Mandukya Upanishad - 2

 

Mantras 1, 2 & 3

Mantra 1

oṃ ityetadaksaraṃ idagṃ sarvaṃ tasyopavyakhyanaṃ

bhutaṃ bhavad bhavisyaditi sarvamonkara eva ।

yaccanyat trikalatitaṃ tadapyonkara eva ॥ 1॥

The syllable AUM 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 Omkara only. And anything else, which is beyond the three periods of time is also Omkara only. 

In the first Mantra, the Upanishad introduces Omkara-vichara, analysis of syllable AUM.  The Upanishad states that Omkara, the word or syllable AUM is everything in the creation and explains that everything belonging to the past, present and future, whether they are inert objects or sentient living beings, are all nothing but Omkara. Whatever the ultimate or absolute reality is, which is beyond past, present and future, is also Omkara. Thus what falls within time and what lies beyond time is nothing but Omkara.  Since Omkara is within time and beyond time, by analyzing Omkara, we are analyzing everything. Thus Omkara is a precious syllable. Omkara is everything and so understanding Omkara amounts to understanding everything within time and beyond time.

The pots that have come out of mud are sustained by mud and go back to mud when they are destroyed. Similarly, the visual world phenomena come out of Brahman, exist in Brahman, and return to Brahman when they are withdrawn from their manifestation.  That Brahman, the eternal, all-pervading principle of Consciousness is represented by the word-symbol AUM is the message of Mantra 1

Mantra 2

sarvaṃ hi etad brahma ayamatma brahma so'yamatma catuṣpat ॥ 2॥ 

All this is verily Brahman. This Athma is Brahman. This Athma has four quarters or Padas.

In this second Mantra Athma-vichara, Self-enquiry, is introduced.  We have three statements in this Mantra which are as under:

1. All this is verily Brahman.

2. This Athma is Brahman.

3. This Athma has four quarters or padas.

We shall now examine these statements.   It is stated in the first Mantra that Omkara is the sound representation of Brahman. Since Omkara is everything in creation, this is also true of Brahman and hence the first statement that all is verily Brahman.  The second statement is a Maha Vakhya that spells out Jiva-Brahma Ikyam.  Brahman which is everything in creation is also as Athma in Jiva making the inert body-mind complex sentient through its reflection in the mind, Chidabhasa.  Athma being one’s true Self, the enquiry into Athma is enquiry into Self i.e.Self-enquiry.  This is first taken up in verses 3 to 7, to be followed by Omkara-vichara in verses 8 to 12.  The enquiry is started with the third statement i.e. the Athma has four quarters or padas.

Here padas mean aspects or facets and not limbs like the four legs of a cow.  The Upanishad wants to say that Athma seems to possess four attributes or four aspects viz., the waking, the dream, the deep sleep and Turiya planes of Consciousness although the first three aspects devolve into the fourth in actuality.  The padas are discussed in the subsequent verses sequentially.

Mantra – 3

The waking state

jagaritasthano bahiṣprajnah saptanga ekonaviṃsatimukhah

sthula bhugvaisvanaraḥ prathamaḥ padaḥ ॥ 3॥

The first quarter (pada) is Vaisvanara, whose field of activity is the waking state, who is conscious of the external world of objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths, and who is the experiencer of gross material objects of the world. 

The waking consciousness is the first pada of the Athma,  the first aspect or phase of experience that Upanishad is studying and investigating. The waking Consciousness is jagaritasthanah, that consciousness which has its abode in the wakeful condition of the individual.  It is bahisprajnah, conscious only of the external world, not conscious of what is inside the body.  Virat is the name given to Consciousness as animating the physical universe.  Virat Purusha is the Cosmic Purusha whom Arjuna saw Lord Krishna as and described in the eleventh chapter of Bhagavad Gita.  Virat Purusha is called here Vaisvanara.  Vaisvanara is derived from the term visva-nara where visva means Comos and nara, man and together means the cosmic Purusha, Virat.  We have seen earlier that Athma is Brahman or the individual Self is Universal Self. On this basis the Upanishad is making use of the samashti term in the Mantra for discussing the waking state Consciousness namely Vaisvanara  instead of Vishwa, the vyashti term.  This is because in the waking state, the entire gross world is the field for the individual to interact with, not just one’s own individual body (Vishwa) which is the case in dream and deep sleep states, where the individual only is involved and not the external world.  The first pada is not the waking state itself but the Consciousness in association with the waking state, during which alone the total gross world can be experienced.  

The Upanishad uses both the microcosm and macrocosm in its description of the Consciousness associated with the waking state.   Thus we have the description that it has seven limbs and nineteen mouths. The nineteen mouths are associated with individual Self, Viswa, mouth representing the point of interaction with the external world and the seven limbs with the Universal Self, Virat, covering the entire Cosmos.   The nineteen mouths associated with individual Self, Viswa, are; the five Jnanendriyas i.e, Ear, Eye, Nose, Skin, Tongue; the five Karmendriyas i.e. Hands, Feet, Speech, Anus, Genitals; Panchapranas i.e. Prana, Apana, Vyana,Samana, Udana: and Anthakarana  i.e. Manas, Buddhi, Ahamkara and Chitham.  The seven limbs associated with the Universal Self, Virat, are; Heaven as Head; Sun and Moon as Eyes; Fire as Mouth; Air as Prana; Space as Body; Water as bladder; and Earth as Legs.  Thus Athma, the observer is appearing as Viswa and Virat in the waking state. So in the study of first pada, the waking Consciousness, the Upanishad is bringing about a harmony between the microcosm and macrocosm. 

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Mandukya Upanishad – 1

 

Introduction & Shanthi Mantra

Upanishad means BrahmaVidya, knowledge of Brahman, the Cosmic Supreme.  The word Upanishad primarily refers to the knowledge of the Brahman, and secondarily to the book that contains the knowledge of Brahman.  Upanishads form the end portion of Vedas, Veda anta bhaga, and so are called Vedanta as well. Since this portion deals with the knowledge of Brahman and its realization and gives the knowledge of jiva, the individual, jagat, the universe and their relationship with each other and with Brahman, this is the philosophical portion of Vedas and is called the jnana khanda.  The earlier portion of Vedas, Veda purva bhaga, deals only with karmas and upasanas and is called the karma khanda.  So while karma khanda focusses on action, the end portion, Veda anta bhaga, called Jnana khanda focusses on knowledge.

Vedas are divided into sakhas.  Each sakha contains an Upanishad.  Originally the Vedas had 1180 sakhas, of which many are lost now.  So we are now having 108 Upanishads only instead of 1180.  Out of these 108, the ten Upanishads for which Sri Aadhi Sankara had written commentaries are referred to as mukhya Upanishads. Mandukya Upanishad is a mukhya Upanishad and belongs to Atharvana Veda and is named after the sage Manduka, with whom it is associated.  It is the shortest of the ten mukhya Upanishads with just 12 Mantras but “presents the quintessence of the entire Upanishadic teaching” according to Swami Chinmayananda.   Mukthika Upanishad states “Mandukya by itself is capable of leading an aspirant to Liberation (Mandukyam ekam kevalam mumukshunam vimuktaye)”.   For Mandukya Upanishad Sri Gaudapadacharya, guru of Sri Aadhi Sankara has written a detailed explanatory analysis called Mandukyakarika consisting of 215 karikas or verses of analysis.  The importance of Mandukyakarika can be seen from the fact that for a student of Vedanta, the study of this Upanishad is not deemed complete without the study of Mandukyakarika as well.  The 12 Mantras of the Upaishad plus the 215 karikas are divided into 4 chapters.  The first chapter is called Agamaprakaraṇam (Vedic text). This chapter contains the entire Upanishad and 29 karikas. The second chapter is called Vaitathyaprakaraṇam (unreality of the objective world) containing 38 karikas on the mithya nature of the universe. The third chapter is titled Advaitaprakaraṇam (non-dualism) containing 48 karikas dealing with the non-dual nature of Athma. The fourth chapter is called Alatasantiprakaraṇam (quenching the fire-brand) containing 100 karikas, which answers all the possible objections to the teaching contained in the Upanishad.  We will deal with the main Upanishad only in these blogs.

This Upanishad opens with the peace invocation (shanthi Mantra), which is unique to all upanishads belonging to Atharvana Veda. Through this peace invocation the student prays for 1) sound physical, intellectual and emotional health, 2) A full life of worshipful attitude to all devas and 3) freedom from all types of obstacles that may hinder successful completion of the study and understanding of the Upanishad.  Swami Vivekananda interprets the first two lines of this shanthi mantra as” Let positive strong helpful thoughts enter into our brain from childhood”

The shanthi Mantra, which is self-explanatory, runs as:

“Om bhadram karnebhih shrunuyaama devaah Bhadram pashyemaakshabhiryajatraah I Sthirairangaistushtuvaamsastanoobhih Vyashema devahitam yadaayuh I Swasti na indro vridhashravaah Swasti nah pooshaa vishwavedaah I Swasti nastaarkshyo arishtanemihSwasti no brihaspatir dadhaatu.II  Om shantih, shantih, shantih!  II” 

Om, O Devas, may our ears hear what is good and auspicious! May we see what is auspicious! May we sing your praise, live our allotted span of life in perfect health and strength! May Indra (who is) extolled in the scriptures, Surya, the all-knowing, Garuda, who saves from all harm, and Brihaspati who protects our spiritual lustre, vouchsafe prosperity in our study of the scriptures and the practice of the truths contained therein! Om peace, peace, peace!

The shanti Mantra ends with “Om shantih, shantih, shantih!”  where Om is the sound representation of Brahman and  ‘shantih’ stands for the peace that comes from the removal of obstacles to the successful pursuit of study of Upanishad.  The obstacles are classified into three types.  These are:

1. Adhyathmikam – Obstacles arising from within oneself like one’s personal ill-health, negative mood etc. 
2. Aadhi bauthikam – Obstacles arising from other known sources or external situations like ill-health of a family member, noisy neighbourhood etc.
3. Aadhi daivikam – obstacles arising from unseen sources like floods, storm etc.

Mantra 1 let us see in the next blog.

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Our Quarantine Saga

 

Normally when I plan my trip to India, I have a feeling why not make it a year.  But then it will end up in a 4 to 5 - month trip only.  But this time when I left for India on a near six-month trip on 19^th Nov. 2019, it got extended to 20 months forcibly by the pandemic lockouts. Luckily before the lockout came into force we could take a trip to Madurai to offer our grateful prayers on 1^st Feb.20 at Tiruparankunram temple where we got married sixty years back. This trip was also made memorable by my brother, brother-in-law and co-brother and Rajam’s sisters and sister-in-law who all surprised us in the train by their presence in the same compartment as ourselves. The trip with them all to Madurai and later to Palani was one of the most enjoyed trips in our life.  Better it was that way for it was the only time that we could get out of Chennai in those twenty months of stay.  Even in Chennai our movements were mostly confined to Ashoknagar and West Mambalam in the fifteen months starting from April 20, the only break being our trip to the temples at Mangadu and Vadapalani on the occasion of our daughter Suchy’s Sixtieth Birthday on 5/3/21 which we could not attend in person at Sydney because of the lack of regular flights.   Only repatriation flights organized by Australian Government were in operation and they too did not start from Chennai.  At last when three repatriation flights from Chennai were announced, we booked our tickets in one of them, even though the flights were to Darwin only where all passengers have to undergo quarantine for a fortnight and return negative results in the weekly covid tests before then can fly to their desired destinations.  

But these flights were later changed to start from Delhi only and loaded with an additional condition that passengers should undergo self-isolation in a specified hotel in Delhi for three days and undergo covid test (PCR) arranged by them and can take the flight only if the test result is negative. Also one has to undergo the rapid antigen test at the time of admission to hotel and return negative result for admission to the hotel.  So we cancelled our bookings and waited for better days. After waiting for 45 days in vain, we decided to take the risk and booked for a repatriation flight from Delhi to Darwin on July 17 and for flight from Chennai to Delhi on July 14.  At the Delhi airport, our niece Swetha and her husband Debasish met us and escorted us to the hotel.  They also gave us a travel bag full of ready-to-eat packet foods to see us through the quarantine.

The quarantine hotel was Hotel Leela palace, a star hotel in Chanakyapuri, Delhi.  We waited in the foyer where the rapid antigen test was administered and when the test results came as negative were escorted to our room where we have to stay in isolation for the next three days. We were to confine ourselves to the room and can communicate in person only with the hotel staff who came to the corridor to place the food on the table outside.  The food was good and the room was comfortable with the usual amenities of a star hotel.  Only regret was we could not meet our niece and her husband after they left us in the hotel.  The next morning the PCR test was taken and on the morning of the day of departure, once more the rapid antigen test was done.  Both proving negative we were escorted to the airport and we heived a sigh of relief when we boarded the aircraft and took our seats.  The plane was fairly crowded and it was not a ‘bubble flight’.  The next morning it landed in Darwin, not in the regular airport but in the military airport.  The passengers were allowed to disembark in batches only.  When our turn came and we disembarked and checked out, we were taken in bus to the quarantine centre at Howard springs.

Howards springs facility was the accommodation earlier built to house the thousands working to build a huge gas plant inside Darwin's harbour.  This consisted of portable prefab blocks known as “dongas” and this facility is now called

Centre for National Resilience. Each block consists of four units. We were allotted adjacent units in H1-6 block as each unit can accommodate one person only. Only children are allowed to stay with parents.  The four units have a shared verandah and are self-contained.  Only there is no microwave oven and the electric kettle provided can be used for heating water only. Cooker and any other electrical appliance are prohibited.  Each room had air-conditioning and television.  Tea, coffee, sugar sachets and milk carton and disposable cups were also provided.

Police and soldiers patrol daily to ensure people wear masks and do not wander outside their verandah except for garbage disposal or visits to the laundry units.  But one can sit outside in the verandah and can enjoy the blue skies and the fresh air watching the trees and the birds or if one prefers have one’s work-outs anytime there.  One can also chat with the other persons in the block or the people in adjacent and opposite blocks from one’s verandah when no official is around.  It was really a beautiful sight to watch when the block’s yellow lights were turned on after sunset.

The problem we experienced was not only the restrictions in movements but also the food we were served.   Teams wearing personal ­protective gear and wheeling carts deliver packed food for the night, next day morning and afternoon in a single lot daily at about 5 p.m. which is left on the verandah to be collected by the inmates.  On our request we were given rice with dhal and vegan yoghurt for dinner and bread roll with butter and jam for breakfast on some days.  As for lunch it was mostly cold salad.  But there was a sweet dish and a fruit every day. The packets given by my niece at Delhi came in very handy to use in the place of the cold salad.  We also supplemented the dishes by getting banana bread, fruit yoghurt and muffins from local IGA store through online order which is allowed.  

We underwent Covid tests on day 1, 7 and 12.  Tests proving negative we were allowed to leave on the 14^th day.  Our son-in-law Kumar had already booked our flights to Sydney from Darwin.  We were taken to the Darwin regular airport by bus in the afternoon. We checked in and celebrated our release from quarantine with a cappuccino and raisin toast in boarding lounge and boarded our flight to Sydney.   Suchy met us at the Sydney airport and took us home to our great relief bringing to an end our journey through quarantine. 

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