View source for Mandukya Karika Lecture 007 on 07 July 2021

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OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM
PADAPADMETAYO SRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MUHURMUHUR
OM BADRAM KANNE VISHRUNAYAM DEVAH
BADRAM PASHYE MAKSHABHIRYA JATRAH
STHIRAYI RANGAYE STUSHTU BAGUM SASTANUBHI
VYASHEMA DEVAHI TAMGADAYU
SWASTHINA INDRO VRIDDHA SHRAVAHA
SWASTHINA PUSHA VISHWA VEDAHA
SWASTHINA STARKSHU ARISHTA NIMI
SWASTHINOMBRIHA SPATIRUDDHA DATU
OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI HARE OM
OM
Oh Gods, may we hear auspicious words with our ears while engaged in sacrifices.
May we see auspicious things with the eyes while praising the Gods with steady limbs.
May we enjoy a life that is beneficial to the Gods.
May Indra of ancient fame be auspicious to us.
May the supreme rich all-knowing Pusha be propitious to us.
May Garuda, the destroyer of evil, be well-disposed towards us.
May Brihaspati ensure our welfare.
OM
Peace, peace, peace be unto all.
We are exploring Mandukya Upanishad along with Goda Padaskarika.
In my last class, I have talked about Shruti and Smruti.
Every worldly enjoyment has three defects in it.
First, it is limited.
Secondly, it always comes with its opposite.
Third, it always binds us by increasing the strength of our desires.
Is there any solution?
Yes, there is only one solution and that is the Atma Jnana.
When once I know I am immortal, I am of the nature of pure consciousness
and I am of the nature of eternal and infinite bliss, Sat Chit Ananda.
Then all the three defects are removed.
Forever, I will become free.
Every Upanishad takes us to that knowledge.
Today, I am going to deal with something very important.
What is that?
We will have to know what is the Shastra Pramana.
Just now, I told you that Upanishad, Vedas, Shruti is the only way out.
Shruti alone can lead us to liberation by giving us our true knowledge, true nature.
This is what we need to understand very clearly.
We are not going to gain anything new but we are going to gain our own true knowledge
thereby eliminating all desires because we are the very nature of Ananda, existence and consciousness.
And why is it?
If such a defect-free solution is there, why is not everyone seeking?
The normal explanation is that Mahamaya.
There is a beautiful shloka in the Durga Saptashati.
It tells us,
It is her sport.
Even the most wise people, their minds are as if not even straw.
Divine mother forcefully drowns them in the world of Mahamaya.
Is it true?
Not really.
She never does that to her own children.
But if there is any lurking, albeit unconscious desire, then she will do that
in order to teach a lesson that this is how you will never again desire.
Such unworthy desires excepting me.
So what is that solution?
Atma Jnanam.
Where can I get this Atma Jnanam?
In the scriptures.
And how do we know that scriptures or scriptural knowledge is the right knowledge?
So a whole branch of philosophy, Hindu philosophy by the way is called Darshana.
A whole branch has come out.
It's called epistemology.
Epistemology means what is knowledge?
What is right knowledge?
And how does one obtain right knowledge?
And how do we know whether we got right knowledge or not?
So these are some of the subjects that are dealt with.
So with regard to worldly objects, worldly instruments have to be used.
This is one of the greatest principles we have to remember.
If we want to have knowledge of the distant stars, microscope will not help.
If we want to have knowledge of very minute things, then telescope will not help us.
For every bit of knowledge, an appropriate instrument is needed.
And that instrument is called Pramana.
And that Pramana, if everything is okay, will give us the right type of knowledge so far as its sphere is concerned.
For example, chemistry is a knowledge.
Study of physics will not give us the knowledge of chemistry.
The knowledge of biology will not help us in obtaining geography.
So every bit of knowledge has its own appropriate Pramana.
So four words are very important words.
Please keep them in mind because it will come again and again in every Upanishad and of course in this Mandukya Karika also.
So it all starts with Prama. Prama means knowledge.
Pramana means the means, the instrument through which we can get knowledge.
Prameya is the resultant, right knowledge.
Pramatha is the knower who employs Pramana in order to obtain what he wants to know in the right way.
He is called Pramatha, the knower.
Pramana, the instrument of knowledge.
And Prama is the right knowledge.
So Prama, knowledge. Pramana, instrument.
Pramatha, the knower.
Prameya, the ultimate, doubtless, right knowledge.
I hope you will keep these four in view.
So how many Pramanas are there?
How many Pramanas Vedanta accepts?
That is what I am going to talk about.
Vedanta means Advaita Vedanta.
Because Vedanta means it could be Advaita Vedanta of Madhvacharya,
Visishta Advaita Vedanta of Ramanujacharya and Advaita of Shankaracharya.
We have to be specific about it.
Advaita Vedanta accepts six Pramanas.
These six Pramanas can be sub-classified into two Pramanas.
Pratyaksha Pramana and Shabda Pramana.
Just now I said six Pramanas.
Again I said two Pramanas.
What does it mean?
It means there are five Pramanas of which the most important is Pratyaksha.
Aksha means eye. Pratyaksha means direct perception.
There is a tree in front of me and then I see the tree.
This is what we call temporarily, let us accept it is the right thing, direct perception.
Really speaking, I just insert the note here which is not probably that important,
that maybe I have some prejudices.
My eyesight is not alright.
Light outside is not adequate.
I am frightened of Bhuta, Preta, Vishacha.
And when I perceive this swaying tree, I might as well mistake for the dance of a ghost.
So certain conditions have to be fulfilled for this Pratyaksha Pramana, direct perception.
Pratyaksha means seeing or experiencing directly.
And it doesn't mean only what is experienced through the eye.
Whatever is experienced through the five sense organs.
Shabda, Sparsha, Rupa, Rasa, Gandha.
The eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue and the organ of touch.
Directly when we come into contact with an object, then that is called Pratyaksha.
Let us temporarily agree everything is okay and there is nothing wrong.
I am in perfect health. I can see, I can hear, I can smell, I can taste, I can touch.
And the objects are crystal clear. All conditions are right.
Then when we obtain that knowledge, that is called Pratyaksha.
Now Pratyaksha Pramana is the number one.
And this based upon the Pratyaksha Pramana, another four Pramanas have sprung.
That's why I classified it as only Pratyaksha Pramana as one of the two.
And important point to note down here is Pratyaksha Pramana can give us knowledge,
only sensory knowledge, all scientific knowledge is only based upon our experiences,
gathering data, classifying the data, analyzing the data and coming to the right conclusions.
That's what science is.
So this is called Pratyaksha Pramana. Direct experience through any of the five sense organs
provided all the conditions of light, etc., of healthy body and mind,
everything is presuming is absolutely right.
Then that knowledge is called Pratyaksha Pramana.
Based upon this Pratyaksha Pramana, four other Pramanas have come.
Those other four Pramanas, which I am shortly going to enumerate,
without Pratyaksha Pramana they cannot stand.
They are based upon this Pratyaksha Pramana.
So what is the second Pramana?
It is called Anumana Pramana. Anumana means inference.
For example, you see, this is the classic example Vedanta gives all the time.
There is smoke. I don't see the fire.
Perhaps from behind a hill a volume of smoke is coming into the sky.
Then I presume there must be fire.
Why do I presume? Why do I infer like that?
I infer because I have seen in my kitchen that when fire is lit and if the fuel is not so dry,
even if it is dry, inevitably smoke issues.
So there is a concomitant relationship.
Where there is smoke, there must be fire.
Not the other way round.
I don't go into those details, but this is enough for us to understand.
When we see smoke, we infer there is fire because whenever we see smoke,
it is our experience that we see fire inevitably associated with this smoke.
This is called Vyapti. Vyapti means concomitants.
Where there is smoke, fire is there.
Without fire, there cannot be any smoke.
So this is called inference and this helps us.
You see a house, terrible smoke is coming out.
You infer the house is on fire.
Inside, it has not yet spread outside.
So it is better that I get out of that house as far away as possible to avoid injury or even death.
So this is how inference is used.
This is called Anumana.
Now in some languages like Telugu, Anumana means doubt.
We are not talking about doubt.
We are talking about inference.
So this is the second Pramana but based upon Pratyaksha only.
Then third Pramana also based upon Pratyaksha Pramana.
It is called Arthapatti.
It is called presumption, assumption, but based on data.
Very funny example is given in our Vedanta classics.
There is a fellow and he is like a Bhimsena
and day by day he is growing fatter and fatter
but nobody had seen him eating at daytime.
So what do we presume?
I don't see him eating but he must be eating.
Daytime I watched him.
I never found him eating.
So he must be eating at night.
Another example is one early morning I get up.
I see the whole street is flooded
but I did not know what happened.
So I presume whole night it was raining, cats and dogs,
maybe thunderstorm but I have not heard
but upon seeing the vast body of water
I presume, I assume that it must have rained all around.
Sometimes it is also possible that the municipality truck supplying water
is leaking all around.
When it came to that area, the whole area is flooded
but it cannot hold water because if you go out of your street
everywhere whether it is a street, on the rooftop, everywhere
you see water dripping.
So we presume that there has been a rain.
Seeing one fact.
So here also association is there.
What is the association?
We have seen rain.
We have experienced rain and if it rains for some time
and it will inevitably make the whole place wet
and if it is heavy rain it will also make it flooding.
Therefore based upon our past experience
we have not seen the rain but we have seen water
so we presume.
So that is right kind of knowledge.
This is called Arthapatti.
Arthapatti means we arrive at the right knowledge
by experiencing something
and assuming that in our past experiences
it is always like that.
Then the fourth Pramana is called Upamana Pramana.
Upamana means similarity, comparison.
I have a cow at home.
I have not seen any other animal like a cow.
One day I go to some far off place
and there I see a strange animal.
In Vedantic language it is called Gavaya
and it resembles in every aspect like my cow.
There is slight difference is there
but it is having more or less similar characteristics
like dewlap.
Understand?
You understand what is called dewlap?
So Indian cows have got a heavy this thing here,
a huge this thing will be hanging here.
Skin, thick skin will be hanging here.
So you compare I have seen that animal
and this animal must be a close relative of that animal
because practically in every respect
it is similar to that what I had experienced.
So this is called Upamana Pramana
and it helps us to also presume.
Suppose one day a man goes into the forest.
He sees something like a huge cat.
He has seen cat
but he has not seen this big cat.
So he understands this is a big cat
and it is very powerful
and it can kill him.
So he understands this is a big cat.
It may be a tiger, it may be a lion,
it may be a leopard, etc., etc.
So that is how this knowledge comes in
very very useful to all of us.
Then this is also based upon a fact.
What is the fact?
Pratyaksha, I have an animal at home
and the other animal which I have never seen in my life
resembles almost.
So I compare and say
this must be a similar species like that.
Then we come to the fifth Pramana.
This is also wonderful Pramana
and it is called Anupalabdhi,
not experiencing.
Upalabdhi means experience.
Anupalabdhi means non-experience.
What does it mean?
How does it bring right knowledge to us?
I will give you one or two examples.
Supposing you have three rooms
and you have a, what is it called,
a study room.
You have kept lots of books
and one particular book you have been reading
and then you are called for some other work
and you leave it there on the table.
You have clearly seen that book you have left there
went out.
Out means inside the house into some other room
and then after an hour or two or three,
whatever it is,
you complete the work,
come back into your study room
and do not find the book.
You do not experience the book
which you have left a few hours before
and you know nobody has come from outside.
Nobody, the book could not have been taken outside by anybody.
So this knowledge,
this book is not here,
gives you the clue
maybe your children or your wife or husband
must have taken the book
and taken to their bedroom for reading etc.
And it so happens, I know funny stories
that Harry Potter novels,
children are very fond of it
because it is full of magic,
mantras, tantras.
So you have bought it in the name of your son
but you are reading it yourself
because you are so much interested
and when you are away,
your son steals into your room,
steals the book
and runs into his bedroom
and starts reading it.
What is the point?
The non-experience of the book
in your accustomed study room
is not available.
Therefore you know it has not gone out.
So it must be somewhere in the house
and naturally your suspicion falls.
Previously also my son has done such things
so let me go and check.
And to your delight or surprise or anger or annoyance
you find your son huddled up with that book,
glued to the pages.
So this Anupalabdhi,
non-experience of the book,
where you have left it,
has given you the right knowledge.
It is somewhere within this house
and there are many guesses are there
so you go and find it out.
So this is very very important for us to understand.
If you are seeking a person,
you go to an office,
you want to meet somebody,
a clerk perhaps,
and you go there.
The table is there,
strewn full of files.
You do not see him
and you await patiently.
This man must have gone to his manager
for reporting something, etc. etc.
Then one day, another day,
you go to the bus stand
and at the accustomed time
the bus is not there.
That experience leads you to guess.
Perhaps the bus has not yet come
so it will come in its own time.
This is called Anupalabdhi.
Absence of an object
and our non-experience of that absent object
gives us the right knowledge
what to expect,
where to expect, etc.
This is called Anupalabdhi Pramana.
But this is also based upon Pratyaksha.
So, what have we talked so far?
That there are six Pramanas.
They can be classified into two.
Pratyaksha is the most important
and based upon,
you get Anumana Pramana,
Upamana Pramana,
Anupalabdhi Pramana, etc.
All of them will give you right knowledge.
So, based upon Pratyaksha,
Anumana, Arthapathi,
Upamana, Anupalabdhi.
What is the special point we have to keep in mind?
That all these are based upon Pratyaksha.
Pratyaksha means direct sensory experience.
Sensory experience,
if everything is right,
gives correct knowledge of our body,
our mind also,
and outside world also.
This Pratyaksha Pramana is again
divided into two parts.
One is external and another is internal.
I see a tree, I see a man,
I see a bird, I see a forest,
I see an elephant, etc.
This is something external.
But what about the mind?
I also perceive the mind is restless,
mind is happy,
mind is despondent,
mind is unhappy,
mind is full of desires,
full of imaginations.
I am directly perceiving
all the changes that are taking
within the mind
and that also falls under internal perception
and that falls also under Pratyaksha Pramana.
And here also I see
all the other four,
I see again.
I will give you a small example.
For example,
that one day
I see my mind
and then I see
that a particular car,
the thought of a car
is flashing in my mind.
Then why am I thinking about this car?
Ah! I have seen a car
and it appeared to be beautiful,
beautiful means desirable
and then now all of a sudden
that thought is coming
so that inference
based upon Pratyaksha
but this is an internal inference.
Please keep that in mind.
I am not talking about external
Anumana Pramana inference.
So what about Arthapatti?
Very interesting.
This leads us to so much of problem.
I will give you a small example.
Psychologists have once wanted to know
why a particular young man
or a young woman
choose one particular man or woman
to be the center of their attentions,
objects.
They call them my view,
my girlfriend,
my boyfriend, etc.
So they sent out to thousands of people
what made you attract
and then the surprising conclusions have come.
What are the conclusions?
That inevitably there is some association.
For example, here is a young man.
He meets hundreds of girls.
One particular girl attracts him
and why was he attracted to that particular person?
And he has to think very deeply
why am I attracted?
Does she resemble somebody?
When I was a small boy
my aunt used to come.
Her face was like that.
She always used to bring me chocolates,
sweets, toys.
Whenever she comes
it is a matter of joy for me.
I hear her voice from outside the house.
My heart leaps out in joy.
When she comes inside
her nose is like that.
Her hair style is like that.
Some particular perfume is coming from out of her.
Her voice is like that.
And all these are deeply impressed
because of the association experience
of what is called happiness
which this person brings
and vice versa.
Some persons come harsh
because that person only brings me happiness.
So when this man meets a girl
and she resembles that unwanted aunt
and then he instantaneously dislikes
because he compares
Oh, this person is like this
because unconsciously he is associating
with his past experiences.
So this is called both
Anumana Pramana
as well as Upamana Pramana.
Upamana means comparison.
This person's hair style is like that.
The nose is resembling my aunt's
my joyful aunt's nose.
The perfume reminds me of that.
And incidentally
when South Indians enter into temples
a particular smell of camphor
plus kumkum
which is used inevitably
and then of course
several garlands etc.
inevitably brings my mind
uplifts my mind
thinks there is a spiritual upliftment
the whole place is vibrating with spirituality
of course it is
but I do not have the capacity
to estimate that
spiritual vibrations
but I associate because
every time I go there
these smells assail me.
So this is one
some examples I am giving
so Upamana Pramana
resemblance Pramana
then Anupalabdhi also
I am very much interested
in thinking about
some subject
and suddenly
my mind forgot that subject
and praying to Anjaneya
very fervently
then I thought
if I am an analytical person
I will be looking into it
and I will be seeing
why is it
my mind is not so much attracted to God
how come?
suddenly I have been thinking about this
why is my favourite object
absent here?
then I find
that my familiar object
gives me so much of happiness
or unhappiness
whatever it be
it is absent because
some fright has come
may be a thunderbolt
so the remedy for
the fear caused by thunder
is the remembrance of
Anjaneya or Arjuna sometimes
or Indra sometimes
etc.
so this brings us
exactly the counterparts
in the external world
can also be found
and if we are
familiar with all these things
then we can understand
this is all
how we get knowledge
of things
but what type of knowledge?
sensory knowledge
what is sensory knowledge?
about objects
whether they are external objects
or internal objects
called thoughts, imaginations
dreams
etc.
I will talk about these dreams
later on
a devotee had asked
it is a very important question
but I will come at the end
now
this subject is not only interesting
the whole Mandukya Upanishad
is nothing but
a thorough analysis
which
nobody in this world has undertaken
excepting Indian
sages
at best psychologists
analyze dreams
to infer from there
what is the source of trouble
and how dream
interpretation can help them
if they could help
the patient to become
a normal patient
excepting for that
dream can be studied
all by itself
in order to progress in
spiritual life
and much less about
deep sleep
I will come to that point
when the appropriate time comes
so all this
Pratyaksha
then Anumana
then Upamana, Arthapathy
Anupalabdhi
they can give us
when everything
is a right
knowledge about things
of the world
in other words
worldly knowledge
but what we are seeking
is not worldly knowledge
we are seeking self-knowledge
and self
is completely
opposite to
worldly knowledge
therefore worldly instruments
five sense organs
plus the mind, six
they cannot help us here
then what is the way
so our ancient Rishis
have posited
what is called
the second Pramana
or sixth Pramana
it is called Shabda Pramana
it is called
Agama Pramana
it is called
Veda Pramana
it is also called
Aptavakya
I will first give definition
so Veda
we know Vedas
and in our last class
I dealt with
what is Veda
every nonsense
every story
every historical fact if it is history
or every
illogy
of great saints etc
that is not Veda
only three questions
what is Tattva
what is Purushartha
what is Hita
and whatever
knowledge
the Vedas can give
about these three subjects
what is the truth
what is the goal of life
and how to attain to that goal
that alone
constitutes Veda
that is what we understood
a tremendous fact
from Swami Vivekananda's
talk on
Hinduism and
Sri Ramakrishna
you please go back
if you have forgotten about it
now Shabda Pramana
this is called Veda Pramana
it is called Agama Pramana
what is
Agama Pramana
Agama means Veda
then Shabda Pramana
Shabda also means here
remember Shruti
Shruti means Shabda
Shabda means what the Rishis
have heard
in the depths of their meditation
that's why it is called
Shabda Pramana
not any Shabda
you can talk about
dogs
trees, ghosts
heavenly worlds
Brahma Loka
that is not Shabda Pramana
Shabda means
that which answers
those three
highest truths
Tattva
Purushartha
and Hita
I will come to that point very shortly
Shabda Pramana
it is also called Aapta Vakya
Vakya means
the teaching
Vakya means a sentence
what sentence means here what
what is the teaching
teaching of whom
realized souls
Rishis
Munis
what we call Sant Mahatma
whether it is Mirabai
Tulasi Das
Kabir Das
Tyagaraja, Purandar Das
Vijaya Das
Basaveshwara
India
has produced
thousands and thousands
of Santas
Mahatmas
realized souls
Realization means
they know exactly
what is the true nature
of one's own self
I am not the body
this is our knowledge, I am the body
I am the mind
this is our present knowledge
no, I am the
witness of the body and mind
I am separate
I am conscious being
everything else is unconscious
so I must be separate
no conscious
being can be equated
to an inert
being, the subject and
the object are
poles apart
like what we call day and night
in fact
you cannot ask a table
who are you
it is only a conscious
being who
points out a finger and
says this is an object
it is called a table
all the table knowledge
table doesn't have
but the conscious being alone
has that one
he is called Drashta
he is called Sakshi
he is called the witness
and that witness
is not separated
from anything
else in this world
that's why even scientists
are forced to accept
consciousness is always
singular
there is no nothing called
my consciousness
or your consciousness
it can be separated
by the Upadhi
limiting adjunct
the body-mind
what I think, that is to say
if there are
two bulbs, one is 5 watt
another is 500 watt
the electricity
cannot be differentiated
but the light
is differentiated
because of the limiting factors
of the
fuse, the bulb
5 watt bulb
500 watt bulb
but electricity itself is only one
not only that
if the fan is running
if the heater is getting heated
if the magnet is attracting
and if there is
movement
motion
everything is done
by one entity
that is called electricity
I am just giving an example only
so that consciousness
can never be many
of course there are some schools of philosophy
like Sankhya
says every Purusha
every conscious being is separate
because my happiness is
different, your happiness is different
consciousness
is not different
but the glow that comes out of
my body or your body
my mind or your mind
depends upon how dull
my mind is, how bright
your mind is
or anybody's mind is
that fact we are not able to understand
but later on
these old schools of philosophy
have become really
redundant
so now coming back
to Shabda Pramana
what is Shabda?
it is what the great
sages have after
becoming one
with that pure consciousness
at that time
there is no time, there is no space
there is no causation
therefore there is no question
of hearing, seeing
but once for some
mysterious purpose
reason
that consciousness
percolates
into that purified mind
either they
behold a vision
or they hear something
either the Vedas are called
Shrutis and that
they pass through Karna Parampara
so what
issues from their mouth
it is called Shabda
and here
every realized soul's
teachings
their sayings
first of all it is nothing but
truth, secondly
when they talk
they have only one purpose in mind
the welfare of all people
they don't distinguish
this person is my enemy
that person is my admirer
I will pass this knowledge
they will
equally distribute their
knowledge because they know
whether other people know it
or not that
my brother I and you
are the same, I and
an animal is the same
I and the
tree is the same
I am the mountain, I am the river
I am the earth
I am the fire, I am the air
I am the
space, I am everything
Sarvam Kalvidam
Brahma
now I want to point out
something very very important
so every scripture
emphasizes that
you must have faith
why is it so?
Shraddha
why is it so?
because nobody can
point out
even Sri Ramakrishna
cannot point out God
why? to point out
I mentioned earlier
at least five things are
necessary, this is called
Shabda Pravaruthi
suppose I want to
convey something which I have
seen and which you have
seen, how can I do that?
convey that information to you
the first thing is
Rudhi, Rudhi
means well known, everybody
knows about it, you see
somebody asks
at night
so many thousands
of stars are there
and says, Dad
what is the moon?
where is the moon?
then you point out and say
do you see so many
lights there? yes yes
I see many lights, thousands of lights
and you see
what is the brightest
light coming from?
oh yes yes, that is
called the moon
and this is called Rudhi
Rudhi means everybody will
experience, there are no
what is called, only one
moon, one sun etc
of course
don't go on telling
the Saturn has got 12
moons or whatever it is
don't go on arguing, I am only giving an
example, so far as we know
we see only one moon
so to point out to somebody
who doesn't know what is the moon
especially for a small child
then we have to point out
the brightest light emitting
object that you see
that is called the moon
and day time of course we know the sun
this is called Rudhi
this is how you convey the knowledge
what is the moon
then what is the other one?
Jathi
I have seen a beautiful tree
and you have not
seen, I have to convey
it to you, so I say
what is it? is it an animal?
is it a bird?
is it something else?
then I say no no, you have seen
that tree, that everyday
you are watering there, yes yes
I know what is a tree
well this also
belongs, it is one of
the tree, species
called tree
and then you give further description
it is just like a bush
and you have seen
flowers, this also has flowers
and it is a creeper
and it yields
most fragrant flowers
like the Parijatha, Vriksha
etc.
that is what you go on telling it
this is called Jathi
then supposing
you are talking with somebody
suddenly somebody
happens to see you
and come near you, immediately
introduce, oh this is
my uncle
this is called Sambandha
relationship
then one day you go
to a restaurant
and then
a very tasty
dish is presented to you
and then you taste it
and say oh
what beautiful
cooking, I wonder
who cooked it
then somebody brings that
cook and say this is a cook
what is it here?
Kriya, the person
he is a
cook
normally you know
we add er
for any noun
verb
walk, one who walks
is a walker
one who sits is a sitter
one who runs
is a runner
and one who cooks
I hope you guessed it
he should be called a cooker
but by convention
we call him a cook
so this is called
Kriya
then one day
go and bring that flower
uncle, which flower
you want me to bring
you know that red flower
and there is a
fragrant smell is
coming, bring that flower
this is called Guna
so Rudhi
Jathi
Sambandha
Kriya and Guna
to describe
anything we will
have to employ
these five types of descriptions
but with
regarding to the Atman
he is not Rudhi, nobody
sees him, there is
nobody excepting one God
so there is no Jathi
he is Nishkriya
so he is not associated with action
he is Nirguna
therefore there is no
Guna at all
he is Nishanga
therefore he is not associated with
he is not related to anybody
Brahman is not my uncle, my aunt
or my friend, my enemy
none of these things
how are you going to describe it
only one way is there
and that way
is called
what is it? Shabda Pravaruthi
a realized soul
out of his own experience
he tells it
Swami Vivekananda went and challenged
Ramakrishna, have you seen God?
yes I have seen God
here we should not employ the word seen
have you realized
God? have you become
one with God? that is the correct word
yes I became
one with God, I am God
can you show me?
there is no way to show
I can make you become one
with him, but I cannot
point out to him because
he is not an object to be pointed
he is not an object
to be described through
any one of the five means
in today's class
this is very very important
all Upanishads belong to
this Shabda Pramana
Veda Pramana
Agama Pramana
Aaptavakya Pramana
Shraddhi Pramana, various names
are there
so I will stop
here and then
one of the devotees asked
that what is this dream state
let me very briefly
explain
but I will give elaborate
explanation because the whole
Mandukya Upanishad
Mandukya Karika
is a thorough analysis
of the Jagrat, Swapna
Sushupti, Avasthas
so that we know
we are none of that, but we are beyond that
so what is a dream
first of all, dream is a mental
phenomenon, secondly
I have to tell you
there are four types of dreams are there
but before that I will tell you
what is a dream, during the
day time we have
experiences of
thousands and thousands of
objects whether we notice it or not
if you just
glance at the street
at your room
at your garden
you will see thousands of
things, you may not take notice
of it, but
these impressions are gathered
out of that
some particular type of
experiences for some reason
they impress upon
you and when we
go to bed
the first thing that comes
is this dream state
so what does it do
the mind as it were
gathers all these experiences
and then it
mixes up
so for example, during
the day time you have seen a man
walking, you have seen a
bird flying, but in
dream, in your imagination
you cut off the wings
of the bird and attach
them to the shoulders
of the man and you see
him flying, I myself have
seen many times how I have
been flying and I tell you
it is such a joyous experience
so what is a dream
it is mentally
remixing
his mind, it is called
Sokshma Sharira
Sokshma Sharira, Sthoola Sharira
plus Sokshma Sharira
plus Karuna Sharira
is active
in the waking state
Sokshma Sharira
plus Karuna Sharira
are active during
the dream state
so
the Sokshma Sharira
whatever experiences are there
they could be
todays, they could be
yesterdays, they could be
previous lives or they
could be also future
events, all
these they mix, mostly
it is of the
present experiences, not even
10 days experience but
mostly it is todays
experiences, so we
go on mixing them
up and replaying
them with
our own dream time
dream space and
dream causation for
whatever reason, simply
I will give a funny example
a man fancies a woman
and then he
sees her walking by
is very much
attracted to her
and then she never even looked at him
and in the dream state
he is confronting her
and she is smiling
she is talking or she is
slapping him, whatever it is
these are all the imaginations
so
the mind that gathers
all the impressions
from the waking state
and selectively
mixes them up
this is what we call in
brief a dream state
and I promise to tell you
there are 4 types of
dreams are there
first type of dream is
what I described now
repetition of whatever
we have seen during the day time
either today or yesterday
or whatever it is
even projecting, bringing the
future into the present
time, but these are all
imaginations of the mind
and there is nothing to be gained
etc. there is a lot to
be told about dreams
we can create karma in dreams
we can exhaust karma
in the dreams, we can
increase our vasanas
from the dream, that's why people
go on moaning in the
form of singing dream girl, dream
boy etc.
so this is the first type of
dream, very ordinary things
most of the time
and occasionally
we experience
deep seated
past life experiences
and when I say past
life, it could be many
many lives, thousands of lives
there was a chap
called Edgar Cayce
and he was well known
to diagnose people
even 5000 years back what they did
and he helped people
whether he was
right or wrong, I am not saying
but Hindus definitely believe in many
churasi,
lak, janam, we say that
those impressions have not disappeared
they have all been
zipped and kept in the
karana sharira
in the form of samskaras
and it is those samskaras
which produce our
present body, present mind
present social status
our sukha, our dukkha etc
so what am I talking
second type, sometimes
we experience something
very weird, people whom we
never met, we might have met
them in the past lives
with the second type of dream
third type of dream is
I myself have experienced quite a number
of times, future events
of course we do not
know whether it is future
event or not, until really
that event takes place
then we recollect what we have
dreamt, oh this was
what exactly
I had dreamt so
many days back, so many months
back, even so many years
back, what is the third
type of dream, foretelling
of the future
and
several examples are also
there from the life of
Sri Ram, Krishna etc
I will talk about it
when the appropriate time comes
then there is a
blessed fourth type of
dream where
our ishta devata
gods, goddesses
sages
they can appear in our dreams
and then they can
hold conversation with them
we can get their blessings
even we can get physical
objects from them
in my next class
I will give a few examples of them
and if any devotee
honestly prays
his mind is
full of rationality
I am not having
devotion, I am not
worthy, this deep
unconscious thought prevents
us from
accepting vision in the
jagrat avastha
but in dream time
out of God's grace
this type of irrational
thinking is removed
and God appears
blesses us and we
are blessed if we can
have this kind of dreams
that's why Sri Ram Krishna used to say
if you have seen a sadhu
even in your dream
you are really a very
blessed person like that
so these are the four types of dreams
I hope I have been
able to expound to some
extent but mostly
as I said it is only ordinary
things. I will stop here.

[[Category:Mandukya Karika]]