The Mystery of Death: A Study in the Philosophy and Religion of the Katha Upanishad

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Item Code: IDI950
Author: Swami Abhedananda
Publisher: Ramkrishna Vedanta Math
Language: English
Edition: 2008
ISBN: 9788188446902
Pages: 312
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 8.6" X 5.4"
Weight 380 gm
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Book Description

From the Jacket:

This book deals with the comparative study of different problems of life beyond death and with the different philosophical and psychological enquiries about God, the Soul and the World, together with his personal mystical experience in the field of spiritual sadhana.

It has ably unlocked the mystery of the mystic dialogue between Yama, the Ruler of Death and Nachiketa by giving the best rational explanations, based upon the Upanishadic view point and scientific discoveries.

About the Author:

SWAMI ABHEDANANDA, an apostle of Sri Ramakrishna - Born October 2, 1866 - Spent his early life among the brotherhood in Baranagar monastery near Calcutta in severe austerity - Travelled barefooted all over India from 1888-1895 - Went to London at the call of Swami Vivekananda in 1896-Acquainted with many distinguished savants including Prof. Max Mueller and Prof. Deussen - Landed in New York and took charge of the Vedanta Society in 1897 - Became acquainted with Prof. William James, Rev. R. H. Newton, Prof. Josiah Royce of Harvard, Prof. Hyslop of Columbia, Prof. Lanmann, Prof. G. H. Howison, Prof. Fay, Mr. Edison, the inventor, Dr, Elmer Gates, Ralph Waldo Trine, W. D. Howells, Prof. Herschel C. Parker, Dr. Logan, Rev. Bishop Potter, Prof. Shaler, Dr. Jaynes, the chairman of the Cambridge Philosophical Conference and the Professors of Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Barkeley and Clarke Universities-Travelled extensively all though the United States, Canada, Alaska and Mexico - Made frequent trips to Europe, delivering lectures in different parts of the Continent-Crossed the Atlantic seventeen times-Was appreciated very much for his profundity of scholarship, intellectual brilliance, oratorical talents, charming personality and nobility of character - Made a short visit to India in 1906 - Returned to America - Came back to India finally in 1921 - On his way home joined the Educational Conference, Honolulu - Visited Japan, China, the Philippines, Singapore, Kualalumpur and Rangoon - Started on a long tour and went as far as Tibet in 1922 - Established centres at Calcutta and Darjeeling - Left his mortal frame on September 8, 1939.

CONTENTS
  PREFACE  
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION  
  What is the Upanishad,-Karmakanda and Jnanakanda of the Veda, - The Vedic rituals, - The Pitris and the Devas, heavens and desires,-An eternal hell,-All the knowledge depends upon comparison,-The duration of pleasure,-We cannot enjoy the pleasure throughout eternity,-The bloody sacrifice,-The rationalistic portion of the Vedas,-All thoughts and works are limited by time and space,-The word 'eternal',-The theory of creation,-The Upanishads are revealed wisdom,-Sankaracharya, -The seven notes of Indian music,-What the Upanishads describe,-The meaning of the Upanishad, Divine wisdom emanates from God,-Renunciation,-The highest pleasure,-The soul life,-Character is our companion,-The self-control,-The true being,-The story of Nachiketa,-The promise of his father,-Nachiketa went to the abode of Death (Yama),-The offer of boons,-The first boon,-The second boon,-The third boon,-The next boon was offered,-Man can never be happy by wealth and possession.  
CHAPTER II THE RULER OF DEATH  
  A man lives after his death,-Curiosity-mongers will never reach the highest goal,-The departed spirits,-What is the real truth,-All the pleasures of life are transitory,-The conception of different kinds of heaven,-Heavens are projections of our own ideas,-Even dreams are realities,-The world is like a dream,-Each perception is different,-Everything depends upon comparison,-Doubts of the Devas and bright-spirits,-Two courses of action,-Happiness independent of sense relations,-The absolute goodness,-Pessimism,-Good and evil,-Ideals of the East and West,-The paths of knowledge and ignorance,-Misfortune is the great teacher,-Our way of depending differs,-The two paths are opposite,-True knowledge,-The path of immortality,-The victims self-deception,-Death has a certain realm,-Death means the change,-Search for the inner light,-The real nature of the soul.  
CHAPTER III DEATH AND IMMORTALITY  
  The self-deluded men,-Death presupposes birth,-Eternal perdition,-Heaven and hell,-Christian conception of heaven,-Significance of 'eternal',-Different grades of pleasures-Implication of 'immortal',-The physical bodies are subject to death,-What is deathless immortal thing,-The spiritual and immortal body,-The change of mental or thought forms,-The subtle body,-We are immortal by birth-right,-The wonderful teacher and student,-The book-learning,-The ordinary mortals,-The spiritualist's defect,-The seekers after Truth,-The immortal part of our body,-The extreme longing for truth,-The highest end of life,-The personal God,-The Absolute,-The realm of the departed,-The abode of immortality,-The domain of the Absolute.  
CHAPTER IV THE ABODE OF DEATH  
  The last boon,-What exists after death,-The virtue and vice,-The realm of phenomenal relativity,-The conditional existence,-The dual existence of the world,-What is time and space,-What is beyond the categories of tie and space,-The ideal of scriptures,-When shall we attain the Reality,-The spiritual urge,-The eternal word,-Our desires spring from the infinite source,-The cravings for flesh,-The worship of truth,-Pleasure and peace,-The blissfulness,-The absolute ground of the universe,-How can we understand the support of the universe,-The ordinary run of men,-We are all craving for happiness,-The body and the soul,-Science about the change,-Our bodies are always changing,-The realized souls,-Immortal nature is our birthright,-Everything is indestructible,-Spirit-communication,-The process of death,-We create our own destinies,-The true self is itself formless,-We are the children of Bliss,-All suffering springs from ignorance,-What is salvation.  
CHAPTER V THE CHANGEABLE AND THE UNCHANGEABLE  
  The basis of our being,-The reality behind the objective world,-The maya,-Evolution implies change,-The materialistic thinkers,-The soul or ego,-The immortality is the foundation of all religions,-The empirical change,-The Sakshi,-The constant quantity is not within the realm of sense perception,-The terms percept and concept,-Truth is revealed by itself,-The provinces of philosophy and science-What do we mean by Atman,-The strongest proof of our immortal nature,-What do we mean by consciousness,-What are the intermediate changes, Does our soul or the Atman grow or die,-What is perfection,-The words birthless and deathless,-What is tamas,-Omniscience is our birth-right,-When does the revelation come,-The essence of God is the same as the essence of the Atman,-What is immortality,-Emerson on Brahman,-The germ of life,-The conception of space,-Our constant quantity is local yet universal,-The space never moves,-The Atman is without change.  
CHAPTER VI KNOWLEDGE OF THE ABSOLUTE  
  A preliminary knowledge of the Absolute,-Realization involves hard struggling,-What is the flash of realization,-What are the thoughts,-Scientific and intellectual pursuit of the Absolute,-The desire is the cause of suffering even after death,-Mere hearing of the sermons is not the same as realization,-Love means attraction of the soul,-Human love is reflection of divine love,-The knock must proceed from intense longing,-The longing for the highest,-God is love and love is God,-God is the highest good of divine realization,-We should check all our wicked habits,-Turn your mind away from the world,-This life has its purpose,-When our mind will be in peace,-Godliness as the ornament of our character,-Christ and the crucifixion,-What is a true religion,-The attainment of Samadhi,-The ego and the consciousness,-What is the value of the gold,-The Absolute swallows up everything,-Colour is nothing but a certain state of vibration,-We project our sensations into the eternal world,-Withdraw your mind from the senses,-What is character,-Destiny and future,-Two selves have entered into the cave of the heart,-The relation between the two birds ego and the soul,-The word 'image',-The body is like a chariot,-We should analyse our own self,-When can perfection be reached.  
CHAPTER VII THE EGO AND THE TRUE SELF  
  Questions that face us in our pursuit of the mystery of death,-The individual ego and God,-The true nature of God,-Image is no other than the ego,-The Western minds about the idea of image of God,-The anthropomorphic conception of God,-The ego is no other than the Spirit,-God himself is sinless,-The Swedenborgians about the soul,-The ego is called the mediator,-Christ does not mean any ordinary human being,-The soul is eternal,-Body and soul,-The mortal man is reality an immortal entity,-The horse and the rider,-What is discrimination,-Impure thoughts,-Right knowledge brings everlasting bliss,-What is the sure way to prosperity,-What do we mean by 'perfection',-The highest end of life,-Belief in a God is not necessary for salvation, but of right knowledge.  
CHAPTER VIII THE EGO, SELF AND SENSATION  
  We know everything when we know our true self,-The dualistic idea of God,-God is not far from us,-the higher self and the Anglo-Saxon self,-India has always stood for the divine knowledge,-The science about God,-The analysis of our sense perceptions and mental conditions,-What happens when we see a colour,-What is a concept,-What is a sound,-The mental process,-Beyond everything there shines the Atman,-What are the sensations,-The mind-stuff,-The power of attention,-The percept and concept,-The sensation,-Ego and the sense of 'I',-The cosmic ego,-The analysis of the sense of ego,-Different personalities,-The sense of 'I' is not the ultimate Reality,-What is the energy,-Energy produces various kinds of forces,-What does the cosmic ego signify,-The Purusha and the Self,-The cosmic ego and God,-The Purusha and the Brahman,-By knowing ourselves we know God,-What is the standard of knowledge.  
CHAPTER IX THE DIVINE ELEMENT IN US  
  The process of grasping the true nature of the Self,-What is the ego,-The limit of our I-consciousness,-The ego is subject to change,-The higher conception of God,-God is the soul of the universe,-Death means change,-What is an evolution,-The idea of resurrection,-India about the immortal self,-The Vedantic idea of the passage-God created man in his own image,-God cannot be known by the mind,-God, the Brahman,-Man is the highest experiment of the evolutionary process, -The human plane is better,-The sharp intellect is the only means to the God-realization,-Ordinary mortals are deluded,-The change and the unchangeable self,-We must start from the gross physical body first,-Merge the words into thoughts,-The real self has no sense of 'I'-What is 'death',-What are sounds,-What is colour,-We cannot even possess our own bodies,-A story of a sage,-What is Godconsciousness,-What does a realized man understand.  
CHAPTER X THE IMMORTAL SELF  
  The universal spirit,-Our minds are dragging outward,-The self-existence one,-The condition of an ordinary man,-The change of the world,-The unchangeable something,-What does the word 'death' signify,-The subtle body,-What are heavens,-The science of music,-There is something within us,-What is immortality,-How can we become immortal,-The brain is nothing but an instrument,-The true Self is the source of all knowledge,-What part is immortal in us,-The true Self is the knower of all the mental states,-The true Self is infinite.  
CHAPTER XI THE REALM OF IMMORTALITY  
  The three states of consciousness,-All the changes are witnessed by the Atman,-The Self is not affected by any empirical change,-What is 'honey',-The sense of 'I',-All living creatures are like the centers,-We cannot limit the field of souls,-The self-conscious entity possesses nothing material,-Death can only take the body,-The First-Born Lord,-Each individual ego is the receptacle of the cosmic consciousness,-The Absolute is not very far from us,-The life-force or Prana,-Unity in variety,-The fire was and symbol of bright spirit,-The control over the prana,-The fire as considered by different nations,-The solar energy,-The visible and the invisible worlds,-What does the sun represent.  
CHAPTER XII UNITY IN VARIETY  
  The field of ordinary knowledge,-Most people live on the surface,-The cause produces effect,-What are we going to gain in this life,-What does the modern science teach,-Desires are great powers,-Nature has many laws,-Everything is governed by the law of Nature,-The experiences of the world,-The one force of Nature,-The analysis of the phenomenal universe,-Mind has tremendous power,-Ignorance,-The immortal substance in us,-All things do not look alike,-The higher knowledge,-Love means expression of oneness,-Knowledge and delusion,-Going beyond from death to death,-What do we mean by 'heart',-Knowledge is strength,-The divine unity.  
CHAPTER XIII THE BODY AND THE SOUL  
  Human body is like a palace,-Sense powers are like door-keepers,-What do we mean by meditation,-The idea of salvation,-Perfection must be reached here in this earth,-In each body there is a king,-The eternal truth is beyond time and space,-The nature of the soul,-The materialistic theory of soul,-What does death signify,-The state of Samadhi,-The instructions of Yama to Nachiketa,-The immortal part of our body,-Atman, the king of the palace of the body,-What do we mean by disease,-Know yourself.  
CHAPTER XIV PERFECTION TO THE SOUL  
  The doubt of Nachiketa,-Desires are motive powers,-The attitude of Vedanta philosophy,-The law of Karma,-Like attracts like,-The higher plane,-What do we mean by perfection,-Nothing is lost,-All works produce impressions,-Each individual will reach the same goal,-The law of compensation,-Everything depends upon the immortal Self,-The existence of the soul,-All conditions are imperfect,-God and the world.  
CHAPTER XV ONENESS AMIDST THE MANIFOLD  
  The true Self,-What becomes in our unconscious state,-The Sankhya philosophy,-The foundational consciousness is one,-The personal God,-The example of fire,-The vibration of air,-The cosmic intelligence,-Ego and the true Self,-Ignorance is the cause of suffering,-The self-delusion,-The source of consciousness,-God pervades the whole universe,-The space,-Intelligence is always the ruler of the matter,-Knowledge is power,-What do we mean by the Veda,-That is That,-Nothing can illumine the Atman.  
CHAPTER XVI THE PHENOMENAL UNIVERSE AND THE BRAHMAN  
  Reality of the universe is one,-The tree of life,-What does the word vriksha signify,-The sun is subject to constant change,-Evolution means change,-Self-deluded people,-The eternal energy,-The Lord of the universe,-The new cycle,-The tree of this phenomenal world,-Seven heavens of the Hindus,-The meaning of the cycle,-The sphota,-Energy needs a substance to rest upon,-Nothing can limit the pure intelligence,-Revelation and intuition,-The seers of the Upanishad,-True self is not far from us.  
CHAPTER XVII THE WORLD AS THE RESULT OF VIBRATIONS  
  The root as the absolute Brahman,-The word prana,-Fire and electricity,-What is colour and sound,-The analysis of the perception,-A wise man,-God does not mourn over anything,-The vibration is the cause of the universe,-The laws of the prana,-Intelligence and life go together,-Motion and life,-What does the science explain,-The vibration of the prana,-Everything phenomenal is relative,-The power of prana,-What can death do,-The terror of Brahman,-The Governor of the universe.  
CHAPTER XVIII THE END OF WORLDLINESS MEANS THE BEGINNING OF REALIZATION  
  The present is the best,-The attainment of immortality,-The Angelic plane,-The Brahmaloka,-The realm of the ancestor,-The aim of human life,-The fear of death proceeds from ignorance,-What does the Vedanta teach,-What is God,-What does the Upanishad say,-The analysis of our being,-Intellect,-Brahma, Iswar and the Brahman,-The undifferentiated energy,-The human soul,-Nothing is lost in this world,-Beyond the energy lies the highest,-Which is the goal of all religious,-The Brahman cannot be realized by anything phenomenal,-What does Christ signify,-The state of samadhi,-Do not expect to reach perfection in the state of rush,-What do we mean by Yoga,-The state of Yoga.  
CHAPTER XIX REALIZATION OF THE ABSOLUTE  
  Where does the Yoga practice lead,-What do we mean by an appearance,-All contradictions are relative,-The thought fails to reach the Absolute,-The Absolute is an existence,-The sunyata,-The suchness,-The yanas of the Buddhists,-Where lies our existence,-What becomes in the state of samadhi,-The Godconsciousness,-The material body is an instrument of the Self,-Realization of the Brahman,-The Raja Yoga,-The true self is very minute,-Divine illumination,-The conqueror of the mind,-The realization of the Absolute.  
 

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