Meditations on 3:1 of the Katha Upanishad
In the secret cave of the heart, two are seated
By life’s fountain. The separate ego
Drinks of the sweet and bitter stuff,
Liking the sweet, disliking the bitter,
While the supreme Self drinks sweet and bitter
Neither liking this nor disliking that.
The ego gropes in darkness, while the Self
Lives in the light. So declare the illumined sages
And the householders who worship
The sacred fire in the name of the Lord.
The Katha Upanishad 3:1 - Eknath Easwaran (tr.)
It’s always interesting how the perfect verse is always waiting for the perfect time. Earlier today I posted a haiku about work, and how, sometimes it is a test of my patience. Sometimes things are just flustering. Sometimes they are bitter. The ego dislikes these times, while the supreme Self, while partaking of the same fountain remains calm, and neither dislikes or likes one over the other.
Unpleasant times are inherent in human life. In our lives there will be difficulty and suffering. I was just reading up on the Four Noble Truths in Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching” after I wrote the word suffering and found that the root of the Chinese character that represents suffering in Chinese Buddhism means bitter! He goes on to describe how there are bitter and sweet things in our lives and that healing is possible!
Once again, I start reading and am instantly touched!
May 3rd, 2006 at 7:10
That passage is actually in several of the ‘Shads. It points to the need for equanimity. When there’s no attachment to the fruits of action, there’s no disappointment, either, no “poor little me,” no victim.
You’re learning the abundance of God cannot be taken away, but only obscured or forgottem.