Arise and Awake, stop not until the goal is reached to know “Who am I? Where do I Come from? Where am I now? Where to go?” and finally, how to reach the ultimate destination.

“Arise awake and stop not till the goal is reached” is a slogan popularized in the late 19th century by the Indian Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda. He took inspiration from a sloka of the Katha Upanishad and used it as his message to the world to get out of their hypnotized state of mind.

In the Katha Upanishad, Nachiketa, the child protagonist, is sent by his father, Vajashrava, to Yama, the Hindu god of death. In Yama’s abode, he answers Nachiketa’s questions and teaches him self-knowledge and yoga methods. The words “Arise, awake...” appear in the book chapter 1.3.14, where Yama advises Nachiketa.

Today, we do not have Nachiketa’s mortal body with us, but he has left his spirit and learning to human society to arise and awaken and not be in a state of “sleep.” This means people are unaware of their true selves and the deeper realities of existence in the limitless universe.

People become entranced by various things, such as material wealth and greed, beauty and desire, ignorance and intoxication, family and hard work, and ego (ahankara).

People are passionate about all these sources of material energy rather than their spiritual power sources, causing them to forget their true selves and live like a “Cog of the machine” or sleepwalkers, oblivious to the surrounding dangers.