Kathopanishad- Verse 15 - kathopanishad-2-2-15-na tatra

Kathopanishad – Part 2 – Canto 2 – Verse 15 « »

न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं
नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः ।
तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं
तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति ॥ १५॥
इति काठकोपनिषदि द्वितीयाध्याये द्वितीया वल्ली ॥

na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṃ
nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto’yamagniḥ .
tameva bhāntamanubhāti sarvaṃ
tasya bhāsā sarvamidaṃ vibhāti .. 15..
iti kāṭhakopaniṣadi dvitīyādhyāye dvitīyā vallī ..

15 The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings-not to speak of this fire. He shining, everything shines after Him. By His light all this is lighted.

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

The reply here is that it shines and is perceived as shining. The sun, though the enlightener of all, does not shine in the Brahman, being his âtman, i.e., the sun does not illumine the Brahman. Similarly, the moon and the stars do not; nor do these lightnings illumine. How could this fire, perceivable by us? Why say much? All these, the sun and the rest who shine, shine only after him, the lord of all; as water, firebrand, etc., from their contact with fire, burn after the burning fire and not by their own inherent virtue. It is by his light only, that all this, the sun and the rest shine. This being so, that Brahman alone shines and shines variously. From the various kinds of light possessed by its effects, the self-luminosity of the Brahman is inferred. It is not possible for one to impart to another luminosity, which one does not possess, because pots, etc., are found incapable of illumining other objects and the sun and the rest, luminous in their nature, are found capable of that.

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॥ इति काठकोपनिषदि द्वितीयाध्याये द्वितीया वल्ली ॥

|| iti kāṭhakopaniṣadi dvitīyādhyāye dvitīyā vallī ||

Here ends the Fifth Part.

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Commentary by Swami Krishnananda of the great Divine Life Society

Na tatra sūryo bhāti na candra-tārakam, nemā vidyuto bhānti, kuto’yam agniḥ; tameva bhāntam anubhāti sarvaṁ tasya bhāsā sarvam idaṁ vibhāti (2.2.15). This light of the Atman is such that the sun cannot shine there. If millions of suns were to shine, it would not be equal to That, what to say of lesser lights like the moon, stars, fire, etc. Every light is illumined by That light. Which light can illumine That light? We breathe because of the breath of that Breathless Being. We exist because of that Supreme Existence. Every-thing depends on That; how could they derive vitality from anything else? In that Supreme Life, this so-called sun of empirical life, this moon or mind, or the fire of human desire, do not shine. All these are mockeries before the Atman. Our intellect, even that of a genius, all that we regard as the highest in us, are matchless before the Atman. All these values are borrowed from that Supreme Value, and there is nothing here if what is borrowed is returned to it. The empirical values and realities of the world are reflections of the paramarthika satta, or the Eternal Reality.

These three realities—pratibhasika, vyavaharika and paramarthika—are not three realities, but three expressions of the One Reality. Just as light can pass through a clear, coloured or broken glass and get reflected accordingly, the One Reality can reveal itself in different ways. But all these degrees of reality—matter, body, mind, earth, water, fire, air, ether, etc.—are subtleties, varying in intensity, of the same Reality. All lights come from that One Light. That is the joy which sustains us. That is the ocean of ambrosia which is not the lifeless nectar of the celestials, but a conscious one. In this mantra is a description of the Satchidananda Atman.

This is the concluding section of the Kathopanishad. It is a short chapter of eighteen mantras.

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

Kathopanishad – Verse 15 – kathopanishad-2-2-15-na tatra – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Meaning and Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya (Sankara Bhashya) – Katha-2-2-15