Kathopanishad- Verse 1 - kathopanishad-1-2-1-anyacchreyo'nyadutaiva

Kathopanishad – Part 1 – Canto 2 – Verse 1 « »

अन्यच्छ्रेयोऽन्यदुतैव प्रेय-
स्ते उभे नानार्थे पुरुषँ सिनीतः ।
तयोः श्रेय आददानस्य साधु
भवति हीयतेऽर्थाद्य उ प्रेयो वृणीते ॥ १॥

anyacchreyo’nyadutaiva preya-
ste ubhe nānārthe puruṣam̐ sinītaḥ .
tayoḥ śreya ādadānasya sādhu
bhavati hīyate’rthādya u preyo vṛṇīte .. 1..

1 Yama said: The good is one thing; the pleasant, another. Both of these, serving different needs, bind a man. It goes well with him who, of the two, takes the good; but he who chooses the pleasant misses the end.

Table of Contents

Sri Shankara’s Commentary (Bhashya) translated by S. Sitarama Sastri

Having thus tested the disciple and found him worthy of the knowledge, Death said ‘good is one thing and pleasant is another.’ Both these, the good and the pleasant, serving different ends, bind man competent for both, subject to the varying conditions of caste, orders of life, etc., i.e., all men are propelled in their mind by these two actions; for, according as one wishes for prosperity or immortality, he attempts at what is good and what is pleasant. Therefore as men have to perform acts to obtain what is good and what is pleasant, all men are said to be bound by these. These two, though connected with the realisation of one or other of the covetables of man, are opposed to each other, one being in the nature of knowledge and the other of ignorance. Thus, as both these are impossible to be pursued by the same individual without abandoning either, happiness falls to him who, of these two, rejects what is merely pleasant, being in the nature of ignorance, and pursues only the good. But he, who is not far-sighted, who is ignorant and who pursues only the pleasant, is separated from, i.e., misses the true and eternal end of man.

Commentary by Swami Krishnananda of the great Divine Life Society

In Milton’s Paradise Lost Adam speaks to God Almighty: “Lord, you are very unkind to me. You have created trees. You have made so many creatures. You have created so many animals. Each one has a friend; one is living with another. You have made me alone. I have nobody to talk to. Why are you so unkind?”

The Almighty answers, “Do you know, Adam, that I have been alone for eternity? I have no friends; I have nobody to talk to. Do you think that I am an unhappy person?” This is what Milton puts into the mouth of God in that great poem.

What is this situation that the soul would find itself in when it is divested of individuality? Our minds cannot comprehend this truth. There is some great point indeed in Yama not being ready to answer the question. Yat sāmparāye mahati brūhi nas tat: “What happens in that condition of that great death of deaths? Please tell me that,” asks Nachiketas. Yo’yaṁ varo gūḍham anupraviṣṭaḥ: “Subtlest and most secret is this question. I shall not ask for any other boon.” Nānyaṁ tasmān naciketā vṛṇīte: Nachiketas will not ask for any other boon. Only this, only this, only this. Very insistent, very persistent, very wise indeed is this great, exemplary student of the highest spiritual experience, Nachiketas.

This is the introductory section of the Kathopanishad, something like the First Chapter and the first ten verses of the Second Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. It is only from the twelfth verse or so of the Second Chapter that the Lord really speaks words of wisdom.

The teaching actually commences at the start of the Second Chapter of the Kathopanishad. As I mentioned, in the same way as the Bhagavad Gita distinguishes between sankhya and yoga, a specific subject of the Second Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, here the Lord distinguishes between the good and the pleasant. The good is not always pleasant, and the pleasant need not be good. In the Gita we are also told that what appears to be very unpleasant in the beginning but is nectar-like in the end should be considered as the best form of happiness, but that which appears to be nectar-like in the beginning but poison-like in the end should be considered as rajasic and tamasic, and should be discarded.

Anyac chreyo anyad utaiva preyaste ubhe nānārthe puruṣam sinītaḥ: tayoḥ śreya ādadānasya sādhu bhavati, hīyate ‘rthād ya u preyo vṛṇīte (1.2.1): There are two paths for people to tread in this world, and either one of these two paths one can choose: the path of pleasant experiences, and the path of good deeds. One path leads to one result, and the other path leads to another result. The human being is summoned in two different directions by the paths which are of the pleasant and the good. Blessed indeed is that person who chooses what is good, but that person who chooses the pleasant for the purpose of gaining immediate satisfaction falls from his aim. People who want immediate satisfaction, without considering the painful consequences that will follow in the end, are not the wise people in this world. But those who are prepared to bear the brunt of the sorrows of life in the beginning for the purpose of the great spiritual satisfaction that will follow in the end, they are the great masters. They shall be called heroes, or dhīra in the language of this Upanishad.

Links
Various resources on the Kathopanishad
Upanishad Series – Katopanishad Commentary by Swami Chinmayananda

Kathopanishad – Verse 1 – kathopanishad-1-2-1-anyacchreyo’nyadutaiva – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Meaning and Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya (Sankara Bhashya) – Katha-1-2-1