Katha upanishhad verse I.2.23

[Cameron Reilly]

At 09:52 02-04-97 +0200, Charles wrote:
>Gummuluru Murthy <gmurthy at MORGAN.UCS.MUN.CA> wrote:
>
>> I am presently going through Katha upanishhhad and the verse I.2.23
>> fascinates me.  The verse says:
(snip)

>     Shrii Shankaraacaarya points out
>         in his commentary that the pronoun yam stands for the
>         Atman and eshhaH for the saadhaka or aspirant. The
>         passage is thus interpreted by him: chosen by that very
>         Self which the aspirant seeks, the Self is known. To
>         explain: the Self is realised by the Self of the aspirant
>         who does not desire anything whatsoever except the Self
>         or Atman.  But non-advaitic commentators interpret eshhaH
>         as `the Supreme Atman (God)' and yam as `whomever', i.e.
>         "It is attained by him alone whomever God chooses."

Isn't this the same thing? At the end of the day it indicates a
non-volitional aspect to the process of awakening. "By the Grace Of God"
the person becomes a seeker and the Self is realized. Therefore attempting
to realize the Self through 'will power' is fruitless. In fact, I believe
this is counter-productive, because the harder one strives to 'accomplish'
realization, the further one separates his or herself from the non-dual.

>     The Self is not attained through discourses, nor through
>     intellectuality, nor through much learning.  It is only
>     gained by him who longs for It with the whole heart. For
>     to such a one the Self (1) reveals its own nature.

Ramesh Balsekar has written:

"Yes, there must be an intensity in the seeking, but that intensity is
non-volitional."

I have known many people who berate themselves for not studying hard
enough, not seeking intently enough. Perhaps they should 'give in', accept
that if it is their destiny to realize the Self it will happen, if not, it
won't, after all, there is no volition so who is to do anything about it?

In accepting their non-volition, they will possibly bring themselves closer
to the realization of the fact that the seeker IS the sought.

>
>Finally, the essence of all this is expressed pithily in another
>tradition:
>
>       Be still, and know that I am God.
>                                         [ Bible, Psalm 46:10 ]


Or as my guru Robert Adamson is fond of saying:

"Let the mind be still, and know that the sense of being, of "I Am", is God
- and this is all you are."

Thanks to Gummuluru & Charles for their above efforts.

Regards,


Cameron Reilly
The Robert Adamson Centre for Non-Duality/Advaita Studies
Direct Lineage of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Melbourne, Australia
Email: cjreilly at ozemail.com.au