“The intellect is
incapable of discriminating between right and wrong and is also connected with
an uncontrollable mind, it is like a charioteer who has to deal with
uncontrollable, vicious horses.” – Katha Upanishad (Ancient
Hindu Scriptures)
If a person cannot judge right from wrong, he
is at the mercy of his impulses. He may then do and say things that he
should not, things that are obviously wrong and are more likely than not to do
him harm. If, over this, he has an uncontrollable mind, his misery will be
endless. He will be like a charioteer who himself is silly and ignorant, and
has to, in addition, deal with very wicked and uncontrollable horses.
The emphasis here is on your ‘judgment’ as
well as your ‘ability to control your mind’. Sorrow to you if you lack in both.
“When a person has a
discriminating intellect, and has that intellect always joined to a mind that
is under control, and his senses are also under control, then he is like a
charioteer who has well-trained horses to handle.” – Katha Upanishad (Ancient
Hindu Scriptures)
Self-control is the key to spiritual progress.
First and foremost, you have to have a good, discriminating intellect. The next
thing you need is a mind that is always ‘under control’. When a ‘discriminating
intellect’ works in conjunction with a ‘controlled mind’, you are as a happy
charioteer enjoying the services of good and well-trained horses. Now your mind
and your senses can never mislead you, and your progress towards Self-knowledge
is assured. Once you attain Self-knowledge, you are no longer a victim of
worldly temptations (the causes of sorrow). You are then an “ideal” person.
“He whose intellect is
not able to discriminate between right and wrong, and whose uncontrolled mind
lets his senses run after impure things (i.e. things detrimental to spiritual
progress) – such a person can never attain Self-knowledge. On the contrary, he
gets caught in the cycle of birth and death.” – Katha Upanishad (Ancient Hindu
Scriptures)
This verse discusses what happens when a
person is not able to decide between what is right and what is wrong. That
means he has a weak intellect.
Invariably such a person cannot control his
mind. He is not his own master. His mind is his master, and thus he will always
run after things that will hurt him spiritually. He cannot help it. His
ambition at one time might have been to attain Self-knowledge, but with such a
weak intellect and consequent preoccupation with sense pleasures, he will drift
away from his original goal. He will move in the other direction – to the
world. Birth and death will thus be his destiny.
We need to learn to control ourselves, we
might live to regret certain actions we have taken in the moment of delusion
and upset.
Extract from the upcoming book – A
CONVERSATION WITH DEATH (Katha Upanishad) Compiled by Joy Nandy
Read more... Scroll down please
Read more... Scroll down please
