kathopanishad-1-2-3-sa tvaṃ priyā

Commentary by Swami Krishnananda of the great Divine Life Society

Sa tvam priyān priyarūpāṁś ca kāmān abhidhyāyan naciketo, tyasrākṣīḥ; naitāṁ sṛṅkāṁ vittamayīm avāpto yasyām majjanti bahavo manuṣyāḥ (1.2.3): Yama says, “Nachiketas, you are a very good student. Considering the defect of all forms of sensory enjoyment, you have rejected all of them though I offered every one of them in abundance. You carefully bestowed thought on the defective character of even the best joys of this world and you abandoned all of them unceremoniously, though they were there at your disposal in the largest measure conceivable. People get sunk in the mire of wealth. They go deep into this quagmire of the desire for material riches. You did not want it. I offered you a garland of treasures; you were not willing to accept it because it was connected with wealth, and you are far from it.”