II

The good and the pleasant approach man; the wise examines both
and discriminates between them; the wise prefers the good to the
pleasant, but the foolish man chooses the pleasant through love
of bodily pleasure.


III

O Nachiketas after wise reflection thou hast renounced the
pleasant and all pleasing forms. Thou hast not accepted this
garland of great value for which many mortals perish.


IV

Wide apart are these two,--ignorance and what is known as wisdom,
leading in opposite directions. I believe Nachiketas to be one
who longs for wisdom, since many tempting objects have not turned
thee aside.

With this second part, the Ruler of Death begins his instructions regarding
the great Hereafter. There are two paths,--one leading Godward, the other
leading to worldly pleasure. He who follows one inevitably goes away from the
other; because, like light and darkness they conflict. One leads to the
imperishable spiritual realm; the other to the perishable physical realm.
Both confront a man at every step of life. The discerning man distinguishing
between the two, chooses the Real and Eternal, and he alone attains the
highest, while the ignorant man, preferring that which brings him immediate