man who does not desire; who, not desiring, free from desires, is satisfied in his desires, or desires the Self only, his vital spirits do not depart elsewhere; being Brahma, he goes to Brahma.
"And as the slough of a snake lies on an ant-hill, dead and cast away, thus lies the body; but that disembodied immortal spirit is Brahma only, is only light."
And this brings us to the doctrine of final beatitude and salvation. There is nothing more sublime in the literature of the ancient Hindus than the passages in which they fervently recorded their hope and faith that the disembodied soul, purified from all stains and all sins, will at last be received in the Universal Soul, even as light mingles with light. We quote another passage from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:—
"He, therefore, that knows, after having become quiet, subdued, satisfied, patient, and collected, sees self in Self, sees all in Self. Evil does not overcome him, he overcomes all evil. Evil does not burn him, he burns all evil. Free from evil, free from spots, free from doubt, he becomes a true Brahman—enters the Brahma world."
It was this doctrine of final beatitude which Death explained to Nachiketas in that beautiful idyl of an Upanishad called Katha, and our chapter may find a fitting close in an extract from that beautiful creation of fancy and of piety.
Nachiketas was given by his father unto Death and entered the abode of Yama Vaivasvata, whom he asked for three boons, the last of which was this:—
