Mandukya Upanishad, Class 77
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:
- 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. - Yeyam (Sathya vasthu): What is the ultimate thing
to be known and relied upon: Thuriyum. - Apyam: Qualification to be acquired; sadhana sadhusta
sambadhi; virtues mentioned in Baghawad Geeta - Pakyam