Bouvot Kathrin – Segalerba Gianluigi "India and Ancient Greece: Similar Allegories, Analogies, and Differences"

Bouvot Kathrin – Segalerba Gianluigi

Abstract

India and Ancient Greece: Similar Allegories, Analogies, and Differences

In our inquiry,we aim to investigate the analogies, correspondences, and similarities between Indian Cultural Heritage and Ancient Greek philosophy. Our study deals with the KaṭhaUpaniṣad andBṛhadāraṇyakaUpaniṣad as regards Indian Cultural Heritageand with Plato’s Phaedrusas regards Ancient Greek philosophy.

We will concentrate our attention on the image of the individual soul as a charioteer leading a chariot with two horsesexposed in Plato’s Phaedrus.This image has strong analogies with the image of the individual contained in the Kaṭha UpaniṣadI, 3. Within this part of our analysis, we investigate the figure of the charioteer and the two horses of the chariot. We point out the differencebetween the souls of the human beings, on the one hand, and the souls of the gods, on the other hand. The allegory of the soul as the chariot in Plato’s Phaedrusproves to be a description of the human condition; the dimension of the earthen existence turns out to be the consequence of the imperfection of the human soul. This imperfection is connected to the absence of an adequatelevel of knowledge. Knowledge is, within Plato’s image of the chariot, a factor which hinders the fall of the human being in the earthen dimension. Knowledge is necessary to avoid the decadence of the human soul. Furthermore, knowledge is necessary for the soul in order that the soul can return to its original dimension. The earthen dimension is not the original dimension of the human soul; it is not a dimension in which the human soul ought to remain. The earthen dimension is a dimension which should be abandoned.The nostalgiafor the authentic dimension of reality is one of the characteristics of the soul enslaved in the earthen dimension.

The image of the chariot of Phaedrus has analogies with theKaṭha Upaniṣad1.3.3–1.3.9.Through the analysis of the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, we can observe that understanding is necessary for the human being to reach a dimension of reality which is different from the average life dimension; understanding is necessary for the individual to be free from the chain of rebirths. Constitutively, there can be a contrast between elements composing the human being, i.e. between the intellect and the senses.If the senses are not subdued to a discipline, they hinder the journey of the human being to the authentic dimension of reality. Only the development of understanding can enable the human being to train the senses in an adequate way. In this context, too, the idea is present that the human being should reach a different dimension if the human being wishes to be free from the chain of rebirths; theinitial condition of the human being is a condition which should be abandoned.The average dimension in which the human being lives is not the authentic dimension of the human being.

The image of the chariot introduces us, therefore, toa frame of correspondences between Plato’s Phaedrus and the Kaṭha Upaniṣad which can be listed as follows:

- The average life of the human being is not the authentic dimension of the individual.

- The human being is, as such, a composed entity.

- Any human being has a plurality of factors in himself.

- The human being is enslaved in a chain of rebirths.

- The enslavement in the average life dimension is not definitive; an alternative dimension can be reached by the human being.

- Only through a process of education can the human being reach the correct disposition of theintellect.

- Knowledge and understanding are necessary for the human being to be able to lead his life.

Bouvot Kathrin – Segalerba Gianluigi*

India and Ancient Greece: Similar Allegories, Analogies, and Differences

1) Preamble

In our study, we are going to investigate some analogiesbetween Plato’s Phaedrus[1] and the Kaṭha Upaniṣadtaking, asbeginning points, the presence in both texts of the image of the chariotand theconnection of this image to the individual’s nature.The image of the chariot is used in Plato’s Phaedrus in order to give a portrait of the structure of the individual’s soul.In the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, the image of the chariot is used in order to give a descriptionof the individual’s structure. The image of the chariot introduces readers to analogies between the two texts: these analogies regard, for instance, the nature of the human being, the position of the human being in the reality, and the importance of knowledge for the life of the human being. The main points which we shallsee through the two images are as follows:

- The average dimension of reality is not the authentic dimension of the human being.

- Elements present in the human being are a problem for the stability of the human being and for his development.

- The human being ought to go to another dimension, i.e. to a dimension in which the human being is free from the chain of rebirths.

Before proceeding to the analysis of the mentioned texts, we would like to begin our investigation with a short quotation from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, Chapter I, 3, 28. The quotation can be useful in order to show the main concepts of this investigation: the existence of a false and of anauthentic dimension in the reality,the individual’s awareness of the existence of the dimension of the authentic reality, and the individual’s wish to reach the dimension of authenticity. The quotation is as follows:

Asato mā sad gamaya /

tamaso mā jyotir gamaya /

mṛtyor mā amṛtam gamaya

From the unreal lead me to the real!

From the darkness lead me to the light!

From death lead me to immortality![2]

The dimension in which the human being lives is a dimension of not being, of unreality, and of inauthenticity. The earthen condition of the human being is the condition of a person who lives in the darkness, in a condition of falsity and ought to go to a condition of truth, of authenticity, and of liberation from ignorance.The praying human being of the quotationproves to be aware that he ought to abandon this dimension; he is aware that the dimension in which he lives is not the only dimension of reality.The human being expresses his prayer for being led to a dimension which is different from and alternative to the dimension in which he is living.

2) Introduction

As anticipated, we shall base our analysis on the image of the chariot present both in Plato’sPhaedrus and in the KaṭhaUpaniṣad[3]. The aspect from which we begin our analysis is the connection of the image of the chariot to the human being.In order to give an example of the analogybetween Kaṭha Upaniṣadand Phaedrus, we quote the following sentences:

‘Know the self[4] as a rider in a chariot,

and the body, as simply the chariot.

Know the intellect as the charioteer,

and the mind, as simply the reins.’

(KaṭhaUpaniṣad, Verse 1.3.3)

and

‘Let us then liken the soul to the natural union of a team of winged horses and their charioteer.’ (Plato’s Phaedrus, 246)[5]

The themes which we are going to extract from the analysis of the two texts are the following ones:

- The condition of the human being in the earthen dimensionis a condition from which the human beingought to free himself.

- Within the earthen dimension, the human being is imprisoned in the sequence of rebirths.

- Knowledge is the instrument of liberation from the inauthentic condition.

- There is a negative factor in the human being; i.e. there is a factor in the human being which hinders the human being from reaching an authentic dimension.

- Depending on the level of knowledge and understanding, there are different dimensions, different ways of life, and different developments of the life of the human being.

- The senses in the KaṭhaUpaniṣadandthe non-intellectual facultiesin Plato’s Phaedruscan be a hindrance for the liberationand for the ascent of the soul.

- The human beingneeds to undergo a process in order to reach the liberation from the chain of rebirths.

The images of the KaṭhaUpaniṣadand of the Phaedrus are functional to theprocess of self-acquaintance. The human being understands through theseimages the existence of a different dimension from the dimension in which he is living; he understands that there is not only the dimension of the average reality, i.e. the dimension of the sense reality. Heunderstands that his own authentic dimension does not consist in the sense reality; therewith, he becomes aware that the meaning of the existence cannot be explained through the average reality.

3) Phaedrus’ image

We come now to the analysis of some aspects of Phaedrus’ allegory. The allegory canteach many elements regarding the constitution of the human soul[6]:

- The earthen dimension is not the only dimension of reality.

- The union with the body is not constitutive for the soul. The soul precedes the body; it is originally autonomous from the body.

- The human soul originally belongs to a dimension which is different from the average life dimension.

- The human soul can fall from its original condition.

- The earthen dimension of the soul is a fall from its original dimension.

- The human soulcan belong again to a dimension which is alternative to the average life dimension. The presence of the soul in the earthen dimension is not definitive.

- After the decadence of the human soul, the human being is enslaved in a dimension of rebirths.

- Philosophical knowledge is the way of liberation from the chain of rebirths.

- The non-intellectual dimension of the human soul ought to be disciplined.

- There is a constitutive difference between the gods’ souls and the other souls.

- The human being is constitutively a limited entity.

- The human being cannot go beyond his own limitations, but he can develop himself within a certain range of possibilities.

- The human being is able to reach a condition different from the condition in which he is living if the decides to follow the road of knowledge.Decadence is not an immutable fate. The human being can reach a different dimension from the sense dimension if he reaches the philosophical education.

Letus read now some aspects of Plato’s allegory[7]. In Phaedrus246a2–b4 Plato tells:

‘That, then, is enough about the soul’s immortality[8]. Now here is what we must say about its structure. To describe what the soul actually is would require a very long account, altogether a task for a god in every way; but to say what it is like is humanly possible and takes less time[9]. So let us do the second in our speech. Let us then liken the soul to the natural union of a team of winged horses and their charioteer. The gods have horses and charioteers that are themselves all good and come from good stock besides, while everyone else has a mixture. To begin with, our driver is in charge of a pair of horses; second, one of his horses is beautiful and good and from stock of the same sort, while the other is the opposite and has the opposite sort of bloodline. This means that chariot-driving in our case is inevitably a painfully difficult business.’

After speaking on the immortality of the soul in the passage which immediately precedes the quoted one, Plato proceeds to speak about the constitution of the soul.Plato’s discourse is going to be exclusively a likeness of the authentic structure of the soul. The likeness can nonetheless deliver elements of the condition of the human soul and of its dispositions.The soul is described as the union of winged horsed, on the one hand, and of a charioteer, on the other hand.This description of the soul holds both for the souls of the gods and for the souls of the human beings.There is, nonetheless, a precise difference between the souls of the gods, on the one hand, and the souls of the human beings, on the other hand; the horses of the gods are good, whereas in the case of the human beings, whose souls have two horses, only one of the horses is good. As a consequence, the human being will constitutively have problems due to the composition of his soul[10]. From the very beginning of the exposition, the difficult human constitution is pointed out. Human beings are constitutively inferior to the gods; human beings are not gods.

The chariotdriving for the human beings proves to be a difficult enterprise as such.Plato goes on in the exposition of the myth as follows:

‘And now I should try to tell you why living things are said to include both mortal and immortal beings. All soul looks after all that lacks a soul, and patrols all of heaven, taking different shapes at different times. So long as its wings are in perfect condition it flies high, and the entire universe is its dominion; but a soul that sheds its wings wanders until it lights on something solid, where it settles and takes on an earthly body, which then, owing to the power of this soul, seems to move itself. The whole combination of soul and body is called a living thing, or animal, and has the designation ‘mortal’ as well. Such a combination cannot be immortal, not on any reasonable account.’[11](Phaedrus246b5–c7)

Plato’s exposition is an explanation of the existence of mortal and of immortal entities. From the description,we can see that the soul takes different shapes in the different places of the reality.The soul takes care of everything that does not have a soul.The theme of the loss of the wings is introduced: a soul can fall; i.e. it is possible that a soul does not remain in the same condition in which the soulwas originally. The condition of the soul is not immutable.

Souls which lose their wings are united with a body. Bodies seem tomove themselves; actually, the souls which are in the bodies are the cause of the movement of the bodies.The cause of the loss of the wings is not yet explained.The union of a soul and a body is defined as a living being or as an animal. The birth of a living being is therefore due to the fall of the soul.The composition of soul and body cannot be immortal.Plato goes on in his exposition of the image as follows:

‘In fact it is pure fiction, based neither on observation nor on adequate reasoning, that a god is an immortal living thing which has a body and a soul, and that these are bound together by nature for all time — but of course we must let this be as it may please the gods, and speak accordingly. “Let us turn to what causes the shedding of the wings, what makes them fall away from a soul. It is something of this sort: by their nature wings have the power to lift up heavy things and raise them aloft where the gods all dwell, and so, more than anything that pertains to the body, they are akin to the divine, which has beauty, wisdom, goodness, and everything of that sort. These nourish the soul’s wings, which grow best in their presence; but foulness and ugliness make the wings shrink and disappear.’(Phaedrus246c7–e4)

The good condition of the human soul in the reality is not given once and for all. The earthen existence is, actually, a fall from the original condition of the soul:the earthen dimension is not the original dimension of the soul; the earthen life of the soul corresponds to a condition of decadence of the soul from its original condition.The earthen condition of the human soul is not the original dimension, but a derived dimension for the human soul. Moreover, the earthen condition is not the immutable condition of the human soul; through an appropriate formation, the human soul can go back to its original dimension.

The birth of any animal is due to a soul losing its wings, i.e. to a process of decadence of the soul itself from its original condition. The wings are nurtured by beauty, wisdom, and goodness; they are furthermore nurtured by everything thatis connected to beauty, to wisdom, and to goodness.The wings, on the other hand, are ruined by foulness and by ugliness.The allegory gives therefore precise indications as regards the factors which nurture the soul and the factors which damage the soul.

The soul can lose the wings; it is possible for the soul to degenerate, i.e. to lose the level in which the soul itself is born. Constitutively, the soul can degenerate.The earthen condition of the soul, therefore, corresponds to a condition of decadence; it is not the original dimension of the soul.Plato then goes on in his description of the life of the soul in the following way:

‘Now Zeus, the great commander in heaven, drives his winged chariot first in the procession, looking after everything and putting all things in order. Following him is an army of gods and spirits arranged in eleven sections. Hestia is the only one who remains at the home of the gods; all the rest of the twelve are lined up in formation, each god in command of the unit to which he is assigned. Inside heaven are many wonderful places from which to look and many aisles which the blessed gods take up and back, each seeing to his own work, while anyone who is able and wishes to do so follows along, since jealousy has no place in the gods’ chorus. When they go to feast at the banquet they have a steep climb to the high tier at the rim of heaven; on this slope the gods’ chariots move easily, since they are balanced and well under control, but the other chariots barely make it. The heaviness of the bad horse drags its charioteer toward the earth and weighs him down if he has failed to train it well, and this causes the most extreme toil and struggle that a soul will face[12]. But when the souls we call immortals reach the top, they move outward and take their stand on the high ridge of heaven, where its circular motion carries them around as they stand while they gaze upon what is outside heaven.’ (Phaedrus246e4–247c2)

An implicit attribution of responsibility for the soul is expressed in the assertion that the black horse exercises a bad influence if it is not trained. The human being ought to train the bad horse since this horse can hinder the ascent to the vision of the entitiesthat really are.We know therewith that the human beingis constitutively compelled to face and to cope with problems. Then, the further image of the procession of the souls is introduced by Plato.The procession of the souls is led by the gods.The procession is fulfilled easily by the gods. On the contrary, the souls of the other entities have difficulties during the procession.The bad horse of the soul of the human being represents the obstacle during the procession.The main difference between gods and human beings is therewith described. The difference in the procession will have consequences for the development of the human soul.Through the procession, the soulshave the possibility to contemplate what is outside heaven. This possibility cannot be used in the same way, though, by gods and by the human souls. This is the consequence of the constitutive difference between the gods’ souls and the human souls. Plato describes the vision of the entities of the contemplation in the following way:

‘The place beyond heaven — none of our earthly poets has ever sung or ever will sing its praises enough! Still, this is the way it is — risky as it may be, you see, I must attempt to speak the truth, especially since the truth is my subject. What is in this place is without color and without shape and without solidity, a being that really is what it is, the subject of all true knowledge, visible only to intelligence, the soul’s steersman. Now a god’s mind is nourished by intelligence and pure knowledge, as is the mind of any soul that is concerned to take in what is appropriate to it, and so it is delighted at last to be seeing what is real and watching what is true, feeding on all this and feeling wonderful, until the circular motion brings it around to where it started. On the way around it has a view of Justice as it is; it has a view of Self-control; it has a view of Knowledge — not the knowledge that is close to change, that becomes different as it knows the different things which we consider real down here. No, it is the knowledge of what really is what it is. And when the soul has seen all the things that are as they are and feasted on them, it sinks back inside heaven and goes home. On its arrival, the charioteer stables the horses by the manger, throws in ambrosia, and gives them nectar to drink besides.’(Phaedrus247c3–e6)

Plato is describing the place outside the heaven:

- The entities which are in this place are the entities that really are.

- These entities are the objects of the true, really founded knowledge.

- These entities are accessible only to the intellect, which is the charioteer of the image of the soul.

- The gods’ intelligence is nourished by mind and by pure knowledge. It contemplates what is and what is true.

- Gods’ intelligence can see justice, can see temperance, and can see knowledgeconnected to that which really is.

- The contemplation activity of the gods is without defects.

Plato then describes the vision of the souls which have failures in their own structures. The following one is the condition of the human soul:

‘Now that is the life of the gods. As for the other souls, one that follows a god most closely, making itself most like that god, raises the head of its charioteer up to the place outside and is carried around in the circular motion with the others. Although distracted by the horses, this soul does have a view of Reality, just barely. Another soul rises at one time and falls at another, and because its horses pull it violently in different directions, it sees some real things and misses others. The remaining souls are all eagerly straining to keep up, but are unable to rise; they are carried around below the surface, trampling and striking one another as each tries to get ahead of the others. The result is terribly noisy, very sweaty, and disorderly. Many souls are crippled by the incompetence of the drivers, and many wings break much of their plumage. After so much trouble, they all leave without having seen reality, uninitiated, and when they have gone they will depend on what they think is nourishment — their own opinions.’ (Phaedrus 248a1–b5)

Plato introduces in the passage the contemplation which the human soul can reach. Due to the imperfection of this soul, the level of the contemplation reached by the human soul cannot be the same as the level of contemplation of the gods. The other souls are characterised by constitutive limitations.

- The souls of the human beings thatare next to the gods reach a better level of contemplation than the souls which are more distant from the gods during the procession.

- For whichever human soul, the contemplation of the entities that really are is limited. Some human souls reach a better contemplation; some human souls reach a worse contemplation, and some human souls do not see anything. No human soul reaches a perfect contemplation.

- As a consequence of the difficulties in the procession, it happens that some souls do not have contacts with the authentic reality, but that they remain in the sphere of the opinion.

- The subject takes in a content which is already here and which exists without him.

- Truth and opinion are for the human soul life dimensions.

Not every soul can make himself next to God. To make oneself next to God means that the bad horse does not exercise an influence or, at least, not so great an influence. If it is not so, the human soul will not reach the correct vision of the reality and will fall prey to the opinion.Truth and the other entities which are connected to the human soul’s contemplation are such that they are the nurture of the best part of the soul. Knowledge is interpreted so that it constitutes the nurture of a part of the soul. Knowledge makes the soul better; knowledge has a direct influence on the development of the human soul.

‘The reason there is so much eagerness to see the plain where truth stands is that this pasture has the grass that is the right food for the best part of the soul, and it is the nature of the wings that lift up the soul to be nourished by it. Besides, the law of Destiny is this: If any soul becomes a companion to a god and catches sight of any true thing, it will be unharmed until the next circuit; and if it is able to do this every time, it will always be safe. If, on the other hand, it does not see anything true because it could not keep up, and by some accident takes on a burden of forgetfulness and wrongdoing, then it is weighed down, sheds its wings and falls to earth. At that point, according to the law, the soul is not born into a wild animal in its first incarnation; but a soul that has seen the most will be planted in the seed of a man who will become a lover of wisdom or of beauty, or who will be cultivated in the arts and prone to erotic love. The second sort of soul will be put into someone who will be a lawful king or warlike commander; the third, a statesman, a manager of a household, or a financier; the fourth will be a trainer who loves exercise or a doctor who cures the body; the fifth will lead the life of a prophet or priest of the mysteries. To the sixth the life of a poet or some other representational artist is properly assigned; to the seventh the life of a manual laborer or farmer; to the eighth the career of a sophist or demagogue, and to the ninth a tyrant.’ (Phaedrus 248b5–e7)

All souls wish to see the entities of the plain of truth, but the access to vision within the plain of truth is not possible for all souls.The reason why all souls wish to see the entities of the plain of truth is that the entities of the plain of truth represent the appropriate nurture for the best part of the soul.

If the human soul sees the true entities, it is safe. If the human soul does not see the true entities, it will be subject to decadence. The image suggests that the human souls will be always under exam. The procession of the souls takes place periodically; whereas gods do not have difficulties in fulfilling the track of the procession, human souls have constitutive difficulties in fulfilling the track. Therefore, they will always be at risk of decadence since they are constitutively not able to reach complete knowledge.

If human beings had no limits, there would be neither decadence nor the risk of decadence. The decadence of the soul happens since human beings are constitutively limited entities. The primitive condition of the soul is without the body. The union with the body is the consequence of the fall of the soul; there would be presumably no union between soul and body if the soul did not fall.

The law of Destiny establishes that the souls which are able to contemplate the true entities are safe up to the next procession. If a soul is able to contemplate the true entities in every procession, it will remain in the condition in which it is.The souls which are not able to see the true entities will lose their wings and will be joined to a body.The consequent chain of rebirths is due to the absence or to the insufficiency of knowledge. Knowledge hasa precise function; knowledge is the nurture of the soul; a lack of knowledge represents the fall of the soul. Knowledge is for the soul both the instrument for the human soul to remain in the dimensionin which the soul originally is and the instrument of coming back to the original dimension after decadence. Thus, knowledge proves to be the way of remaining in the original dimension of the soul and of coming back to the original dimension of the soul.

To have a body is a consequence of decadence; it is not the cause of decadence. The cause of decadence consists in the very constitution of the soul before decadence. The development of the soul is not due to the body. The union of the soul with a body is a consequence of tendencies which are active in the soul before its union with the body. Therefore, the development of the soul depends on the soul alone.

Depending on the degree reached in the insufficient contemplation, the human soul joined to a body will become, in a descending order of value, lovers of wisdom or of beauty, then lawful kings or warlike commanders, then statesmen, managers of a household, or financier, then trainers loving exercise or doctors curing the body, then prophets or priests of the mysteries, then poets or representational artists, manual labourers or farmers, then sophists or demagogues, and then tyrants.The difference in the capacity of contemplation of the true entities turns out to be the cause of a decadence of the soul. Decadence is also a moral one, since the last member of the incorporation is the tyrant.

The kernel of the image is that knowledge and the degree of knowledge which arereached are decisive for the development of the soul. The human soul changes as a result of the awareness and knowledge of the existence of an alternative reality.The consequence of a lack of knowledge is the decadence of the soul; the freedom from rebirths can be obtained only through knowledge:

‘Of all these, any who have led their lives with justice will change to a better fate, and any who have led theirs with injustice, to a worse one. In fact, no soul returns to the place from which it came for ten thousand years, since its wings will not grow before then, except for the soul of a man who practices philosophy without guile or who loves boys philosophically. If, after the third cycle of one thousand years, the last-mentioned souls have chosen such a life three times in a row, they grow their wings back, and they depart in the three-thousandth year. As for the rest, once their first life is over, they come to judgment; and, once judged, some are condemned to go to places of punishment beneath the earth and pay the full penalty for their injustice, while the others are lifted up by justice to a place in heaven where they live in the manner the life they led in human form has earned them. In the thousandth year both groups arrive at a choice and allotment of second lives, and each soul chooses the life it wants. From there, a human soul can enter a wild animal, and a soul that was once human can move from an animal to a human being again. But a soul that never saw the truth cannot take a human shape, since a human being must understand speech in terms of general forms, proceeding to bring many perceptions together into a reasoned unity. That process is the recollection of the things our soul saw when it was traveling with god, when it disregarded the things we now call real and lifted up its head to what is truly real instead.For just this reason it is fair that only a philosopher’s mind grows wings, since its memory always keeps it as close as possible to those realities by being close to which the gods are divine. A man who uses reminders of these things correctly is always at the highest, most perfect level of initiation, and he is the only one who is perfect as perfect can be. He stands outside human concerns and draws close to the divine; ordinary people think he is disturbed and rebuke him for this, unaware that he is possessed by god.’ (Phaedrus 248e7–249d34)

These passages can teach us the following points:

- The process of decadence of the soul is not definitive. A return to the original condition is possible.

- The practice of philosophy is a remedy against the decadence of the soul.

- Those souls who do not see the truth cannot take human form.

- The process of contemplation before decadence is a process through which the soul can see that which is truly real and is not distracted by the entities which the soul considers to be real after the process of decadence. It is a complete change of dimension.

The recognition of the existence of a different domain of the reality brings about another way of considering the whole reality. In the final sentences of the image, Plato declares that the earthen condition proves to be, actually, a condition of imprisonment in the body:

‘…we saw it in pure light because we were pure ourselves, not buried in this thing we are carrying around now, which we call a body, locked in it like an oyster in its shell.’(Phaedrus 250c4–c6)

The realm of truth and of being does not have a purely theoretical value, since the contacts and the lack of contact with the realm of truth and being modify the life of the human being.The human subject can free itself from the sequence of the continuous soul transmigration (and from being trapped in the dimension of the chain of rebirths) through the contact withthe dimension of being. The danger of losing the dimension of contemplation on the part of the human soul forms a kind of constitutive existence dimension for the human soul, since the human soul by nature has a part which is averse to the realm of truth and being; the actual cause of human mortality is consequently the inner defect of the human soul, which must always struggle to be able to remain in the state of contemplation.The human soul, although it could have access to the realm of truth and being, is nevertheless in a state of danger due to its own nature.Because the human soul can always degenerate into an inferior structure, the human being should become aware of the state of constant danger and find a way out of the danger (every human being is called upon to educate himself; the myth represents therefore a kind of invitation to one’s own education).

The human being is an entity which, by nature, is condemned to a kind of existential incompleteness; men are condemned to a partial perception of the realm of truth and of being.The human soul cannot attain anything more than a defective perception. As a result, even before incorporation, the position of the person is severely disadvantaged. The incorporation itself turns out to be a consequence of the deficiency of the human soul;the human soul is not able to fully contemplate the realm of truth and being. The failure to see what is true is a cause of the decadence of the soul; only the soul which is able to grasp elements of truth can remain in the state of observation of the heavenly space.

Through the myth, the individual comes to know different aspects of this condition such as the structure of the soul, the difference between areas in which a soul can live, the origin of the soul, the state of the soul as a structure which is internally divided, the influences which are exerted on the soul by the areas of reality, and the awareness that the earthly dimension is not the only dimension of reality.The task of the human being after incorporation is to reach knowledge of reality as well as the knowledge of one’s own situation in reality[13]. The individual condition is that of an entity which is exposed to the risk of decadence and which, in case of decadence, needs to take a long road to go back. The road of decadence is easy; the road of knowledge is long.

4) The image of the chariot in the KaṭhaUpaniṣad

Coming now to the analysis of the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, we can see the presence of many analogies between the myth of the Phaedrus and theKaṭha Upaniṣad. As alluded to, the image of the chariot is the first sign of the presence of similarities between Phaedrus and Kaṭha Upaniṣad. The presence of this sign can lead us to the discovery of furtherlikenesses:

- the presence of rebirths;

- the cause of the chain of rebirths;

- the way of liberation from rebirths;

- the role of knowledge for the process of liberation from rebirths;

- the condition of the human being in the reality.

The individual finds himself in a chain of rebirths: the human being ought to free himself from this chain. A component of the human being can represent a hindrance for theliberation of the human soul from rebirths.The representation of the human being which we can obtain from the Kaṭha Upaniṣadexposes a nature of the human being as a composed entity, i.e. as an entity which has different components.These components can be in harmony with each other if the intellect leads the human being, but can be also in disharmony with each other, if the senses are not appropriately educated. Let us now begin with the presentation of the image which is contained inKaṭhaUpaniṣad, Verse 1.3.3:

‘Know the self[14] as a rider in a chariot,

and the body, as simply the chariot.

Know the intellect as the charioteer,

and the mind, as simply the reins.’

The following correspondences between the components of the chariot and the components of the human being can be seen:

- Ātman is the lord of the chariot.

- The body is the chariot.

- The intelligence is the driver.

- The mind corresponds to the reins.

We can see the presence of different elements within the human being. The text continues with the description of further elements (see KaṭhaUpaniṣad, Verse 1.3.4):

‘The senses, they say, are the horses,

and sense objects are the paths around them;

He who is linked to the body (ātman), senses, and mind,

the wise proclaim as the one who enjoys.’

Further elements of the image are introduced:

- The horses are the senses.

- The objects which the senses perceive are the way of the chariot.

The question regarding the different components of the human being is whether these components are mutually in harmony or not. The problems begin when the components of the human being are not in harmony with each other, as described inKaṭhaUpaniṣad, Verse 1.3.5:

‘When a man lacks understanding,

and his mind is never controlled;

His senses do not obey him,

as bad horses, a charioteer.’

The understanding is the central requisite for the right organisation of the human being. If there is no understanding, there is no obedience of the senses. If the human being does not possess understanding and does not have his mind under control, the human being has, as a consequence, senses which are not under control.Therewith we can learn that the presence of understanding is indispensable. Without understanding there is neither control of the mind nor control of the senses[15]. In order to become free from the chain of rebirths, the human beingought to change his dimension. He can change his dimension only if he is able to keep hissenses under control. A condition of dominance of the intellect over the other faculties of the human being is needed in order that the human being can reach progress in his own condition. The text of KaṭhaUpaniṣad, Verse 1.3.6 tells:

‘But when a man has understanding,

and his mind is ever controlled;

His senses do obey him,

as good horses, a charioteer.’

We can see that the presence of understanding and of a controlled mind brings about a condition in which the senses too are under control. On the contrary, the absence of understandingand of a controlled mind brings about the condemnation to the chain of rebirths, as the text of KaṭhaUpaniṣad, Verse 1.3.7 tells:

‘When a man lacks understanding,

is unmindful and always impure;

He does not reach that final step,

but gets on the round of rebirth.’

Thus, the presence in the human being of understanding is indispensable in order not to fall in the chain of rebirths. If there is no knowledge, there is no possibility of avoiding the chain of rebirths. The presence of understanding in the human being means the liberation from the chain of rebirths, as KaṭhaUpaniṣad, Verse 1.3.8 tells:

‘But when a man has understanding,

is mindful and always pure;

He does reach that final step,

from which he is not reborn again.’

The presence of understanding means reaching the pureness of mind; it enables the human being to reach the liberation from rebirths.KaṭhaUpaniṣad, Verse 1.3.9 explains further:

‘When a man’s mind is his reins,

intellect, his charioteer;

He reaches the end of the road,

that highest step of Viṣṇu.’

The intellect and a controlling mind are dispositions through which the rebirth does not take place any longer. If the individual reaches the appropriate knowledge, he will be free from the chain of rebirths. Knowledge and ignorance prove therefore to be life dimensions.

5) Conclusions

Coming now to the end of our inquiry, we propose the following points as concluding remarksregarding the analogies between KaṭhaUpaniṣad and Plato’s Phaedrus:

- The earthen dimension is not the authentic dimension of the human being.

- The human being can go out from this dimension if he acquires the appropriate knowledge and the appropriate understanding.

- The individual needs an appropriate education in order to reach the alternative dimension.

- The human being has components in himself which can compromise his journey towards the authentic reality.

- The condition of the human beingpresents difficulties; the condition of ascent to the authentic dimension is not immediately given,and the human being ought to work on himself in order to reach this ascent.

- The dimension of senses in the Kaṭha Upaniṣadand of the non-intellectual dimension in the Phaedrusought to be taken under control. If there is no control or no sufficient control of the sense dimension, the human being cannot reach the authentic dimension of reality.

- If the human being does not reach the condition of knowledge, the human being is the prey of the series of rebirths.

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* This text is the revision of the online lecture we held on5th April 2022 at the Virtual World Conference ‘Greeks, Kushans, Huns and Gurjars: Their Cultural Legacy in the Indian Subcontinent (5th–8th April 2022)’, organised by the Indo–Hellenic Research Centre (IHRC), New Delhi. We should like very much to thank Professor Anil Kumar Singh, all the members of the Indo–Hellenic Research Centre and all the members of the organising committee of the Conference for the invitation to the Conference, for their interest in our work, and for the publication of our text.

[1] As regards Plato’s works, we used the edition of John Burnet, Platonis Opera. Recognovit Brevique Adnotatione Critica Instruxit Ioannes Burnet (5 vols., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1901–1907).

[2] As regards the translation of the quoted passage of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad and as regards the translation of the passages of the KaṭhaUpaniṣadwhich we shall quote in our study we adopted the translation ofPatrick Olivelle, The Early Upaniṣads. Annotated Text and Translation.

[3]As regards studies concerning the image of the chariot in Indian Cultural Heritage and in Ancient Greek thought, we refer to Salvador Bucca,La Imagen del Carro en el Fedro de Platon y en la Kaṭha-Upaṇiṣad; Hyun Höchsmann,Cosmology, psyche and ātman in the Timaeus, the Ṛgveda and the Upaniṣads; Paolo Magnone,Soul chariots in Indian and Greek thought: polygenesis or diffusion?,Paolo Magnone,Dio è Verità, la Verità è Dio: percorsi convergenti del dialogo in Gandhi e Panikar; Rosa Ronzitti,Platone, l’Oriente, il carro alato, Rosa Ronzitti, Parmenide indoeuropeo. Simbolismo e sacertà del matrimonio nel proemio di Parmenide e in RV X 85; Jens Schlieter,‘Master the chariot, master your Self: comparing chariot metaphors as hermeneutics for mind, self and liberation in ancient Greek and Indian sources.

The mentioned authors give different interpretations regarding the analogies between the image of the chariot in the KaṭhaUpaniṣadand the allegory of the chariot in Plato’s Phaedrus. Bucca considers the two images as independent from each other; he points out that the similarities between the two images regard, for instance, the role attributed to the intellect as director of the human being and the necessity of an internal discipline for the spiritual development of the human being (see p. 23). Likewise, Schlieter, analysing the differences between the image of the chariot in the KaṭhaUpaniṣadand the allegory of Plato’s Phaedrus asserts that the two images have developed autonomously from each other. Höchsmann points out the presence both in the KaṭhaUpaniṣad and in the Phaedrus of a conception of the individual as a composite entity: the unity of the individual represents the moral goal in both texts. Magnone explains the similarity between the images of the KaṭhaUpaniṣadand of the Phaedrus with the influence of Indian Culture on Ancient Greek thought. Ronzitti sees as the cause of the analogies between the two images the belonging to the common Indoeuropean origin of both the cultural traditions.

[4] I.e.: ātman.

[5]As regards the translation of Plato’s Phaedrus, weadopted the translations of Plato’s Phaedrus contained in: Plato. Complete Works. Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by John M. Cooper; Associate Editor Douglas S. Hutchinson, Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1997).

[6] The fact that Plato resorts to a myth in order to describe the soul does not mean that we cannot extract elements from the myth. The contents of the allegory can be translated into dispositions and conditions of the human soul. The myth gives us elements for the comprehension of the human soul as regards, for instance,the structure of the human soul, the limits of the human soul, the dangers of decadence of the soul, and the role of knowledge for the development of the human soul.

[7] For Plato’s Phaedrus we used the commentary of Ernst Heitsch, Platon Phaidros. Übersetzung und Kommentar von E. Heitsch(Vandenhoek und Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1993).

[8] We shall not deal with the proof of the immortality of the soul in our study.

[9]On closer inspection, Plato points out twice the limitations which are constitutive elementsof human nature.On the one hand, before exposing the myth, Plato contends that it is not possible for us to completely describe the human soul. On the other hand, within the exposition of the myth, Plato explains that the human soul is constitutively limited and is therefore as such not able to have the same vision of the authentic reality as the vision which the gods’ souls are able to have.

[10]Plato aims to point out this difference from the very beginning of his exposition of the allegory. The human soul constitutively has difficulties;this condition of the soul is independent of the soul’s being tied to a body. The union of the body is not the cause but the consequence of the constitutive difficulties of the human soul.

[11] One of the aspects of the allegory is that the soul is independent of the body; the soul is not to be defined for its relation to the body. The union with the body is accidental; the soul as such precedes the bodyand the whole sphere to which the body belongs. The soul seems to betied to the body; actually, its original dimension is free from the body.

[12]It is not an accident, therefore, that the individual has difficulties in his own life. The individual will always have to cope with the component of the bad horse and with the influence represented by the bad horse. The individual will always be exposed to the risk of decadence, both before the fall of the soul and after winning back the original dimension.

[13] It could be asked whether there is a place in the whole allegory for the human responsibility. The implicit view of Plato seems to be that the individual responsibility consists in the readiness to see the true entities, which implies the readiness to limit the influence of the bad horse. Since the human condition is constitutively characterised by defects, the responsibility of the individual consists in the readiness to limit his defects.

[14] I.e.: ātman.

[15] The importance of understanding is present also in Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.