View source for Mandukya Karika Lecture 112 on 19-July-2023

== Full Transcript (Not Corrected) ==
We have started the 36th Godapada karika in the third chapter called Advaita Prakaranam of the Upanishad, Mandukya. 36th mantra goes like this. Ajam, Anidram, Aswapnam, Anamakam, Aroopakam, Sakrudvibhatam, Sarvagnam, Na Upacharaha, Kathanchana. This is a beautiful description of Brahman. And what is the description? Ajam. Brahman is unborn. And unborn means changeless. Changeless means beyond time. Beyond time means eternal. And it is free from sleep and dream. We have discussed this. Sleep means Ajnana, Avidya. In the state of Sushukti, what happens? As I mentioned, as we discussed earlier, Maya, Avidya has two powers. One is concealing power. Another is scattering power. So both these powers work in both the waking as well as the dream state. But in deep sleep, only one power works. And that power is Avarana Shakti, not Vikshepa Shakti. And that is indicated here. Anidra means Brahman is free from the concealing power. Avarana Shakti. What about the Vikshepa Shakti? That is indicated Swapna. Swapna means both Swapna, dream state as well as waking state. In both states, what is common? Both Avarana and Vikshepa. Both powers work together. And when something is beyond the three states, when it is one, then Arupakam, it becomes formless. Remember always, if there is a duality, when there is more than one, that is called duality, and to distinguish, both must have a particular form and accordingly a particular name. What do these two do? They separate each other. The form and the name and the qualities separate every object from every other object. And when there is no form, there is no name also. But if there is such a thing which is unborn and which is not affected either by concealing power or by scattering power, what happens? Then we don't see it. Bhavo, it is Sakrud Vibhatam, always effulgent. Vibhatam means that which is shining. That means pure consciousness is always there. But it is concealed and it is scattered. And that is why we see so many things. So just like if we are standing in front of a thousand mirrors, me, the one, will be getting reflected into a thousand forms and each can be distinguished. This is a small reflection and that is a half reflection. The other one is a full reflection. The other one is a yellow reflection. This yellowness, smallness, bigness doesn't depend upon me, but it depends upon the very nature of the reflecting medium that is called the mirror. And our mind is that mirror. So this pure consciousness is always ever shining. Then why can't we see it? Because we are covered by this avidya, popularly functioning as first it conceals, then it projects into something else. And this is Sarvajna. Brahman is Sarvajna. Sarvajna means what? It knows, it is self-aware. I am so and so. Since it is only one and it knows everything about itself, Brahman or God is all-knowing. Sarvajna means all-knowing. All-knowing means there is nothing else excepting me. We have to take note of this. If there are two separate objects, then two objects represent two separate pieces of information or knowledge. But if there is only one, the question of knowing two doesn't arise. So even the knowledge that I am something need not be unless there is a second thing. These concepts are very difficult to understand. Where is the need to know? Knowledge is usually to separate one thing from the other. This person is different from the other person. Do not mistake. But when there is one, even that introduction, I am so and so, whom am I going to give? And even to remember I am so and so, is also possible only when we are in the dualistic state. And if this is the condition, the one, Upacharaha na kathanchana vidyate. We have to supply that word, vidyate. Upacharaha means what? Transactions. So, kathanchana. Transactions are possible between two, subject and object, me and you, and any two objects, at least minimum two objects are necessary. No, that is not possible. It is indescribable. I mentioned five types of words are used. Rudi, jati, guna, kriya, and manda. And when there is only one, and there is no need to introduce, the question of using words does not affect. Remember, thinking, words, speaking, and doing is transaction done only when there is reality. That's why I quoted earlier, the seventh mantra of the Andukya, na antah prajnam, na bahesh prajnam, na ubhayatah prajnam, na aprajnam, na prajnam, etc. And that is what we have indicated there. So, nobody can describe God better than in these negative terms. If you want to use positive terms, because we are used, jyoti ra jyoti, ujjvala hridikandara, tumi tama bhanjana har. But jyoti ra jyoti is only when there are two jyotis. It is a duality. Then somebody to illumine, and something to be illumined. Even an illumined thing needs to be illumined. For example, if there is light, there must be some other light, and this is not external light. This is called pure consciousness, which says, I see a light. That light, that first light is jada. It cannot show me anything. It cannot even illuminate. Even though we call it self-illuminating, it shows itself only when I take care to look at it, to cognize it, to be aware of it. Then only, oh, here is light. Here is the sun. Here is the moon. So that second light is called atma jyoti. And without that jyoti, no other jyoti is possible. Tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati. This is a beautiful statement. It is only when this atma jyoti is shining, every other jyoti gets recognized. Even to say the sun is illuminating, I have to be there to take cognizance of that fact. That is why brahman is called sakruddhvi bhati, always there. And further description is being given in this 37th mantra. sarva abhilapavigatah sarva-cintasamutthitah supra-santah sakrut jyoti samadhi achalah abhayah sarva abhilapavigatah sarva-cintasamutthitah supra-santah sakrut jyoti samadhi achalah abhayah So really, seven descriptions are given. What does it mean? This atman is beyond all expression by words. yato vacho nivartante aprapya manasa sahah The mind, along with the speech, turns back, unable to illuminate. Because what illuminates the mind, mind means thoughts, is that Siddha Bhasa. What illuminates the speech? Because speech always is illuminated by the thought. First comes thought, and that thought needs to be conveyed, to be expressed, even to oneself. And it is very useful for us to express this thought to ourselves, rather than to other people. This is what is called japa. What is japa? I have to remind myself, you are not a human being, you are the child of immortality, you are eternally belonging to God. And this mantra, as I explained it quite a few times, that the mantra, every mantra has got four stages and four steps. We are on the floor, we have to climb up. Then we have to, this mantra, through this mantra, we can climb up. What is the very first thing? Namaha. Say for example, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, or Om Namo Narayanaya. Here the word namaha had come a bit earlier, but in our mantras, Om Sri Ganeshaya Namaha, Om Gam Ganeshaya Namaha. Let me take this example. Namaha means what? Na-mama. Mama means mind. I know something belongs to me. This house, this family, this property, this body, this mind. No. All these are existing. Existence, anything that is existing is being borrowed from God. The Sat aspect. And I know this is a house, I know this is me, I know this is my neighbour. That knowledge, is being borrowed from the Chit aspect of the Brahman. And I am very happy to meet and I get this pleasure that Sukha, Kurity is borrowed from the Ananda aspect of Brahman. So, we have to be grateful nothing belongs to me. This world before creation was only God. And even now it is God. Whatever is there, it is nothing but God. Individuality. That this is a body, this is a mind, this is a house. All these things really do not exist. Everything can be resolved back into those three elements Sat, Chit and Ananda. So, nothing belongs to me. That is our reminder not to other people, to oneself. That nothing belongs to me. Naturally, the question comes then to whom does it belong? There we have to say it belongs to God. But our concept of God is very poor. Therefore, we choose our Ishta Devata. So, for example, everything belongs to Narayana, to a Narayana Bhakta. Everything belongs to Shiva, to Shiva Bhakta. Everything belongs to Ramakrishna, to Ramakrishna Bhakta. Everything belongs to Christ, to Christian. Everything belongs to Allah. That is why Muslims, whether they understand it or not, say Inshallah, means God's will. Means everything belongs to God. Everything runs because of God's will. Everything belongs to our Ishta Devata. That is our particular concept of God according to our capacity of the mind. But somebody else is thinking of the same God in a different way. So, what about his God? Is that God different? So, my God is represented through a Bija Mantra. Somebody else's God is represented by another Bija Mantra. Bija means the very root of all these manifestations. We go beyond the name and form. Bija means remember that which is but in an unmanifested state and very subtle. The manifestation is very gross but the root cause is very very subtle. So, now from the gross we are travelling to the subtle. And then when the Bija Mantra, this is Guru's Bija Mantra, that is Shiva's Bija Mantra, this is Krishna's Bija Mantra, that is Durga's Bija Mantra, that is Kali's Bija Mantra. Are these different? No. All these Bijas finally unite themselves, merge themselves in Omkara or Oma. It is a marvellous concept. In another lecture I have spoken it elaborately. So, finally every one of us, every object merges back into that Brahman. Everything belongs to Brahman. And that description is being given here that the expression about God, about anything is only about God. Am I speaking about a tiger? That is nothing but God. Am I speaking about a person? That is also God. Am I speaking about Earth? That is also God. Everything is God. Nothing can be excluded from God. Therefore every word points only to God. And that is the significance. Every expression requires a medium. That medium is called sound. And all sounds fall under A, U and M. Om. That is the magic of the sound box. So you call Shiva falls under Om. Call Narayana Om. In future somebody invents some kind of new word that also falls within the sound box. So what is it? That every type of expression of speech is nothing but about God. But every expression falls far short because we are expressing only one particular aspect. When we say this tree, we are only talking about this tree. There are billions and billions and billions of trees are there. But that doesn't express. It is expressing God but an infinitesimal part of God. And therefore any word, no word is capable of expressing about Brahman. What does it mean? Not that words are incapable of expressing but words are incapable of expressing completely. Only an infinitesimal part. And if we mistake that smallest part to be the whole and that is the greatest mistake we will be committing. That is why it is said Sarva Abhilapa Igataha Brahman is beyond any expression. It doesn't mean there is no expression. It means every expression is inadequate, not capable of giving us the holistic picture. Only partial picture. And like blind men touching an elephant. If thousand blind men touch a thousand different parts of the elephant, they are not touching a non-elephant. They are all touching same elephant, real elephant, true elephant but they should not confine that whatever they are touching is the entire elephant. So that is the meaning. Sarva Chintaha Samutthitaha And Brahman is beyond all thoughts. Thoughts can be expressed as emotions, as feelings, in the form of knowledge, in the form of right or wrong knowledge, in any form or even wrong knowledge. But Brahman can never be expressed even if we are thinking of Brahman. We should not say that we are not thinking of Brahman. We should say very smallest part of Brahman only we are thinking. But when we say, usually we forget. When we are thinking of a tree, we forget it is Brahman. We only think it is something not only different from Brahman but different from everything else. That is a great mistake. In our spiritual effort, we should never commit that mistake. We should try to relate everything with God and at the same time take care that everything, every small part is God. God is everything but everything is not God. God is everything but everything is not God. That was what Swami Vivekananda wanted to convey to Mary Hill. This chair is God. Is this chair? Yes. Because God includes even that chair within himself. But if we are focusing upon the chair, this is God and this alone is God and nothing else is God, then we will be committing a grave error and nobody will be damned. But for a long time our spiritual progress will be sufficiently suppressed. We have to understand that. Then what is the further description? Suprasanthaha. That is a state of calmness. Why? Because where there is no mind, there will be absolute calmness. The only analogy we can give is deep sleep. When a person, even the most restless person, when that person is in deep sleep, he is in the most marvelous state. And that is why he gets so much of joy. What is joy? Not being hesitated by any thoughts is called joy. That is what a yogi deliberately, consciously, with complete awareness, chitta vritti nirodha, he tries to witness everything without getting excited or becoming restless. If this is the case of a yogi, what to speak of the divine who is advitiya, one without a second. That is called prasanthaha. Why? There is no waking state, there is no dream state, there is no sleep state. He is beyond all states, beyond all changes. Changefulness is called restlessness. More change, faster change, is called more restlessness. That is why Brahman is to be meditated upon as suprasanthaha and sakrut jyotihi. Jyoti means that light of the lights. And sakrut means what? It is forever shining. What is the shining? Not to be thought of as a light of a lamp, but here it means pure consciousness. And samadhihi. What is samadhi? The state beyond the mind is called samadhi. That is why it is called nirvikalpa samadhi. And that is the one description of samadhi. And achalaha. And he is immovable. Chala means to move. To move space is necessary. To move time is necessary. To move some desire is necessary. Since he is one and he is poornaha, the question of moving doesn't arise. And abhayaha. That is fearless. As Upanishad so beautifully puts, fear always comes from the second. But Brahman is abhaya because from whom is the fear going to come? Somebody will come and he will kill me. I am God and he will become God by suppressing me and the next election he is going to be Brahman. Like that? No. Not at all. Even Manus are afraid. Manu means in charge of a particular period of time. A very long period of time. That is why some other Manu can come. Indras are afraid because Indra is a padavi. Like state minister, like MPs, like MLA, like chief minister or like prime minister, central minister. So they are also frightened. Maybe in the 2024 election they may not get, even if they get, they may not get majority. That means they will not be respected as what is called major. That is you are still minor. That is why you have no right to open your mouth and talk about it. So all these fears will be there. But Brahman is afraid. Why all these qualifications, gunas are said? Because my child, if you attain to Brahman, identity with Brahman, you are going to manifest all these characteristics. So that is what we have discussed. Then we will move on to number 38. Further description of what happens, what are the characteristics of Brahman, further characteristics and what happens when a person really attains into oneness with that Brahman. More or less is the repetition in a way. And some of our people may get the doubt, why is the Rishi going on or Gautapada going on repeating itself? So in Brahma Sutra, this objection is met with Avaruthi Asakrit Upadesha Achcha. Avaruthi means repetition. Any number of times we have to repeat. How many times do we repeat? Until we reach the goal. How much time you are going to travel? Until you reach the goal. Once we reach the goal, no question of further travel. We have reached our destination. And not only that, look at what happens. Whether we are travelling in a bus or in a train or in a plane. So we quarrel ferociously if somebody else by mistake occupies our seat. But the same person, as soon as destination is reached, we will be quarrelling with each other, trying to push each other behind so that I will be the first person. But anyway, I remember a funny advice of Swami Vivekananda. If at all you are travelling either by bus or by train or by plane, to enter be the first person. Especially if the seats are not allocated, you will get a choice seat. Always try to be the first person. And I found it very useful because sometimes I have to use the toilet. And if I am the first person, I deposit my things there and rush. You know, absolutely no competition at all there. But Sri Ramakrishna used to say, when you have to come out, be the last person. Why? Because when everybody is gone, leisurely you can check your things that you have not left anything behind in haste first. He did not see it. I am adding it. Don't take offence. So if somebody else in haste left behind some things, you can also collect them because those fellows most likely they will not be getting it. Is it true? You know, what we call lakhs and lakhs of iPads, Android tablets and laptops and very precious things. How these, what is called airport authorities collect them and afterwards these fellows who are lost, they don't even lodge a complaint. Anyway, that is a different affair. What are we talking about? That if we can contemplate on Brahman, then we will be also gaining the same benefit. Why? Because as human beings, I cannot be you. You cannot be me. I cannot be even a mosquito. I can kill mosquito, but I can never be a mosquito. But knowing Brahman is being Brahman. This is a great difference. Knowing a tree, I will have some knowledge. I will remain forever separate from the tree. I may use that knowledge to obtain an object and enjoy it, but I will never be one with it. But knowing Brahman, Brahma with Brahma Eva Bhavati, I become one with Brahman. And when I become, this is what happens. What are the things, further descriptions? Graha Na Tatra There is no Graha. Graha, Grahana means receiving. Utsarga means giving up or giving back, whatever you call it. That is a transaction. I give you something and you give me something. So what I give, you receive. And what you give, I receive. These will not be there. Why? For two reasons, important reasons. First reason is, what I receive, because I don't have. And what I give up, because it is excess to me, I don't need it. So therefore, I am ready to give it up. Whereas in Brahman, Brahman is Poornakamaha Poornat Poornamudakshate Poornasya Poornamadhaya Poornameva Avasishyate So you see, there is no taking first. And who is there? Is there a second person to take from and to give back? No, absolutely no. So he is Poornakamaha. So the question of either receiving or giving doesn't arise. And receiving and giving requires time, requires space, requires duality. Since Brahman is non-dual, the question of exchanging or giving something or receiving something and to keep it somewhere, these problems do not arise at all. So that means why do we transact? Because of I require some desires to be fulfilled. When I am full, when I have everything, when I am everything, a question of desire doesn't arise. If I don't have something, that causes a desire. If I am everything, then there is no question of desire at all. That is why Poornakamaha, Akamaha, both are equated in our scriptures, especially Taittiriya Upanishad. So there is no receiving, there is no giving. That means there is no transaction. Chintayatra Navidya This is a repetition of what we saw in the 37th mantra. Chinta means thought. Yatra Navidyate. It is not there at all. And then, what happens to this Brahman? Atmasamstham. Brahman is established in himself. Anybody who knows Brahman is established in Brahman. That means he understands previously I thought I was separate from Brahman. Now I know I am not separate from Brahman. This is called Atmasamstham. To be oneself is called Atmasamstham. Tada Gnanam When we have this understanding, then that is called true knowledge. Tada. Only then we can say we are Brahma Gnanis. Ajatim Jatim means what? Birth. There is no birth at all. Until now, what are we talking? We are firm believers. Oh, I had 84 millions of births and I have got how many millions? God alone knows. I am slowly evolving. I am becoming better and better and a time will come when I will be reaching there when I understand that Brahman is never born. Brahman evolving as a born being, the concept itself becomes completely ridiculous. That is called Ajati. Here, sometimes we use this word Jati for caste. Brahman Jati, Kshatriya Jati, Vaishya Jati, Shudra Jati. No, no. Here Jati means there is no birth at all. He is free Brahman. He is never born. Therefore, there is no birth at all. That is why I said earlier mantra Ajam, birthless. That is being repeated in this word Ajatim. And Samatam Gatam. What is Samatam Gatam? That is the one attains to that state of oneness. Samata means oneness. What does oneness mean? Where there is no second object, that is called oneness. Then what is the meaning of attaining? Because we mistakenly, out of ignorance, think that we are separate. This is called Bheda Buddhi. Three types of Vedas which we discussed many times. Vijatiya Veda, two different species. Svajatiya Veda, differences between two of the same species. And Svagata Veda, differences within oneself. This is what categorizes Dvaita, Sistadvaita and Advaita. That is why Dvaita is a growth of mind. Sistadvaita is a further development of the same mind. Advaita is reaching the goal and saying everything is one. It is timeless. It is eternal. It is infinite. It is Purnam. That knowledge is called Purnam. So, Samatam Gatam. So, in that Brahman which is free from all thoughts of mind, there is neither any idea of acceptance nor any idea of giving up something. And established in that Atman, knowledge attains to that state of Ajati, worthlessness and sameness. That is to say, I claim I am Brahman. Now, we have to be very careful. So, I am slowly progressing and I am becoming more and more like Brahman. And one day will come, I will be Brahman. This concept is for the children. But when we understand, it is like this. A person is dreaming there was a great king and then suddenly he dreamt that he was imprisoned and he was suffering and then he was pleading. At last, somebody came and released him from the prison and then made him go back to his palace and then he claims I am the king. It is not that he was a king, he lost and he regained. That idea we have explored several times. Ajati means worthless. So, I never became non-Brahman or Anatman. But I was thinking in the mind that why am I thinking in the mind there is a mysterious power. Why should I, Brahman, think at some point of time that I am not Brahman? That is inexplicable by anybody even today. Advaita Vedanta stamps on our head and then tries to subdue us by saying that this Avidya belongs to Jeeva. But very few people accept that including Advaitins and say if Brahman is all knowledge, where from this ignorance has come? And then Sri Ramakrishna gives this. Swami Vivekananda gives the answer. He says that these are all your foolish thoughts. So long as you think, so long as you use the mind, so long these doubts will come. I was Brahman, then I became non-Brahman and through sadhana I am again gaining back my Brahmanhood. That is why there are beautiful works, that is books, in Advaita Vedanta they are called Siddhi books. Siddhi. Siddhi means what? Attaining perfection. So what does this Siddhi mean in Advaitic sense? In non-Advaitic sense, a person was not having something, then he attained something, then he becomes Siddha. In Advaita it is completely different. Say for example there is a beautiful book, it is called Swarajya Siddhi. Obtainment of one's own kingdom. This is just like just now I explained, there is a king and he had a vast kingdom and he knows it, I am a king but after food he had a bad dream. He felt that he became a non-king and when he woke up he understood it is nothing but pure imagination. So then he can say, oh I lost my kingdom and I obtained the kingdom again. So we understand what does he mean by losing. That is in his mind he was imagining that he lost and then he was imagining that he gained. Both are imaginations and imagination is not reality, that is what we have to understand. So Atma Samstham Tatha Jnanam Ajati Samatam Gatam. Established in the Atman and that means in the knowledge that I am Brahman, such a sadhaka by the grace of God he realises I am also birthless because I am Brahman and he attains to the state of sameness, that is to say timelessness, eternity, changelessness. So no transactions are ever possible. That is the meaning of it. We have to remember that in every transaction I should remember that waking is like a dream and that all life is a stage and we are playing different roles. A very beautiful analogy. What does it mean? Transactions. What does it mean? Here is an actor he actually is a very funny thing, a real story was there. There was a poor man, almost he had nothing, but somebody discovered a beautiful voice, very beautiful person and most marvellous talent to act and then he depicted, he was given a role of a beggar at the beginning and he acted so well that tears came to the audience how marvellously he was suffering and then he became very famous he was given the same role in the same drama and slowly his good fortunes have risen and finally he became a multi-millionaire and there afterwards also joyfully he plays the role of a beggar so just imagine a millionaire, but when he used to when he used to play the role, he used to think that he was like that only. So in every transaction we should remember our waking state is no different from the dream state and all life is nothing but a stage and who is the director? Narayana Sri Ranganatha Ranga means a stage that is what we have to understand so Krishna also says that when a person attains to this state, just now we have described this is called Brahmi sthiti and once he attains he will never again get deluded again by avidya that is very very marvellous thing and we move on to the 39th, why are we moving so quickly? you may be wondering the reason is we are repeating only the same things which we have been studying umpteen number of times so in the 39th parika Gaudapada wants to tell so this is a marvellous state what is that marvellous state? to know that I am Brahman and then all our miseries come to an end we will be having eternal joy, paramananda, brahmananda swaroopa, then why is it that people do not even try to attain to that state, that is what Gaudapada wants to convey to us in this and it is a beautiful karika he says in this 39th karika it is a marvellous usage of the word that which is fearless people see terrible fear we will discuss about it with concrete examples from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, etc first, let us analyse it this yoga which is not in touch with anything, that is why it is called asparsha yoga sparsha means touch asparsha means non-touch what does it mean really so do not imagine there is somebody else besides you and I don't like him I don't much less I don't like to touch him that is not asparsha because your very thought that I should not touch him is the greatest touch you are entertaining in your mind the more angry you are the more you are thinking of a person the more you criticise somebody the more you are meditating upon that person I mentioned Sri Ramakrishna's reminiscence that once somebody came and reported to Sri Ramakrishna such and such a person is criticising you Sri Ramakrishna's face glowed like a billion watt bulb what he is thinking of me doesn't matter Sri Ramakrishna was so crazy so mad after praise so it doesn't matter even if somebody is criticising him also he wants everybody to think him only so what a lesson we have to learn asparsha means there is no duality when there is no second thing coming into contact with that second thing either physically or even subtly it is impossible that is why this Gaudapada calls it asparsha means nothing can touch Brahma that means what no duality is possible in that Advaita that is called asparsha but what about us we are all called sparsha yogis what is sparsha we want to be touching I want to touch my parents I want to touch my children I want to touch whatsoever I love if I love rasagulla I want to touch it and I want to be in touch with it forever what is the way make it me then I will be continuously in touch eternally in touch with that so this is reality sparsha means reality and final expression of this sparsha yoga is what a devotee continuously want to be with God Arre Baba don't you want to become one with God no no no no I don't want to be sugar I want to only enjoy sugar it is almost impossible to attain yoga means here yogi means a spiritual aspirant whether they are Hindus or Indians or Muslims or anybody because we depend upon the very definition of a human being is every human being is a social being he cannot remain unless there is somebody if there is nobody who is a friend we also require somebody at least there should be an enemy so that we can have the highest satisfaction I put that fellow down what a satisfaction it comes so without an enemy also I cannot survive that is why even the greatest yogi he fears this final this thing that is losing what we think personality yogis they become frightened in from what asmat asmat sparsha yoga we are all looking terrible amount of fear in really speaking that which is fearless and we have to explore this 39th mantra which we will do in our next class how sri ramakrishna struggled not to become one with consciousness how when sri ramakrishna touched Swami Vivekananda, he got frightened and said, I have my parents. How? After hearing such marvelous teachings from Yagnimalkya, his beloved wife Maitreyi, she said, Sir, you confused me. I am terribly frightened now. Will I lose all consciousness? And he had to reassure her, No, no, no, you will not lose any consciousness. Your small, broken, individual consciousness will become now pure, all-pervading, eternal consciousness. And that is also frightening, which we will discuss in our next class.
[[Category:Mandukya Karika]]