kathopanishad-1-3-17-ya imaṃ paramaṃ

Commentary by Swami Krishnananda of the great Divine Life Society

Ya imam paramaṁ guhyaṁ śrāvayed brahma-saṁsadi, prayataś śrāddha-kāle vā tad ānantyāya kalpate, tad ānantyāya kalpate, tad ānantyāya kalpate iti (1.3.17): This is a supreme secret that has been described in this Upanishad, not easy to understand by a casual mind. If anyone will be good enough and great enough to expound this secret to an audience of seekers, with eagerness to expound it, or expounds it to an audience of people who have come to attend a shraddha ceremony—which is the ceremony performed for the well-being of the forefathers or departed souls—whoever teaches, expounds, and makes a large audience of seekers and good people understand the great truth of this Upanishad, such a person will attain to the limitless abode, tadānantyāya kalpate. He will not come back to this world. He will reach eternity instantly. Tadānantyāya kalpate iti. It is repeated a second time. There is no doubt about this.

Here concludes the First Chapter, as it is called, of the Kathopanishad, of which we already had three subsections. This Upanishad contains two chapters, each chapter containing three subsections. In that way, we can say it has six subsections. Now we go to the Second Chapter.