Exploration of the Ultimate Reality in the Katha Upanishad
This research paper attempts to explore the proclamations of the ultimate reality postulated by the Katha Upanishad with the tenets of transcendental philosophy. The Katha Upanishad, which is one of the principal Upanishads, crystallizes the concept of the ultimate truth that remains beyond the realm of senses and reasons. Therefore, this article aims to interpret the dimensions of the fundamental truth that the Upanishad exposes in vivid ways. The entire dialogues between Yama, the Lord of Death, and the inquirer of knowledge, Nachiketa, in this Upanishad lead us from this world to make out the point that ultimate reality lies beyond the frontiers of mind and experience. The manifested phenomenal world, which we perceive, is just a play. Thus, to realize the truth as divinity, one should transcend the realm of logic and senses. The concepts of the Western transcendental philosophy propounded mainly by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Spinoza, and Kant also make the same proclamations about the nature of absolute reality. This article provides the new insights to view the speculations of the Katha Upanishad and the Western Philosophy of transcendence about the nature of the genuine reality as they both disseminate the same tunes, showing the unity in diversity.
International Journal of Literature and Arts