Satyakama: The Seeker of Truth - From the Chhandogya Upanishad   

Thomas Egenes / Kumuda Reddy

Long ago, in a small hut in the dense forests of India, lived a boy and his mother. The boy’s mother named him Satyakama, which means "seeker of truth".

More than anything, Satyakama wanted to live the life of a student, meditating and studying about Brahman in the dwelling of his teacher. But to become a student, he had to know his father’s family name, because in those times teachers only accepted students from certain families.

So Satyakama went to his mother, Jabala, and said, "Mother, I want to live the life of a student of sacred knowledge." Jabala was pleased with her son’s desire to study Brahman.

"Dear Mother, of what family am I?" Satyakama asked.

"I do not know your family name, my precious son," his mother said.

"Then what shall I tell my teacher, dear Mother?" asked Satyakama earnestly.

Jabala led a pure life and knew the prower of truth. "Tell him just what I have told you, my beloved son," she said.

© "Eternal Stories from the Upanishads" by Thomas Egenes and Kumuda Reddy, published by Smriti Books, 124 Siddhartha Enclave, New Delhi 110 014. Website: www.spbenterprises.com. Reprinted with permission.

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