KathaUpanishad

• Praise and Worship as an act of gratitude,
• Communion with fellow beings in all dimensions of existence
• Sacrifice, daan or giving as a way of life.
The Indian ritualistic traditions yajna is considered as a science of sowing and reaping -
give to receive - to obtain a desired objective through the sacrifice. Since in the Hindu
tradition there are several gods each with their own circle of authority, these gods as
invoked and given the seed sacrifice for the fulfilment of specific desires. These form
the sakama yajna.
Indra, the god of nourishment is invoked in order to gain power, wealth and prosperity.
Prajapati is propitiated to beget worthy offspring.
The Sun god replenishes cosmic energy.
Goddess Aditi brings delicious food and heavenly bliss.
Mother Earth is propitiated to provide nourishment to all living beings.
This eventually led to the worship of idols in all the various forms.
Viswajit yagna
Viswa means universe and jit means victory. Hence this yagna was for the purpose of
being victorious over the universe. Since it involves the universe, the total yaga was
needed. The fruit corresponds to the seed.
He desired to go to heaven. "What shall I do to get salvation, go to heaven?" "How am I
going to conquer the universe?" The verse clearly indicates that he knew the Scriptures
and all its laws and in accordance with the scripture, he decided to do a yagnam in
which he has to give away all that he has. This sacrifice is known also as Visvajit
sacrifice, in which he gave away all his property. He had a son named Nachiketa.
This sacrifice is performed as a kamya karma, (action for desired result) trying to go for
results. He doesn't do it properly according to some interpreters and according to others
he is so poor that all he had was not worth anything.
The vedas say the sakara karma must be performed perfectly. NishkAma can give
results even when performed defficiently, sakama Karma must be performed properly
with proper angas to get the results desired. Nachiketa means "one who does not
know". Thus Nachiketa stands for a spiritual seeker. He goes beyond the rituals and
externals into the heart of the religious performance.So, Nachiketas means one who
does not know but one who is intelligent.
If on the other hand if we assume Johnston's interpretation, the ParaBrahman desiring
to regain contact with the scattered individual souls of man who lost their contact with
the Parabrahman as the individual soul took control of the reign of the heart over the
indwelling Holy Spirit the Atman, (as distinct from Jivatma) sends His only begotten Son
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