Kathopanishad- Verse 9 - kathopanishad-1-3-9-vijñānasārathiryastu

Kathopanishad – Part 1 – Canto 3 – Verse 9 « »

विज्ञानसारथिर्यस्तु मनः प्रग्रहवान्नरः ।
सोऽध्वनः पारमाप्नोति तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम् ॥ ९॥

vijñānasārathiryastu manaḥ pragrahavānnaraḥ .
so’dhvanaḥ pāramāpnoti tadviṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padam .. 9..

9 A man who has discrimination for his charioteer and holds the reins of the mind firmly, reaches the end of the road; and that is the supreme position of Vishnu.

Table of Contents

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

What that goal is, is now explained; but the man who has discerning intelligence for the driver, whose mind is under control, and who is clean, i.e., the knowing man reaches the end of the road of Samsâra, i.e., realises the Supreme; i.e., is absolved from all the ties of Samsâra. The man of knowledge attains ¹ the highest place of Vishnu, i.e., the nature of the all-pervading Brahman, the Paramâtman known as Vâsudêva (the Self-luminous).

Commentary by Swami Krishnananda of the great Divine Life Society

Vijñānasārathir yastu manaḥ pragrahavān naraḥ, so’dhvanaḥ param āpnoti tad viṣṇoḥ paramam padam (1.3.9): A person who has intelligence as the charioteer, whose mind acts as reins, he reaches the final destination of the path, which is the supreme state of God.

The last quarter of this mantra is borrowed from the Rigveda. It says that the state of Vishnu is beheld by the wise ones as the state of all-pervading ether. The place of Vishnu is not a location or a place. It is spread out like ether or space, like the ocean. A river goes everywhere when it reaches the ocean, and it does not remain localised in one place. Likewise is the soul which enters Vishnupada. The Universal Being is Vishnu. The moment a jiva reaches his destination, he enters Vishnupada. Therefore, the body is to be utilised as a vehicle of action in the movement of the soul to God.

There is nothing wrong with our senses, mind, etc., but they should be directed properly. Evil is that which is misdirected. A thing is not evil in itself, but when it performs another’s function it is evil, just as anything out of place is dirt. So everything should be in its proper place, and yoked properly. The world is a training ground in which the objects and the senses are occasions for mastering our energies so that they get unified through the senses, the mind and the intellect. We look weak because all our energies leak out through the senses. If we conserve our health and concentrate our effort in a single channel, it is called dharana. This will make us powerful; this is yoga. By the control of the senses, the mind and the intellect, the soul becomes fit for God-realisation.

After this description, another aspect is being discussed. How are we to subdue the senses? How is the charioteer to control the horses? What steps are we to take? This difficult effort on the part of the soul is called indriya-samyama or manonigraha. It is summed up in the two following slokas.

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

Kathopanishad – Verse 9 – kathopanishad-1-3-9-vijñānasārathiryastu – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Meaning and Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya (Sankara Bhashya) – Katha-1-3-9