Kathopanishad- Verse 15 - kathopanishad-2-1-15-yathodakaṃ

Kathopanishad – Part 2 – Canto 1 – Verse 15 « »

यथोदकं शुद्धे शुद्धमासिक्तं तादृगेव भवति ।
एवं मुनेर्विजानत आत्मा भवति गौतम ॥ १५॥
इति काठकोपनिषदि द्वितीयाध्याये प्रथमा वल्ली ॥

yathodakaṃ śuddhe śuddhamāsiktaṃ tādṛgeva bhavati .
evaṃ munervijānata ātmā bhavati gautama .. 15..
iti kāṭhakopaniṣadi dvitīyādhyāye prathamā vallī ..

15 As pure water poured into pure water becomes one with it, so also, O Gautama, does the Self of the sage who knows.

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

But how becomes the âtman of a thinker who has acquired knowledge, whose perception of difference due to conditions has been destroyed, and who knows the âtman pure, dense with knowledge unalloyed, and one without a second, is explained. As water pure poured into pure becomes of the same quality, not otherwise, the âtman also of the thinker becomes the same, Oh Gautama. Therefore, leaving the perception of difference induced by bad logic and the erroneous notion of no-here-after, the perception of the one-ness of the âtman inculcated by the Vêdâs, a better well-wisher than thousands of mothers and fathers should be anxiously respected by those whose pride has been quelled.

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॥ इति काठकोपनिषदि द्वितीयाध्याये प्रथमा वल्ली ॥

|| iti kāṭhakopaniṣadi dvitīyādhyāye prathamā vallī ||

Here ends the Fourth Part.

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Commentary by Swami Krishnananda of the great Divine Life Society

Yathodakaṁ śuddhe śuddham āsiktaṁ tādṛg eva bhavati, evaṁ muner vijānata ātmā bhavati gautama (2.1.15): Suppose water is poured on water. If heavy rain pours on a lake or on the ocean, what happens? Water becomes water. It does not move hither and thither. Like merges in like, and friends unite in a communion of inseparability of substance and character. Milk poured on milk, or water poured on water, is the example of concentratedness and communion where the parts are completely inseparable, and they stand not merely united as two parts, but as one indivisible being; so does the Atman become.

“You asked me what happens to the Atman. This happens to the Atman. It stands united with that from where it came, of which it is a part, from which it is inseparable, and which is itself basically, essentially eternal. Hey Gautama!” Nachiketas Gautama is the rishi whose descendent was Vajasravasa, the father of Nachiketas. Therefore, Nachiketas is also called Gautama by descent. “O Gautama Nachiketas, listen to me. The Atman, the soul, becomes one with its original universal nature in the case of a saint and sage who has realised it. This is the answer to your question, the third boon that you wanted me to grant. Here it is. Take it!” says Yama. Here we conclude this section.

Now begins the next section. Every little thing is said here and there, like varieties of diet served in a good meal.

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

Kathopanishad – Verse 15 – kathopanishad-2-1-15-yathodakaṃ – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Meaning and Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya (Sankara Bhashya) – Katha-2-1-15