MERGE THE GROSS IN THE SUBTLE
By Swami Chidananda
Kathopanishad supplies to us an extraordinary technique to go from ‘a storm’ to ‘a calm’.
In a single mantra, the sacred text opens our eyes to five layers of our existence. Organs of perception and action constitute the first layer. Second comes the mind. Third is the intellect. Total intellect of all humanity is the fourth. The Pure Self (ātmā) is the last, the best.
Leave aside the deeper three. If we just learn to shift our attention from the organs (indriyas) to healthy emotions on the mental plane, we will find a great calm entering our hearts, making storms subside.
| yacched vān-manasee prājnah |
Katha Upanishad, 1.3.13
[The wise man dissolves his speech in his mind.]
A simple interpretation of the above is to bring noble emotions and good thoughts in our within; reflecting on them, we may allow our agitations on the bodily plane subside.