Mandukya Karika Lecture 062 on 3 August 2022

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananem Sharadam Devem Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Shritva Pranamami Mohor Moho Om Bhadram Kanne Vishrunuyama Devaha Bhadram Pashyam Akshavirya Jatraha Sthirai Rangaiye Stushtu Vagum Sastanu Bhehe Vyashema Devahe Tanyadayo Swasthina Indro Vriddha Shravaha Swasthina Bhusha Vishra Vedaha Swasthina Starksho Arishta Nimihe Swasthino Brihaspati Radhathato Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hari Om Om O Gods, may we always hear with our ears what is auspicious. O worshipful ones, may we with our eyes always see what is auspicious. May we live our allotted life hale and hearty, offering our praises unto Thee. May Indra of ancient fame bestow auspiciousness on all of us. May the all-nourishing potion be propitious to all of us. May Garuda, the destroyer of evil, be well disposed towards all of us. May Brihaspati ensure our welfare. Om Peace Peace Peace be unto all. In our last class, we have completed up to Mantra 7, also with relevant 19 Gauda Pada Karikas and we also have taken the most important points from the Shankara Bhashya and tried to put it in an easily understandable language. So what did we see? We have seen that in the first mantra, Omkara is everything and everything is Brahman. Whatever was, is and will be only Brahman. The second mantra even more directly tells us So'em Atma Brahma, that is, the Atman is Brahman. The idea is Brahman is the goal, is the object we have to attain and his best name is Omkara. Why? How? Because Omkara is a syllable. A syllable is one which is complete with pronunciation. This monosyllable Om contains three letters A, O and Makara and one called Amatra, invisible, but which is the real substratum of this. So every alphabet which comes from the mouth as a sound starts with A and ends with M. Therefore, every object is given a particular name. Our name falls within the Sanskrit alphabet, the most extensive alphabet that we know and every object in this world that was, is and will be can be fit within this alphabet. That is why A, O and M is the complete syllable which is the best representation of every name. So it is the Abhidhana, name of Atman who is the Abhidheya, the object. Object is Brahman, Turiyam, Atman. The name is Om. That means this is the best symbol of Om, but you can use any word to mean Brahman because all are comprised within A, O and M, which is Om. Therefore, if the idea is okay, then any name is absolutely fine. Suppose somebody, for example, calls in his language God Brahman as a dog, but he means Brahman. That's absolutely fine. So this is an animal. How can we give God the name of an animal? It is very peculiar really because Hindus worship dogs and not only that. Everybody who visits Varanasi, he has to visit Kalabhairava temple. Kalabhairava is in the form of a dog worshipped and then cows are worshipped. Elephants are associated with Ganesha. Owls are associated with Lakshmi and swans are associated with Saraswati. Rats are associated again with Ganesha. Bulls are identified with Shiva. Garuda, his guides are associated with Vishnu. So nothing is unsacred, non-sacred. Everything is teeming with consciousness, vibrating with consciousness. Therefore, any name will be fine so long as that name brings to that particular person some idea about God. That is the idea. So first mantra, Omkara is the best name and Omkara is Brahman. Brahman is everything and you are Brahman. That is the essence of any Upanishad. Tat tvam asi. Thou art that. Now, until the seventh mantra, this Atman, for the ease of comprehension, has been divided into four quarters. Four Padas, Atman. As what? As the waking state, dream state and then the deep sleep state. Jagrat, Swapna, Sushupti. Third mantra to sixth mantra. Third, fourth, fifth, sixth, four mantras. Third is describing the waking state. Fourth describes the dream state. Fifth describes the deep sleep state from the individual point of view. And the sixth mantra describes the same deep sleep from the Ishwara's point of view. With that, the three are over. But then, fourth. Fourth is not. This is one separate from second, third, fourth. That is not the idea. Fourth is the substratum. The ground without which, that which is built upon the substratum cannot survive. Just as a snake cannot survive without the rope. So, in the seventh mantra, it has to be described. Brahman described with Upadhi, limitation. As Vishwa, as Taiyasa, as Prajna is okay. But Brahman cannot, without Upadhis, you can't call Brahman as Vishwa, Taiyasa or Prajna. Then, if there are two persons, then you have to separate them to distinguish them, one from the other. Since Brahman is only one, you cannot describe through Shabda Pravaruti. Five methods of conveying somebody, some object to somebody else. Brahman is not a species. Brahman is not an active person. Brahman is not a relative. Brahman is not describable as having some guna, colour. So, Kriya, Guna, Sambandha, Jati, Rudhi, none of these will work. Then how to describe? The only methodology is by saying it is not this, not this. That's what has been done in the 7th Mantra. So, we have to take a particular note. The Upanishad starts in the 1st Mantra with a description of Omkara Vichara. And that should have continued at least from 3rd Mantra onwards. But, 2nd Mantra is started with Atma Vichara. And Atman, for the sake of teaching, is slowly. Atman, in a particular state, is Vishwa. In a subtle state, he is Taijasa. Even beyond gross and subtle, causal state, he is Prajna. But, really speaking, Brahman is not limited by any of these things. And that has been described as the Chaturthapada. 4th quarter is not a 4th quarter. That's why earlier, Shankaracharya has made it clear in his Bhashya. So, Karsha Pannavat, like a rupee coin. It contains foreignness, it contains itiness, it contains fellowness. At the same time, it is far beyond 4, 8 and 12. So, Turiyam or Atman, Brahman, it comprises Vishwa, Taijasa, Prajna. But, it exceeds far beyond these three, which is really indescribable. Because it is unlimited, it is one. Therefore, negative language has been used until the 7th mantra. From 8th to 11th mantra, this Mandukya Upanishad has got 12 mantras. From 8th to 11th mantra, Upasana is started. So, what is this Upasana? That is, now equate the four letters of the Omkara with the four Padas of the Atma, purely for the sake of Upasana. How did this Upanishad achieve this? First, it says that Omkara has got four syllables, continual, three are audible, fourth is inaudible. That's why it is called by two names. What is called by two names? The fourth part of the syllable Om. We know A, we know U, we know MA, but there is Artha Matra or Amatra. It cannot be described as Akara, Ukara or Makara. It falls outside these three. It falls outside the alphabet. Therefore, a hint is given. It is called Artha Matra. Ramakrishna gives a beautiful way. When you strike a gong, Om slowly the sound tapers, merges in silence and that slowly tapering, that is called Amatra or Artha Matra. First Artha Matra, then Amatra. It is not inexperiencable, which they call, that Yogis here only, this Anahata Dhwani. That is called Anahata Dhwani. And that comprises that invisible, inexperiencable, indescribable Amatra or Chetohu Matra, fourth Matra. It is only for our understanding, it is not a fourth Matra. Like Brahman containing Vishwa, Thaisa and Pragnya, this Amatra contains Akara, Ukara, Makara. This Amatra is the very ground, Samanya Shabda. It cannot be heard by anybody, excepting by Yogis. But when it manifests in a grosser way, as Akara first, then Ukara next and Makara last. So, four. Just like Turiyam is the ground upon which Vishwa, Thaisa and Pragnya can experience waking, dream as well as dreamless state. Now, as I said, Atman has been described as four Padas. The fourth Pada is the real one. The description of the three as Vishwa, Thaisa and Pragnya is not to say that Atman is these three, but because we experience them. Okay, when you experience limited way and think you are limited Brahman as waking state as the limitation, you are called Vishwa. And when you identify yourself with Brahman in a subtle way, without identifying with full Brahman, you are called Thaisa. When you experience yourself as the causal form, you are Brahman, but with the limitation of causal cause, then you are called Pragnya or Ishwara. But Ishwara is also a limited idea called Brahmakaravritti. But if you want to be completely yourself, you will have to completely merge as three rivers, when they reach the ocean, completely merge themselves and thereafter they are called only ocean, not Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati. That is the goal realization. So it has been described in the seventh mantra, but how to realize it? How to think? When we are in the waking state, I am Brahman. How to think I am Brahman in my dream state? How to think I am Brahman in the deep sleep state? This practice, how can I identify waking state and the waker as Brahman? The dream state and the dreamer also as Brahman. The sleeper and the sleeping state also as Brahman. For that we have to practice Upasana. How do we do it? Normally when we do worship in the temples, that is what we do. First we see the image. Image representing Ramakrishna. But image is not Ramakrishna. But then slowly the pujari, the worshipper, is supposed to invoke his own prana and put it in the image with the name Ramakrishna. What is he doing? He says, Me, I am a limited man. I am ignorant man. I am a powerless, helpless man. But I merge my prana and bring back this image. That means previously I thought I am XYZ. Now through this process of Jeevan Yasa, I consider myself as Krishna, Rama, Ramakrishna, Kali, etc. In the ritualistic process of worship, this is what is called Jeevan Yasa. Jeevan Yasa means identifying oneself with the Divine Lord, Divine Mother. I am Thou. Aham Brahmasmi in the extreme Vedantic language. I am Thou. And for that my pranas are merged in your prana. My mind is merged in your mind. My hand is merged in your hand. That means my hand is your hand. My legs are your legs. My body parts are your body parts. My heart is your heart. My Ahamkara is your Ahamkara. I do not exist. Only you exist. This is called Jeevan Yasa. And by the way, this Sanyasa has come from this word. Sanyasa means to identify the Divine Lord, everything with the Divine Lord. When I succeed completely, permanently, that is called Sanyasa. And external Sanyasa is only so that we can attain to that state. And some people after attainment, they take Sanyasa to keep up the tradition. Such people are called Vidvat Sanyasins. But those who have faith in that state and struggling their sincere most, they are called Vividhesha Sanyasins. They take Sanyasa for the sake of achieving. For example, Sri Ramakrishna had taken Sanyasa long after he attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi, not through Totapuri, much earlier. Yajnavalkya, long before he took Sanyasa, had attained to that state of Brahman. That's why he was capable of teaching everybody who enquired, whether it was Gargi or the other Brahmanas. He was able to tell them, even though most of them did not understand, because he had already experienced it. He was not talking like a Pandit. He was talking like Sri Ramakrishna but he wanted to keep up or God wanted him to stand as a shining Sanyasi, as an ideal. So that Prerayapana came, inspiration came to him from God directly, take Sanyasa, so that seeing you, other people will become courageous and they also are likely to follow you. So this is the process. Upasana we have to do. What is Upasana? By thinking continuously, like a worm, that is bitten by a wasp, slowly by meditating upon that wasp, becomes that wasp. This is not strictly true, but as an example that is all right. Brahmara Keetakavat. Keetaka means a worm, an insect. Brahmara had strung him and slowly it becomes Brahmara. The fact was that it becomes food for the young ones of the Brahmara and then of course when the young ones eat, what does this Keetaka become? Only the Brahmara because you are what you eat. If you eat Idli, Idli becomes you. If you eat me, sweet, sweet becomes you. That is the idea. So a person who goes on thinking, thinking means less and less of oneself, more and more of God. This is called Upasana, approaching nearer and nearer and finally like that simile in the Mundaka Upanishad, a lower bird gradually hopping to higher and higher branches at last it finds this is me, this is my real image. I thought it was a separate bird. Now I know it is my own reflection. So whose reflection? We have to understand. The lower bird is the reflection of the higher bird. This reflection finally merges and when does it merge? When the mind is broken. What is the mind? Mirror. If there is no mirror, there would be no reflection. So the reflection as if resolved back into the person standing in front of it. This is called Upasana and that is what we do. When we take Saligrama, a small piece of rounded stone and then try to invoke the Lord. The Lord who is everywhere. Lord who is in that piece of stone, outside the piece of stone, in me, in you, in everybody. Sarvatra. Similarly, Shivalinga, Panalinga, we try to invoke the Lord Shiva there. Similarly, in water, we invoke Mother Ganga. Like that we do it. This is called Upasana, means through sincere, deep, concentrated thought. Slowly, the Sadhaka approaches nearer and nearer. I gave this example that when a dry piece of wood is brought nearer and nearer and nearer, first it catches fire, then slowly starts burning. That means it has become fire and after some time you cannot distinguish what is the original fire and what is the burning fire. Now, that piece of wood itself becomes. And by the way, that is the meaning of when a disciple approaches a Guru, Samitpanayaha, as we are seeing in the Prashna Upanishad. Samit means firewood. What does it mean? One meaning that is given is the disciple slowly has to get rid of his Ahamkara and merge himself in the Guru. Why Guru? Why not Brahman? Because a Guru is supposed to be a Brahmavit and a Brahmavit is supposed to be Brahman. Brahmavit, Brahma, Eva, Bhavati. So, this is the correct idea. You see, supposing you have knowledge of a table and you will not become a table. So, any object in this world you can obtain knowledge of it but you remain separate. That object remains separate. But Brahman is not like that because Brahman, the limited consciousness, completely merging itself in unlimited consciousness like water becoming one with any other drop of water. That is the idea we have to understand. The purpose of Upasana. Upa means near. Asana means slowly approaching God, here in the sense God, and becoming one with it through meditation. Why have I brought up this subject? Because from the mantra 8th to mantra 11th of this Mandukya Upanishad this process is being analysed. So, how many parts of the Atman are there? What is called waking state, dream state, dreamless state and Turiyam. And how many syllables are there in Ankara, Akara, Okara, Makara and what we call Amatra. When we focus upon the Amatra, Amatra is equated with Turiya. But we cannot straight away go there. We have to start with Jagrat and then progress into dream and then still progress into Sushupti and then only we can go. But here we are not approaching these three because normally, naturally the waker becomes a dreamer, dreamer becomes a sleeper, sleeper again wakes up as a waker. This is normally going on. But here deliberately I am thinking deeply so I have become the dreamer. That means what happens? When I am experiencing the waking state, I don't identify with anything. I become just a witness, pure witness. This body, this mind, this personality called this person XYZ is interacting with the other object whether it is living or non-living. And this is continuing into the second stage, the witness. Okay. Until now I had witnessed waking. Now I am witnessing the dream. Then I am witnessing the Sushupti. I am always witnessing. I am not identifying myself with those states. That is a strict condition. If I identify, I become bound. If I witness, I become free. And this is the process of Upasana. So it is a two-fold progress. As Shri Ramakrishna puts it so nicely, so meaningfully, as a man progresses towards the East, you don't need to try to distance yourself from the West. Every step we take towards the East, automatically we are one step further from the West. And incidentally, very interestingly, a monk complained to Swami Shivanandaji Maharaj, I have become a monk many years back. Nearly 30-40 years have passed. I do not think I am making any progress. He expressed his despair. Mahapurush Maharaj smiled and said, he wanted to pull the monk's legs a little bit and said, Oh, since you have not progressed anything, why don't you go and get married and at least be happy for a short time. Then the monk protested and said, No, no, I do not mean I want to give up Sannyasa life. I am only telling, I wish I had some type of experience. Mahapurush Maharaj became very grave. Then he said, Look here, supposing a man boards a ship and then at some point of time, the ship leaves the seashore and slowly it is progressing towards the other shore, destination. And days and months will pass. Every time the man goes forward, there is endless expanse of water. The destination is not seen at all. If we do that, we are likely to be despairing because, Oh, so many days back, I have boarded this ship. It seems as though I am not progressing. But Mahapurush Maharaj says then, Go back and look at the shore that you have left. Every single minute, you are going further away from that. That means what? Even though you do not see much progress, but every millisecond, if of course the ship is really travelling, not stuck in a sand beach, that means if we go on sincerely practising our spiritual disciplines, even if the progress does not seem to be much, we are progressing. In fact, we may be progressing tremendously without our cognizance of it. I will give you an example. Supposing somebody has a car and that person, this car is tied up with 100 chains, iron chains, locked up and this person needed a car urgently. If he sits and starts the car, he is not going to travel anywhere because the car will not move. Then he understands. Then he gets down and then unlocks a chain, throws it away, sits again. Will the car start? No. Then 10 chains gone, 50 chains gone, 90 chains gone. Will the car start? No. 99 chains gone. Will the car start? No. Until the last chain is removed, there is no likelihood, even in Yogas, for that car to start. But when he started unlocking the first chain and the 50th chain and the 99th chain and the 100th chain, is there no progress? Cutting down every chain that is binding us is a tremendous progress. But we do not see forward that progress because until we cut down all the bonds, we are not likely to see. After that, experience after experience will come. Many times, we may not be able to cut the bonds. What is our hope? The grace of God. That is what every real devotee believes. I may be limited. My effort may be very feeble. But thou art loving mother and father and you can understand. Even when you understand, when I understand that I am defective, I am arrogant, I am egotistic, I have kama, krodha, lobha, moha, madha, matsarya, I know. And I am not able to deal with them, get rid of them. But maybe I am even indulging in them. But my prayer from the bottom of my heart, O Lord, I really want to get rid of them. So I solicit your grace and the Divine Lord, Shashvat Chantim Nigachyate Kshipram Bhavate Dharmatma This is the faith with which a devotee progresses in life. However defective we are, we know we are defective. But in the eyes of our loving Divine Mother, that's no defect at all. Only one condition she expects from us that we should be sincere. And sincerity is expressed in the form of continuous effort even if we fail to progress even one millimeter. That's an important point we have to keep in mind. So the Upasana process is this. Take the four letters of the Omkara and meditate upon each letter of the Omkara equating it with one one pada, quarter of the Atma. How does it work? So Akara is the first letter of the syllable. Akara should be equated with Vishwa or Jagrad Avastham. Ukara should be equated with the second which is called Swapna Avastham. And Makara is to be equated with Prajna or the Sushupti Avastham. Go on equating them. Whenever you say A, say it is Jagrad Avastham. Whenever you say Ma, U, then it is dream state, Swapna Avastham. You are Taiyasa. And whenever you say Ma, it is Sushupti Avastham. Previously, one after the other, without any relationship, one is changing into the other. Now deliberately, consciously, I merge Akara in Ukara, Ukara in Makara. And when I try to merge Akara into Ukara, I am merging Vishwa into Taiyasa, Jagrad into Swapna. And when I try to merge Ukara into Makara, I am consciously merging both Vishwa and Taiyasa into Prajna. And when I remember and meditate on the Amatra, then I am trying to merge Vishwa, Taiyasa and Prajna, all the three into its cause. Prajna or Sushupti Avastham is the cause of both Jagrad and Swapna. That is why Sushupti Avastham is called Karana. But Turiyam is considered as the Mahakarana. Causeless, ultimate cause. This is the process of Upasana. Again I am giving illustration. So when I am meditating upon, say Ramakrishna, first thing I tell is, my Sthula Serera is you. That is why three times we do Aachamana. Sipping water, Om Ramakrishna, Om Ramakrishna, Om Ramakrishna, or Om Vishnu, Om Vishnu, Om Vishnu, etc. But the Bhavana, the inner thought is, by first sip, the Sthula Serera is purified. By second sip, uttering the mantra, second sip, my subtle body is purified. By the third sip, my causal body is purified. And what makes these three separate is the impurity called Ajnana. When all the three become pure, we can never separate these three from each other. But it becomes what we call Pratibimba Chaitanya. Pure Pratibimba Chaitanya. Pratibimba, reflected consciousness, Chidabasa. But not Purna Chaitanya. Then the final is, all these three must be merged into that Amatra or Ardhamatra. Better is Amatra, because it is indescribable, which is not a Matra. Amatra means which is not a Matra. It is indescribable. That means Vishwa, Taijasa and Prajna are merged in Turiyam. And Turiyam is Brahman. And you, who is called Jivatma, you, who go on identifying yourself, I am the Prajna, I am the Vishwa, I am the Taijasa and I am the Prajna. Now you say, I am not the Jiva, I am not the Vishwa, I am not the Taijasa, I am not the Prajna, that means I am not the Jiva. If I am not the Jiva, I am, but I am not the Jiva. Then who are you? I am Brahman. I am Atma Brahma. So I hope, I was able to convey in simple way, this is what is going to come, until the eleventh Mantra. And what are the twelve Mantras? Which is the final Mantra in this Mandukya Upanishad? It wraps up the whole thing and says, that you have become, through this process of Upasana, Turiyam and Brahman, Atman and Brahman, Turiyam and Atman and Brahman, have become equated as one. And then you become free. With that, Mandukya Upanishad has accomplished its purpose, at least in the form of teaching. And that is the outline I wanted to give you. So, now we can proceed very quickly. Actually, it is not very difficult. So, this is how we go on. So, just to give you a little more detail, in the first Omkara, the Abhidhana, means name, the sound symbol, name symbol, of the object, not any object, but Brahman is the object, Atman is the object, Turiyam is the object, its name is Omkara. So, this Omkara is the Shabda, or Shabda Artha, the meaning of that Shabda. When you say Rama, it has a meaning. Meaning is what? The moment you utter the word Rama, that person whose name is Rama, who is called by name Rama, immediately the whole person flashes in your mind. If he is just in front of you, you will remember his name. If you remember the name, the whole idea of that person flashes in your memory, Smriti. And that is what we want to understand here. So, in the first mantra of this Upanishad, what is called Abhidhana has been said, Omkara is everything. In the second, everything is Brahman. So, if Omkara is everything, and Brahman is everything, Omkara must be Brahman. How this Omkara is Brahman, how this understanding should be brought about, is accomplished through this Upasana system. And if you have understood this much, we have understood, so we can go straight to this one. And one more point, I have already given the example. Whenever we do Upasana, two things are involved. Upasya and Alambana. Upasya means the object with which we would wish to become completely identified and become merged. But for that, an instrument is needed. A support is needed. That support is called Alambanam. Upasya is the goal. Alambanam is the path. Simple example, Shiva Linga is the Alambanam support. Because it helps us, as soon as you see Shiva Linga, you are reminded of Shiva. As soon as you see Sri Ramakrishna's photo, you are reminded of Sri Ramakrishna. When you see the footprints of Holy Mother, you are reminded of the Holy Mother Herself. So in this example, the Shiva Linga reminds us of Shiva. The Ramakrishna photo reminds us of Ramakrishna. The footprints of Holy Mother, they are just footprints, you know. But they remind you of the entire Holy Mother. When was She born? Where She was born? What happened to Her life? What events took place in Her life? And how you read Her biography? How you felt your emotions rising? How wholehearted prayer came to Her lotus feet? Oh Mother, I am Your child. Look upon Me. The entire thing will come back again, and again, and again. So, I am repeating again. Akara is the first support with which we identify Jagradavastha and also the Atman as limited by this Jagradavastha called Vishwa. Who is Vishwa? Brahman, limited by Jagradavastha, is called Vishwa. Similarly, Brahman, limited by Swapnavastha, is called Taiyasa. So the Akara and then the Ditiya Pada, Swapnavastha. First, Akara is the support with the Akara. Whenever you utter O, immediately you remember your identity with the Swapnavastha and both of you immediately remember I am the Jeevatma, I am Paramatma in the form of identity with the Swapnavastha called Taiyasa. Similarly, I am the Paramatma, I am the Turiyam, I am Brahman. But because of this Sushupti Avastha, I am considering myself as limited, bound, limitation means binding only, as bound and my name is Prajna. In reality, I have to be completely cut off and become one with my own Self without any limitations. So the support is A, O, Ma. The support is Jagrad, Swapna, Sushupti. But the ultimate goal is to identify ourselves with that Turiyam. If you have understood this much, then I will go, at least in today, Eighth Mantra and already the meaning is very clear. There is nothing more to understand about it. Eighth Mantra goes like this, Soya Matma Adhyaksharam Om Karo Adhimatram Pada Matrah Matrashya Pada Akara Ukara Om Akara Adhi The same Atman which has been described above where in the Second Mantra as having four quarters, Soya Matma is again called by the name Om from the viewpoint of the Nama name, Aksharam and this Om has got just as Atman has got four quarters, Om has got also four letters A, O, Ma and Amatra or Artha Matra. Then again, same thing is repeated. The Om with parts means A, O, Ma and Om is viewed from the standpoint of sounds, letters, Matra. So the quarters of the Atman are none other than the letters of the Omkara and the letters that is A, O, Ma and Om of the Omkara are nothing but the Jagrat, Swapna, Sushupti and Turiya Vastha of the Turiyam. So the letters here are A, O, Ma and in each of the following Mantras why, how with the support of A we can think of the waking state. What is the similarity between A and the waking state and by identifying them how it is helping me like a pole vault. The pole vault, you know pole you take this Upasana is like that with the help of this A, O and Ma we just like pole vaulter runs with the pole and that pole helps this person get to the above the level of the net and then you give up the whole thing throw it down and you jump on the other side. The purpose of Upasana is to take us to the highest jump of point and that is the real purpose. So, Saha, I am Atma. Saha means that Atman which has been described in the second Mantra of the Mandukya and which now I am saying I am I am the Atma I am the Jiva Atma and there is no difference between the Omkara and myself. So, when I say Om completely I am Paramatma but when I divide Omkara into four and when I say A then I am Vishwa when I say U I am Taijasa when I say Ma I am called Prajna but gradually when I learn that I am not merely Akara, Ukara or Makara I am Omkara then the fourth Ardhamatra, Aramatra is glimpsed at only then only when we can unify all these three through deep Upasana then only we will be simply you can't say now I say A after 5 minutes I say U after 5 minutes I say Ma and after 5 minutes I will be able to say that Ardhamatra that is not possible. The purpose of Upasana is to take us to that highest point or let me put it this way with the help of a small pole you learn how to jump 2 feet with the help of a longer pole you learn to jump 5 feet with the help of the highest pole you are able to jump 7 or 8 feet but gradually first we have to take that how can I reach the height of 2 feet then 5 feet then only finally 8 feet and after repeated this one then I will be able to separate this pole from myself and jump on the other side and then I find that there is I have achieved the victory I have achieved union with the Paramatma there is no I and Paramatma is the topic of teaching Omkara Adhimatra now the emphasis is on Omkara in what way emphasis Akara Ukara Makara and then Padaha Atmanah Padaha Omkara Matraha the four quarters of the Atman are nothing but the four letters of the Omkara and vice versa the four letters Omkarascha Matrascha Padaha the four letters of the Omkara are none other than the four states of the Atman what is the fourth Amatra what is the fourth part Turiyam so that Amatra or Arthamatra is equated with Turiyam now we are going to Akara Ukara Omkara with the three Akshara Matra about which we will see in our next class actually it should be clear to you, this is a section dealing with Upasana the Upasana is take the help of Akara Ukara Makara and identify them with Vishwa, Tajasa and Prajna and when we succeed in course of time we will also glimpse Amatra we will also glimpse Turiyam at the same time, simultaneously that is the purpose Om Jananim Shardam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padmet Ayo Saritva Pranamami Mohar Moho May Sai Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti Ramakrishna