Mandukya Upanishad, Class 44
Up to 30th verse, Gowdabadha established
thuriyum is kariya karana vilakshanam and hence it is advaidam. Whoever
misses the truth of advaidam and has the false version of dwaidam, that person
will have samsara. Adaidam is a fact; dwaidam is not a fact and is a
myth.
From 31to to 39th verse, this dwaida
dharishanam is because of mind alone and therefore to tackle the dwaida
dharishanam you have to tackle the mind by mano nasaha which is explained in
two different ways:
- In the 31st verse, Gowdapadha says that the destruction of mind should be understood as the destruction of the problematic mind, not the real mind, which is required to enjoy poornatvam, moksha etc. A mind which sees dwaidam as sathyam will create problem. As long as mind sees duality as reality that mind will create problem. You must change the vision of the mind; let the continue to exist and see the duality, but let it understand that the perceived duality is mithya. It is like continuing to see the dream with the knowledge that it is a dream. When the mind sees no more dwaida dharshanam, you have destroyed problematic mind. This is mano nasaha.
- In the 33rd Verse, Gowdapadha talked about uniqueness of advaida atma gyanam. It is a unique knowledge where the subject, object and the instrument of knowledge is all atma. Atma knows itself by itself. By this it appears as though it is an event that happens in time. Atma does not require some instrument to know itself, it only means atma is ever evident for everyone because it is consciousness principle, and everyone knows that I am a conscious being. If atma is self-evident, why are we studying the scriptures. Atma gyanam means removing the misconception regarding the ever evident atma, the I. Misconceptions are that I am the localized individual associated with this body, this mind. Self-knowledge is nothing but removing the misconception regarding the ever-evident I. This misconception removal is an event. For this event to take place, guru is required. Guru and sasthram remove the misconception regarding me. This misconception removal is called atma gyanam. Sthula, shuksma and karana sareeram have nothing to do with me. I am a conscious being not connected to any sareeram. This sareera sambandha misconception is removed. The walker hood misconception, the sleeper hood and dreamer hood misconceptions are removed. For that you require sasthra and guru.
Verse 34
This gyani and gyani mind does not have dwaida
dharshanam. A person who sleeps is also free from dwaida dharshanam.
What is the difference between the two? Both are in advaidam.
A yogi in samadhi is also sleeper. A person who is in sleep does not
perceive duality, but the duality is only temporarily dissolved. In fact,
duality continues in sleep in potential form. Temporary advaidam is not
real advidam, it is potential dwaidam. When the sleeper wakes up this
potential dwaidam comes back with the family etc. coming back. Therefore,
a sleeper or meditator in samadhi is not in real advaidam. But a gyani is
one who has understood that dwaidam is mithya even when he perceives
dwaidam. It is a cognitive and intellectual process by using budhi,
sasthram and guru. He knows mithya dwaidam is as good as nonexistent
because it can’t be counted on. Gyani’s advaidam is not the end of
dwaidam experience. He knows there is always advaidam whether there is
dwaidam experience or not. Gyanis’s advaidam is in spite of the advaidam experiences. Gyani’s advaidam is not disturbed dwaida
experiences. Therefore, gyani is free
from dwaidam all the time. The state of wisdom is different from the
state of sleep. Gyani and the sushukthi. The condition
of mind in sushukthi is different than the knowing mind of a gyani; a sleeper’s
mind can’t be equated to a gyani’s mind. Sleeper’s mind is potential
dwaidam.
Verse 35
In deep sleep state the mind has
gone to only potential condition and therefore dwaidam is also dormant, and not
negated for good. It is only escapism from the problem of samsara and not
solution for the problem. Whereas the mind which is disciplined though
wisdom does not go to potential dwaidam and it is not temporarily resolved.
For a gyani mind has become brahman. Gyani understands that mind is nothing
but brahman plus nama roopa. It is like for a wise person pot has
become clay, now he has understood that there is no such thing called pot; what
he called pot now he understands it is clay with a name. There is no
substance called pot and there is no weight for the pot; weight of the pot is
weight of clay. There is no change in mind, but there is change in my
understanding. There is no change in pot, there is change in my understanding.
This change is called conversion of mind into Brahman. The advantage to
this conversion is similar to seeing rope as rope and rope as snake. I don’t
runaway from a rope but when I see rope as snake, there is fear. When you
see mind as mind, there is samsara, when you see mind as Brahman there is no
samsara. When you see dwaidam as dwaidam, there is fear; but when you see
it advaidam, there is no fear. Amani bava is learning to see mind as
Brahman is the destruction of mind. This is nothing but light of
consciousness. That consciousness is all pervading. In Gyani’s
vision, mind, body and the world are all Brahman, and no one can harm
anyone. A wise mind is permanently free from problem; a sleeping mind is
temporarily free from problem.