Mandukya Karika Lecture 135 on 27-December-2023

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

We are studying Karikas 51 onwards of the 4th chapter of the Mandukya Upanishad called Alatha Shanti Prakrana. Gaudapada wants to drive into us that there is no creation at all. This is called Ajati Vada. But we all think that there is creation, just as nobody will deny. "Who are your parents?" "So and so." "So you are born of those parents." "Yes." "And your parents are born of their parents." This is called Karana Karya Vada—the firm belief that everything we experience in this world is related to cause and effect. We are so firmly convinced that our whole life is founded upon this cause-and-effect relationship.

So I am a student. Thus, I have to study well. I am a married person. Therefore, I have to find a job, earn money, look after my family, beget children, continue the lineage, and educate my children. Why? Because I am the cause. If I have a body, health problems can arise, or I want to be healthier than before. Therefore, I have to do a lot of exercise. So, Karya, Karana Karya. We are a thousand times, a billion times convinced of this. What is the whole of Samsara? Nothing but the firm belief that this Samsara is none other than Karana Karya Sambandha—relationship between cause and effect.

What does Gaudapada want to prove? He wants to prove there is no creation at all. So, creation is equivalent to Karana Karya Vada. Samsara is nothing but Karana Karya Vada. What do you want to do? "I want to attain Moksha." That is what we all say, by God's grace. "I want to attain Moksha." Very, very profound, very interesting also.

So you ask an Advaitin, "What do you want?" "I want to know that I am Brahman." What happens? Since there is only one, and that is Brahman, and that is unborn and causeless, our devotees must note down something very profound. Never forget if something is born of something. For example, curd is the result of milk, but milk itself is not an uncaused cause. So that which has no cause cannot produce an effect. That is the point. A causeless something cannot produce anything, but if something is capable of producing an effect, then that from which the effect comes is called the cause, and that itself, if probed, has a cause.

So this chain of causal relationships, cause and effect, cause and effect, is like a circle with no beginning point. Any point is a beginning point. Any point is an end point. That is why it is called Brahma Chakra. But Brahman is one, and it is unborn. It is eternal, unchanging.

Another argument is that if the cause becomes the effect, there must be a reason why the cause has suddenly become something else. The cause can never be the effect, and the effect can never be the cause. There will be a subtle difference. Consider the example of a pot and clay, no matter how much Advaitic reasoning you apply. If you go to a potter in need of a pot and ask for a big pot, he will give you a big lump of clay, which you will not accept. You want clay, but in a particular shape, size, and form, with a specific name, and yet it is not separate, and yet it is separate. The real nature of a pot is nothing but clay, but it is not simply clay; some change has taken place. So there is a difference between cause and effect. The mother is the cause, and the baby is the effect. They are two separate objects, as it were, and that is what creates all illusion.

What are we driving at? This theory of cause and effect is nothing but Samsara. When we attain Moksha, we go beyond, transcend beyond cause and effect because there is only one, and if there is one, there cannot be that relationship. Any relationship must have two separate objects but of the same reality. This is a very important point. A magical seed and a real mango tree do not have any causal relationship. A magical seed, a mango seed, will produce only a magical mango tree and magical fruit. So the magician may give you very ripe, beautiful Banginapalli mangoes or Alphonso mangoes, but if you are hungry, even 0.00001% of your hunger will not go away. Why? Because your hunger is real, but the mangoes are magical. There is no relationship between these two.

Relationships must fulfil certain conditions. First of all, they should belong to the same order of reality. In your dream, winning a lottery ticket, you will not see the amount you won in your dream added to your waking state bank balance. It will never happen, and vice versa. So the whole Samsara is nothing but that. Let me explain because all the verses that follow, many, many verses, are only an explanation by Gaudapada to drill into us the idea that this idea of cause and effect is the cause of bondage. If we want to get out of bondage, if we want to get out of Samsara, we have to understand that there is no birth, and there would be no death also. There is no cause; there is no effect also. Until we understand that, we will be stuck in this Samsara Sagara.

Gaudapada uses the analogy of an Alatha or firebrand to illustrate the nature of causality and the illusory aspects of the world. When the burning tip of the firebrand is steady and unmoving, no forms are perceived, indicating the absence of a causal relationship. However, when the tip is set in motion, various shapes like circles, triangles, squares, and even human forms can be created.

A more relatable comparison is drawn to a magician's power of magic. A magician can seemingly create living or non-living entities at will, leaving the audience wonderstruck. Despite the lack of an apparent cause-and-effect relationship, the magician requires certain implements like a hat or a rod to perform the magic.

Gaudapada prompts reflection on Samsara Vandana, questioning whether individuals genuinely recognize and want to escape from the cycle of samsara. He highlights a common human tendency to pursue material desires such as wealth, a long life, enjoyment, and the triumph over enemies. Gaudapada humorously shares a story about an old woman who, unable to lift a heavy bundle of firewood, calls upon death to help her, emphasizing how people are more inclined to seek worldly comforts than liberation.

The text delves into the cause-and-effect mindset prevalent in everyday life. Gaudapada points out that people often think in terms of cause and effect, such as studying for a good job, exercising for better health, or following medical instructions for a longer life. However, he challenges this conventional thinking by referring to the Alatha example. Forms generated by the moving firebrand neither come from within the incense stick nor from outside. Gaudapada emphasizes the illusory nature of cause and effect, suggesting that the perceived forms have never truly originated or entered into the incense stick. This perspective aligns with the overarching theme of realizing the unreality of the world and transcending the cycle of birth and death.

But what is it then? We see that they are appearing, but they have not come from anywhere. What are they? This is called illusion, an illusion of movement. Just like that, samsara is like that. So you are never born, you are not growing old, you are not poor, you are not enjoying, you are not lucky, neither unlucky, because all these things, good and evil, dharma, adharma, and this is the most important concept. So the scripture goes on shouting, "You do dharmakarma, you will get punyam. Punyam produces sukham, and you do papam, and you will have to suffer." The whole of Hinduism seems to be based upon this karma siddhanta. It's a very important part of Hinduism, Hinduism. But really speaking, Hinduism, as Gaudapada is explaining here, doesn't talk about this karma siddhanta at all. It says, "You are not born; therefore, who is there to do karma? And who is there to experience the karma phala?" But that wisdom comes only later on. Until that time, you do good karma, and you seem to be a very happy person. Later on, you will find out if you are intelligent enough. Sooner or later, you will be intelligent, that the happiness that you are trying to get is from within yourself. It is not coming from outside. So long as we are ignorant, we think it is coming from outside.

So, Karikas, verses 51 and 52. Where does this experience of karya-karana really spring from? That is called maya. Maya is nothing but giving the false notion that the whole universe is nothing but karanakarya bhava. Where has it come from? It has not come from anywhere. So when you are frightened of a snake in semi-darkness, and then you are convinced previously it was somewhere, somehow it has crawled into this space. So, karanakarya. But when light is brought up, you don't see any snake. What do we see? Only the rope. All the time, the rope alone was there. Now, what is the point? The point is that we don't inquire where the snake has come from. Where has it gone? Has it come from the rope? If it has come from the rope, it must go back into the rope. But if it has come from elsewhere, it has to go elsewhere. But through an earlier example, simile, Gaudapada established that all the forms we see are because of the movement of the firebrand. As if there is a square, a circle, a triangle, a man, a woman, a dog, an elephant, etc., etc., etc. Really, they are only illusions in our brain. So, where have they come from? From our brain. And where have they gone back? Into our brain. So, when the brain is functioning, that is a good sign because at least the brain is functioning. But when we are in deep sleep, what happens? You don't see anything. Karya-karanavada completely disappears. We are never even there to question where we are born, etc.

So, for that purpose, what is the simile between the firebrand? The firebrand is comparable to consciousness, Shuddha Chaitanyam. And then this Shuddha Chaitanyam feels as if it is moving. For that, I have to introduce to you another very, very important idea. Earlier, the idea given by Gaudapada was what? Somebody takes a burning stick and moves it.

But to make the point clearer, I will provide this illustration. So, let the burning tip be absolutely steady, and you move round and round. After some time, you start seeing the firebrand also moving in different ways, dependent upon your movement, our movement, my movement. So, really, that is not moving. But it is, in this case, our mind that is moving. I hope you catch the point. So, this is much more appropriate because Vijnanam. Here, Vijnanam means pure consciousness. So, it seems to be moving. Pure consciousness seems to be moving. Does it move? It cannot move. Why? Your consciousness is infinite. And that which is infinite, where is it going to move? Only a limited object, something limited, can move to some other space. When it is Ananta, where can Ananta move? It cannot move.

But if you go round and round a tree, after some time, it looks as if the whole world is going round you instead of you thinking, 'I am moving round and round.' A familiar example; I hope some bells are ringing when you are traveling in a train and go on looking outside. You know what happens? What is the fact? Outside, trees, etc., they are completely unmoving. But you see the train moving. After some time, you see that the train is not moving, but the outside world is moving very fast. Another example given is as if the clouds are moving, but it looks like the moon is moving. And actually, it is the moving clouds that give the illusion that the moon is going. You look steadfastly at the moon.

Now extend that simile to the mind. Because the mind is moving, the Vijnanam, pure consciousness, seems to be moving. So if the mind is moving in a circle, you see a circle. If the mind is moving like a human being, then consciousness assumes the form of a man, a woman, a dog, etc., etc. That is what Gaudapada wants us to understand. Vijnanam here means pure consciousness, Shuddha Chaitanyam, never moves, cannot move. But when we are looking at that consciousness through the help of the mind, the mind is always moving. There is no question of the mind being steadfast. Is it moving in deep sleep? Yes, it is moving because you are experiencing it, and whatever you are experiencing is nothing but a moving object. So this is what he wants to say.

Giving the example of the firebrand, just as the firebrand never moves, it can be in different spots in space, but it is not really moving. Movement is an illusion in our brains. Similarly, Vijnana never moves. There is no, it is just an abhasa. So, therefore, this so-called movement of consciousness as man, woman, the entire world, really it is just like the various forms like square, triangle, circle of the firebrand. Really, they are not there. So, therefore, they have not come out of pure consciousness. They are not going back, and besides pure consciousness, there is nothing else. Therefore, they are not coming from outside. This is the simile we have to understand. That is what he clarifies. All these, the whole samsara, the whole world, Vijnanat na nirgataha. All the objects that we see, they are not coming from pure consciousness.

Why? He gives a peculiar reason. It requires a little bit of deep thinking because this world is not a substance. No, it is not a substance. So how? And you see, any substance, if you burn it, must leave some remnants if it is real. For example, you burn a piece of paper because the piece of paper is real. When you burn it, ashes will remain. And if you burn the ashes, it will turn into something else. Real substances cannot disappear entirely.

But Maya, with its illusory elements like elephants, rabbits, rose garlands, and anything that comes out of it, leaves no remnants. These are merely movements in our thoughts, and thought cannot function without consciousness. So, as if we have combined the pure consciousness reflected in our pure minds creates this idea of 'I am a man,' 'I am a woman,' and 'this object is in the world,' it is the world, etc. That is what Gaudapada wants to convey. So this world is not a substance, and fine arguments support this. I have gone through them many times, but I will just hint at it.

If the world is real, you cannot get rid of it. If you are one among the worldly objects, you can never attain Moksha. What is Moksha? It is a wrong notion that I am so and so. And if you are really so and so, a person who thinks 'I am Napoleon' has a wrong notion. But a real Napoleon can never be gotten rid of. You burn him, he will still be a real Napoleon. This is what he wants to emphasize because it is not there. 'कार्य कारणता भावा यतः चिन्त्याः सदाइवते.'

So, the question that arises is this philosophical notion, 'कार्य कारणता भावा,' this causal relationship between cause and effect, the whole samsara, as I mentioned earlier, is nothing but thinking in terms of 'कारणा कार्य.' I am born, my parents are the cause, and I am married, and then I have children, I am the cause of the children, and if I take up this job, I earn more money, I can look after my children well. The whole life is nothing but 'कार्य कारणता भावा.' That is called samsara. And if we want to get out of samsara, we have to get out of 'कार्य कारण सम्बन्ध,' and that is called Moksha. This is what Gaudapada wants to convey. The same idea, now we can move forward.

So, if there is a substance, for example, if there is clay, you can create any number of pots. But a magician's hat, is there any substance there? No. It is only the magic you see. The question now, a very interesting question, does the magician see his own magic? Perhaps he does, otherwise, he will not be sure what he is producing. So, he wants to produce an elephant, and he might produce a mouse. If he doesn't see, he cannot understand. But perhaps he sees. The point is, where is that mayasthi? In my brain, in your brain. Where is that rabbit, the white rabbit? In my brain, in your brain. Where are those white pigeons? They are in my brain, in your brain. Otherwise, the magician could feed the whole world. All he needs to do is go to a restaurant, produce any number of pigeons, and sell them very cheaply. So, an uncountable number of pigeons come out of that, and then he can feed the whole world in the course of time.

But is that happening? No. So Gaudapada wants to convey that if something is a real substance, then it can be the cause; it can turn into something else. So, if it is other than a substance, what is other than a substance? This is called a concept. Last time I explained that if you love somebody, that somebody responds with love. If you hate somebody, that somebody responds with hate. So many feelings, likes, dislikes, happiness, unhappiness, etc., etc. This is called Adravya. That is, it is not a percept; it is not a concrete material object. But nevertheless, it is as true, as real as any material object. If it is Traviyam, it falls under Karyakarana. If it is a concept, it falls under Karyakarana.

Traviyatvam anyabhavo va dharmanam na upapadyate. What does it mean? Here, dharmanam means all the jeevas, a peculiar language. Earlier, we encountered dharmaha means jeevas. And mind also, chittam is also, according to man, manaha is pure consciousness. We can get confused there. And very soon, we are going to commit. One substance can be the cause of another substance. But that which is not a substance, that means a concept, can also be the cause of another concept. But all of us, pure or nothing but pure consciousness, cannot possibly be anything like Praviyatva or Adraivyatva. Either some substance or non-substance. That means there is no such division as we are not substance. Because substance means reality. So if the jeeva is real, jeeva will always remain as jeeva. But if it is unreal, only a notion in our mind, when our teacher removes that notion, that is called the removal of the ajnana, then 'I am a jeeva bhava' will always disappear. Something unreal can be gotten rid of. Something real can never be gotten rid of. That is what he wants to tell.

Then the same idea is continued in 54. Here again, as I said earlier, peculiar words. What does it mean? This so-called world, here objects mean all these jeevas and so many objects, everything, living, non-living, with life, without life, everything. These objects are not born out of consciousness, nor is the consciousness born out of objects. Thus, the wise people arrive at the birthlessness of both the cause and the effect. What does Gaudapada want to convey? He wants to say, your pure consciousness, pure consciousness can never become what is called limited because it is ananta. So what is satyam cannot be what is changing. Everything in this world is changing. Brahman can never change. So this world has no relationship because do not forget that beautiful law. So if milk has become curds, curds will have the same properties like the milk. What has changed? Form has changed. Qualities have not changed. So if you make a juice out of mango, the shape of the mango is changing. But is that not what we do when you eat a mango? So you put it in your mouth and you are turning it into juice. But some people put it in a mixie and then go on churning. After some time, the pure juice will come out. Is there any resemblance between that round fruit, concrete fruit, and this state of the juice? It is the exactly same thing in different states. Like water, it could be liquid state, ice, solid state, or steam, any of the three states. So it is a change of state.

But this changefulness is not the characteristic of pure consciousness. It can never change; it has no birth, and it has no death. Everything in this world has a birth, a growth, a change. Brahman is unchanging. Therefore, nothing could come from Brahman, pure consciousness. Why? Because it is infinite. The infinite can never become finite. Brahman is what is called Shashvata, unchanging, eternal. Eternal means unchanging. Unchanging means this whole world is a complete change from birth to death. So sometimes it appears, sometimes it disappears. Brahman can never appear and disappear. It is impossible for it. That means what is it telling? That this so-called waking, dream, and deep sleep are changing all the time. But Brahman cannot have anything to do with these changing objects. That is why Avastha Traya Pilakshana, one of the definitions of pure consciousness, is unlike waking, dream, and dreamless, because these characteristics, when we study them, are changing from one to another, and they are limited. Brahman is unlimited. Pure consciousness is unlimited. That's what we have to understand. This is the meaning of this 54th verse.

Thus, objects are not born out of Brahman or pure consciousness, nor is consciousness born out of objects. Thus, those who are wise—and we will all become wise in the course of time—arrive at the birthlessness of both the cause and effect. That means there is no cause, there is no effect. That state is called Moksha. If we understand this much, the whole thing is a denial that something called cause and effect at all exists. Because the cause becomes the effect, and what does the effect do? It becomes the cause. So what was the cause becomes the effect, and what was the effect becomes a cause. Like a seed becomes the tree, the tree becomes then the seed. So when the seed becomes, the seed is the cause, the tree is the effect. When the tree produces these seeds, which we call fruits, then the tree becomes the cause, and the fruits become the effect. The fruits become, the seeds become the cause. So it is a never-ending circle. And that which is changing cannot be relied upon. That cannot be reality. Brahman is the reality. That is why the very definition is Trikala Abadhitam Vathyam.

And then Gaudapada drills into us another thing. So long, for example, let me first give you a small example. A person is convinced that he is Napoleon. So long as he is possessed by that idea, I am Napoleon, he tries to behave like Napoleon. He wants to command you, massage my feet, carry me to the other place, kill that fellow, like that, he wants to behave. But if you want to change him, stop all this madness, what do you need to do? You have to help him get rid of that identity, I am Napoleon. So whatever idea possesses us, when we remove that idea, our real identity will be there. So ask a person, 'In which state are you now?' 'I am in the waking state.' 'What is your name?' 'Vishwa.' 'What state are you now, if you ask?' 'I am in the dream state.' 'What is your name?' 'Taijasa.' 'What state are you now?' 'I am in the deep sleep state.' 'What is your name now?' 'Pragnya.' And again, he comes back. So you get tired. The first time I asked, you said I am Vishwa. The second time I asked, you said I am Taijasa. The third time I asked, you are changing. Who the hell are you? So, so long as the person is identified with the body-mind, Yagrath Swapna Swa Shukti will never go. Because everything in this samsara, sarathi te samsara, changes; that is why it is called samsara. That is what he wants to say.

Then how to get out of samsara? In simple words, rephrase them. How do I become changeless? Now I am suffering from changefulness. I was happy, suddenly I find myself unhappy. I was healthy, suddenly I find myself unhealthy. I was alive, suddenly I am going to die. Or I am dead. Just imagine like that. But I don't like this changefulness. I want to be in one state. I want to have no death. I want to have no ajnana. I want to have no suffering. I want to be sat. I want to be chit. I want to be ananda swaroopa. What is the way? That is being answered in 55th. Yavat hetu phala aveshaha. So long as one is obsessed with this idea. So here, hetu phala aveshaha. Hetu means cause. Phala means karya. Karana karya aveshaha. Like a person possessed by a ghost. Yavat hetu phala aveshaha. Here, hetu phala aveshaha means the effect of cause and effect. That law prevails. That means another name for samsara is karana karya. Just think like that. So you want to be in that karana karya idea. And you want to get rid of samsara. You want to be changeless. You want to be changeful. I want to be changeless at the same time. Impossible. Yavat hetu phala ubhavaha. Then what is the way out? Kshine hetu phala aveshe. When you are dispossessed of the idea of karana karya. That means changeful samsara. I was born. I am growing up. I am going to die. This is called samsara. Samsara means changefulness. Changefulness means... So why are you going to die? Because I was born. And what happens when you die? I am going to be reborn. So death brings birth. Birth changes into death. This is what we know. Birth changes into death. We know birth changes into death. But we don't know that death again brings... Just like... We have to understand this example. If there is a seed that will transform under appropriate conditions into a plant, a tree. But that very tree produces many many more fruits. So every birth we are increasing so many numbers of our activities. So karmas, therefore karma phalas, therefore the possibility of many many many more births. This is what he wants. Do you want to get out of it? Then you have to get out of samsara. What is samsara? Karana karyavada. That is changefulness. And if you want to get out of changefulness, you have to attain to that state which is called changelessness. And what is the name for it? That is called moksha. That is called liberation. That is called mukti. When your mind succeeds in getting rid, in dispossessing this bhuta called the whole world because that is how you are behaving. If I favour this person that is the cause he will be pleased. How do I please him? By flattering him, currying favour. And then what does he do? That becomes karya. He will grant me money, job, power, prestige, makes me an MLA or MP or a minister. The whole world is nothing but. As soon as we get rid of this idea, this karya karana or karana karyavada asti hetu phala udbhavaha That very moment samsara comes to an end. hetu phala udbhavaha na asti This is cause. So here we are born because of karma phala. And what is the phala? We are experiencing janma that is jati, ayu, bhoga. And we are creating new seeds. Creating new seeds. And they will be fructifying in the next birth. That is called punar janma. If you want to put a stop to it, you remove that idea I am not a karta, I am not a bhokta. This body, mind, I am not. Then what are you? Pure consciousness.

Gaudapada emphasizes that as long as there is an obsession with cause and effect, the cycle of their origination will persist. Subduing this fixation automatically leads to the disappearance of the origination of cause and effect. The mind, steeped in the trap of cause and effect, becomes preoccupied with past or future concerns, creating a constant cycle of desires and efforts to acquire or eliminate things.

In the 56th verse, Gaudapada reiterates the concept of karana karyavada, also known as samsara. This belief in the cause-and-effect relationship, the idea that our actions lead to specific outcomes, is what perpetuates samsara. As long as we are fixated on the notion that our birth, actions, and karma phala determine our experiences, samsara continues.

The resolution lies in overcoming this cause-and-effect relationship. When this erroneous notion is discarded, as experienced in deep sleep to some extent, the cycle of samsara ceases. In deep sleep, the mind is free from the cause-and-effect trap.

Gaudapada explains that samsara, the continuous cycle of birth and death, is a result of our desires and unfulfilled wishes. The belief in past and future lives, the idea of purva janma karma, drives the desire for rebirth to fulfill unmet aspirations. However, realizing our true nature and understanding the non-existence of cause and effect breaks the cycle of samsara.

The feeling of limitation, according to Gaudapada, stems from self-ignorance, not external causes. The constant tampering with the external world to acquire or eliminate things is futile because the world is ever-changing. The expectation of a perfect life in a world governed by the law of cause and effect is unrealistic, as changeable things cannot be made unchanging, and vice versa. Gaudapada's teachings emphasize the profound truth that transcends the illusions of causality and the material world.

Brahman, the ultimate reality, is never born, and the world does not originate from Brahman. Gaudapada draws a parallel to a person dreaming, perceiving the dream world as entirely real until awakening reveals it as mere imagination. Similarly, the cause-and-effect relationship is deemed pure imagination, with "smriti" referring to ignorance. Ignorance leads to the misconception of birth, growth, and death, creating the illusion of one's fate being governed by these factors.

Understanding that one was never born eradicates the notion of undergoing samsara. Birth is intricately linked to the extensions of life—growth, middle age, old age, disease, decay, and death—all stemming from ignorance. Recognizing the unreality of birth removes the entire framework of samsara, as permanence and change are incompatible concepts.

Gaudapada introduces the 57th Karika, emphasizing the unreal nature of the cause-and-effect relationship. If something is genuinely real, it cannot be destroyed, but if it is unreal, there is no need for destruction. Using the analogy of dispelling the illusion of a snake in the dark by bringing light, Gaudapada suggests that understanding the unreality of samsara is the key to liberation. No amount of effort is required to destroy the unreal; one simply needs to awaken from the illusion. This profound concept will be explored further in the next class.