Halloween

“The wise, realizing through meditation
the timeless Self, beyond all perception,
hidden in the cave of the heart,
leave pain and pleasure far behind”

Katha Upanishads 2.12
as translated by Eknath Easwaran

This past weekend we celebrated Halloween. In other parts of the world, the day of the dead is celebrated at this time of the year. Death used to be a very scary subject for me when I was growing up. This has changed over time specially since I have been honored to be at the moment when three of my friends passed away (not at the same time). Today I was reminded of the Katha Upanishads which is an ancient wisdom text in yoga philosophy. This book is a dialog between a very wise teenager, Nachiketa, and the God of Death, Yama.

Upon entering the abode of Yama, Nachiketa had to wait for him who was away running some errands. Because Nachiketa had to wait for some time, Yama decided that he was going to grant him three boons. The third boon that Nachiketa asked Yama for was the answer to the secret of death: upon death, does one continue to exist or not. Yama did not want to answer this question and tried to convince him that he should ask for kingdoms, heavenly maidens, treasures, excellent progeny, etc. Nachiketa saw these things as worthless in the face of death and insisted that he answered the question.

Then Yama told him that in life or death it is the Self or Consciousness alone that exists but not that in us that is swayed by pleasure and pain. We go through life looking for pleasure or avoiding pain and act accordingly. Instead Yama said, one should strive to realize that which is timeless and untouched by the pair of opposites even while in the midst of them. That is the Self or Consciousness which abides in the cave of the Heart.