Katyayani was happy and fulfilled to feel peace and harmony during the days that followed. Maitreyi was at peace.
On a sunny afternoon when she was alone with Yajnyawalkya, Katyayani noticed that he was engrossed in something that was waiting to come out. She asked him plainly, "Are you worried over something?"
"No", said he, without declaring what was on his mind. Katyayani laughed.
"you are not a soul of this earth. But now that you have chosen to be born here like all of us, be with us and share our worries," she said.
Yajnyawalkya responded to her laughter, and said,"I am here to share your happiness and relieve you of your worries."
Kayayani said,"You revere this earth; sometimes I feel persons like you live their life like a penance for the irreverence they have committed by being born to earth and having to trample upon her bosom."
"I am in no way different from others, Katyayani, except that I can articulate my thoughts in language. A lot of the substance of our thought is lost in trying to harness thoughts to language, just as a lot of our energy is lost in harnessing ourselves to the claims of the world. You say that persons like me undergo penance for having been born to earth. Life is a penance,Katyayani, not just for people like me but for all of us."
Katyayani said, "Why does life have to be a penance?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "Because every experience, happy or sad, which is stored in our soul, is a penance; and a penance is meant to replace experience with knowledge. Of course, we have a choice to stay clean pf experiences, because thy teach us through pain. In refusing to acknowledge the truth that even happiness produces pain, we are running away from the penance, and running away from knowledge. Most of us believe that happiness can be acquired and pain can be circumvented with the effort of will. Or, some of us who believe that there is something transcendent that oversees our happiness and pain, go ahead and propitiate that power to escape pain."
Katyayani said, "Are you able to escape pain?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "No, neither I nor you can escape pain; however, we may refuse to learn from it."
Katyayani was alarmed by this sudden turn in the conversation. She looked at him introspectively and asked, "Did you learn from our pain?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "Yes!"
Katyayani said reproachfully, "Pray, what did you learn ?"
Yajnyawalkya said with a mild mockery, "That you refuse to learn from your pain."
Katyayani shot back, "You inflicted pain on us!"
Yajnyawalkya said, "Pain is pain; it could have come to you from any source; if not from me, then from some other source! That's the first principle which you refuse to see. The point of learning is : do you rise above pain, or let it set you back?"
Katyayani was speechless. Yajnyawalkya said, "I don't intend to be cruel. For a moment, do not think of me as your husband who had held back from you what you considered to be your rightful happiness. Think of me as only an invisible channel of voice."
Katyayani made no answer.
Yajnyawalkya said, "I know, you were able to rise above pain! I know, that you did learn. In that process, I : Yajnyawalkya became irrelevant to you as your husband. It was pain that was preponderant over you, and you won over that pain by refusing to acknowledge me, and went ahead on your own resources."
Katyayani laughed wholeheartedly, and said, "Indeed? And must we be full of gratitude to our revered husband for causing us to learn the hard way?"
Yajnyawalkya watched her laughter with fascination, drew her close, and kissed her on the brow, and said, "No, you must be grateful to your invincible spirit, which is always with you!"
Katyayani asked, "What is it that will endure: this happiness which we experience now, or will it turn into pain again?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "This happiness will endure, because it does not depend on objects and their acquisition. it has found a place inside you. "
On a sunny afternoon when she was alone with Yajnyawalkya, Katyayani noticed that he was engrossed in something that was waiting to come out. She asked him plainly, "Are you worried over something?"
"No", said he, without declaring what was on his mind. Katyayani laughed.
"you are not a soul of this earth. But now that you have chosen to be born here like all of us, be with us and share our worries," she said.
Yajnyawalkya responded to her laughter, and said,"I am here to share your happiness and relieve you of your worries."
Kayayani said,"You revere this earth; sometimes I feel persons like you live their life like a penance for the irreverence they have committed by being born to earth and having to trample upon her bosom."
"I am in no way different from others, Katyayani, except that I can articulate my thoughts in language. A lot of the substance of our thought is lost in trying to harness thoughts to language, just as a lot of our energy is lost in harnessing ourselves to the claims of the world. You say that persons like me undergo penance for having been born to earth. Life is a penance,Katyayani, not just for people like me but for all of us."
Katyayani said, "Why does life have to be a penance?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "Because every experience, happy or sad, which is stored in our soul, is a penance; and a penance is meant to replace experience with knowledge. Of course, we have a choice to stay clean pf experiences, because thy teach us through pain. In refusing to acknowledge the truth that even happiness produces pain, we are running away from the penance, and running away from knowledge. Most of us believe that happiness can be acquired and pain can be circumvented with the effort of will. Or, some of us who believe that there is something transcendent that oversees our happiness and pain, go ahead and propitiate that power to escape pain."
Katyayani said, "Are you able to escape pain?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "No, neither I nor you can escape pain; however, we may refuse to learn from it."
Katyayani was alarmed by this sudden turn in the conversation. She looked at him introspectively and asked, "Did you learn from our pain?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "Yes!"
Katyayani said reproachfully, "Pray, what did you learn ?"
Yajnyawalkya said with a mild mockery, "That you refuse to learn from your pain."
Katyayani shot back, "You inflicted pain on us!"
Yajnyawalkya said, "Pain is pain; it could have come to you from any source; if not from me, then from some other source! That's the first principle which you refuse to see. The point of learning is : do you rise above pain, or let it set you back?"
Katyayani was speechless. Yajnyawalkya said, "I don't intend to be cruel. For a moment, do not think of me as your husband who had held back from you what you considered to be your rightful happiness. Think of me as only an invisible channel of voice."
Katyayani made no answer.
Yajnyawalkya said, "I know, you were able to rise above pain! I know, that you did learn. In that process, I : Yajnyawalkya became irrelevant to you as your husband. It was pain that was preponderant over you, and you won over that pain by refusing to acknowledge me, and went ahead on your own resources."
Katyayani laughed wholeheartedly, and said, "Indeed? And must we be full of gratitude to our revered husband for causing us to learn the hard way?"
Yajnyawalkya watched her laughter with fascination, drew her close, and kissed her on the brow, and said, "No, you must be grateful to your invincible spirit, which is always with you!"
Katyayani asked, "What is it that will endure: this happiness which we experience now, or will it turn into pain again?"
Yajnyawalkya said, "This happiness will endure, because it does not depend on objects and their acquisition. it has found a place inside you. "
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