About the Book The Katha Upanisad tells the story of the brahmana boy Naciketa who is cursed by his angry father to go to the underworld presided over by Yama, the god of death. Naciketa waits for three nights and when the god of death finally arrives, Naciketa is granted three boons by him. His first wish is that he should be reunited with his father and forgiven by him. His second wish is to learn about the worship of the sacred fire that grants one liberation and his third wish is to be given knowledge about the Absolute Truth. Upon hearing Naciketa's third wish, Yama tests him and offers him all sorts of worldy pleasures instead. However, Naciketa is determined and seeing his resolve, Yama teaches him. Through his conversation with Death, Naciketa attains enlightenment.

Introduction INTRODUCTION The Vedic scriptures are the spiritual texts of Ancient India, written in the Sanskrit language. The word Veda comes from the root vid - 'to know', thus Veda means 'knowledge' or 'revelation.' All the religious texts of the world can be traced back to an author, but the theistic philosophers of India have traditionally accepted that the Vedas have no author, there-fore they are known as apauruseya (authorless) and svatah siddha-pramana (self-evident truth). Since their origins are considered to be divine, the Vedas are considered to be eternal and perfect. The Vedas are divided into four books - the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda and each of these Vedas has four sections -

I) Samhitas - texts giving the mantras used in various rituals.

2) Brahmanas - texts describing the Vedic rituals.

3) Aranyakas - texts explaining the significance of the Samhitas and the Brahmanas.

4) Upanisads - texts describing knowledge of the Absolute Truth.

The term `Upanisad' means to 'sit nearby' because traditionally the disciple would hear spiritual knowledge from the guru as he humbly sat at his feet, This is why the Vedic texts are also known as sruti (that which is heard).

There are more than 200 Upanisads, many of which have been lost. How-ever, the following ten Upanisads (das'opanisads) are generally accepted as the most important:

Isa Upanisad, Kena Upanisad, Katha Upanisad, Prasna Upanisad, Mundaka Upanisad, Mundukya Upanisad, Taittiriya Upanisad, Aitreya Upanisad, Chandogya Upanisad and the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad Due to their ambiguous language, the Upanisads sometimes appear vague in regards to the nature of the Absolute Truth.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages