Introduction to Upanishads – Class 10. Mandukya Upanishad video link, Revision Slides

Contributed By Dr Thimappa Hegde

Click here For Lecture Video

Mandukya Upanisad with Karika by Swami Paramarthananda- Transcribed by Sri S. Chandrasekaran available at arhaavinash.in website

MANDUKYA Upanishad – Class 10

19th MARCH 2021

GannaanaamTvaaGanna-PatimHavaamahe

KavimKaviinaam-Upama-Shravastamam |

Jyessttha-Raajam

Brahmannaam Brahmannaspata

Aa Nah Shrnnvan-UutibhihSiidaSaadanam

Om Shri MahaGanadipathayeNamaha

Summary of Previous Class

Contributed by Smt Chetana

Shukla Yajurveda Ishavasya Upanishad

•A small Upanishad - 18 mantras

•Comparable to 18 chapters of the Gita

•Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - over 400 mantras

•The 1st word is “Ishavasya”

•Most of the mantras are obscure / no regular meaning

Two main topics and CharamaPrarthana

•Mantra 1 - Jnana Yoga (3 to 8)

•Mantra 2- Karma Yoga (9 to14)

•Charama Prarthana (15 to18)

Shanthipat

•Om poornamadah poornamidam

•Poornaat poornamudachyate Poornasya poornamaadaaya

•Poornamevaavashishṣyate Om shaantih shaantih shaantih

Mantra 1 has 2 messages

•1. Spiritual Goal - Jnanam/ Spiritual Wisdom

•2. Lifestyle - Sanyasa Ashrama / Nivritti Marga

•The entire world – static as well as dynamic – is pervaded by Ishwara – the Supreme Lord.

•Hence enjoy the pleasures in a detached manner. Do not be greedy. This wealth does not belong to anyone.

Change our focus from the world to God

Introduction- Dr. Thimappa Hegde

Mandukya Upanishad on Om

•The Mandukya Upanishad belongs the Atharvana Veda.

•Manduka which means means a frog.

•It is the smallest Upanishad with only 12 mantras.

•This Upanishad is a Sutrabuta Upanishad, helping the student to revise the teaching gained from the rest of the Vedanta.

•Muktikopanishad saying Mandukya eka eva alam - the study of Mandukya alone is sufficient.

Gaudapada Karikas

•Gaudapadacharya the guru of Govinda Bhagavatpada, who was the guru of Adi Shankaracharya composed karikas connecting the teaching in Mandukya Upanishad to that in the various other Upanishads

•The karikas are in verse form

•There are 215 karikas

•Adi Shankaracharya has commented both on the Upanishad and the karikas.

Verse 1

Contributed by Dr. Komal Prasad

oṃ ityetadakṣaraṃ idagṃ sarvaṃ tasyopavyākhyānaṃ

bhūtaṃ bhavad bhaviṣyaditi sarvamoṅkāra eva ।

yaccānyat trikālātītaṃ tadapyoṅkāra eva ॥ 1॥

The syllable Om is all this.

(Now follows) a clear and complete exposition of that (syllable.)

All this belonging to the past, the present, and the future is Oṅkāra only.

And anything else, which is beyond the three periods of time is also Oṅkāra only(mantra 1)

Mandukya Upanishad Mantra 1 Pranava

Om ity etad akṣaram idaṃ sarvaṃ

Tasyopa vyākhyānaṃ bhūtaṃ bhavad bhaviṣyad iti

Sarvam oṅkāra eva | yacc ānyat trikālā tītaṃ tada py oṅkāra eva || 1 ||

•Om, the word, is all this.

•A clear explanation of it is the following.

•All that is past, present and future is verily Om

•That which is beyond the three periods of time,

•Is also truly Om

Verse 2

Contributed by Dr. Kiran

Mantra 2

•sarvagṃ hyetad brahma āyamatma brahma so'yamatmacatuṣpāt ॥ 2॥

•All this is indeed Brahman. This ātmā is Brahman. This ātmā has four Facets. (mantra 2p)

•Sarvam= all, hi= indeed, etat= this, brahma= Brahman, ayamatma brahma= this self is Brahman, saha= that, ayamatma- this self, chatushpat= endowed with 4 Facets

•Om=sarvam, sarvam=brahman,

•brahman= atma, so enquiring on atma = enquiring on brahman

•Enquiring on atma=enquiring on self

Verse 7

Contributed by Dr. Murugesan

•Naanta Prajnam Na bahis Prajnam Nobhayate prajnam

•Na Prajnaana ghanam Na Prajnam Naaprajnam

•Adhirstam Avyavaharyam Agrahyam Alakshanam

•Acintyam Avyapadesyam Ekatma Pratyaya saaram

•Prapancopasamam shantam shivam advaitam Caturtam Manyante

•Sah Atma Sah Vigneyah:

Significant verse describes Turiyam

•Word ‘Caturtham’ synonymous of Turiyam

•Turiyam means fourth one

•Previous mantras- explained 3 avasthas( Jagrat, Swapna and Susupti)

•Visva-Virat, Taijasa-Hiranyagarbha, Pragna-Ishwara

•Turiyam is different from Visva, Taijasa, & Pragna

•But in and through 3 Avasthas

•Transcendental, Immanent

•I am waker; I am dreamer; I am sleeper

•‘I am’ – Turiyam

•I, Consciousness is called Visva-Waking

•I, Consciousness is called Taijasa- Dreaming

•I, Consciousness is called Pragna-Sleeping

How to dissociate ?

•Physical dissociation

•Experiential dissociation

•Vedanta says dissociation by pure knowledge or understanding

•I, the Turiyam, am only seemingly Visva, Taijasa and Pragna, but not associated with these

Nature of Turiyam

•Mantra divided into 3 portions

•1,2nd part- gives Negative definition, 3rd part gives Positive definition

•First part talks Pramaada traya vilakshanam

•Na bahis Prajnam- Turiyam is not Waker ‘I’

•Naanta Prajnam- Not Dreamer ‘I’

•Na Prajnaana Ghanam- Not sleeper’I’

•Nobhayate prajnam- Not intermediate state of experience

•Na Prajnam- Not even knower of all

•Naaprajnam- it is not inert principle

•What is Turiyam?

•Turiyam is pure Consciousness without being a knower

Second part of mantra

•Turiyam is Aprameyam

•Prameya Traya Vilakshanam

•Adhirstam- Invisible to eyes and sense organs

•Avyavaharayam- beyond all transactions

•Agrahyam- not grasped by karmendriyanis

•Alakshanam- does not have any indicator to reveal its presence

•Acintyam- beyond thoughts, inconceivable

•Avyapadesyam-indescribable

3rd part of mantra

•Ekatma Pratyaya saaram

•Continuous & changeless ’I’ in changing experience

•Eg: I was boy, I was young man, I am an old man

•Prapancopasamam: World is negated, Mithya category

•Advaitam: Non-dual, consciousness is only countable since matter is unreal, not countable

•Shantam: Turiyam is free from sorrow

•Shivam: Ananda roopam

CaturtamManyante:

•Only ignorant people wrongly think that Consciousness is 4th part, for wise people it is real.

•Sah Atma: Turiyam ‘I’ is real ‘I’

•Sah vigneyah: In life, this is the only thing worth knowing

•Naanta Prajnam Na bahis Prajnam Nobhayate prajnam

•Na Prajnaana ghanam Na Prajnam Naaprajnam

•Adhirstam Avyavaharyam Agrahyam Alakshanam

•Acintyam Avyapadesyam Ekatma Pratyaya saaram

•Prapancopasamam shantam shivam advaitam Caturtam Manyante

•Sah Atma Sah Vigneyah:

Second part of mantra

•Turiyam is Aprameyam

•Prameya Traya Vilakshanam

•Adhirstam- Invisible to eyes and sense organs

•Avyavaharayam- beyond all transactions

•Agrahyam- not grasped by karmendriyanis

•Alakshanam- does not have any indicator to reveal its presence

•Acintyam- beyond thoughts, inconceivable

•Avyapadesyam-indescribable

3rd part of mantra

•Ekatma Pratyaya saaram

•Continuous & changeless ’I’ in changing experience

•Eg: I was boy, I was young man, I am an old man

•Prapancopasamam: World is negated, Mithya category

•Advaitam: Non-dual, consciousness is only countable since matter is unreal, not countable

•Shantam: Turiyam is free from sorrow

•Shivam: Ananda roopam

CaturtamManyante:

•Only ignorant people wrongly think that Consciousness is 4th part, for wise people it is real.

•Sah Atma: Turiyam ‘I’ is real ‘I’

•Sah vigneyah: In life, this is the only thing worth knowing

Verse 8

Contributed by Dr. Diwakar

OM KARA VICHARA

so’yam ātmādhyakṣaram oṁkaro’dhimātram pādā mātrā mātrāś ca pādā akāra ukāra makāra iti .8.

OM KARA VICHARAH

-PARALLELS BETWEEN CHATUSHPADA ATHMA & OM KARA

-PURPOSE IS TO USE ‘OM KARA’ FOR VEDANTIC MEDITATION

- FOCUS ON THE SOUND OF OM,CALLED AS MATRA

Overview of Mandukya Karika

Dr. Thimappa Hegde

Sri Gaudapada’sMandukyaKarikas

Gaudapadacharya is the Grand Guru of Adi Shankaracharya

•Naarayanam, Padmabhuvam, Vashistam,

•Sakthim cha, tat putra Parasaram cha,

•Vyasam, Sukham, Gaudapadham Mahantham,

•Govinda Yogeendram, Adhasya Sishyam

•Sri Sankaracharyam athasya Padmapadham cha, Hasthamalakam cha sishyam:

•Tham Thaotakam, Varthika karam,asyan

•Gurun santhatham aanadoshmi:"

•Mandukya Upanishad with Karikas

•Agama prakaranam – 12 Upanishad and 29 karikas

•Vaitatya prakaranam – 38 karikas

•Advaitaprakaranam – 48 karikas

•Alatashantiprakaranam – 100 karikas

MandukyaKarika

Vaitatya PrakaranamIf 'I' is taken as the Consciousness, this world is as unreal as the dream world

Very Difficult to Accept this World as Unreal •Prapanchopasamam

•38 karikas

•Shruthi

•Yukthi

•Anubuthi

•The world is un­real, means that it has a borrowed existence.

•Like pot and clay

Gaudapada on Dream and this World

•1. External

•2. Objective

•3. Clarity

•4. Useful

The dream world satisfies all the criteria for unreality compared to this world

•It is within me in the form of my thoughts.

•I know that the dream world de­pends on me for its existence.

•c) I also know that the dream events are of no consequence to me in the waking state

Gaudapada answers these questions by asking us to clearly understand what "I"means

•If, "I" is taken as Con­sciousness then things will fall in proper place.

•1) The world rests in me

•2) The world depends on me for its Existence

•3) The world does not affect me.

•This world, therefore, is as unreal as the dream world only if I look at it from my real nature, Atma or Consciousness.

•

Study of Mandukya Upanishad with Karikas

•Agama prakaranam – 12 Upanishad and 29 karikas

•Vaitatya prakaranam – 38 karikas

•Advaitaprakaranam – 48 karikas

•Alatashantiprakaranam – 100 karikas

Glimpse of next topic – Bhaja Govindam By Dr. Thimappa Hegde