Chapter 77

From 75th verse, Gowdapadha discussed samsara karanam which is ignorance of higher nature (thuriyum) and identification (viswa, taijasa or pragya) with the lower nature Ignorance is agyanam and mistaken identity is adhyasaha.  So, the problem is agyanam and adhyasam.  The solution is gyanam and the gyanam should result in me not conducting the mistake.  When the agyanam and adhyasam ends, that is moksha.

The palam is twofold.  Immediate palam is I own my true nature which is ever free from samsra.  I am the thuriyum which is shantham, shivam advaidam and chathurtham.  I was, I am, and I ever will be free from problems.

The secondary benefit is at the level of mind.  This is secondary benefit because it belongs to mind which is anatma. with which I am not seriously identified with.  But this mind will get some benefit in the form of refinement.  Mind has vivekam, vyragyam, samadhi, saktha sambandhi.  These belongs to mind and not to atma.  Mind has to develop these and moral values.  Once a person gets gyanam, mind gets further refinement; all the virtues he has gained before gyanam increase further quantitatively and qualitatively.  Vyragyam, samah, dhamaha, thithiksha, samadhana etc. acquired before getting gyanam, increases multi-fold after getting gyaanam.  This happens automatically after acquiring gyanam.  Virtues that were sadhanam (deliberate) before becomes lakshanam (natural).  This natural refinement of mind is jivan mukthi.  A wise person (gyani) is relaxed all the time.

Verse 87

Gowdapadha wants us to remember that karikas are not independent work of his own.  Karikas are the teaching of Mandukya upanishad.  If we forget the Upanishad, we may take the karika as his teaching.  In these three verses he is summarizing the teaching of Mandukya upanishad.

Mandukya teaching is the I am avasthasthra shakshi.   Jagradha  avastha, swapnpa avastha, sushkishi avastha are avastha thrayam.  In each avastha there is a subject and object.  The three pairs belonging to three avasthas are subject to constant change and modification.  I am nirvikara sakshi chaithanyam, which illumines the three savikara pair.  Avasthathraya viveka is the teaching of Mandukya upanishad.

Lowkikam is jagradha avastha; sudham lowkikam is swapna avastha; loko tharam is sushukthi.

Jagradha avastha has a pair; the first one the experiences or cognitions within yourself.  In jagrahda avastha, for every internal experience, there is a corresponding external object.  Jagrath is experience plus object.  Jagradha avastha is that state in which there is a pair of factors, consisting of external object and internal thought.

in Swapna avastha the experiences are recollections of our own vasana, but there are no objects external to our body. Swapna is only thought world, we do not have corresponding object.  It is object-less thought in swapna. Object-less experience is swapna and object and experience is jagrath

Verse 88

In sushukthi there is neither an experience nor a corresponding object.

In all the three avastha the subject object pair is gyanam and gyayam.  Gyanam and gyayam is also subject to modifications.  Cognition and object are subject to modifications.  The changeless principle in all the three pair is consciousness principle, which is called vigyayam.  Gyanam is hanging experiences, gyayam is changing objects of experience and vigyayam is changeless witness consciousness.  All upanishads and all wise people discuss these three topics in vedanta.

Verse 89

These experiences can be broadly classified in three category: Jagrath gyanam, Swapna gyanam and Sushukthi gyanam.  The three gyayams are the external objects in jagrath avastha, internally projected objects in swapana avastha and in sushukthi agyanam (ignorance) and sukam.  Only differencce is in sushukthi, we don’t recognize the gyanaam gyeyam pair at the time of sushukthi.  In sushukthi, they are in potential form and we recognize them after we wake up.

Once a person goes past the three padas one comes to know thuriyum.  One has to go through all three padhas to get to thuriyum.  Once the thuriyum is known, they attain brahman-hood.  He will claim that I alone am appearing as the entire creation.  This is similar to dream and waking state.  In this life itself, a gyani will be able to claim nothing is away from me.

Verse 90

To gain the knowledge successfully one must know four factors with clarity in the very beginning:

1. Heyam (mithya vasthu):  Those which are to be rejected or given up; The entire anatma prabanja or material universe or the first three padha (viswa, taijasa, pragya) are all mithya and subject to change and destructions.  One must transcend anithya vasthu; some of them we can temporarily make use of for our intermediary goal.  But ultimately they must be given up.  Similarly pole valuter.  Temporaily leaning on antama is allowed.  You can lean on Eeswara, guru and sasthra.  But ultimately you should not lean on them but lean on yourself.  World dependence to god dependence to self-dependence.
2. Yeyam (Sathya vasthu):  What is the ultimate thing to be known and relied upon:  Thuriyum.
3. Apyam: Qualification to be acquired; sadhana sadhusta sambadhi; virtues mentioned in Baghawad Geeta
4. Pakyam