in which everything is donated. But seeing him infatuated, his son Nachiketa said something which made his father angry and said that I am donating you to Yama. After this, big questions related to Brahma and death arise. The description of this incident is found in the Hindu scripture Kathopanishad. According to this, Nachiketa was the son of sage Vajashravas (Uddalaka). Once he performed a yagya called Vishvajeet, in which everything is donated. At the time of donation, Nachiketa became uneasy to see that his father was donating weak, sick cows instead of healthy cows. Nachiketa was religious and intelligent, he immediately understood that his father was doing this due to attachment.
Nachiketa was donated to Yama
To remove his father’s attachment, Nachiketa asked the father to whom he would donate his son. Sage Uddalak avoided this question, but Nachiketa again asked the same question. On repeatedly asking this, the sage became angry and said that he will donate you to death god Yamraj. Nachiketa was saddened by his father’s statement, but to protect the truth, Nachiketa made his father fulfill his vow of sacrificing himself to death. Then Nachiketa reached Yamlok in search of Yamraj.
Nachiketa reach Yama’s door
On reaching Yama’s door, Nachiketa came to know that Yamraj was not there, yet he did not give up and sat there without eating or drinking for three days. When Yama learned about Nachiketa from the gatekeeper on his return, he was very happy with the boy’s devotion to his father and strong determination. Yamraj asked Nachiketa to obey his father’s orders and take a strict vow for three days and ask for three boons.
Then Nachiketa first asked for his father’s affection. The second was about knowing the knowledge of fire. The third verse was about the mystery of death and enlightenment. Yama tried his best to avoid the last boon and lured Nachiketa with many worldly comforts in exchange for enlightenment, but Nachiketa wanted to know the secret of death. Therefore, Nachiketa rejected all the comforts and luxuries considering them perishable. At last Yamraj was forced to reveal the secrets related to birth and death. Let us now know what questions Nachiketa asked Yamraj and what answers Yamraj gave them.
How is knowledge and darshan of Brahma possible through the body?
The human body is like a city with 11 doors in the form of two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, Brahmarandhra, navel, anus and penis, which is the city of Brahma itself. They live in the heart of man. The person who meditates and contemplates after understanding this mystery does not suffer any kind of pain. People who do such meditation and contemplation become free from the bondage of birth and death after death.
Does the soul die or die?
Those who believe that the soul is the killer or the one who dies, do not actually know the soul and are misguided. Their words should be ignored, because the soul neither dies nor can kill anyone.
How is God considered to reside in the heart?
The heart of man is considered the place to find Brahma. Yamdev said that only human beings are considered to have the right to attain God. His heart is the size of a thumb. Therefore, according to this, Brahma has been called the size of a thumb and a person who believes that God resides in his heart, believes that Brahma resides in the hearts of others in the same way. Therefore one should stay away from evil or hatred of others.
What is the nature of the soul?
According to Yama dev, the soul does not get destroyed with the destruction of the body. Soul has nothing to do with the pleasures of the soul, its perishable, impermanent and inanimate body. It is eternal, beginningless and without flaw. It has no cause, no function, that is, it neither takes birth nor dies.
If a person does not know the knowledge of soul and God then how does he have to suffer the consequences?
Just as rain water is the same, but after raining on high mountains, it does not stop at one place and flows downwards, changing into many types of colors and smells. Similarly, gods, demons and humans, who are born from the same God, also consider Gods as different and worship them as different. Just like rain water, Suras and Asuras keep wandering in many species.
What is the nature of Brahma and where and how does He appear?
Brahma is completely different from the natural qualities, He is the self-manifested God. His name is Vasu. They are the ones who come to our homes as guests. In the Yagya, the sacred fire and the people who sacrifice it are also the gods Vasu. Similarly, all human beings, great gods, ancestors, sky and truth are situated in it. Be it fish or conch shell in water, trees, plants, sprouts, grains, medicines on earth or in the form of rivers, waterfalls and results of yagya in the mountains, only Brahma is manifested. Thus Brahma is a direct God.
What remains in the body after the soul leaves?
When the soul leaves the body, the life and sense knowledge also leaves with it. What remains in the dead body is not visible, but that Supreme Being, who is present in every animate and inanimate being, remains in that body.
Why and which species does the soul get after death?
According to Yama dev, sins and virtues are based on good and bad deeds and what is seen and heard through scriptures, guru, association, education and business. It is on the basis of these that the soul takes new birth in the form of a human being or an animal. Those who commit a lot of sins are born in species other than humans and animals. Other species like trees, plants, mountains, straws etc.
What is enlightenment and the nature of God?
Child Nachiketa started his quest to know the mysteries related to death by inquiring from Yama dev about the divine essence which is beyond cause and effect, nature, past, future and present, without any connection with religion or unrighteousness. Yamdev told Nachiketa that ‘Om’ was the symbolic form of Parabrahma. He told that the imperishable Pranav i.e. Omkar is the form of God. Omkar is the best and final means among all the shelters to attain God. These secrets have been told in various verses and mantras in all the Vedas. The best solution in this world is to take refuge in this name and form of God.