Sri. T. Narasimharaghavachariar cited the Kathopanishad which dwells on the ways to abstain from indulging in deeds considered sinful. If the body can be likened to a chariot, the horses which draw it are the “Senses” (Indriyas). Using the intellect as the reins, the mind (Charioteer) can control its gallop and steer the occupant through a safe journey, taking him to the destination. God has endowed every person with three faculties -thinking, speaking and acting. He can put them to proper use and subdue the mind. He will come to realise the presence of God within himself -seated in the heart in an atomic form.
                                                                       January 2, 1981

Mind can be man's friend or foe

The mind is man's intimate friend or inveterate foe and hence, according to circumstances, he can swim or sink in the ocean of life. To him who has mastered the art of conforming himself to discipline, the mind can be a good companion. But if he becomes a slave to it and obeys it command, it will prove to be an enemy.

By meditation, abstraction and retraction, the mind can be made steady. All of us do realise how the mind behaves, but many of us find it difficult to control it and so fail to resist the temptations. To guard against getting involved in wordly enjoyments, it should be reined with great effort and chained to the intellect. For this, one should conduct himself in life properly, mould his character and learn the relationship of the soul and the body and the soul and the Supreme Being. A royal road has been laid by God Himself for the aspirant to reach His Kingdom, but man guided by the mind seeks to go through the by-lanes and incidentally gets lost.

In gaining true knowledge about the nature of God, the individual should seek clarifications from a qualified spiritual leader. Why not acquire the same through the plethora of scriptural texts, one may ask. Knowledge so secured may end in a man getting confused, as the contents require proper commentary. The Kathopanishad hence, pleads with man to rise from his slumber and be ever awake till he reaches his journey's end. Sri Tirukkallam Narasimharaghavachariar said.

One who has controlled his mind will see God everywhere and in everything and will not be perturbed by mundane opposites -love and hatred, heat or cold, happiness or misery, honour or dishonour and respect or disrespect. He will treat a clod of clay, a lump of potsherds and a brick of gold alike, knowing that all are but variations of earth's form. By his surrender at God's feet and entrusting himself thus, he can win God 's confidence and acquire the power to put his intellect to proper use. If one obeys God's commands, he will secure the release from bondage. With external purity and continence, one should resort to meditation; he will be able to get rid of the evil of illusion that blurs his vision.
                                                                   January 5, 1981

Spiritual wisdom needed to realise God

One of the essential requirements of a devotee who desires to get released from bondage and seeks to realise God, is the acquisition of spiritual knowledge. A devotee should understand the nature of the object to be achieved, viz, the Supreme Being, the nature of the Self, their relationship, the means to reach God, the result that comes out of his efforts and the obstacles which prevent him from reaching his goal. The sources for this wisdom are “Pratyaksha” or perception, seeing actually what happens around through senses. “Anumana”, inference based on precedents and thirdly, the “Verbal Authority” or the trustworthy utterances. They reveal what the devotee cannot comprehend.

Among them are the Vedas and the Upanishads (termed Srutis) and the codes of Manu, Yagnavalkya and Parasara, the Ithihasas, the Puranas and the Brahma Sutras (called Smritis) Besides these are the Agamas. According to one of the Agamas, God can be conceived in five forms, one of them being as “idols”, enabling the devotee to offer his worship. The scriptural texts refer to the two methods to get rid of the punishment for his past misdeeds and to obtain Salvation -Bhakti and Prapatti -the paths of Devotion and self-surrender . When a person's Karma is destroyed by one of these two steps, God becomes pleased and waives the punishment.

Sri Tirukkallam Narasimharaghavachariar in his discourse referred to the accessories needed for a person to resort to “Surrender”, the determination to do only those acts which would receive God's approbation avoidance of deeds which would incur His displeasure; intense Faith that He would stand as his saviour; his plaint of helplessness that he has no capacity to save himself and the offer of sincere prayers to the Lord requesting him to extend His assurance of protection.

Bodily purity, freedom from harbouring evil thoughts, performance of prescribed rites with zeal, goodwill to all (even to enemies) and contentment, are some of the virtues he should cultivate.
                                                                   March 16, 1981

Immortality for those who seek truth

Both the “good” and the “pleasant” approach a man. The wise one discriminates between the two and having examined them, prefers the former while others choose the latter. The good and the pleasant represent the paths of spiritual know- ledge and of sense pleasures. It is the deluded who take recourse to the latter. These remarks formed the base for the dissertation given by the Lord of Death (Yama) on what happens to life when it ceases. The Mahabharata states that death and immortality are established in this body. One gets mortality by pursuing illusion while immortality is assured to those who seek Truth. Another verse says that a father should treat his child, up to the age of five, with deep affection; between five and 15 induct discipline and then treat him as a companion. The two factors mentioned above are termed “Sreyas” and “Preyas”.

In a lecture, Swami Ranganadananda said Kathopanishad, the most popular among the Upanishads containing ancient wisdom, has philosophy, mysticism and useful imageries put together. The message of the Upanishads is that we should develop fearlessness and moral strength. They recognise human freedom and dignity and call upon everyone to assert his or her Divine status. The Kathopanishad exhorts every human being not to be a creature. “Do not remain a cattle of the Gods”, It commences with the story of a young man who asked his father, who was making a generous gift of cows, as to whom he (the boy) is going to be “donated”. Annoyed at his pestering, the father said “I shall give you to Death”. The youth implicitly obeyed the command and waited at the doorsteps of Yama's abode and/was welcomed. Two of his boons-to cause his father's anger to disappear and to teach how to reach heaven were granted. His third query was that when a man dies, some say “everything is finished” while some believe that “something remains”. Which is correct? Yama who was disinclined to enlighten him on this “profound mysticism”, tempted him by offering wealth and other pleasures to make him desist from asking this question. But the boy was adamant and was keen only on getting an explanation for his doubt-what lies after death and whether there is anything changeless in this world of change. Then the Lord of Death started detailing him the mystery.
                                                                   January 14, 1987

Upanishads show the way to reach God

The study of various scriptural texts is essentially to make a person virtuous and God-centred. He is asked to beware of pleasures which will push him deep down into the valley of agony. The Vedic utterances are in the nature of revelations of the Supreme force which controls the entire universe. The first segment of the Vedas deals with rites and ceremonies to be observed while the latter details the steps to acquire spiritual knowledge through the Upanishads.

Adi Sankara defines the Upanishads as those which reveal the Truth to enable a person to get rid of his grief. They describe God as all-pervading, radiant, transcendental and compassionate They are the cream of ancient wisdom, categorically proclaiming the omnipresence of God Ignorant persons often raise the question whether God can be seen and if not, why?

Gold, gems and precious metals are hidden in the ground but they cannot be acquired easily. They can be located only with certain aids. Subsoil water can be traced only by divining. So too, God's resplendent vision can be seen through “devotion”. Those who have cultivated this assiduously will certainly experience the presence of God.

The Upanishads point out, Sri Manjakkudi Rajagopala Sastrigal said in a discourse, that God declines to be near those who are immersed in wordly pleasures and who are not concerned about the life hereafter. God is close to those who obey His commands, who discharge their ordained duties and dedicate their acts to Him.

Several people are eager to secure salvation to avoid rebirths. What entitles an aspirant to obtain it depends on two factors-implicit obedience of the directives prescribed in the Vedas and equal anxiety not to indulge in misdeeds which are prohibited in the scriptural literature.

Practice of various austerities and adopting the measures suggested in the sacred texts will help a person to subdue the senses. The factors which lure them can be traced to the surroundings in which a person is placed, his association with men lacking character and his closeness with certain undesirable objects.
                                                                   July 2, 1990