Mandukya Karika Lecture 037 on 09 February 2022

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Yes, Swamiji. Yes, Swamiji. It's on, Swamiji. All right. Yes, Swamiji. Om. Om. May Indra of ancient fame bestow auspiciousness on us. May the all-nourishing potion be propitious to us. May Garuda, the destroyer of all evil, be well disposed towards us. May Brihaspati ensure our welfare. Om. Peace, peace, peace be unto all. In our last class, we have been studying the sixth mantra of the Mandukya Upanishad. And this sixth mantra tells us something very important. This, that means the Ishwara, is the Lord of all. He is the knower of all. He is the controller from within. He is the source of all. And He is that from which everything originates and in which everything, all things, finally disappear. We are talking about, in the third mantra, the Upanishad had described graphically what is the waking state. In the fourth mantra, the dream state, Swapna Astha, is graphically described. And in this sixth, fifth mantra, we are learning from the Upanishad what is the nature of the deep sleep. But from the individual point of view, Vyashti, Drishti. But in the sixth one, same Sushupti Astha, from the Samashti point of view. And so it is being said, when Prajna, that is the Turiya, who puts on the dress, a peculiar dress, suitable for experiencing this third state called deep sleep. When this person, he puts on this one and he doesn't know, he becomes totally merged in the universal. And that universal is called Ishwara. So this is what is being described here. This Prajna is an Ishwara from two points, as an individual, like a seed, which is the creator and which is the sustainer. And also which is the destroyer of everything in this world. For example, there is a mango tree and that mango tree has come from a mango seed that is called Srishti. And this mango seed in the form of Prajna, etc. fully manifests and then maintains that state of the mango tree. And in the end, there is that potentiality for every grown-up tree. It will become again into received, merge itself with all its powers into this state of a seed. That is most important for us. So it is an Ishwara in a way of speaking of its individual Jagradha Vastha and individual Swapna Vastha. But in this third state, Sushupti state, the Prajna becomes merged and the beauty of it is he doesn't even know that he is merged. Because everything, the experiencer, the experienced, Vishwa and Virat, Taijasa and Hiranyagarbha, Prajna and Ishwara, they all as if become merged as it were with a thin layer of separation, which will again when we wake up, with that thin layer, Avidya, through which we come. For our practical purpose, it is enough to know that this is what Upanishad is telling. Everything in this world is coming from Ishwara and it is sustaining in Ishwara and it merges back in Ishwara. And I will give you two examples of this. One example is that of a rope and snake. Rope is considered Ishwara, where from this snake is coming out from a rope. And so long as there is semi-light, not enough light, we continue to see that rope imagining it is a snake. So as if this snake is being sustained by the rope and when light is brought, what happens to the snake? It doesn't disappear. It retains its full state, which is called the rope state. This is a beautiful example. We have to understand it. So also a Jeevatma, it thinks I am a Jeevatma for mysterious reason, because of Maya. But it is this Jeevatma is coming only from Paramatma. As if, you have to remember this example, the snake has never come out of the rope and our living in the rope never becomes merged. Partial knowledge of a rope is called the beginning, the srishti of the snake. And that partial knowledge remains so long as there is not enough light. But when enough light is brought, the full knowledge of the rope, then the partial knowledge of the snake or rope becomes merged as it were. Even though there is no mergence there, it is only a thought process, cognition process. Then it realizes I am a rope. In this example, the rope thinking that I am a snake. Parameshwara thinking I am the Jeevatma. That is how we have to understand. Now interestingly, there are two terms used for this srishti krama. One, all dualists believe creation is very real. So they are called realists. All Vaithins are realists. So what do they do? They say Ishwara has really become this world without losing his real nature. For example, they give milk has become curds. Milk no longer in our experience remains as milk. Once it becomes curds, the milkness has gone. Curdness has gone forever. Now this was the objection raised by Advaithins. For that the Advaithins reply, it is true but God has got a special power. He can transform himself into the world and yet also remain himself. This is called Parinama Vada, real transformational theory. There is Advaita theory. It is called Vivarta Vada. Vivarta means appearance. For that the rope appears to become the snake, has never become, has never retained and will not become merged also. All the time there is no snake at all. Only partially understood rope and after some time fully understood rope and by that partially understood rope creates all sorts of fear, dissatisfaction, desire etc. etc. Just to derive a little bit of fun. So who can derive benefit from thinking that this is a snake? For example another snake, you know snakes eat snakes. Supposing another snake mistook a rope, it never, really it never does it. You know why? Because every snake emits a particular type of smell and it has a signature and the prey animal, another snake, big snake, it understands. So this is a false snake. It appears like a snake but it is really not a snake. It has got that sense. It will never run after it. It is only poor human beings or some animals also can mistake it like that. Anyway the point is that this is called Vivarta Vada, the theory of appearance because anything that transforms has to change and if it changes then it won't retain its original nature. So if light changes it has only one option. It becomes darkness. If pure consciousness changes it has only one option to become non-conscious, jada, inert etc. But that nobody will accept. Anyway now coming back to our sixth mantra. From the viewpoint of Ishwara, Ishwara is the lord of Maya whereas we are the slaves subservient to Maya called Avidya. Maya acting on each individual is called Avidya and same Avidya that remains under the control of Ishwara is called Maya. He is the Maya Adesha. We are Maya Dhenas. And so the entire creation, remember, I am, when I am experiencing waking state, individually I am called Vishwa, cosmically I am called Virat. When I am experiencing dream state, individually I am called Taiyasa, cosmically or universally I am called Hiranyagarbha. Similarly in the deep sleep state, as an individual I am called Prajna, but as the universal I am called Ishwara. The difference is that this Ishwara, he knows everything, he is the ruler of everything, he is the indweller of everything and from him the whole thing comes and everything depends for its existence upon him and ultimately it realizes its nature and then it understands I am Brahman. So that is what this mantra wants to tell us. If you have understood this much, what I have just now outlined, then we know the meaning of this sixth mantra. Eshwara means this Ishwara, Sarveshwara, he is manifesting in the form of Hiranyagarbha, in the form of Virat and he is Ishwara, from him the Jagrat Prapancha, Swapna Prapancha and Sushupti Prapancha or Karana Prapancha or Avidya Prapancha spring up. Therefore he is Sarveshwara because just we have to understand this word Ishwara means, like for example they give this example, a pot has come or made out of clay and the pot is nothing but clay, in fact there is nothing called pot. Then what is the pot? It is the clay and nothing but clay in the form with a particular name and with a particular purpose, this is called a pot. Vacharambanam vikaro namadheyam, Chandogya Upanishad beautifully outlines it. These are mere words but reality is object is only Brahman, it is nothing but Brahman. But the same Brahman like the clay, if you make a billion pots out of clay, there is not one single object that has separate characteristic than clay. When you touch it, when you touch billion pots, the same touch as clay, when you smell, same smell as clay, when you taste, same taste as clay, when you sound it out, same sound as the clay and when you see it, same form like the clay. There is nothing called pot, there is nothing called an ornament apart from pure gold and there is nothing called furniture apart from the wood. This is a marvellous point we have to always keep in mind. But because of our attention is focused on Nama Rupa, Jagrat Prapancha, one type of name and form. Dream state, one type of name and form and qualities are privileged. Similarly in the Sushupti state, only difference is the Nama Rupa gets merged. But I am not enlightened, we are not enlightened. Why? Because until we know that we are, I am Ishwara, I am Brahman, I am Paramatma, there is no knowledge will be there. That's why Swami Vivekananda explains, which I quoted umpteen number of times, when a fool enters into deep sleep, he wakes up a fool only. But when a fool enters into Samadhi, he wakes up as fully enlightened. What is enlightened soul? I am Brahman. That is it. So Esha Sarveshwara, so just like clay, clay is the lord of the pot. In other words to say that the clay has no separation, that is the meaning of Sarveshwara. Esha Sarva Jnaha, clay knows, I am clay. So clay knows about the pot. I am nothing but clay, but in the form of the pot. And Antaryami, Antaryami means that which is the indweller. Indweller means that which sustains. So a pot is sustained inside, outside, above, below, everywhere, all of the pot by its existence, by its Chit and by its Ananda Swaroopa. So that is why Sat Chit Ananda is inside, outside, you cannot say. But there is a peculiarity. When we experience Brahman through the sense organs, it is called Sat. When the same Brahman in the form of the objects is experienced as thought, it is called Chit. And when the same we come to know, then we become very happy people and that is called Ananda Swaroopa. Why Ananda? Because when we come to know we are nothing but Brahman. There is no friend, there is no enemy, there is no Sukha, there is no Dukha. I am Ananda Swaroopa. I don't lack bliss. I am bliss. I don't need to struggle for bliss. I am infinite. Therefore the desire to become infinite completely vanishes from my mind. So Esha Sarveshwaraha, Esha Sarvajnaha, all knowing. Who knows better than clay? What is pot? Because the clay is everything that we call the pot. So it knows everything as one's own self. Here I will add something, very important point, you will have to note it down. How do we get knowledge? So here is the, very simply put, here is the theory. That the mind through the sense organs goes out and envelops, for example a tree, envelops the entire tree and brings it inside its mind itself and becomes identified with it. And to the extent the mind is identified with the object, to that extent it will transform itself into knowledge. This is the Indian theory and some of the western philosophers also agree with that. This is the theory of knowledge. So if you take this example you were quoting, the clay knows that I am 100% the pot. Therefore its knowledge of the pot is 100% because it knows pot is none other than myself. 100% identity. So extending the example I gave, if I am identified with any object, 5%, my knowledge will be 5%. For example, if I see a man, I see that the whole person is covered with a veil and only the face, a little bit of the face is seen. Many terrorists, they put on this kind of dress. So when this person puts on that veil, we see only that a bit of the face and our mind goes, takes that information, becomes identified with it. Let us say 5% of that person I am able to see. So my knowledge of that person will be 5%. Supposing that person completely reveals his whole head, then my knowledge will be maybe 10 to 15%. As he goes on peeling himself, as I am able to perceive that person, ultimately I am able to see that person 100% and identify with that vritti and that is what is called chit and I have knowledge of the entire person. But here also we have to go a little bit deep. However intelligent a person is or I am or you are, I can only see the body, identify myself with that body because I already know what is my body and therefore I can imagine he is also having blood, he is having a skin and he may be an Indian, he may be having slightly fair complexion. This is how the knowledge comes. But I know nothing about that person's mind. Therefore my knowledge of that person's mind is completely hidden. Therefore very partial knowledge only. But when I say Ram Krishna looks at you, at me, he looks the inside of our whole mind as it were as he himself expressed an object kept in a beautiful almirah with crystal clear glass case. Everything is same what is inside. So what is our thought? Every single thought. Not only they can see every single thought, they can also see what thoughts are still in a dormant state and may come up in future, that also they understand it. So this is how we have to understand. Then we come to the Antaryami. So all these things, he is the origin, he is the sustainer, he is the recycler, he is absorber. All these four epithets. He is Sarveshwaraha, he is the lord of all. He is Sarvajnaha, all-knowing. And he is Antaryami, he is pervading inside, outside, everything. And he is the cause of this entire universe. He is the sustenance of the entire universe. And he is the recycler or liberator or merger of this entire universe. Srishti, Sthithi and Laya. So these four epithets we can understand as God is the creator. Just like clay. You say clay is the creator, potter is not the creator. You have to understand. When a potter makes a pot, he is only nimitta karana. But here, this Ishwara is not only nimitta karana, that is intelligent cause, he is also the upadana karana or the material cause. Therefore, every object that we see is nothing but a representation of nothing but Ishwara, Sat, Chit, Ananda. But that vision can come to us only when we really practice spiritual disciplines. That's very important for us to understand. So with this, Ishwara means Ishwara, that is, that who in the deep sleep state. Because deep sleep is the cause of the both waking and dream states. So Ishwara is the cause of Srishti, Sthithi and Laya. And we have to understand this entire creation is going through these three states, one after the other. But he is remaining as a witness in the whole universe as if he created, as if he is the maintainer, as if he is the reabsorber. But we have to understand, just as the clay has not created the pot, but is manifesting with the name and form of pot, so Ishwara is manifesting as this entire universe in all the three states, in the waking state, dream state, dreamless state. With this understanding, let us go to Shankaracharya's lesson. Eshahi Swaroopavastah, Eshahi means Ishwara's Swaroopavastah, that is real, real state, his real nature. Sarveshwaraha, he is the lord of everything because he is everything. And what is that everything? Sa Adhidaivikasya Bhedajatasya Sarvasya Ishwara, Eshaha Ishwara. That is describing the Jagradavastha condition. We see billions and billions of everything, we call it the world and this world contains the ruling powers of God and everything that is physical and everything that is our own body-mind called beautifully Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika and Adhidaivika. All these three put together, this is, he is the Sarveshwara, he is the Ishwara. Therefore, that is his most natural, real, one's own state of Ishwara. So Adhidaivikasya, including all the ruling powers. Bhedajatasya, for us everything is different from everything else. For him, every part is made up of the same clay, made up of my own self, made up of my own vrittis, my own thoughts. Sarvasya, of everything, living as well as non-living. Naitasmat Jatiyantarabhutaha Anyeshamiva Etasmat means apart from the Ishwara. Jatiyantara, another species called Aneshwara or Jada, it doesn't exist now. Anyeshamiva means just like, you know, we see this is a tree and that is a man, that is a bird, etc. We see everything as different. But this Ishwara, besides this pure consciousness, that is what we have to understand Ishwara means. Jatiyantara, Antara means another Jati, another species. Apart from Ishwara, there is nothing exists. Then this is the, it is a very favorite methodology of Shankaracharya. Whenever he expresses an idea, he supports it by giving profuse quotations from this scripture. Pranabandhanam hi somya manah This is from the Chandogya Upanishad about which we have discussed it. Here manaha means Jivatma. Prana means Ishwara. So what is it? This Jivatma is forever tied with the Ishwara. In other words, Jivatma is, there is nothing, no other separate species called Jivatma. Whether it is body-mind, whether it is body, whether it is mind, whether it is Sushrupti, Avidya, everything is deeply related with the Ishwara. How is it related? In the form of Virat, the entire waking world is related. In the form of Hiranyagarbha, the entire dream world is related. In the form of the sleep states, Karana Prapancha, the whole Karana Prapancha is nothing but Ishwara's manifestation. So Ishwara is Hiranyagarbha. Hiranyagarbha is Virat. Virat is Vishwa. That is how we have to understand. But I will repeat it once more. Ishwara manifests on one side as Prajna. And Ishwara manifests again, degenerates as it were into Hiranyagarbha. And the part of Hiranyagarbha is Taiyasa. And Hiranyagarbha still crucifies himself. He is called Virat. And Virat from the individual point of view is called Vishwa. That is to say, there is no difference between Vishwa and Virat, Taiyasa and Hiranyagarbha, and Prajna and Ishwara. Therefore, he is Sarveshwara. And then we have discussed in our last class, just as Ramakrishna's quotation. There is a bird and it was sleeping. And then suddenly the ship was put to the ocean. And after many hours, the bird woke up. And then it saw here and there. It was searching for a place of real security. It could not find even after flowing in all the four directions. Then it came to where it is tied. And then it understood where I am tied, that is the safest place, that is the most secure place. What is the inner symbolism? That the Jivatma is forever tied, as if tied. Really it is not tied. As if tied to Ishwara. And it is trying to find security in something other than Ishwara. So it searches in the waking state, comes back. It searches in the dream world, it comes back. Then it searches in the dreamless state, deep sleep state. Then it doesn't find, it comes back. Then it wakes up. And then it becomes tied. It gets Vairagya. And then it says, now I will completely surrender myself to Ishwara. And that is where I can get. And in course of time, it becomes one with Ishwara, by the grace of Ishwara. The same idea is beautifully illustrated in the Mundaka Upanishad. In the form of, there is a tree and there are two birds of golden hue. And then one is at the lowest branch, another is on the highest branch. And this lower bird on the lowest branch, it goes on eating both sweet as well as bitter fruits. Whenever it tastes an exceptionally bitter fruit, it looks up and then it understands that the other bird is extremely happy. If I go there and sit there, I can also be very happy. So what does it do? It just goes, hops one branch up. And then it again becomes involved in Maya. And again going on eating. Then a bitter experience comes. Then it moves forward to higher. Higher and higher and higher. And after a long time, it reaches the highest state. And then do you know what it discovers? There is no upper bird. It is nothing but the pure photograph, I am putting it in a sense, the upper bird, which seems to be the most happy bird, is nothing but a photograph of its real self. A reflection, as it were, of the real self. So this is what we do. You want to become a musician, you put the photograph of your favorite musician and looking at him, derive inspiration, go on practicing, you become depressed after some time, but again seeing the photograph and you get re-enthusiasm and move forward and one day you realize that this highest ideal is not in that person, but that person is your creation and the highest ideal. In fact, it is nothing other than your own vritti. So this is how every being, both living and as well as non-living, especially the living being, is traveling through this escalator called evolution. Ultimately, he will reach it. So this is what has been said earlier. Then, this is the thread. And then this is the Maha Matsya example also is given, which we will come to that a little bit later on. So we are tied to Brahman and Brahman only all the time. We are never away from Brahman. Why? To explain simply, do you want to experience waking state? What is the instrument? Consciousness. Do you want to experience a dream? What is the instrument? Consciousness. Do you want to experience this most restful state called Sushukti? What is the instrument? Consciousness. You are conscious completely, both the Jagad Avastha, Swapna Avastha, Sushukti Avastha. How do we know? Because what do we say? That I was in the waking state. I was in the dream state. I was in the deep sleep state. Again I am in the same waking state. So, but not simultaneously. That is a beautiful word. We will come to it very shortly. Not simultaneously, but sequentially. From the Jagad Avastha, you completely remove all the dress belongs to the Jagad Avastha. Don't put on the dress appropriate to the dream state and then after some time you get tired of it and then you completely remove it and don what is called birthday dress and enter into the pure deep sleep state and again you remove it and you feel ashamed. Others are looking at me and don the Jagad Avastha dress. This is how whole evolution from billions of births we are going through the three states and rarely we rest in between these three states. But a time will come we get very tired of this ever cyclically recurring processes and we want to get out and that is the beginning of what is called Jignasu Avastha. Then a Sadhguru will come to give us the right direction and by the grace of God and we one day reach and say what do we say? That I was never born, I was never living, I was never bound, I was never awakened but these were all thoughts in somebody's mind not my mind at all. You know sometimes we say somebody has done in anger something unworthy and after sometime when he cools down he says that was not me that was somebody else as if a ghost had taken possession of me at that time but he disowns it. So even this idea is disowned. This is put so beautifully by Gaudapada that there is no bondage, there is no salvation, there is no Sadhaka, there is no Sadhana, there is no Mukti at all. This is all nothing but the highest truth Esha Paramarthata Anyway we will come to that point later on. So Prana here means Ishwara and the mind is ever tied to Prana. Prana means what? Prana means consciousness. Jivatma is also consciousness but so much covered up with these three bodies Sthula, Sushma, Karana, Sharira and then this is the universal experience and there was a great master Eckhart a German, Advaitin he says everybody has got two eyes one eye is always looking outside that means the participator another eye is looking at things around witnessing it but the other eye is looking inside looking and searching as it were into one's own being this is called Sakshi so finally one discovers after lot of roaming that there is no security elsewhere security is only in God that is called Kajal of security what is this Kajal of security? it is the Self when we enter into this Kajal we are at peace that is what the Upanishad is trying to tell us in deep sleep we temporarily enter the Kajal but how to make it permanent that is why a beautiful Sadhana a pathway is laid before us so Ayamevahi this Ishwara Sarvasya Sarva Bheda Avasthaha Natayate Esha Sarvajna this Ishwara he knows all about this state, he knows all about the dream state he knows all about the waking state how does he know? because I myself am playing this part as Vishwa myself as Taizasa myself as Prajna I myself have become Virat I myself have become Hiranyagarbha I myself have become or remain as Ishwara these are all my separate addresses so I know that whatever may be the differentiations that are experienced by a ignorant person everything he is the Sarvajna because he knows what is Sarvajna? that everything is temporary I am alone permanent I am Brahman I am Sachidananda and when a person understands that he becomes a Sarvajna for example if a Jiva knows everything about the body it is impossible to know about the body but supposing he knows and he knows only his knowledge is confined only to the body he knows nothing about the outside world he knows nothing about the inside world similarly all our knowledges are fragmented parts only but because like the clay only is the God so Ishwara is the Vishwa and Virat Taiyasa and Hiranyagarbha and Prajna and Ishwara so he knows that this is my waking state this is what I do in waking state I divide myself just as we divide ourselves in the dream state as the dreaming individual as well as the dreamt about world and as a witness also so Atayeva Esha Antaryami therefore this Ishwara as that means every Jiva as an Ishwara in the reality of the Ishwara is an Antaryami Antaryami means Indweller Indweller means there is no other Jiva excepting Ishwara there is no other caughtness inside or outside it is only clayness that is what so what does he do Antah Anupravishya Sarvesham Bhuthanam Yamayita Niyanthapyesha Eva what does he do Sarvesham Bhuthanam of all beings including mountains, rivers etc Antah Anupravishya as if he had entered inside Yamayita that means he becomes the controller Niyanthapyesha Eva just like a pilot enters into the cockpit and then goes on controlling the entire plane this example is not good example but just to show the entire plane and the fate of all the passengers and the fate of all the belongings that belong to the passengers and all the parts the entire plane everything is as it were depends upon the controlling power and that controlling power really speaking the moment plane takes off our lives are in the chariot or Krishna every pilot you have to pray for his welfare he doesn't become drunk he doesn't become mad he doesn't become fanatic terrorist like that we have to pray then there is some chance we will land safely so Antah Anup Sarvesham Bhuthanam Antah Anupravishya having entered just as clay as if entered into the pot Yamayatha he becomes the controller Niyantha he becomes controlling this should be done now this should be done later on this was done in the past etc therefore he is called the inner controller not only that so Athayeva for all the given reasons above Sarveshwaraha Sarvajnaha Sarvantariyami Yathauptam as it has been enumerated earlier Savedam with all the differentiations that we Jivas experience Jagatprasu Yathe this whole universe consisting of Jagrat Prapancha Swapna Prapancha and the Shushupti Prapancha is the Yonahi Sarvasya he is the origin Yonahi means origin Sarvasya Yonahi he is the originator that means he is the manifester he alone has become all the worlds and there is only one world but if we put on completely black specks then as if this is an example that's an analogy as if the whole world is black Brahman is black and if I put on some light colored specks then it appears much better this is comparable to the dream state and no specks at all that is comparable to the or very thin colored specks that is compared to the Shushupti state and no specks at all that is called Turiyam that is called Brahma Vastha so he is called Yonahi Sarvasya because everything comes from him that is why everyday with him Srishti Stithi Vinashanam Shakti Bhute Sanatane Gunashraye Gunamayee Narayana Madhu very important verse Gunashraye means she is the sustainer of Srishti Stithi and Laya and Gunamayee means she herself has become the entire world as it were she is the sustainer of herself in the form of this entire universe so Yathahyevam Prabhavascha Apyayascha Prabhava Apyayohi Bhutana Eshameva this Ishwara alone is the originator sustainer and destroyer as it were for the above mentioned reasons Prabhava means originator beginning Apyaya means merging both Srishti Stithi Laya is all because of him and with this the description of Sushupti Avastha from the universal or Ishwara point of view described the essence of all that we have discussed so far is Vanturiyam is going to he puts on one type of dress one type of specs the important point we need to remember is there are no really three states called Jagrat Sapna and Sushupti no three states then what is there pure Satchitananda pure Brahman pure consciousness Chaitanya but as if because of the power of Maya as I just now mentioned when I put on one type of specs it appears to be everything is different from everything else and that is called Jagrat Avastha and it becomes much subtler when I put on a different type of specs very lightly tinted specs when I put on that is called Sushupti Avastha but if I remove all the specs what I see in front of me is completely nothing but my own self there is nothing but pure Brahman of course in that state one seeing the other Brahman is seeing Brahman this is only for the convenience of our linguistic limitation but really speaking even Brahman never says I am Brahman only when there is somebody else we have to introduce ourselves to that person he doesn't know me therefore we have to say I am so and so and the other person also says I am so and so but since Ishwara is one the question of saying I am Brahman doesn't arise at all these are limitations of human language now we have studied six mantras of the Mandukya Upanishad from now onwards Gaudapada steps in and he begins the karika and nine karikas he gives then he goes to other Upanishad mantras then he continues for another twenty karikas later on but what is important is what does he want to say Gaudapada Mandukuru Paramaguru Shankaracharya's guru was Govinda Bhagavata Pada Govinda Bhagavata Pada's guru was this Gaudapada Acharya Gauda means Bengal state of Bengal Pada means an honorific his lotus feet his feet as it were Acharya and he could think in such marvelous way even at let us say early 7th century or so it is something mind boggling that such highest ideas he can put even though it is a bit of stiff language but it is marvelous now what we have to understand is he has composed these karikas about 253 or so I don't remember the exact number but what he wants to say is he wants to take all the six mantras that so far we discussed and put it in the easiest way possible rephrase them so that we can understand he is not going to follow word by word he only takes up the meanings and wants to present it to us so here after the sixth mantra there are nine verses in each of these karikas Shankaracharya adds his own beautiful commentary so we will enter into the very first karika or karika means verse here and that is Gaudapada karika bahish prajna vibhu vishvaha anta prajna sthu taijasaha ghana prajna tadha prajna eka eva tridhasmataha that is this is most wonderful vishvaha the first quarter is he who is all-pervading and who experiences the external gross objects jagrat prapancha taijasaha the second quarter is he who cognizes the internal world the subtle objects made up of completely only of thoughts prajna mass of consciousness it is that one alone who is thus known in the three states simple explanation today eka eva tridhasmataha so who is the person who experiences the waking state who is the person who experiences the dream state who is the person who experiences the deep sleep state and Gaudapada summarizes for us eka eva only one consciousness tridhasmataha is termed as by three names just to distinguish what is waking what is dream and what is deep sleep state but he is one only like one actor he goes to the first scene third scene he will go back he will put on another dress and then he will act according to the script now the point is this actor knows I only acted in the first scene second scene third scene I was in the waking state I was in the dream state I was in the dreamless deep sleep state nobody else no third person has come I have moved having experienced the waking state for some time moved to the dream state having remained awake so that is one point only one Chaitanya one consciousness known by three names because of the three different dresses or three different ways of experiencing himself nobody else but himself this is what we will discuss in our next class Om Jananem Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Padapadme Tayo Sritva Pranamame Moho Moho May Sri Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti and Understanding