Age has nothing to do with the seeking of jnana, and Nachiketas is a classic example of this, said P.T. Seshadri in a discourse. When Nachiketas’s father Vajasravas donated weak, old cows, the boy objected that this was sinful. Nachiketas repeatedly asked his father to whom he would give his son (Nachiketas) as daana. “I will give you to Yama,” replied Vajasravas. And Nachiketas, despite his remorseful father’s protests, went to Yama loka.
Yama was away when the boy arrived, but Nachiketas waited for his return. When Yama returned, he promised three boons to Nachiketas. Nachiketas first requested that his father must never lose his temper, and must be blessed with a calm disposition. Secondly, he said yagas were performed to reach Vishnu loka, and wanted to know the mantras to be recited during the performance of yagas. His third question was about the atma. What happened to the atma when a person died? Yama offered other things, for these questions were profound and he was not sure Nachiketas could understand the answers. Yama suggested that he could bless Nachiketas with thousands of years of life. He could give him untold wealth.
But Nachiketas wanted none of this. He wanted tattva upadesa. Yama then said, “Man’s body is like a chariot. The owner of this chariot is the atma. The driver is the intellect [buddhi]. The mind is the bridle. The indriyas are the horses. The paths the chariot takes are the good and bad in this world. So, if you do not control the horses [indriyas] using the bridle [manas], then the horses will move as they please and the chariot will overturn. Controlling the manas is, therefore, of utmost importance, and to achieve this, you have to recite the name of Lord Narayana.”
