Kathopanishad- Verse 13 - kathopanishad-1-3-13-yacchedvāṅmanasī

Kathopanishad – Part 1 – Canto 3 – Verse 13 « »

यच्छेद्वाङ्मनसी प्राज्ञस्तद्यच्छेज्ज्ञान आत्मनि ।
ज्ञानमात्मनि महति नियच्छेत्तद्यच्छेच्छान्त आत्मनि ॥ १३॥

yacchedvāṅmanasī prājñastadyacchejjñāna ātmani .
jñānamātmani mahati niyacchettadyacchecchānta ātmani .. 13..

13 The wise man should merge his speech in his mind and his mind in his intellect. He should merge his intellect in the Cosmic Mind and the Cosmic Mind in the Tranquil Self.

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

The text states the means of attaining that Yatchêt, draw into. Prâjnah, one having discernment. What? Vâky, i.e., speech. The word ‘vâk,’ i.e, speech, is illustratively used to denote all the senses. Where? In the mind. The lengthening of the vowel in manasî is a Vedic license; and that mind, let him sink into gnâna, i.e., intellect bright by nature; ‘intellect’ is called âtman here; for, it pervades the mind and the other senses; therefore, it is their ‘Pratyagâtman,’ i.e., internal principle; let him sink the intellect into the âtman; ‘great,’ i.e., first born Hiranyagarbha. The meaning is, let him make his intelligence as clear in its nature as the first born; let him sink that great âtman also into the peaceful âtman, i.e., into the primary âtman whose nature does not admit of any conditions, which is unmodified, which is within all and which is the witness of all the modifications of the intellect.

Commentary by Swami Krishnananda of the great Divine Life Society

Yacched vāṅ manasī prājñas tad yacchej jñāna-ātmani, jñānam ātmani mahati niyacchet, tad yacchec chānta-ātmani (1.3.13). This is another verse which briefly states the categories of ascent, which was mentioned in a little more detail in the earlier verse. What should we do in meditation? The sense organs should be settled in the mind. Here vak, which means ‘speech’, is to be considered as representative of all the sense organs. It is not merely the speech that has to be withdrawn, but everything that represents sensuality, or sensory cognition. The mind should withdraw the power of the sense organs. The seeker should withdraw the consciousness from the senses and fix it in the mind, and then he should withdraw the consciousness from the mind and fix it in the intelligence. Then he should withdraw the consciousness from the intelligence and fix it in the cosmic intellect. Then he should withdraw it from there and fix it in the universal Atman. This is a brief statement of what has already been said in the previous verse. Chānta-ātman is the Supreme Being, Brahman, in which we have to settle ourselves finally in meditation.

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

Kathopanishad – Verse 13 – kathopanishad-1-3-13-yacchedvāṅmanasī – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Meaning and Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya (Sankara Bhashya) – Katha-1-3-13