Katha Upanishad

"Get up! Wake up! Seek the guidance of an illumined teacher and realize the Self."

The work of becoming an enlightened adult isn't easy, and today's culture doesn't make it any easier.

For thousands of years, young people have questioned the adult authority figures in their lives, especially when it seems like the adults have a double standard for conduct (a double standard means that they have one standard for you and a separate one for themselves. As in, "Do what I say, not what I do.") I wouldn't blame anyone for asking the President of the United States: "Why would you ask Americans to sacrifice their health and their jobs and their lives when you sit there like a selfish king, not taking any of those risks?"

The Katha Upanishad begins with a teenager who questions his father and goes to seek death.


This translation is from The Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran