Katha Upanishad - Yama's Teaching

Yama's Teaching

Yama begins his teaching by distinguishing between preya, "what is pleasant", and shreya, "what is beneficial." A similar distinction between the pleasant and the beneficial was made in ancient Greek philosophy by Plato.

Yama's teaching also notably includes the parable of the chariot (1.3.3–4), not unlike (and roughly contemporary to) the one found in Parmenides, or the one in Plato's Phaedrus. Yama's parable consists of the following equations:

• atman, the "Self" is the chariot's passenger
• the body is the chariot itself
• consciousness (buddhi) is the chariot driver
• the mind (manas) is the reins
• the five senses (indriya) are the chariot horses
• the objects perceived by the senses are the chariot's path

The Katha Upanishad is also notable for first introducing the term yoga (lit. "yoking, harnessing") for spiritual exercise:

"When the five organs of perception become still, together with the mind, and the intellect ceases to be active: that is called the highest state. This firm holding back of the senses is what is known as Yoga." (2.3.10–11, trans. Paramananda)