Infinite not to be found in the Finite
पराचः कामाननुयन्ति बाला-
स्ते मृत्योर्यन्ति विततस्य पाशम् ।
अथ धीरा अमृतत्वं विदित्वा
ध्रुवमध्रुवेष्विह न प्रार्थयन्ते ॥ २॥
parācaḥ kāmānanuyanti bālā-
ste mṛtyoryanti vitatasya pāśam .
atha dhīrā amṛtatvaṃ viditvā
dhruvamadhruveṣviha na prārthayante .. 2..
Children pursue outer pleasures and fall into the net of widespread death; but calm souls, having known what is unshakable Immortality, do not covet any uncertain thing in this world.
Commentary:
Children run after the sense organs and their objects. Ignorant people are like children. Children are people who have little knowledge, and children, in their ignorance, run after the joys of the objects of sense. Te mṛtyor yanti vitatasya pāśam: Whoever runs after the joys of the objects of sense will be caught by the noose of death. Death is pervading the whole world. There is no place, no atom where death is not present. Yama is ruling this world as the immanent force of destruction, as the power of time that swallows everybody. Whoever is foolish enough to conclude that joys are only in the objects of sense, and runs after them day in and day out, and does not believe that anything is superior to this world, he shall be caught by death, and he shall have to meet the consequences thereof.
Atha dhīrā amṛtatvaṁ viditvā: But the great heroes of the Spirit, knowing that there is such a thing called immortality, never seek the permanent among impermanent things. You want permanent happiness, but you seek it in the impermanent fluxations of the physical constituents of the world. Therefore, be not caught by this transient picturesque manifestation of the colours and the sounds of the objects of sense. Seek not the eternal in the non-eternal world. Knowing this, great souls withdraw themselves from even the perception of objects, leave alone an interest in them. They settle themselves in the permanent that is within them and attain to the Atman, which is the same as Brahman.
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Commentary for Katha Upanishad 2.1.1-2 : Children without understanding run after the pleasures of sense objects because the Creator Himself pierced the senses in an outward tendency, as it were. The senses cannot see anything that is behind; they see only what is in front. Not only do they see what is in front, they rush vigorously forward in search of more accumulation of objects for their indulgence. Then what happens? Their vigour wears away, the instruments of actions, the sense organs and the body become old, and there is decay and destruction. Death takes possession of such people who have no consciousness of there being a higher reality than the visible world of objects.
Heroes on the path of the Spirit, knowing this predicament of human nature in this world, turn their gaze within and behold within themselves, in their own selves, that light which illumines the whole world. The light of intelligence, which is within us, is also that glorious radiance of God-consciousness. Knowing this, people tread the path of the true Spirit for attaining immortality, and they do not seek the permanent attainment of Godhood through any means which are perishable and impermanent. Impermanent means are these objects of the world, which are incapable of contacting that which is permanent in nature. Everything in this world is infested with the tendency to perish one day or the other. Therefore, nothing in this world can be regarded as a suitable way or means to attain God. The Atman is the way to God, not the body, not the senses, not the objects.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
Men of childish intellect, ignorant persons, run after desires which are external, and enter the trap of far-reaching death, but the wise, understanding immortality, never seek for the Eternal in this life of finite things.
The same idea is here made clear that in this external world, which is full of finite things, it is impossible to see and find the Infinite. The Infinite must be sought in that alone which is infinite, and the only thing infinite about us is that which is within us, our own soul. Neither the body, nor the mind, not even our thoughts, nor the world we see around us, are infinite. The Seer, He to whom they all belong, the Soul of man, He who is awake in the internal man, alone is infinite, and to seek for the Infinite Cause of this whole universe we must go there. In the Infinite Soul alone we can find it.[Source]
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
PUNDIT: “How far did you go in visiting the sacred places?”
MASTER: “Oh, I visited a few places. (With a smile) But Hazra went farther and also climbed higher. He visited Hrishikesh, but I didn’t go so far or so high.
“You must have noticed kites and vultures soaring very high in the sky; but their eyes are always fixed on the charnel-pits. Do you know the meaning of ‘charnel-pits’? It is ‘woman and gold’.
“What is the use of making pilgrimages if you can attain love of God remaining where you are? I have been to Benares and noticed the same trees there as here. The same green tamarind-leaves!
“Pilgrimage becomes futile if it does not enable you to attain love of God. Love of God is the one essential and necessary thing. Do you know the meaning of ‘kites and vultures’? There are many people who talk big and who say that they have performed most of the duties enjoined in the scriptures. But with all that their minds are engrossed in worldliness and deeply preoccupied with money, riches, name, fame, creature comforts, and such things.”
PUNDIT: “It is true, sir. Going on a pilgrimage is like seeking diamonds and gems, while discarding the precious stone that is worn by Narayana Himself on His breast.”
MASTER: “I want you to remember this. You may impart thousands of instructions to people, but they will not bear fruit except in proper time. On going to bed, a child said to his mother, ‘Mother, please wake me up when I feel the call of nature.’ The mother said: ‘Don’t worry about it, my child. That call will wake you up itself.’ (All laugh.) One feels yearning for God at the proper time. (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)