Teachings from Kathopanishad - Part II

Nachiketa asked Bhagwan YAMA, " Tell me that knowledge or karma by which we will be able to go to Heaven." He asked this for the sake of other people's welfare. By this question, we get the insight that :

• Our life is not limited to me and my people but extend beyond our small limited cocoon.
• Individuality does not have an independent existence. Individuality becomes meaningful only if associated with the totality. In addition to leading life properly, we also have responsibility for the society where we are living. So, our life should be lived in such a manner that others are also benefited.
• Unless we accepted the principle that we existed before this body was born, we existed in this body and when the body is dropped, we continue to exist, further study is meaningless. Can we say that we began from non-existence or nothingness? From nothing, nothing is created. Therefore, we have to accept that we do not begin from non-existence. 
• There is an EMBODIED, our scriptures call it as JEEVA, that is living in the body, once you accept this, the second step starts. 
• The Body is born, the body grows, the body decays, the body dies; the JEEVA is not born, the JEEVA doesn't grow, the JEEVA doesn't decay, the JEEVA doesn't die. 
• We are all miserable because we always identify as somebody and this somebody has no existence.  
• There is no DEATH in the HEAVEN (Heaven is not a place but a condition of mind where there is no fear). How we take our life determines whether we're in heaven or we're in hell. Happiness comes from within, we don't require anything outside. If we're able to discover this happiness over silly things, like the children as they don't need great things to be happy. If we're at peace with ourselves without going to sleep, we're the source of happiness. 
• To remain in peace is to remain in the utter present.
• The moment we go away from us in TIME, SPACE & OBJECT, Miseries begin. Go away in Time, in old days or in future, we'll be miserable; where ever we're, whatever we're, whenever we're, BE 100%. Living in this wisdom dynamically is meditation. Whatever we do, we should do it cheerfully or we shouldn't do it. 
• When we come to know that we have no choice, we learn, lesser the choice we exercise, more happy we're. When there is 0 choice, we're the happiest. That experience is called as reaching Heaven. The net result will be our mind will stop reacting in life. If we observe, we constantly reacting. And these reactions create Hell in our life. When we're living in the Heaven, we lead a life of zero choice, therefore, no reactions. 
• When we live in utter presence, the mind is calm & quiet, alert and vigilant. With such a mind, when you come in contact with the world, in one go, the TRUTH is grasped. Nachiketa's mind was having these three qualities, so he was the best student and grasped the TRUTH in one go told by his teacher. 

In the absolute, there are no fractions. In the absolute, nothing can be added, nothing can be taken out. The time, space and object disappear the moment we detach ourself from the body identification.  Here is the second Boon ended and the stage has been set for the third and the most important Boon in the form of question that is about the "SELF" by Nachiketa to Lord YAMA.
(From the Spiritual Discourse of Respected Swami Anubhavanand Saraswati)