What did Nachiketa ask the Lord of death?

In the previous episode, we started with the story of Nachiketa. This boy marched to abode of death just to keep his father’s word.

Yama, the lord of death was so pleased with Nachiketa that he made an offer of boon – with no bars.

Probably Yama expected this small boy to ask for some worldly things, or at least longevity. But Nachiketa was not interested in any of that. What exactly he wanted?

Nachiketa started with a very simple doubt! He asked Yama

“Some say that after death, a person ceases to exist. But others say that death is not the end, but a person continues to exist even after death. Now you are the most qualified person to comment on this, because you are the Lord of death. So, please do tell me what is the truth?”

Nachiketa was right. Who else can answer this question about death other than the lord of death himself?

But Yama was not prepared to give out all his secrets. So he somehow wanted to avoid this question.

Yama tried to lure Nachiketa with all worldly riches. He offered him immortality in lieu of an answer to this difficult question. Or anything else, but for this.

But the boy Nachiketa was not so easy to avoid. He was quite adamant and determined to get an answer to his question. He said

“All the riches you are offering me are short lived. They don’t last forever. Also, enjoying various pleasures actually drains off the vigor from a person, though they may seem attractive in the beginning.

Even if they last long, and you actually give me immortality, a human life has its own limitations and there are higher states of existence that are more rewarding. So, being immortal human is of no use.

If at all you want to grant me something, give a reply to my question. I will not be content with anything less.”

Look at the freedom afforded to a student in ancient India. Nachiketa was a lay student and Yama was lord of knowledge par excellence. But unlike our modern day Gurus, blind acceptance was never a prerequisite.

A student had the freedom to question the Guru and it was Guru’s responsibility to satisfy the student. I think this was one of the main reasons why ancient India rose to great heights in wisdom. You can see that in most Upanishads and other ancient Indian literature.

Nachiketa was very clear about what he wants. He wanted that and only that.

Yama was quite pleased with the clarity that the young boy Nachiketa had. He said

“There are two choices one comes across in one’s life – one that one wants to have, and the other that one should be wanting to have.

What we want to have and what we should want to be having, need not be the same.

People often go after things that they should not actually go after. They limit their vision to this world. They think that there is nothing beyond this world. They indulge in all kinds of pleasures and get trapped in endless cycles of miseries.

Unfortunately, they have their own advisers who lead them astray. It is like a blind man leading another blind man. Such a choice will always take them on a downward journey.

So one needs to be prudent while making a choice. One should ponder over the choices and want only that which will uplift him in the long run.”

And Nachiketa had done the right choice. He was not tempted by worldly riches, longevity and so on, offered by the Lord of death. Instead, he chose to ask for that knowledge, that would uplift him.

What was that knowledge? We will see that in the next episode.

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A story of Nachiketa from Katha Upanishad, which is part of Yajur Veda. Upanishads are concluding parts of ancient Indian Vedic scriptures believed to be at least 5000 years old. The interpretation is by Dr.King (Copyright © 2019 Dr. King).