Part 1 was published  here

Part 2 was published  here

6) Knowledge and awareness

The kernel of the image is that knowledge and the degree of knowledge which are reached are decisive for the development of the soul. The human soul changes as a result of the awareness and knowledge of the existence of an alternative reality. The consequence of the lack of knowledge is the decadence of the soul; the freedom from rebirths can be obtained only through knowledge:

‘Of all these, any who have led their lives with justice will change to a better fate, and any who have led theirs with injustice, to a worse one. In fact, no soul returns to the place from which it came for ten thousand years, since its wings will not grow before then, except for the soul of a man who practices philosophy without guile or who loves boys philosophically. If, after the third cycle of one thousand years, the last-mentioned souls have chosen such a life three times in a row, they grow their wings back, and they depart in the three-thousandth year. As for the rest, once their first life is over, they come to judgment; and, once judged, some are condemned to go to places of punishment beneath the earth and pay the full penalty for their injustice, while the others are lifted up by justice to a place in heaven where they live in the manner the life they led in human form has earned them. In the thousandth year both groups arrive at a choice and allotment of second lives, and each soul chooses the life it wants. From there, a human soul can enter a wild animal, and a soul that was once human can move from an animal to a human being again. But a soul that never saw the truth cannot take a human shape, since a human being must understand speech in terms of general forms, proceeding to bring many perceptions together into a reasoned unity. That process is the recollection of the things our soul saw when it was traveling with god, when it disregarded the things we now call real and lifted up its head to what is truly real instead. For just this reason it is fair that only a philosopher’s mind grows wings, since its memory always keeps it as close as possible to those realities by being close to which the gods are divine. A man who uses reminders of these things correctly is always at the highest, most perfect level of initiation, and he is the only one who is perfect as perfect can be. He stands outside human concerns and draws close to the divine; ordinary people think he is disturbed and rebuke him for this, unaware that he is possessed by god.’ (Phaedrus 248e7–249d34)

These passages can teach us the following points:

• The process of decadence of the soul is not definitive. A return to the original condition is possible.
• The practice of philosophy is a remedy against the decadence of the soul.
• The souls who do not see the truth cannot take human form.
• The process of contemplation before decadence is a process through which the soul can see that which is truly real and is not distracted by the entities which the soul considers to be real after the process of decadence.

The recognition of the existence of a different domain of reality brings about another way of considering the whole reality. In the final sentences of the image, Plato declares that the earthen condition proves to be, actually, a condition of imprisonment in the body:

‘…we saw it in pure light because we were pure ourselves, not buried in this thing we are carrying around now, which we call a body, locked in it like an oyster in its shell.’ (Phaedrus 250c4–c6)

The realm of truth and of being does not have a purely theoretical value, since the contacts and the lack of contacts with the realm of truth and being modify the life of the human being. The human subject can free itself from the sequence of the continuous soul transmigration (and from being trapped in the dimension of the chain of rebirths) through the contact with the dimension of being. The danger of losing the dimension of contemplation on the part of the human soul forms a kind of constitutive existence dimension for the human soul, since the human soul by nature has a part which is averse to the realm of truth and being. The actual cause of human mortality is consequently the inner defect of the human soul, which must always struggle to be able to remain in the state of contemplation. The human soul, although it could have access to the realm of truth and being, is nevertheless in a state of danger due to its own nature. Since the human soul can always degenerate into an inferior structure, the human being needs and should become aware of the state of constant danger and find a way out of the danger (every human being is called upon to educate himself; the myth represents therefore also a kind of invitation to one’s own education).

The human being is an entity which, by nature, is condemned to a kind of existential incompleteness; men are condemned to a partial perception of the realm of truth and of being. The human soul cannot attain anything more than a defective perception. As a result, even before incorporation, the position of the person is severely disadvantaged. The incorporation itself turns out to be a consequence of the deficiency of the human soul; the human soul is not able to fully contemplate the realm of truth and being. The failure to see what is true is a cause of the decadence of the soul; only the soul which is able to grasp elements of truth can remain in the state of observation of the heavenly space.

Through the myth, the individual comes to know different aspects of this condition such as the structure of the soul, the difference between areas in which a soul can live, the origin of the soul, the state of the soul as a structure which is internally divided, the influences which are exerted on the soul by the areas of reality, and the awareness that the earthly dimension is not the only dimension of reality. The task of the human being after incorporation is to reach the knowledge of reality as well as the knowledge of one’s own situation in reality[1]. The individual condition is that of an entity which is exposed to the risk of decadence and which, in case of decadence, needs to take a long road to go back. The road of decadence is easy; the road of knowledge is long.

[1] It could be asked whether there is a place in the whole allegory for the human responsibility. The implicit view of Plato seems to be that the individual responsibility consists in the readiness to see the true entities, which implies the readiness to limit the influence of the bad horse. Since the human condition is constitutively characterised by defects, the responsibility of the individual consists in the readiness to limit his defects.

7) The image of the chariot in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad

Coming now to the analysis of the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, we can see the presence of many analogies between the myth of the Phaedrus and the Kaṭha Upaniṣad. As alluded to, the image of the chariot is the first sign of the presence of similarities between Phaedrus and Kaṭha Upaniṣad. The presence of this sign can lead us to the discovery of further likenesses:

• the presence of rebirths;
• the cause of the chain of rebirths;
• the way of liberation from rebirths;
• the role of knowledge as regards the process of liberation from rebirths;
• the condition of the human being in the reality.

The individual finds himself in a chain of rebirths: the human being ought to free himself from this chain. A component of the human being can represent a hindrance to the liberation of the human soul from rebirths. The representation of the human being which we can obtain from the Kaṭha Upaniṣad exposes a nature of the human being as a composed entity, i.e., as an entity which has different components. These components can be in harmony with each other if the intellect leads the human being, but can be also in disharmony with each other, if the senses are not appropriately educated. Let us now begin with the presentation of the image which is contained in Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Verse 1.3.3:

‘Know the self[2] as a rider in a chariot,

and the body, as simply the chariot.

Know the intellect as the charioteer,

and the mind, as simply the reins.’

The following correspondences between the components of the chariot and the components of the human being can be seen:

• Ātman is the lord of the chariot.
• The body is the chariot.
• The intelligence is the driver.
• The mind corresponds to the reins.

We can see the presence of different elements within the human being. The text continues with the description of further elements (see Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Verse 1.3.4):

‘The senses, they say, are the horses,

and sense objects are the paths around them;

He who is linked to the body (ātman), senses, and mind,

the wise proclaim as the one who enjoys.’

Further elements of the image are introduced:

• The horses are the senses.
• The objects which the senses perceive are the road of the chariot.

The question regarding the different components of the human being is whether these components are mutually in harmony or not. The problems begin when the components of the human being are not in harmony with each other, as described in Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Verse 1.3.5:

‘When a man lacks understanding,

and his mind is never controlled;

His senses do not obey him,

as bad horses, a charioteer.’

[2] I.e.: ātman..

The understanding is the central requisite for the right organisation of the human being. If there is no understanding, there is no obedience of the senses. If the human being does not possess understanding and does not have his mind under control, the human being has, as a consequence, senses which are not under control. Therewith we can learn that the presence of understanding is indispensable. Without understanding there is neither control of the mind nor control of the senses[3]. In order to become free from the chain of rebirths, the human being ought to change his dimension. He can change his dimension only if he is able to keep his senses under control. A condition of dominance of the intellect over the other faculties of the human being is needed in order that the human being can reach progress as regards his own condition. The text of Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Verse 1.3.6 tells:

‘But when a man has understanding,

and his mind is ever controlled;

His senses do obey him,

as good horses, a charioteer.’

We can see that the presence of understanding and of a controlled mind brings about a condition in which the senses too are under control. On the contrary, the absence of understanding and of a controlled mind brings about for the individual the condemnation to the chain of rebirths, as the text of Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Verse 1.3.7 tells:

‘When a man lacks understanding,

is unmindful and always impure;

He does not reach that final step,

but gets on the round of rebirth.’

Thus, the presence in the human being of understanding is indispensable in order not to fall in the chain of rebirths. If there is no knowledge, there is no possibility of avoiding the chain of rebirths. The presence of understanding in the human being means the liberation from the chain of rebirths, as Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Verse 1.3.8 tells:

‘But when a man has understanding,

is mindful and always pure;

He does reach that final step,

from which he is not reborn again.’

[3] The importance of understanding is present also in Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.

The presence of understanding means reaching the pureness of mind; it enables the human being to reach the liberation from rebirths. Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Verse 1.3.9 explains further:

‘When a man’s mind is his reins,

intellect, his charioteer;

He reaches the end of the road,

that highest step of Viṣṇu.’

The intellect and a controlling mind are dispositions through which the rebirth does not take place any longer. If the individual reaches the appropriate knowledge, he will be free from the chain of rebirths. Therefore, knowledge and ignorance prove to be life dimensions which are completely different from each other.

8) Conclusions

Coming now to the end of our inquiry, we propose the following points as concluding remarks regarding the analogies between Kaṭha Upaniṣad and Plato’s Phaedrus:

• The earthen dimension is not the authentic dimension of the human being.
• The human being can go out from this dimension if he acquires the appropriate knowledge and the appropriate understanding.
• The individual needs an appropriate education in order to reach the alternative dimension.
• The human being has components in himself which can compromise his journey towards the authentic reality.
• The condition of the human being as such presents difficulties; the condition of ascent to the authentic dimension is not immediately given, and the human being ought to work on himself in order to reach this ascent.
• The dimension of senses in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad and of the non-intellectual dimension in the Phaedrus ought to be taken under control. If there is no control or no sufficient control of the sense dimension, the human being cannot reach the authentic dimension of reality.
• Knowledge and awareness of one’s own condition are necessary in order that the individual could begin a process of change of his position in the reality. No spiritual improvement of the individual will arise alone.
• If the human being does not reach the condition of knowledge, the human being is the prey of the series of rebirths. The degree of knowledge is decisive: it determines the condition of the individual.
• The individual who is considered in both texts is an individual who is detached from all historical conditions. Both texts consider the individual as such, i.e., not tied to a specific position in the earthen reality.

end of part 3 of 3

part 1 is  here

part 2 is here

Autori: Bouvot Kathrin – Segalerba Gianluigi