Mandukya Karika Lecture 146 on 20-March-2024

Full Transcript (Corrected)

As we are coming to the end of this Mandukya Karika, the commentary of Gaudapada Acharya, Gaudapada is now trying to summarize and put it in simplest terms. Unfortunately, he started borrowing terms which seem to be a little roundabout. So, in our last class, which we completed, the 88th of the 4th chapter called Alatashanti, now a few technical words specially used by the Buddhistic schools of philosophy. Probably they were very much current at the time of Gaudapada's living or borrowed. And so we have to understand, actually, it is extremely simple for us.

What is he talking about in these few Karikas or verses? He is trying to find out, re-describe what we have already studied: three states every living creature experiences. With the waking, the dream, and the dreamless states. And what we think that we are the waker, dreamer, and the deep sleeper. But really speaking, as we discussed earlier, that whatever changes is Mithya. And there is no equivalent in the English language for this word Mithya. It is neither real nor unreal. We can call it Maya. Mithya is the best word. We have to familiarize ourselves with it.

So, we identify and say, whichever state we are experiencing, until that state lasts, that we consider as real. Since it is real, we think that we are that reality. So, I, the waker, is the reality in the waking state. I, the dreamer, is the reality in the dream state. I, the sleeper, is the reality in the deep sleep state. But, whatever is changing, there is a phenomena here. To know that something is changing, and we definitely know. When we wake up, we can analyse the dream as well as the deep sleep. Say, my waking state has changed into dream. Dream has changed into deep sleep. So, I am witnessing that one. And what is the fundamental pillar of Vedanta? Whatever I experience is not me. Whatever I experience is an object. But, I am completely different, completely opposed to what we call the object, the subject, and the object. Light and darkness can never be the same. Even there is no remotest resemblance to it. When we wake up to this fact, then something else comes. I am not the waker. I am not the dreamer. I am not the sleeper. Then there is only one possibility. I am the cognizer. I am that awareness. I am that pure consciousness. And there are no two pure consciousnesses. There is no multiplicity in consciousness. This is what Gaudapada wants to drive into us.

And instead of, as I said, as I explained just now, simplistic words, we are experiencing the waking, the dream, and the deep sleep. And since I am experiencing them, I am the experiencer, unchanging, independent experiencer. And whatever is experienced is changing and dependent. Let us always keep these two characteristics. What is reality? That which is unchanging. And what is unreality or mithya here? That which is changing. That means subject to time. And that which is dependent. That means it is not consciousness. It is what is called anatma, not atma. These are the two important concepts.

As I mentioned, here Gaudapada has already introduced, from 87 verse onwards, certain technical words. As I said, they are terms borrowed from the Buddhist philosophical schools. What are they?

सवस्तु सोपलम्भं च द्वयं लौकिकमिष्यते ।

अवस्तु सोपलम्भं च शुद्धं लौकिकमिष्यते ॥ ८७ ॥

savastu sopalambhaṃ ca dvayaṃ laukikamiṣyate |

avastu sopalambhaṃ ca śuddhaṃ laukikamiṣyate || 87 ||

87. (Vedānta) recognises the ordinary (empirical) state of waking in which duality, consisting of objects and ideas of coming in contact with them, is known. It further recognises another more subtle state (i.e., the dream common to all) in which is experienced duality, consisting of the idea of coming in contact with the objects, though such objects do not exist.

I will translate these few so that it will be very easy.

Vastu means an external object is called a vastu. Upalambham means a thought about that object. For example, if I am seeing a house, so the house is the vastu. And my knowledge in the form of a thought in my mind that this is a house is called Upalambham. And these two, there are external objects and there are thoughts in my mind within me that there are really external objects outside me. That is called waking state. And then what is the dream state? Avasthu, there is no real object. But as I said earlier, there is what we call thought is there. Thoughts. So in the dream state, the thoughts themselves become the objects. So Avasthu means simply thoughts. Whatever is experienced during the waking state.

And now Upalambham. So already there are thoughts in my mind. But there is an experience is there. Upalambham means what? My experience, there are things outside. Even in dream, there is something called, I am sitting and dreaming that I am looking from my window, from inside the house, through the window, outside. Outside, there are thousands of objects. They are outside, external. But I am inside. But upon waking, we understand these outside and inside are only my thoughts. And if we apply the same criteria, even in the waking state, there is no outside, there is no inside. They are only my thoughts.

So what is the nature of this dream? There is no external object. But there is a thought about that object. And the thoughts give as real an experience as the waking state. But we think there is an external world and I am in the waking state. While dreaming, nobody says, "I am in the dream state." Everybody says, "I am in the waking state." But curiously sometimes, within the dream, that is, upon waking up, what we call the dream, there is an external world. And in dream also, we can dream that we went to sleep and we were having a dream. Dream within a dream. So dream state is first to dream. And when we sleep within the dream state, and dreaming, creating another, that is called a second dream. So it is a dream. This is the characteristic of the dream state.

And what is the common characteristic? Dwayam. Dwayam means these two go together. There is an object and there is a thought about the object. And so this is called reality. The subject, the object, the knower, the known, that is there. And both these, waking and dream, are called Laukikam. So the waking is called Laukikam. But curiously, the dream experience is called Shuddham. Here the word Shuddham. We should never mistake pure state, no. For God's sake, forget that meaning. Here Shuddham means pure mental or a thought in the mind. Shuddham means there is no external object. And that is why it is called Shuddham. These are the two states, Vastu, Upalambam, an external object and our thought about it. In the dream state, our thought and our thinking that there is an external object and both, that division is there, duality is there. And both are Laukikam means a state of ignorance. But the dream state is called Shuddham, not really. Otherwise, in every dream state, everybody becomes pure. And as soon as purity is attained, the person must wake up a realized soul. But it doesn't happen. Here Shuddham purely means no external object. That is the meaning of the word Shuddham.

So our thoughts in the dream state could be as impure as the thoughts when we are experiencing in the waking state. But as different from these two states, which two states, waking and dream, there is another called Lokottaram. This is again a Buddhist term. What is Lokottaram? It is a peculiar state. We are not aware at that time. So we think like that, that I am not aware. I did not know anything. This is called the deep sleep or Sushupti state. Simply squeezed together, summary of this is, there are three states, the waking, the dream and the deep sleep. And in waking state, what are they? That there is an external object and a thought corresponding to that external object. Suppose I see a tree and there is a tree thought. Tree outside and a tree thought inside. That is called waking. In the dream state, there is this thought. What thought? Tree thought. But then when we are dreaming, that tree thought now becomes an external object. So there is also an external object in the dream. So we imagine and corresponding thought. But it is called Shuddham because there is no external object. It is only recollecting the memory. And both these states are state of ignorance.

What about deep sleep? That is called Lokottaram. Is that a state of bondage? Yes, equally it is a state of bondage. Why? That is called Karana Sharira. That is, we have to wake up because deep sleep changes into waking, waking into dream, dream into dreamless. I want to confuse you a little bit further. Our Vedantins probably didn't have good work, especially the people who renounced the world. So these three states are subdivided into further six states. What is it? Jagrat Jagrat, Jagrat Swapna, Jagrat Sushupti, Swapna Swapna, Swapna Jagrat, Swapna Sushupti, Sushupti Sushupti, Sushupti Jagrat, and Sushupti Swapna. I don't want to confuse ourselves further. In the waking state, you are completely aware of an object and that is called Jagrat Jagrat.

And while you are talking, say you are talking with your friend or somebody known, it could be a teacher also, your Guru also, God also, suddenly you remember, this fellow, my God, he had bestowed so many things on the other devotee, but in my case, he only starts giving a smile, like Vishnu in the form of Mohini. He was bestowing his smile on all the Asuras, but distributing the Amruta to all the Devas. Only two fellows, they became aware, jumped the queue, sat with the Devas, and they were what we call the eclipses, Rahu and Ketu.

Anyway, you are doing something, suddenly your mind takes off to some other object, that is called Jagrat Swapna. And in between, in between two thoughts, there is a blankness there, and that blankness is called Jagrat Sushupti. And so they say, there is pure dream when you are completely awake in the dream state and experiencing, and then suddenly you think, I thought I was in Varanasi, how come I am dreaming that I am in this? So sometimes a little bit of glimpse comes, and that is called Swapna Swapna. And then the same phenomena can be applied to Swapna Sushupti. In between, the mind becomes blank, just like in the waking state, that is called Swapna Sushupti.

And while doing, what happens in Sushupti? We are not aware of time, space, and causation. Suddenly, without waking up, you suddenly remember something from the waking state, that is called Sushupti Jagrat. When you are sleeping without any awareness, that is called Sushupti Sushupti. And when you are a little bit, slightly, suddenly, like a lightning, small remembrance of the waking state, that is called Sushupti Jagrat. And sometimes you wake up and start a little bit of imagination, and that is called Sushupti Swapna.

So we don't need to go. What is important is, throughout all these three states, what is their common characteristic? They are, first of all, changing one into the other. And just now, I enumerated nine types of experiences. That means, from experience number one, to experience number two, from two to three, three to four, four to five, five to six, six to seven, seven to eight, eight to nine, so again nine to one, like that it is roaming, that is called changeability, and completely dependent upon consciousness. How do we know? When I say I am in the waking state, I am aware, I am aware that I am in the waking state. I am aware I am in the dream state. Why do I say so? So put up with me a little bit, because beautiful thoughts, deep thoughts, supposing I am in the waking state, I am talking with somebody, just now I gave that example, and some remark the other person makes, takes off my mind to that particular person, or whatever it is, and then I come back and say, oh, I should not have thought something else, I should be paying attention to what this person is telling, that means I am completely aware. First of all, I am speaking with this person, secondly, my mind is straight, and then for a second or so, complete blankness, oh, so I did not experience anything. Even to say I did not experience anything, I need consciousness, otherwise I could not have recollected that I did not experience anything. So that awareness is completely different from the Mithya, which has two characteristics, what are they? Changeability and dependability. This consciousness is continuous, unchanging, eternal, whatever be the state. And that is what Gaudapada wants to drive into our mind.

अवस्त्वनुपलम्भं च लोकोत्तरमिति स्मृतम् ।

ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च विज्ञेयं सदा बुद्धैः प्रकीर्तितम् ॥ ८८ ॥

avastvanupalambhaṃ ca lokottaramiti smṛtam |

jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ ca vijñeyaṃ sadā buddhaiḥ prakīrtitam || 88 ||

88. There is another state (admitted by the wise) which is free from contact with (external) objects ana altogether free from the idea of coining in contact with objects. This state is beyond all empirical experiences. The wise always describe the three, Viz., Knowledge, Knowledge of objects and the knowable as the Supreme Reality (which is ultimately knowable).

There is yet another state. This is the description of the Sushupti state, as contrasted earlier with the waking and dream states. So in this 88th Karika, there is yet another state of consciousness admitted by the wise, which is free from contact with external objects and also free from inner thoughts. There is no external object and there is no thought about the external object, which are both present in the waking as well as the dream, but in what is called Sushupti. Deep sleep, the body which represents the waking state and the mind which represents the dream state, both become completely merged for the time being, for a temporary period of time. And that state is called deep sleep, Sushupti, and that is being described in this particular Karika. Avastu, there is no external object. Anupalambam, there is no thought about that object. Therefore, this third state, what is it called? Loka means Jagrat Loka, Swapna Loka, and this is far beyond both of them, completely separate from both of them. So this is the description. It is Smritam, means thus it is said. So what is that state? jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ ca vijñeyaṃ, This state is beyond all empirical experiences. sadā buddhaiḥ prakīrtitam. Buddhai means wise people. Loka means always. Once right knowledge comes, it can never be destroyed. So here is a wonderful point we have to understand. So long as our knowledge is partial or completely opposed, that means partially right, partially wrong is one form, completely mistaken, something is taken in its opposite sense, or doubt-ridden, these three states, our worldly knowledge is characterized by these three. First of all, doubts come. Do I know it completely or do I not know? This is called Samshaya Jnana. And the second one is partially known, partially right, something is right, something I mistaken. And there is something called Viparita Jnanam, means I mistake, like the young man who mistook a black bear on a dark night for his beloved, completely mistaken. So right knowledge, doubtful knowledge, partial knowledge, and completely opposite knowledge, our goal should be to have what is called right knowledge. And that is the person who has that kind of right knowledge. What was the point I mentioned earlier? That all this partial knowledge and completely opposite knowledge, or doubtful knowledge, they are subject to change. Scientists are always doing it. They discover something, oh, we have discovered everything. And the next scientist comes, no, no, that is completely wrong. This is the right thing. Like that, every knowledge that is discovered so far is being denied by the next person, but it is not complete denial. It is expansion of knowledge. But a person must come to that ultimate point of knowledge. Once a person reaches, he can never change it. That is called changeless knowledge. And that changeless knowledge is called Atman, Brahman, or it is called real knowledge. That is what Sri Ramakrishna said, Gnanam can be changed, but Vignanam. So Gnanam, Gnayam, Vignanam. Gnanam means knowledge. Knowledge of the many things. For example, you see a tree. I know this is a tree. And you see a wall. I see a wall. So I have knowledge of the tree. I have knowledge of the wall. I see a bird. I have knowledge of the bird. So every type of knowledge is called limited knowledge. And it is changing whenever we come across a new object. Not only that, the same object also. I thought this was a good person. No. Like that, our knowledge is being continuously replenished. And that is called evolution. That is the nature of things.

So three types. First is Gnanam. What is the second one? Gnayam. That is the objects that should be known. Gnanam is the knowledge of the objects. Gnayam is the objects about which we come to have knowledge. But the instrument, the consciousness only through which we can distinguish this is an object, this is a thought about an object. That is called Vignayam. Or that is the final knowledge. That is called Turiyam.

So why did all these previous Karikas were described? To make us think. Whatever is changing, whatever is dependable is undependable. We want something independent. What is that independent? Pure knowledge. What is the name for that pure knowledge? Turiyam. And this is the essence of the whole Mandukya Karika. So Gnanam, whatever differing knowledges is called Gnanam. Gnayam. All the objects which are the targets of that changing pieces of knowledge. Vignayam never changes. It is called Chaitanyam. It is called the eternal witness. And this is called Turiyam. That is called Brahman. That is called Bhagavan. That is called Ishwara. That is called Shakti. So that is what Gaudapada wants to tell. So discard all the objects and their knowledges. But that which is witnessing all the so called objects and the thoughts produced when we come into contact with those objects one must be aware who is experiencing both the object as well as the thought or knowledge about that object. And once a person understands and identifies I am that pure knowledge. It is eternal. It is unchanging. And it is pure consciousness. Aham Brahmasmi, that is what it means. That should be the goal. And he who realizes I am Brahman, I am Turiyam he is called a Buddha, a wise person.

So now this is what is being again repeated in the 89th Karika.

ज्ञाने च त्रिविधे ज्ञेये क्रमेण विदिते स्वयम् ।

सर्वज्ञता हि सर्वत्र भवतीह महाधियः ॥ ८९ ॥

jñāne ca trividhe jñeye krameṇa vidite svayam |

sarvajñatā hi sarvatra bhavatīha mahādhiyaḥ || 89 ||

89. Knowledge and the three fold knowable being known, one after another, the knower possessed of the highest reason spontaneously attains to the state of knowledge everywhere and in all things in this very life.

Earlier he said Budhai, wise people. Here is same idea repeated here. Repetition is not for fault because until we realize the truth repetition is the only way. That is why there is a beautiful shloka in Sanskrit saying that is mantra nam jyamita nasti about truths. Mantra means the truth, highest truth. Jyamita, nothing called that you should not repeat you are telling me for the billionth time. No, it has to be told until we become that. Once we know I am that then there is no need, there is no teacher there is no thought, there is no sadhana etc.

In this 89th

jñāne ca trividhe jñeye krameṇa vidite svayam |

sarvajñatā hi sarvatra bhavatīha mahādhiyaḥ || 89 ||

A person becomes maha-dhiya that is a realized soul. When he attains sarva-jnata, all-knowingness. What is all-knowingness? That there is no all at all. There is only Brahman and about Brahman we should never say Brahman is everything because so long as we see infinite number of things countless countable things we have to say it is nothing but Brahman.

For example, you are seeing a hundred ornaments, so this ornament is different from that ornament, but every ornament is made up of gold. So long as we do not realize there is, from the viewpoint of the basic material, there is no difference between one and the other. Even the smallest ornament is nothing but gold; its value may be different because we measure it. It is a small quantity of gold and a big ornament that goes around the waist, that is very heavy and that costs a tremendous amount of weight of gold; it is more costly. That is a vyavaharika, transactional world, but the truth is small ornament, big ornament, every ornament is nothing but pure gold. Gold is its true nature. That is what he wants to say, that there is no everything; it is only to convey to us because we have not attained to that state of sarvajnatha, all-knowingness. There is no all-knowingness. Brahman is only one, ekaha dvityaha; there is no everywhere, sarvatra. That is also because we can think only in terms of time-space causation; we have to say past, present, and future. So for us to understand, it is telling when a wise person realizes Brahman, everything is Brahman; everywhere it is Brahman; everything that was in the past, present, and future is Brahman. And he is called Mahadhyaha, the wisest of persons. In simple words, he is called a realized soul; he is called Mukta Purusha, a liberated soul.

But how to attain to that? So we have to first separate. This is a waking state. I am its witness, and whatever I am witnessing is not me. So this is called the knowledge of the waking state. Apply the same thing to the dream state. This is called dream state. I am imagining these things, and whatever I am imagining, I am not what I am imagining. I am totally separate, that awareness. I am that unbroken awareness. That is how from the waking state we go to the dream state, and then even while experiencing deep sleep state, we say even this is a state of changing state, and it is also a dependent state. If I don't have body-mind, the question of deep sleep doesn't arise at all; none of these states will be there. In other words, I am not the body, I am not the mind.

But when a person attains to this realization, he will not say, "I thought I had a body, I had a mind." No, because they never existed. That memory also will not be there. Why? Because the memory belongs to which organ? Mind. When there is no mind, where is the question of remembering the past, remembering the present, remembering the future? So we have to exercise our intellect and say, for Brahman, there is no past, present, and future. When there is no past or future, memory and imagination, they vanish in one go. That is what, but to attain to that state, first we have to say, "I am not the body." And when I progress, the same thing is applied. "I am not the mind." What happens? That is, "I am not the gross body," so waking state gone, vanishing. "I am not the mind," dream state put an end to, gone, vanishing. Then we also see the other state. What is that state? "I am not the sleeper" also. This is, "I am not experiencing Sushupti" also. "I am not the causal body" also. That is called this marvellous thing, that is called denying. "I am not the waker or dreamer or sleeper." Then, through that sadhana process then a day will come when simply there is whatever comes after "I am." That is a dreamer, a waker, a dreamer, a sleeper. There will be no remembrance, simply "aham," "I am." Even that is also human language only, and that will never be broken. That is called all-knowingness. That is called all times, everywhere. And one who attains to this state is called Mahadhyaha.

When knowledge and the threefold—threefold means the Jagrat, Sopna, Sushupti, waking, dream, and deep sleep—are known one after another in their correct sequence, what is that correct sequence? They are changing, they are dependable. He who is possessed of the highest reason spontaneously realizes that state of knowledge everywhere. That means he goes beyond time and space. Everywhere means beyond space, every time all the time means beyond time. That means there is nothing called this world, the other world, past, present, and future which is enumerated in the very what is called very first mantra of this Mandukya Upanishad. That is what he wants to say in this 89th Karika.

So what is the way? What should we practice? So for that also we have seen, and as I said, Gaudapada is only recollecting. What is he recollecting? That we have to do Omkara Sadhana. And for this Sadhana, for the sake of spiritual practice, we have divided this spiritual practice into four types. So we have divided for the sake of practice Omkara into four letters. That is why it is called four Matras. What are those four? A, O, M, and Amatra. That which is unsounding sound. Akara represents waking, Ukara represents dream, and Makara represents deep sleep. But that unsounding sound represents the Turiyam. So it is only for the sake of understanding we call it fourth state. We should never call it the fourth state. That state which alone makes these three states possible, without which no state is possible, that is called the fourth state or Turiyam.

So we have to be very careful. Without gold, there is no small ornament or large ornament or largest ornament, nothing will be there. But for the sake of beginners, we say that consciousness associated with the gross body is called waking, associated with the subtle body called mind, that is called dream state, and associated with the causal body, that is called deep sleep state. And that Upasana has been beautifully explained earlier. That is simple way to put it is, "I am not the waking state, I am not the dream state, I am not the deep sleep state." And when slowly, gradually from the gross to the subtle to the causal and then automatically what remains, that is called Turiyam, this is what he wants to say.

Alright, you told me what is the goal, Turiyam, to know that I am that pure Brahman. And what is my problem? I am in this transmigration-bound soul. And what binds me? My thinking that I am the waker, dreamer, and sleeper. And how to realize I am the Turiyam? Slowly, the gross has to be merged in the subtle. Akara should be merged in Ukara, Ukara should be merged in Makara, and Makara automatically leads to that final state called Turiyam. And again, how to attain Sadhana, spiritual practice, and what are the spiritual practices to be done? That is explained in this 90th Karika.

हेयज्ञेयाप्यपाक्यानि विज्ञेयान्यग्रयाणतः ।

तेषामन्यत्र विज्ञेयादुपलम्भस्त्रिषु स्मृतः ॥ ९० ॥

heyajñeyāpyapākyāni vijñeyānyagrayāṇataḥ |

teṣāmanyatra vijñeyādupalambhastriṣu smṛtaḥ || 90 ||

90. The four things to be known first are: the thing to be avoided, the objects to be realised, the things to be attained (by practice) and the thoughts to be rendered ineffective. Among these four, the three things, excepting what is to be realised, viz., the Supreme Reality, exist only as imaginations.

In the very beginning, that means Sadhana, beginning of the Sadhana.

These Sadhanas are divided into four categories: Heya, Gneya, Apakya, and Vigneya. For successful spiritual practice, we must have a crystal-clear understanding of these four aspects. Some things, labeled Heya, must be avoided. Secondly, we need to understand and realize our goals clearly. Thirdly, we must identify the things to be attained or accepted. Lastly, we need to render ineffective any thoughts that hinder our progress. Among these four, all aspects except what needs to be realized exist only as imagination. This concise statement highlights the essence: "When we realize Brahman, Brahman alone remains."

To achieve this, we must avoid certain things, attain specific goals, and progress in our spiritual life by overcoming distracting thoughts. However, these instructions apply only when we perceive ourselves as bound souls. As practitioners, we must heed our Guru's advice diligently. For instance, if the Guru advises giving up Heya, we must focus on realizing Atman, which constitutes the second aspect. Then, we must engage in Shravana, Manana, and Nididhyasana to deepen our understanding, as the third aspect.

Moreover, we must constantly maintain our focus on the ultimate goal, Turiyam, and refrain from indulging in unspiritual thoughts. Achieving this goal necessitates not only understanding what Turiyam is but also practicing its principles diligently.

We must avoid certain things completely, cultivate divine virtues Daiva sampatti, and maintain a steadfast vision of reaching Turiyam. Once we attain this state, even the thoughts of being a practitioner or progressing toward realization become obsolete.

In deep sleep, where the idea of bondage is absent, thoughts related to spiritual practice cease to exist. Therefore, the external world, internal world, and causal world, collectively called Anatma, are mere appearances. To embark on this journey, we must cultivate pure dispassion through discrimination, giving up Anatma while simultaneously embracing love for God, the teacher, and the scriptures as antidotes to worldly attachments.

What should be given up? Anything that separates us from self-knowledge must be relinquished. Conversely, whatever aids in realizing our own self must be embraced. Continuously keeping in mind the goal of attaining self-knowledge is paramount. This self-knowledge is eternal and unchanging; it is known as Turiyam or Brahman, and realizing oneself as Brahman is the ultimate attainment.

Upon attaining this realization, even the concept of "I am separate from these things" becomes irrelevant, as those things cease to exist in their previous form. This is the essence of Sadhana: transcending identification with the three states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, as bondage is inherent only in these three states. So Aapyam means that which I have to reach this is called Brahman, Sadhana Chatushtaya Sampatti, I will have to have this.

This is the meaning of this which we will discuss a little bit but the general trend is I must know I am the Turiyam which means I am not the waker, I am not the dreamer, I am not the sleeper. That is the essence of these verses which we discussed. Then Gaudapada enters into the again reiterating that there is no Jeeva, everything is Brahman and nobody is born, nobody is in bondage, and nobody has to do practice any spiritual practice. And that is what he wants to drill from the 91st which we will discuss in our next class