Ātmā is beyond virtues and vice

After yamaraja talked about the means to gain self-knowledge in the form of śravana, manana and nididhyāsana, naciketa reiterates his request for self-knowledge in mantra. 1.1.20.

anyatra dharmād anyatrādharmād anyatrāsmāt kṛtākṛtāt |

anyatra bhūtācca bhavyācca yattatpaśyasi tadvada ||1.2.14||

Tell (me) that which you see as different from dharma, different from adharma,

different from this cause and effect, (and) different from past and future.

tadvada - please tell me that reality yattatpaśyasi - that which you see, indicates the clarity of knowledge on the part of yamaraja. That self which is anyatra dharmād - different from dharma - performance of actions prescribed by śāstra, and anyatrādharmād - different from adharma - performance of actions prohibited by śāstra. In other words, ātmā is beyond righteous actions and unrighteous actions. Most of the religions present the Lord only with good virtues, but virtues and vices are pairs of opposites that belong to the empirical world, like two sides of a coin. If we can’t accept that wrongdoing is also manifestation of Īśvara, we can’t see Īśvara in total. In this case, wickedness will limit me. In the absolute reality, Īśvara is beyond both virtues and vice. In the empirical world, Īśvara is full of virtues, but absolute Īśvara, which is brahman is nirguṇaḥ - free from attributes, neither virtues nor vices. Only being attribute-less existence, brahman manifests in varieties is possible.

Similarly, the self is anyatrāsmāt kṛtākṛtāt - different from this cause and effect. Cause and effect in the world exist within a time. Modification of a cause is an effect, just like modification of a seed is a tree, and modification of water is ice. The cause at present becomes the effect later. The entire creation is nothing but recycling. Thus, ātmā is different from any objects in the world, neither categorised as cause nor effect. Because ātmā is vastu-parichinna - not limited by object.

Ātma is anyatra bhūtācca - beyond past, bhavyācca - and beyond future, similarly beyond present. Time can’t create any impact on ātmā, since ātmā is kalã-parichinna - not limited by time.

When naciketa gives the above descriptions about ātmā, it means he has some paper-backed knowledge about ātmā which beyond the reach of all transactions and (is) beyond this creation. This is the basis for him to enquire about, because by total non-knowing, enquiry will not be there.