Mandukya Karika Lecture 079 on 30 November 2022

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVYAM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PADAPADMETAYO SRIDHVAHA PRANAMAMI MUHURMUHU OM BADRAM KANNE VISHNU YAMA DEVAHA BADRAM PASHYE MAKSHA VIRYA JATRAHA STIRAI RANGAYE STUSHTU VAGUM SASTANUBHE VYASHEMA DEVAHI TAYYADAYO SWASTHINA INDRO VRIDDHA SHRAVAHA SWASTHINA POSHA VISHWA VEDAHA SWASTHINA STARKSHIVA ARISTA NIMIHE SWASTHINO BRIHA SPATIR DADHATO OM SHANTE SHANTE SHANTE HARE OM OM O Gods, may we always hear with our ears 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 all evil, be well disposed towards all of us. May Brihaspati ensure all our welfare. OM PEACE PEACE PEACE BE UNTO ALL We have entered into the second chapter of the Mandukya Upanishad. Here it is called Mandukya Karika called Vaithatya Prakarna. The chapter proving that accepting Brahman, Atman, everything else is just a mere appearance called Mithya. We have been discussing the fourth shloka of Gaudapada. As the dream objects are unreal in a dream, so also because of that very reason the objects in the waking state are also unreal. But objects in the dream state differ because of their existence inside the body and because of this boundless of space. Just as in the waking state, so also in the dream state the nature of objects remains the same. It is exactly the same. What does it mean? Whenever a person goes into a dream state, he sees things, he experiences things exactly as we experience in the waking state. Absolutely no difference is there. Now Gaudapada wants to prove through certain well-known principles that to think that waking state is real and dream state is unreal, that is absolutely false notion. Just as dream state is unreal, the waking is also unreal. Many of us cherish this feeling and we say this class that is going on today, just now is very real. But if the same class is going on and you dreamt about it yesterday night, then upon waking up, not while we are experiencing the dream state, but upon waking up, say that was all my imagination. Same logic must be applied to waking state. What is that logic? The logic is just as we think that while dreaming, dream is real, we think the waking is real when in the waking state. Similarly, while we are in the dream state, the waking state is thought about exactly the same thing. Do we ever do that really? From the waking point of view, we can analyze the dream as well as the deep sleep. Can we do the same analysis in the dream also? Yes, we do that. I will give a simple example. Suppose I am here in Varanasi and yesterday night I dreamt that I have gone to Bangalore. And then in the dream state, first point, it is not a dream. I do not say it is a dream so long as I am dreaming. I say this is the waking state. Second, how come if someone asks me in the dream that you are supposed to be in Varanasi, Swamiji, when did you come to Bangalore? I said, why? I came 10 days back. In the dream, time does not exist in the sense that we think like this. No, no. Just now I went to sleep. Just now I had the dream. Just now in my dream I have come to Bangalore. No. I say, I have come so many days back. Oh, I did not know about it. Okay. At that stage, if you are attending this class, then you can think, I was supposed to be in Varanasi. How did I come here? All the wonderful logic is given. Why? Don't you remember? You have been planning for months together. Then you bought ticket well in advance and then you came here 10 days back. So where was my body? In Varanasi. Where was my dream body? In Bangalore. So from the dream experience point of view, I am no longer in Varanasi, but I am in Bangalore. Then my stay in Varanasi is absolutely unreal. If at all I remember, I say, oh, I was dreaming that I was in Varanasi. Just think over it. The only difference is in the waking state, the consciousness is more manifest. Therefore, we can analyze all the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep. But in the dream state, this power of analysis is much less reduced. Of course, it is completely nullified in the deep sleep state. But otherwise, things are the same. In this fourth karika, they are called karikas, we can interchange it as a shloka, as a karika. These are all Gaudapada's karikas. And in this second chapter, there are 38 karikas or shlokas are there. In this fourth karika, Gaudapada wants to prove for the next few shlokas, karikas, that our thinking that waking is real, while dream is not real, and by extension, deep sleep is also not real. He wants to prove even the waking state is also exactly of the same value. And for that, he gives certain reasons. And very soon, I will come to those reasons. This is what he says in the fourth karika. So when we are dreaming, we can dream. We have gone to a faraway place. In the waking state, we go to bed in a particular place. And then there are two differences. In the dream, our concept of space and time differ very much. In fact, our experiences, though they are of the same value, but experiences differ. What is it in the dream state? Remember, when we are studying the dream state, we are comparing it with the waking state. While dreaming, we never do this comparison. We take it for granted that as we experience the most normal thing, the dream state is the most normal thing. There is no abnormality. So a person has gone to America, and every dream, according to modern scientists, lasts only for one and a half minutes, two minutes, or even five minutes, or even ten minutes, it doesn't matter. Within ten minutes, we have toured the whole world, and we can go to Mars, to the moon, etc., and come back. So time is required, as well as long distances cannot be travelled in a short time. So not only that, we see mountains, we see oceans, we see huge ships, huge trains. They are all inside the mind. Upon waking up, this is the false understanding, wrong understanding that we have about the dream. So it is not possible within ten minutes to go to Mars and come back, and it is not possible to cherish huge mountains, etc. And where do all these experiences take place? In a particular Nadi, which is the minutest Nadi, which is less than a thousand times, if you break a human hair into a thousand parts, this Nadi, this Naru, is smaller than that. In that Naru, we experience all these dreams. Of course, this is the explanation given by these Vedanta scriptures. So this is what he is telling, that all these different things that we experience, where means in the dream state, but while dreaming, we think they are all real. Exactly in the same way, don't think upon waking up, that waking state, I have got my own concept of time and space, and it is very real in comparison with this state of time and space in the dream state. No. Yatha Tatra, that means just as in the Swapna, so just as we see things in the dream state, how real they are, exactly same reality. What does it mean? Our concept of reality differs. As long as we are in the dream, that is real. The moment we come into another state, it is unreal. Same law, same logic must be applied to the waking state. I will explain this one. So from this 4th verse until the 18th verse, Gaudapada wants to establish that the Jagrat Prapancha, the waking world, waking state of experience, is exactly like the dream world, like the dream state. For that, he is giving introduction in this verse. Just as we experience things in the dream world, the same Mithyatvam, that is a seemingly real experience, should be extended to the waking world, of course by proxy to the deep sleep. That means none of these 3 states are real. But just as one cannot experience a snake without the substratum of the rope, had there been no rope, no snake could ever be experienced by anybody. If there had been no Turiyam, no Brahman, these 3 states could not have been experienced. But these 3 states, comparative to each other, they are all Mithya. Mithya because what is real for a short time, so long as we experience in a particular state, is completely unreal when we enter into the other state. So certain fundamental principles of Advaita Vedanta should be derived from this. And once we understand these fundamental principles, then I can say very well, at least 9 fundamental principles I am going to summarize. So when we understand these 9 fundamental principles, then we can as well understand, with the light of these principles, that anything that we experience, any division between the subject and object, seer and the seen, both are Mithya. Not only what is seen is Mithya, even what the seer is also Mithya. Do not be surprised. Do not be shocked. Until now I have been talking, whatever is experienced is Mithya. Now I am talking, whoever experiences is also Mithya. And I will tell you why it is so before we proceed. What is it? Supposing you are experiencing an object. For example, you are experiencing a mountain. You are seeing a mountain. When I use the word experience, you have to understand that anything experienced by the five sense organs, you see colors, you hear sounds, you smell smells, your nose smells fragrances, good or bad, and your tongue tastes sweet or bitter, and your skin touches soft or hard, or is hot or cold. So whatever is experienced, that is what we say see. That's all. The word means experience. So you are seeing a mountain. And then after hearing this talk, since I am seeing the mountain, the mountain is Mithya. And who can experience a Mithya mountain? Only a Mithya seer. Because for a real seer, only real object is needed. What is my point? The point is the moment the scene disappears, the title called seer also disappears. Take another example to make this point very clear. Suppose you are a teacher. When are you a teacher? When you are at home you are not a teacher. When you are sleeping you are not a teacher. When you are eating you are not a teacher. When you are eating who are you? You are the eater. When you are sleeping who are you? The sleeper. When you are dreaming who are you? The dreamer. When you are smelling who are you? The smeller. When you are touching something, who are you? You are the toucher. So, shabda sparsha rooparasa gandha. You are the seer, you are the hearer, you are the smeller, you are the taster, you are the toucher. But supposing there is nothing to see, then your seership will go. For that, I was giving the example, you are a teacher and then you retired from teaching. And you are not going to the school or to the classroom and you are not teaching. When you are not teaching, are you still a teacher or are you just a person who had teaching skills? You should not be called a teacher. A doctor who is not practicing medicine is not a doctor. So on and so forth. What am I trying to tell you? When you are not doing something, then you are not the doer of that something. Because as soon as that doing vanishes, your doership etc. also vanishes. Therefore, when you are not experiencing the world, you are not the experiencer also. And what remains? That being. Who was thinking, I was a teacher, I was an experiencer. That feeling is there only in the mind. Once you go beyond the mind, then you don't experience, you are not a witness, you are nothing. This is a profound idea, you will have to understand. Now I will come to the fundamental principles of Vedanta, which I have repeated so many times. But I have brought all of them together and any number of times I might revert to them. So that we understand these things properly. The first, what did I say? Fundamental principles of Advaita Vedanta. First, whatever I experience is not me. I gave the examples. I see a tree. No fool will ever think I am the tree. And I see a house, a car, no fool, even a fool will not think I am a car. Suppose a fool is walking on the street and he sees two cars dashing against each other. Because he is seeing that accident, he never says I am the cars and I am dashing against myself. But our problem starts as soon as we come to the body, we identify so deeply that it requires tremendous effort to say since I experience my body, my hands, my legs, my nose, my eye, that's why we complain my eyes are not able to see, my ears are not able to hear, my tongue is not able to taste etc. and we blame others. But actually we identify ourselves. Our purpose is to dis-identify. Since I experience a tree, I am not a tree. As an example, since I experience a donkey, I am not a donkey. Since I experience my body, I am not the mind. Since I experience my thoughts, I am not my thoughts. After all you know, being happy, I am happy, I am unhappy, I am excited, I am depressed and I am elated and all these things are nothing but thoughts, emotions. So if I am not what I experience, I have nothing to do with body, mind, this is what is called the first principle. Whatever I experience is not me. Second, every object is experienced in terms of qualities only. I have explained it but I will explain again. Suppose you see a tree. You say I see a tree. What do you mean by tree? It is an object resembling some tree qualities, green colour and yellow flowers and fragrant flowers and sweet fruits etc. This is not the object but these are the qualities. So all these qualities belong to that particular object not to the experiencer. So if the tree is green, I am not green. If the tree is a sweet fruit, I am not a sweet fruit. If the flower is smelling nicely, I am not smelling nicely. So no person, no being can ever experience any object without any qualities and every quality is there to distinguish one object from every other object in this world. So what is the second principle? That every object is experienced only through the qualities. Third principle, the qualities of any object belong to that object not to me. The sweetness of a mango belongs to the mango. The fragrance of a rose belongs to the rose. The bitterness of bitter gold belongs to that. The blueness of a wall belongs to the wall not to me. So the qualities of any particular object and every object is only experienced through the medium of the qualities. They belong to that object and not to me. Now extend it to the body. Let us say I experience my hand. My hand is paining and so my hand is a long hand. This longness belongs to whom? To the hand. And one day this hand has touched some hot object, gets burnt, has pain and who is experiencing the pain? The hand is burnt, the hand is burning, the hand is creating. So that quality of being burnt belongs to the hand. I am only seeing it or experiencing it. It doesn't belong to me. But it creates a reaction. That reaction is my hand is burnt and then it is painful. This thought it is burnt, it is a hand, it is burnt, it is painful. These are thoughts arising about that object in the mind and I am experiencing the thoughts. Even though very soon I identify myself with those thoughts but before I identify I experience those thoughts and what is that called? Mind. Mind is the inner organ. And this inner organ like any other object cannot be experienced without qualities. Just as you cannot experience the sweetness or the greenness of a mango so also I cannot experience the mind without it is pleasant, it is unpleasant, it is green, etc., knowledge, etc. So this pleasant, unpleasantness, it is good or evil, these are all thoughts, the thoughts are qualities of the mind and it belongs to the mind, I experience the mind so I am not the thought. I am not hot, I am not cold, I am not burnt, etc., etc. So this is the third that the qualities of an object belong to that object. That is the third fundamental principle of Advaita Vedanta. Fourth, all these are very important. Every object depends on the experiencer for its existence. Again, I have illustrated it but for the sake of reminding us. I see a tree and if I don't see a tree so far as I am concerned the tree doesn't exist. That means the existence of a tree totally depends upon me, the experiencer, and if I don't experience it that tree doesn't exist so far as I am concerned until I experience or I notice, I start to experience it. Very difficult for us to understand. Oh, somebody else is. Yes, if somebody else is, that object exists for that person. But what is the principle here? That only when I am conscious of an object and only a conscious being has consciousness and only when the conscious being is conscious of an object that object's existence is proved by that until the experiencer, the subject to the experiencer, the knower, the seer, notices that through his consciousness that object doesn't have any existence at all. That means it depends for its existence upon the cognitive quality of the experiencer. So this is total dependence. Otherwise, it doesn't even exist. That means no object can exist independent of the experiencer. This is the fifth fundamental principle. Now, sixth. Whatever is dependent in Advaita Vedanta, whatever is dependent is called Mithya. I see a tree. If I never see any tree, that tree has no existence at all so far as I am concerned. Don't bring the argument of others. That tree, for its very existence, depends upon me so that I can take notice of it and say, Oh, you are there. I am seeing it. It is your existing. If I don't say that, it is totally dependent for its very existence upon my cognition. And whatever is dependent is called Mithya. Why is it called Mithya? Because the moment I don't take notice of it, it doesn't exist. So whatever exists for a second when I take notice and the same thing doesn't exist when I don't take notice of it, that is called Mithya. We have to understand this concept of Mithya properly. Mithya means that which is dependent. Not only that. The mind has an ability. What is that? In the seventh fundamental principle of Advaita Vedanta, I can only experience only one object at any given time. There is an object and that object is noticed by me. That object is outside, but I cognize it in the form of a thought. So the existing object is outside, but its cognition in the form of a thought is within me. So the world is outside. The cognition of the world is inside me. This is a fundamental principle. Very, very important. I will tell you also why it is important. But here is a law. I cannot experience two objects at the same time. One object should go because one thought should go. This is a tree. Then I see a mountain. This is a mountain. So before I take cognition of the mountain, there is only one thought. It may be for a millionth of a second, but then there is a previous thought. Any number of thoughts have disappeared. I see a tree. I see a mountain. So when I see the tree, nothing else exists. Only one object at the same time. And that thought ends. And then I happen to notice a mountain. The moment the thought of the mountain comes, this thought of the mountain replaces the thought of the tree. And the tree is not even remembered so long as I keep thinking. And the same rule applies to memory also. I cannot keep memory of two objects at the same time. When I remember the tree, it is the tree. When I remember the mountain, it is the mountain. When I remember a donkey, that is a donkey. So you extend this principle. I can only experience. Everybody, anybody can only experience only one object at any given time. It means principle number eight. This means that all other objects I think I am experiencing at the same time do not exist for that observer so long as that one thought remains in the mind. How do we know? This is called Ekagrata. Ekagrata means concentration. What is concentration? One thought alone rises again and again to the exclusion of all other thoughts. This is called Dhyana. When you say I am meditating, the thought of God, it slowly, gradually excludes all other thoughts. Same thought, it goes down, again it comes up, again it goes down, again it comes up. That is the eighth fundamental principle. So only one object. That means all other objects do not at all exist for that particular observer so long as there is one single object in the form of a thought in the mind of that observer. Ninth, it means objects come and go. I see a tree and it is replaced by a mountain. I see a table, the mountain is replaced by the table. I see a river and the river replaces the table. So each existing thought replaces every other thought. That means what? Thoughts come when I notice, thoughts go when I do not notice. Thoughts represent objects. That means what? Every object in the form of a thought is totally dependent upon me when I take notice of that object. It exists so long as I take note of it. The moment my attention wanders to another object, then it changes. So whatever changes, whatever comes and goes and whatever is dependent for its very existence upon me. Three qualities. An object which is dependent upon the observer, the experiencer. An object which changes as soon as the observer thinks of something else and that which comes and goes. Agama Apayinaha. This is called Mithya. And now you examine, with the light of these nine fundamental principles of Advaita Vedanta, I see any number of things in the waking state and they all are experienced by me. In what form? In the form of thoughts. So the entire Jagrat Prapancha, waking world, consisting of billions and billions of objects, for me, only when I take notice of any particular object. I can't take notice of hundred objects. But you may say, at one glance, I see the tree, I see the branches, I see the leaves. I say no. It is just like a motion. And many times I give this example. There is no such thing called motion. What is motion? If you observe 24 frames a second, anything stationary, 24 times a second, it appears as though there is a motion. Motion is an illusion. Similarly, this world is totally dependent upon me. It is continuously changing. And our Rishis knew it. That's why it is called Jagat. Jagat means Gati. Continuously like a river moving. But the river appears as one river, even though the water is changing all the time. So every object is changing, but we observe that changing. Very, very slow change. So if 10 years pass by, before I observe, Oh, you are aged. And now you have become a middle-aged person. I see some streaks of grey on your head. Until that time, it doesn't mean there was no change. After 10 years, once, within a second, the person has changed to this present state. It's not like that. Every millisecond, the person is changing. It is difficult for us to take notice. That is why we are under the delusion, same person. I see you day after day. I do not take notice. But after 10 years, yes, I also have changed. You also have changed. So what does this mean? That the whole, what is called world, let it be Jagat Prapancha. Let it be Swapna Prapancha, dream world. Let it be waking world. What about sleep? Let it be sleep world. Because I experience it. How do I experience it? I have slept upon waking up. I say I have slept. But what happens when I am sleeping? I am experiencing myself as the sleeper. And what do I do? I don't know anything. Not that you don't know. You are 100% you know. I am sleeping now. But there is no object for me to experience. Experiencing an object and not experiencing an object, both are dependent upon the observer, the experiencer. But there is nothing to experience in deep sleep. Just as thousands of things are there in a room, but in deep darkness, I don't see a single object. It doesn't mean objects are not there. It means I cannot experience them. That is what is the meaning of I did not know anything, but I am all the time experiencing. I don't see anything. I don't see anything. I don't see anything. And that is why I am so happy. Why am I so happy? Because even if a ferocious tiger is sitting and stroking my body while I am asleep, I am completely ignorant of that. I do not take notice. Just like you don't see a poisonous snake poised to strike you in deep darkness. Next second, it may strike you. You don't take notice. It doesn't mean the object doesn't exist. It only means you don't take notice of it. But to take notice of it in light and not to take notice of it in darkness for both, you must be completely awake. You are the observer of both the known and also unknown objects. So all the three states are changing. So what is taken as real during the waking becomes unreal during the dream. And what is taken to be real in the dream happens to be unreal when we sleep. They completely disappear. And what is taken to be real in the what is called waking state is completely unreal in the dream state. These are the fundamental principles in the light of which we can understand that about both waking experience that means waking world, Jagrat Prapancha and Swapna Prapancha and Sushupti Prapancha are no different at all. With this background, we go into the fifth Karika. That is, the thoughtful persons speak of the sameness of the waking and dream states on account of the similarity of the diverse objects perceived in these two states and on the well-known grounds already described. There is no difference between them whatsoever. One is real, another is unreal. No. Are they both? Is there any difference that one is 90% real, 10% unreal, the other is 10% unreal or 90% real? Absolutely no. They are 100% exactly the same. Why? First of all, in comparison, compare and contrast, whatever is real in the waking state is unreal in the dream state. And whatever is real in the dream state is completely unreal in the waking state. Same thing also, both of them are unreal in the deep sleep state. So, Swapna, Jagarita, in both states of experience, Manushya, only thoughtful person, Manushya means what? A wise person. Manushya means what? A person who can think rightly. For such a person, when he comes and compares, where there also I have been experiencing, here also I have been experiencing, both are equally unreal. Not both are equally real. Both are equally unreal. And now you recollect the story of Sri Ramakrishna. Marvellous story of a farmer who was married, who had his only son and one day he got the news that his only son died and he came. There was not a sign of grief. Then his wife forgot all about it, became angry. See the beauty of this parable. When his wife, who was weeping copiously, non-stop weeping, shedding tears, until her husband came, observing the state of the person's reaction to the death of his only son, she got angry. Now exercise your brain. When this wife got angry, do you think that she was thinking of the son? In the light of what we discussed, now she forgot her son. She was only thinking of her husband and she was very angry. What type of man you are? And then we know the story. Yesterday night I dreamt I was a king, not a farmer, stupid farmer here cultivating and I had seven, I had a beautiful wife queen, not like you, and I had seven wonderfully intelligent, very well behaved and very beautiful princess and I was very much in love with all of them. But when my dream broke, I know it is all unreal. I know exactly in the same way this waking state, you are unreal, our son is unreal, my being a farmer is unreal, everything is unreal. So this is what a deep thinking, a sadhaka, such a person is called manishi, a wise person and they make no difference between the waking dream and deep sleep state. By extension, we have to add all the time both of these things. Prasiddhena Hetuna. This is because of a well-known reason. That is what he wants to say. Prasiddhena Hetuna Manishena Vedanami Samatvena That is this Veda which we think there is a difference, waking is real and sleep is unreal. Why? I told you earlier. You must recollect. What is that recollection? When we come to the waking state from the dream state, every day we don't dream the same dream. Every night we don't dream the same dream. One after the other, which lasts for a few minutes, each dream is completely different and when we dream a second dream, the first dream is completely disappeared. Even comparing various dreams in the dreaming state, we have to come to the conclusion none of them are real because in one dream, I find myself in America. Another dream, I find myself in Kailasa. Another in Varanasi. Now which dream is real? Because you cannot be at the same time, within seconds, in such vast distant places. It is impossible. That is why we think the dream state is completely unreal. Even if you have a thousand dreams in a night, they are all different from each other. But what happens when we wake up? We wake up, we see the same house, see the same place, same country, same religion, same family members, same everything. Is it real? Is it true? No, it is not true. Because every second, everything is changing. Like a river, you stand there for a second and the water which you touched, one second, has already flown down. New water has come. But such is our foolishness. We think it is the same river, it is the same water. So no object in this world is exactly in the same place. Even from a scientific point of view, the earth is rotating at mind-boggling speed and it is going around the sun and it takes 24 hours. You are not exactly in the same position if you measure yourself from what we call the sun's point of view. You stand above the earth, you will see the whole earth is moving and you may feel you are exactly in the same place. But from the viewpoint of the person who is observing from the sky, from the space, you are completely moving at mind-boggling speed every millisecond. Just see. But we still think we are in the same place at the same time like that. So only wise people, thinking people, rational people only understand A, O is absolutely no difference. Now I will bring another point which is very important. What is that point? The point is whatever you experience is not important. Whatever we see is not important. Supposing 10 people are eating same sweet, 10 of course different sweets but same, let us say, laddu. Do you think the experience of all the 10 people is exactly the same? Each one of us is living in our own world. Our experience is different. It differs how hungry we are. It differs how angry we are. It differs what type of state of mind we are in. Even the same object doesn't give the same result every time we experience it. Everything is changing. I am changing. Earlier I was happy. Now I am not so happy. When I experience the same sweet I will not be experiencing it in the same state. So the dream world and the waking world are the same from the standpoint of their reality. That is they are unreal. The person who is experiencing temporarily the witness he is the only reality. So from the utilitarian point of view whether you experience a dream whether you experience waking or sleep that is not the important point. What is the effect of it? Is it making you wonderful? Is it making you wiser? Is it taking you really to God? If something is taking you to God towards a higher towards your own real nature then that experience is good experience. It is helping us to move forward. If it is not if it is making us go back distancing ourselves from God that is not a good experience. So that should be the judgment not otherwise. So just as I outlined all those things we will have to understand that everything that we experience is not me and whatever I experience I experience with qualities and every time I experience I don't get the same effect and they are all changing from each other and whatever is changing is called Mithya. But as I said for a Mithya to be experienced there must be a substratum and who is that substratum? It is the Experiencer endowed with Consciousness and that Consciousness is borrowed by the mind and the Experiencer is experiencing with that borrowed Consciousness of the mind and then that Experiencer alone is real. In simple words when I am experiencing the waking world my mind with the borrowed Consciousness from my Atman is saying I am in the waking state that experience of the mind I am the waker and that waker alone is real. From the dream point the dreamer mind is real. From the sleeper point of view the sleeper is real but as I said the sleeper is changing dreamer is changing waker is changing that pure Consciousness disassociated without reflecting in the mind that alone that unchanging Consciousness alone is real and that is the lesson we have to learn. Now we move on to the 6th verse. And Gaudapada his wonderful reason earlier he promised Prashiddhenaiva hetuna what is it he says in the verse number, Karika number 6 that which did not exist before it comes into our experience and that which goes out of experience when it dies or goes so that which is experienced for a temporary period of time that is called pitatha, unreal or mithya that is seemingly real marvellous experience. What is it? Here is a baby. Where was this baby 6 months before? Just now born. Where was he 1 year before? Did not even the parents did not even conceive. We don't know anything about that baby. Then the parents they mated they conceived and the baby for 9 months or so let us take it for granted is born. The baby is born means everybody can experience the baby and the moment we experience we say the baby is born. Before that we have not experienced so for us the baby is not and we experience maybe 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 year 100 years, 120 years it doesn't matter and then death will come. Then we don't experience that man that person. Only this is what is telling whatever has not been experienced before and whatever cannot be experienced later whatever is experienced in between that is as good as non-existent. But don't take we are not talking absolute non-existence we are talking about mithya. What does it mean? It means in this example of the baby the baby was there in unmanifested condition and when it becomes manifested how do we know it is manifested? Anybody can experience. When we experience we say the baby is born or a tree is born etc. and then he lives for some time grows up and then becomes old or whatever dies and then we don't see anymore. It doesn't mean did not exist. What does it mean? It means the unmanifest became manifest through our five sense organs and the same manifest has again gone back into the unmanifest so we cannot experience it. So non-experienceability non-objectifiability is the condition for saying it is not real. Now extend this one the whole world before I observe an object it was not there. When I observe so long as I observe it is existing and when I see another object then this previous object as previous thought had disappeared. That means it is gone. Its existence is not there. Oh it was there you don't even think about it. So this is the one reason well known reason that is whatever was not found to be existing so in the beginning whatever is not there and in the end whatever doesn't exist and in between even if we experience that something Tatha means what? It is as good as non-existent. Everything in this every object in this world is from that sense of point of view non-existent. That is called Samsara. That is called what is called this world Jagat Jagat means Gati and then Samsara means Sarathi continuously changing and that is our bodies are changing our minds are changing. What is not changing? That pure Atman which is witnessing that is not changing though that alone is the real truth and if we understand it then we will not be there. What does it mean? Practical terms when I am happy that means what? I say I am happy. Notice these words I am happy that means before this thought came I am happy was I happy? No if I am not happy what was that state? I was unhappy then I am happy and something else happens and soon I become very unhappy this happy thought is sandwiched between two unhappy thoughts. Similarly two unhappy thoughts are sandwiched between two happy thoughts. They are continuously changing and whatever is changing whatever seemingly real not really real that is called Mithya. And to take the familiar example so I see under inadequate or wrong conditions I see a snake but this snake cannot appear first of all if there were to be no rope then what happens? Conditions are made aright and light is brought I see that it was appearing like a snake I mistook it for a snake but there was no snake so this snake was not there it appeared and it disappeared but what is it that never appears that never disappears the rope was there whether I notice it or not the rope is there whether I notice it or not the rope will be there whether I notice it or not so also pure consciousness will be there for all time that alone was in the past in the present and in the future and not at anything else. This is the essence of what we are talking about I will stop here and then we will talk about if any questions are there we will discuss for a few minutes Om Jananim Shardam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padmetayos Ritva Pranamami Muhur Moho Ho May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti and great understanding Jai Ramakrishna