Katha on Divine Grace

Relax and watch the ‘I am’. Reality is just behind it. Keep quiet, keep silent; it will emerge, or, rather, it will take you in. ~Nisargadatta

Arise! Awake! Approach the great and learn. Like the sharp edge of a razor is that path, so the wise say - hard to tread and difficult to cross.

~Katha 1.3.14 (tr-Nikhilananda)

Many there are who do not even hear of Atman; though hearing of Him, many do not comprehend. Wonderful is the expounder and rare the hearer; rare indeed is the experiencer of Atman taught by an able preceptor.

~Katha 1.2.7 (tr-Nikhilananda)

This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form.

~Katha 1.2.23 (tr-Nikhilananda)

He is to be realised first as Existence limited by upadhis and then in His true transcendental nature. Of these two aspects, Atman realised as Existence leads the knower to the realisation of His true nature.

~Katha 2.3.13 (tr-Nikhilananda)

The devotee first beholds Brahman with form. Next, when he is eager to realize the Absolute, Brahman Itself removes, as it were, the veil of the upadhi and reveals to the devotee Its all-annihilating and all-embracing formless nature. Thus it is not solely the personal effort of the seeker that brings about this profound mystical experience; there is also divine grace.

~Nikhilananda commentary on Katha 2.3.13