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Mandukya Upanishad: Exploring the Essence of AUM & Consciousness
The Upanishad has been revealed to a great sage teacher Manduka. The Upanishad belongs to the Atharva Veda. It contains just twelve verses. Yet it occupies a very important position in Vedantic literature because it underlines the essence of the entire Advaita Vedanta. One of the Mahavakyas “ayam atma Brahma” is derived from the Mandukya Upanishad. It is said that Mandukya Upanishad alone is adequate for an aspirant to achieve liberation.
The theme of this Upanishad is the exposition of the mystic syllable AUM (or OM). It is aimed at training the mind in meditation.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 1
Om ityetadaksharam idam sarvam,
tasyopavyakhyanam bhutam bhavat
bhavishyaditi sarvam omkara eva.
Everything is OM, indeed meaning –all this, whatever is visible, whatever is cognizable, whatever can come within the purview of sense-perception, inference or verbal testimony, whatever can be comprehended is all OM. OM is Pranava. It is the Bija-mantra for all mantras be it Vaidika or Tantrika.
OM is both a Nama and a Rupa, name as well as form. The Absolute Supreme is the Rupa (form) of OM which is the Nama (name). It is not merely a sound, though it is also a sound, and a very important aspect of OM that one has to bear in mind is that OM is not merely a chant or a recitation, a word or a part of human language but it is something more than all this. It is something that exists by its own right.
We do not create OM by chanting of it, but we only produce a vibration sympathetic with the vibration that is already there by its own right and which is called OM. OM in essence is a cosmic vibration. It is not a chant made by us. It is said that OM is a Universal vibration with which creation commenced.
aum ity etad akṣaram idam sarvam, tasyopavyākhyānam
bhūtam bhavad bhaviṣyad iti sarvam auṁkāra eva
yac cānyat trikālātītaṁ tad apy auṁkāra eva.
Names go with the form. And for this reason, all names in this world are perishable. When the form goes, so does the name. But the Universal form is imperishable. Then the Universal name is also imperishable.
Thus OM is Akshram. All that is past, that which is present and that which will be in the future is OM.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 2 – Individual and the Absolute
sarvaṁ hy etad brahma, ayam ātmā brahma
so’yam ātmā catuṣ-pāt.
The mantra contains three statements –
1. All this is verily Brahman
2. This Atman is Brahman
3. This Atman has four quarters or padas.
We shall examine these statements.
“Sarvam hyetad brahma”
All this is, verily, Brahman. Thus begins the second Mantra. “All this creation is just the Absolute alone”, is the real meaning of this statement. All that can be regarded as what you call this universe is that Brahman.
“Ayam atma brahma”
The Upanishad goes one step forward. It declares that this Atman, (individual self) is also Brahman. Here you have; as it were, the quintessence of all Upanishadic teaching, the last word of the Vedanta, as you may call it, the culmination of the wisdom of the sages. The Universe which appears proximate to our senses, this Jivatma (Individual Self) of ours which also appears proximate to us and that Brahman which seems to be far away from our reach are all reconciled with the Absolute.
“so’yam ātmā catuṣ-pāt”
This subject, this Atman (Individual Self) is regarded as fourfold (four-footed as it were) for analysis. The fourfold of the Atman described in the Mandukya Upanishad are the four aspects in the study of the Atman and not four distinguishable, partitioned quarters of the Atman. We have the physical, the subtle, the causal and spiritual aspects as the four aspects to be studied while analysing the nature of the Atman.
These four stages are called Jagrat, Swapna, Sushupti and Turiya – the waking state, the dreaming state, the sleeping state and the transcendent spiritual state. These are the four states of consciousness and the study of consciousness is the same as the study of Absolute Brahman. The study of consciousness is the subject of this Upanishad.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 3 – Waking state
jāgarita sthāno bahiṣ-prajñaḥ saptāṅga
ekonaviṁśati-mukhaḥ sthūla-bhug vaiśvānaraḥ prathamaḥ pādah.
The first quarter is Vaisvanara. Its field is the waking state. Its consciousness is outward-turned. It is seven-limbed and nineteen-mouthed. It enjoys gross objects. We commence the study by taking into account all reality as presented to us. The mind will not accept what it does not see or understand.
The Mandukya Upanishad, therefore, considers this aspect and commences the work of analysis of the self from the foundation of sense-perception and mental cognition based on this perception.
Sense perception comes through shabda, sparsha, roopa, rasa, gandha – sound, touch, shape or forms, taste and smells through his respective sense organs. We do not see Ishvara, Brahman, Omkara, Pranava etc. We hear about all these but cannot see, hear or touch any of them.
We cannot accept them unless a satisfactory explanation is given regarding the visible. This immediacy of consciousness the sensory fact presented to us in our day-to-day life is called waking life or Jagrat-avastha. All experience we have gained is confined to waking life.
To us life means waking life. In the words of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan “The waking state is the normal condition of the natural man, who without reflection accepts the universe as he finds it. The same physical universe bound by uniform laws presents itself to all men”.
Vaisvanara
Let us now try to understand the way we begin to know the world as it appears to us in the waking life. Its special feature is “Bahihprajnah”. It is conscious of only what is external to us and not what is inside us. Our sense organs can experience the outside world and not what is within us. This is the peculiarity of the waking consciousness.
The Upanishad says this consciousness is Sevenlimbed and has nineteen mouths. This consciousness is called Vaisvanara.
It may be appropriate to understand the meaning of some of the words we will come across.
- Jiva – refers to Individual soul
- Visva – Individual soul in waking state.
- Virat – Universal or macrocosmic aspect of Ishvara
The total of all Visva is Virat. The total of all physical bodies is Virat. The totality of the gross universe is also Virat Whatever exists in one’s own body also exists in the Universe. The human body is a miniature Universe. From the point of view of this Upanishad, there is no unbridgeable gulf between Jiva and Ishvara.
The seven limbs referred to in this Upanishad is a definition of the Cosmic described in the Chandogya Upanishad. We just said that in the waking consciousness, the Jiva is aware of only external objects. This is true of Ishvara also. Both are Bahihprajna (outwardly conscious) with a subtle difference. We will come to this a little later.
Seven limbs
- 1. the shining regions of heaven may be regarded as His head.
- 2. His eyes are the Sun and the Moon.
- 3. Air is His breath
- 4. Fire (Ahavaniya fire, one of the three fires of the Agnihotra sacrifice) His mouth
- 5. Sky is His body.
- 6. Water is His urinary organ (kidney or bladder)
- 7 . Earth is His feet.
This is the Universal Atman, Virat, from the point of view of the waking consciousness. This is what Arjuna saw as described in the eleventh chapter in Bhagavad Gita. Just as we have consciousness animating our physical body, Virat is animating the physical Universe. This Virat is called Antaryamin because He is immanent in all things.
For this Virat-Purusha there is no difference between living being and dead matter. He is present in the inanimate as well as in the animate by means of what are called the Gunas of Prakruti – Sattva, Rajas and Tamas – composure, activity and inertia. When He manifests Himself through Tamas alone, we call it inanimate existence.
Such objects as stone, rock, which, from our point of view, do not seem to have any consciousness animating them, and are examples of the Virat-Purusha through Tamoguna Prakruti, a quality of Prakruti in which Rajas and Sattva are hidden; Tamas is predominating over Rajas and Sattva. When Rajas and Sattva slowly reveal themselves more and more in larger quantity and extent, there is animation and life creeps into existence. From the inanimate, we come to the animate.
The first manifestation of life is through what we call Prana – the vital sustaining power in all living beings. Prana is functioning in the world of plants, vegetables, etc. But plants do not think as animals do. The function of thinking belongs to a higher order of Reality which we call as the animal world, with all its instincts and sensations. We now notice a greater degree of the manifestation of Reality.
There is a level of Sattva in humans, where we have not only functions of breathing and thinking, but also of understanding, logical discrimination etc. This is a level higher than that in the animals. We have to reach a still higher level than ordinary humans to reach the realm of Ananda or Divine light. And Ananda is equivalent to Chit and Sat – Consciousness and Being. At this level Sat, Chit and
Ananda became one. At this level, only Shuddha-Sattva prevails – no mixing of Rajas and Tamas. So we see distinctions in the realm of Jivas. The Virat, Vaisvanara, does not have any distinctions. While for humans the awareness is “I am, and you are also there”, for the Virat it is “I am and there is no world outside me”.
According to the Upanishad, the description is as if He has seven limbs. At the microcosmic level of Jiva the Upanishad tells us it has nineteen mouths. The function of the mouth is to consume things. In this sense, our eyes, nose etc through which we take in vibrations may be regarded as mouths.
Nineteen functional organs of this wakeful consciousness help us establish contact with the outside world.
They are –
- a)Five Jnanendriyas (Ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose).
- b)Five Karmendriyas (Mouth, hands, feet, genitals and anus).
- c)Five Pranas (Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana).
The four-fold Antahkarana chatushtaya (Manas-mind; Buddhi- Intellect, Chitta (subconscious mind or faculty by which things are remembered); Ahamkara (egoism or self arrogating principle).
These are the nineteen mouths of the Jiva referred to in the Upanishad. With the help of these nineteen instruments, we absorb the physical world outside us into ourselves. Our physical consciousness is not equipped to absorb anything superphysical. Our counterpart at the cosmic level is Vaisvanara. Virat, under the order of Ishvara, having entered the microcosmic body and having the intellect as his vehicle, reaches the state of Visva. The he goes by several names of – Vijnanattma, Chidabhasa, Visva, Vyavaharika Jiva etc.
Now coming back to Bahihprajna, or outward consciousness, while both the Jiva and Ishvara may be regarded as outwardly conscious, there is a subtle difference. While the consciousness relates itself to other objects and persons, it becomes the individual Jiva. In this process, the Jiva binds itself to the external objects – called Samsara. This leads to a desire and likes and dislikes.
In the case of the Virat there is no desire. It only has an awareness of the physical cosmos. There is one other difference is. In the case of the Virat the whole Universe is comprehended in its consciousness. That is not possible for the Jiva.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 4 – Dream State
svapna-sthāno’ntaḥ-prajñaḥ saptāṅga ekonavimśati-mukhaḥ
pravivikta-bhuk taijaso dvītiyaḥ pādah.
The second quarter is Taijasa. Its field is the dream state. Its consciousness is inward-turned. It is seven-limbed and nineteen-mouthed. It enjoys subtle objects.
During dreams, the mind creates various kinds of objects out of the impressions produced by experiences of the waking state. The mind reproduces the whole of waking life in dream through the force of Avidya (ignorance), Kama (desire and imagination) and Karma (action). The mind is the perceiver and it is also the perceived in a dream. The desires that are not satisfied during the waking state are gratified in the dream state.
The dream is the state during which the Atman is referred to as Taijasa. The Svapna Avastha (dream state) is that state in which the senses are at rest. Here the object of experience is consciousness consisting of vasanas (affinities), the impressions of the experience. The dream-state experience is called the experience of the subtle. Sutratman or Hiranyagarbha, under the order of Ishvara having entered the microcosmic body subtle body and having the mind as his vehicle, reaches the Taijasa state. He goes by various names – Taijasa, Pratibhasika and Svapnakalpita.
The dreamer creates a world of his own during the state. Mind alone works independently in this state. The senses are withdrawn into the mind. Mind also withdraws itself from the outside world and plays in the dream with vasanas and Samskaras. It enjoys objects made up of fine ideas which are products of desire. The difference between dream state and the waking state is – In the dream state there is a subtle experience by Taijasa in the form of vasanas, whereas experience in the waking state is with the gross.
The world of dream being subtle, projected only by the mind, is regarded as Pravivikta, Sukshma, nonphysical; – this is so both in the case of Taijasa and Hiranyagarbha. While Hiranyagarbha has Cosmic Knowledge, the Jiva has no such knowledge. Hiranyagarbha is Ishvara’s form, and Taijasa is Jiva’s form. Thus is the twofold mystery which dream bolsters up before us.
In the dream state, the state of consciousness by which subtle objects are perceived is called Antahprajna or inner perception. The Visva, or the Jagaritasthana, is Saptanga and Ekonavimsatimukha; and so is Taijasa, or the Svapnasthana. The seven limbs and nineteen mouths reference is relevant in this state as well.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 5 – Deep sleep state
yatra supto na kaṁ cana kāmaṁ kāmayate
na kaṁ cana svapnam paśyati tat suṣuptam
suṣupta-sthāna ekī-bhūtaḥ prajñānā-ghana evānanda-mayo
hy ānanda-bhuk ceto-mukhaḥ prājñas tṛtīyaḥ pādah.
The third quarter or condition is Prajna. whose sphere is deep sleep, in whom all experiences have become one, who is essentially a mass of consciousness, who is full of bliss, who enjoys bliss and who leads the way to the knowledge of the two other states. When Jivatma experiences deep sleep, the functions of the nineteen organs come to a stop. The Jiva does not see or hear anything. There is no functioning of the mind. Egoism is also absent. However, the veil of ignorance, avidya, persists.
Under the orders of Ishvara he who is coupled with Avyakta, enters the microcosmic Karana body and reaches the state of Prajna. The other names for Prajna are – Avicchinna, Paramarthika, and Sushupti Abhimani. Just like a bird, tired after roaming, go back to its nest – so too the Jiva tired, after actions during the waking and dreaming states, enter Ajnana and enjoys the bliss.
All the knowledge of the waking and dreaming state enters into a oneness. Visva and Taijasa have entered a condition of oneness. The experiences of the waking and dream state are not annihilated but remain in a seed state. They become a dense mass of consciousness during deep sleep- Prajnanaghana.
In deep sleep the mind is involved in its cause – Avidya. For this reason, there is this veil of ignorance between the individual soul and the Brahman. Therefore the Jiva cannot attain the knowledge of Brahman during deep sleep state. The bliss enjoyed is termed Avidya Avrita Sukha – bliss enveloped by ignorance. When you wake up from deep sleep – you enjoyed the sleep but did not know anything. The remembrance when you get up from deep sleep that the Sakshi or the witness of three states exists. That Sakshi is Brahman.
You do experience bliss during deep sleep – but not the highest bliss of Brahman, the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The only thing achieved is freedom from unhappiness. When you wake up from deep sleep, man is still ignorant and affected by worldly objects. And that is why you do not attain Brahmajnana. Compare this to the state of a sage coming out of Samadhi. The sage has full knowledge of the self and is not affected by worldly objects. That is the difference between deep sleep and Samadhi.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 6 – Ishvara
eṣa sarveśvaraḥ eṣa sarvajñaḥ, eṣo’ntāryami eṣa
yoniḥ sarvasya prabhavāpyayau hi bhūtānām.
The word Sarvesvara means Lord of all meaning the physical and supra-physical Universe. All mental and physical worlds come out of Ishvara and He controls everything. He is omnipotent and as such He is the source and end of all creation.
Prajna is the causal state of the Universe. Macrocosmically, we regard this consciousness as the creator of the whole Universe. Microcosmically also, the same consciousness is the creator of the internal world of the Jiva.
The description of Sarvesvara (omnipotent) and Sarvajna (omniscient) cannot be attributed to Jiva – since the Jiva is neither omnipotent nor omniscient. Yet the Upanishad does not make a distinction between the individual and the Cosmic and harmonizes the relation between Jiva and Ishvara. The causal condition of the Jiva, namely Prajna, is regarded only as a part of the cosmic causal state of Ishvara. Just as the whole world has come out of Ishvara, so also the waking and dream states have come out of deep sleep.
The Prajna is the knower of all as He is in all beings. He is Antaryamin (i.e.) the inner ruler and governor all beings from within. He has entered into all beings and directs everything from within. He is the source of all. From Him proceeds the entire world. While He is the origin of all, He is also the place of dissolution for all beings.
Ishvara does not exert from the outside to create the world. He does not want any instruments or materials to work with while creating the worlds. He is Omnipotent. He wills it and everything comes into being. He is both the material and instrumental cause. He projects this world and in the end, withdraws it within Himself.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 7 – The Transcendent Presence
nāntaḥ-prajñam, na bahiṣ prajñam, nobhayataḥ-prajñam
na prajnañā-ghanam, na prajñam, nāprajñam;
adṛṣtam, avyavahārayam, agrāhyam, alakṣaṇam,
acintyam, avyapadeśyam, ekātma-pratyaya-sāram,
prapañcopaśamam, śāntam, śivam, advaitam,
caturtham manyante, sa ātmā, sa vijñeyaḥ.
Abstruse theories regarding Brahman cannot easily be grasped by men of ordinary learning. Two techniques have generally been employed to make it easier for them to grasp.
1. Explain the unknown by giving examples from day-to-day life
2. Explain the unexplainable by denying the known entities. It is called the “Neti Neti “(not this; not this) technique. In this case, the sage employs the second technique.
We have so far discussed the three states of consciousness – waking state, dream state and the deep sleep state. The seventh mantra in the Mandukya Upanishad adopted the “Neti Neti” technique to explain Turiya, the fourth state of consciousness. Turiya cannot be described in words. It is the transcendental state that has to be realised through meditation. Atman is beyond the reach of senses. It has no qualities, colour, shape or form. You cannot touch it or smell it.
For this reason it is indefinable. Yet Atman is the sole essence of the consciousness of the Self. The fourth stage of Turiya is distinct from the waking state, the dreaming state, the intermediate state between waking dreaming states and the deep sleep state. It is pure consciousness. Turiya is distinct from Ishvara. Turiya or Brahman has no relation with the world. However, Ishvara governs the world. Brahman is free from Maya whereas Ishvara is with Maya.
Swami Sivananda explains that strictly speaking “Turiya is not a state. Turiya or Brahman is an embodiment of peace and bliss. It is the substratum for the other three states”. It is absolute existence, knowledge and bliss.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 8 – Atman as Pranava
so’yam ātmādhyakṣaram auṁkaro’dhimātram pādā mātrā
mātrāś ca pādā akāra ukāra makāra iti.
In the previous mantras, the Atman has been described from the viewpoint of the four states – waking, dream, deep sleep and Turiya. In this mantra, it is being described from the viewpoint of sound AUM. This will help meditation on AUM. Earlier it was said that the Self can be seen in four states or quarters (padas); visva – the waking state, taijasa – the dream state, prajna – the deep sleep state and turiya – pure consciousness. Turiya is the real nature of the Self.
The first three states (padas) of the Self are represented by the three letters (matras )of AUM. Hence this mantra says that the padas and the matras are the same. Turiya is beyond description; so it is amatra- beyond the matras. Some people may question as to why the same idea is being repeated in two different ways. The reason for that is that a few people may find it difficult to absorb the concepts given in the previous mantras. Those people may concentrate on AUM as the symbol of Ultimate Reality.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 9 – AUM syllable
jāgarita-sthāno vaiśvānaro’kāraḥ prathamā
mātrā’pter ādimattvād vā’pnoti ha vai
sarvān kāmān ādiś ca bhavati ya evaṁ veda.
The word Om represents the Atman. So the mantras of Om represent the different conditions in which the Atman manifests itself. Matra “A” (Akaara) represents the first condition. – Vaisvanara. Just like “A” pervades in all letters of the alphabet so also Vaisvanara pervades all things in the Universe.
Just as “A” is the first letter in AUM, so also Vaisvanara is the first condition of Atman. The waking state is the first of the three states. He who knows it has all his desires fulfilled.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 10
svapna-sthānas taijasa ukāro dvitīyā
mātrotkarṣāt ubhayatvādvotkarṣati ha vai
jñāna-saṁtatiṁ samānaś ca bhavati
nāsyābrahma-vit-kule bhavati ya evam veda.
Now, the Upanishad proceeds further to a comparison of the second syllable of Omkara, namely ‘U’, with the second phase of the manifested Atman, namely, Taijasa. Ukara is the second syllable of Om, which can be compared with the second Pada or foot of the Atman. The Ukara is regarded as Utkarsha or elevated in the sense that it is beyond Akara, and comes after Akara.
We can compare, in meditation, Ukara with Taijasa, the dreaming consciousness. Just as “U” is in between waking and sound sleep, Taijasa is also in between Visva and Prajna. He who knows this attains supreme knowledge. He is treated equally by all. Anyone ignorant of Brahman is not born in his family.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 11
suṣupta-sthānaḥ prājño makāras tṛtīya mātrā
miter apīter vā minoti ha vā idaṁ
sarvam apītiś ca bhavati ya evaṁ veda.
The Upanishad, then, proceeds with the comparison between Makara and the deep sleep state of consciousness. Makara is the third Matra of Om, and it is comparable with Prajna, the third state, causal, of the Atman. Visva and Taijasa are, as it were, measured by Prajna in Pralaya (involution) and Utpatti (evolution).
Visva and Taijasa sink in Prajna during sleep and emerge out of him afterwards. This is symbolically represented as being measured by Prajna. When the syllable Om is repeated continuously, the letters “A” and “U” appear to merge themselves in “M” and emerge out of it again Prajna is identified with the letter “M”.
He who knows this will be able to measure all. He will be able to know the real nature of this world. He will be able to comprehend all within himself.
Mandukya Upanishad – Mantra 12
amātraś caturtho’vyavahāryaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ sivo’dvaita
evam auṁkāra ātmaiva, saṁviśaty ātmanā’tmānaṁ ya evaṁ veda ya evaṁ veda.
That which has no parts is called Amatra. Omkara is Amatra. It is the fourth quarter. It is pure Atman. The benefit derived from realising the Atman – is that he attains immortality. He is not born again. Visva merges in Taijasa, Taijasa in Prajna and Prajna dissolves itself in Turiya Atman – Brahman.
This concludes the Mandukya Upanishad.
