Spider example in Advaita Vedanta

 

(adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s Sivarathri talk)

Mundaka upanishad in verse 1-1-6 describes Brahman and states that the wise perceive Him as the source of all creation and in the next verse it proceeds to cite the example of spider for the process of creation.  It says: “As the spider sends forth and draws in its thread-------- everything in the universe arise from the Imperishable (Brahman).”  Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2-1-20) also gives this example when it states: “As the spider moves along the thread it produces, ------- even so from this Athma come forth all organs, all worlds, all gods, all beings.”  This example occurs in Uddava Gita (4-21) as well wherein the young Avadhuta tells Yadhu Maharaja: “As the spider spreads its web from its heart through the mouth, and after playing with it, swallows it again, so the Lord (Brahman) does (with this universe).”  The quintessence of these references are to point out the role of Brahman in creation as the intelligent cause, nimitta karanam, and as material cause, upadhana karanam, rolled into one like spider and its web. Now we shall see this example in a little more detail.

There are two causes behind every product, the material cause and intelligent cause. The material cause, called upadhana karanam, is the material out of which it is made, like gold for golden ornament and wood for wooden furniture.  The intelligent cause called nimitta karanam, is the maker or creator behind it like the goldsmith who makes the golden ornament out of gold and the carpenter who makes the wooden furniture out of wood. The material cause and intelligent cause are different because gold by itself cannot transform into an ornament and wood also cannot change by itself into wooden furniture.  Nor can the goldsmith make the gold ornaments out of himself only and the carpenter the wooden furniture from himself only.  But we find the spider's web is an exception to the general rule of material cause and intelligent cause being different. Spideris the intelligent cause for the web it spins and for this web it is also the material cause as the thread for the web it draws from itself i.e. its body.  When the spider is hanging by this thread from this ceiling, if it senses danger it climbs up withdrawing the thread into itself.  So the spider is both the material cause and intelligent cause for its web.

It is because of this aspect of spider, the mortal little spider locatable in Time and Space becomes an object of comparison for the transcendental Brahman which is eternal and beyond Time and Space. Eternal Brahman which was there before Time and Space, has projected the Universe out of Maya in creation and the projected Universe dissolves into Maya in pralaya and Maya is the power of Brahman.  And from the spider example we draw another important corollary.  Nirguna Brahman with Maya is the eka rupa Iswara from whom the whole world has come. He is worshipped as aneka rupa Iswara and praised as Viswarupa Iswara in sthuthis like Dashinamurthy stotram .  Verse 9 of Dakshinamurthy stotram states:

Bhurambhamsyana lonilombara maharnadho Himanshu pumaan
Ithya bhaathi characharathmaka midham yasyaiva murthyashtakam
Nanyath kimchana vidyathe vimrusathaam yasmaath parasmadvibho
Tasmai sri guru murthaye nama idam Sri Dhakshinamurthaye (9)

I bow to Him, the great Guru Sri Dakshinamoorthy, whose eight-fold forms are “Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Sky, Sun, Moon and Jiva” and who manifests Himself as this universe of moving and the unmoving objects and who pervades in all and everywhere, and who, to those that reflect what exists beyond this Universe, reveals as nothing except Himself.

This means all the sentient and insentient entities of creation form the body of Iswara and there is nothing other than Iswara in the creation provoking the answer to the question of atheists “Where is God?” as “Where is not God?” from the devout believers.  For Iswara is both the material and intelligent cause for the universe pervading everything everywhere in the Universe. So everything in creation is sacred, being a microcosmic speck of the body of Iswara and so deserves our care and attention.  This is an important message to one and all in today’s environment-conscious world.

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Dream example in Advaita Vedanta

(Adapted from Swami Paramarthananda’s Guru Purnima talk}

Advaita Vedanta philosophy is summed up as “Brahma Satyam, Jagat Mithya, Jivo Brahmaiva na apara”-Brahman only is Real, Universe is only mithya, apparently real, Individual’s Athma is not different from Brahman”.  This contains three statements

1)    Brahman only is Real

2)    Universe is really not Real, only apparently Real, mithya

3)    Individual Jiva as Self is Brahman only

The dream example is quoted in the scriptures to clarify the second statement that Universe is only apparently Real with the explanation that the world is unreal like the dream world.   The statement as such is an emotionally disturbing statement for one feels outraged that one’s near and dear ones and all possessions that one has acquired in his life are dubbed unreal through this statement.  And this feeling gets compounded by the comparison that equates this tangible, perceptible real world to the unreal dream.  So we shall make a study of this example in this blog. 

We should remember that an example is quoted to clarify an idea or topic.  The idea is to draw attention to certain similarities between the original topic and the example that will make the topic easily understood.  No doubt there will be dissimilarities as well between the original topic and the example but one is required to focus on similarities and ignore dissimilarities when trying to understand the topic, more so in the case of a Vedanta topic.  For understanding the similarity, we have to first understand the dream properly.  Everybody understands that dream disappears with the dream objects when one wakes up and are no longer available for use and so the dream is unreal.  But there is another feature of the dream which is also to be understood for the dream example to work. When the waker was in dream, as a dreamer he was ignorant of three facts.

1)    The dreamer in dream was ignorant of the fact that the dream world was unreal and treated it as real only.

2)    Dreamer is also ignorant of the fact in the dream that the dream world is the projection of the waker.  

3)    As dreamer he was also ignorant of the fact that the dreamer only is the waker.  It is only after waking up he has realized the unreal nature of the dream world and that this unreal dream world is his projection only.

So in the dream state he is ignorant of these facts and so technically he is in Ajjnana avastha with regard to these facts.  In this Ajjnana avastha, dream-world has experienceability, transactability and utility for the dreamer and so is definitely real for him in dream-time and misunderstood as Jnana avastha.

And now let us take up the waking state.  Vedanta sastra tells the spiritual seeker that, like the dreamer in the dream state, he is also in Ajjnana avastha in the waking state and like the dreamer in dream state he is also ignorant of three facts concerning himself and the world.  They are:

1)    The world is unreal

2)    This unreal world is the projection of a super-waker, Brahman.

3)    The super-waker, Brahman, is none other than oneself, which can be discovered if one wakes up i.e. goes from Ajjnana avastha to Jnana-avastha

Just as a dreamer mistakenly thinks he is in Jnana avastha in dream state, an ordinary waker also thinks he is in Jnana avastha in the waking state.  Only when he gains Athma Jnanam, he realizes that the waking state without Self-knowledge is also Ajjnana avastha only.   Lord Krishna points out in Uddhava Gita (8-30): “Till a man’s notion of multiplicity is put a stop to by reasoning he is as good as asleep even though awake - for he is ignorant - as one fancies oneself awake in dream.”  So long as one’s goals are dharma, artha, kama  Purusharthas only he can continue his life treating the world as real and continue to be in Ajjnana avastha in the waking state as well.   But when he becomes interested in Moksha Purushartha, he should try to get out of the Ajjnana avastha, by trying to acquire Self-knowledge through the study of scriptures under the guidance of a competent Guru.  When he acquires Athma Jnanam and comes out of the Ajjnana avastha to Jnana avastha he understands the two-fold status of the waking world as well i.e. as Real during Ajjnana avastha and mithya, apparently real, during Jnana avastha.

While noting the similarities one should also note the important dissimilarities. In the dream example one wakes from dream state without doing any sadhana i.e. an effortless transition from Ajjnana avastha in dream to the Jnana avastha of the waking state.  But spiritual awakening in the waking state can take place only after great effort like Sravanam, Mananam, Nitidyasanam of Jnana yoga after acquiring chitta suddhi and chitta ekagratha through karma, upasana yogas.   Second important difference is that when the dreamer moves to Jnana avastha by waking up the dream world disappears and he cannot connect to it.  But in spiritual awakening when one acquires Athma Jnanam and realizes the external world is only apparently real, mithya, the external world will not disappear for him and bodily interactions with the external world will not cease.  During ignorance the world appeared as real during knowledge it is understood as unreal. This brings to the third difference.  In the case of dreamer there is a change in state as waker as one moves into Jnana avastha.  But in the case of a waker when moving into Jnana avastha no status change takes place and he continues as waker only.  In fact, as one requires a subtle active mind to absorb the Jnanam, Jnana avastha can take place in waking state only for in the waking state only the mind is actively functioning.  The dream example will work for a seeker/student when the similarities are properly understood along with dissimilarities.

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Mandukya Upanishad – 6

Mantra 12(end) 

Mantra 12

Amatraschaturtho'vyavaharyah prapanchopasamah sivo'dvaita

evamonkara atmaiva samvisatyatmana''tmanam ya evam veda ॥ 12॥

Turiyam is the Amatra, the fourth matra, which is beyond transactions, free from the world, blissful, and non-dual. Thus Omkara is the very Athma. One who knows thus merges his Self in the Supreme Self - the individual in the Total. 

Now the Upanishad comes to the Silence, the mental silence, Amatra, the fourth matra of Omkara, which is the same as the fourth pada of Athma, Turiyam. The ‘Silence’ that we experience as Amatra is the Turiyaṃ, which is beyond all transactions.  Silence cannot be handled by the organs of action or knowledge.  The moment you describe Silence, the Silence goes!  It is Silence in which the world of sounds has resolved.  Turiyam is the substratum wherein all the objects (pada, form) have resolved.  Amatra is the substratum wherein all sounds (padartha, name) have resolved.  Languages are different but Silence is one. In Amatra and Turiyam, division and plurality are not present.  They are both advaitam.  In this manner, Omkara and Athma are equal in all the four levels. 

When we talk about the equation of Amatra and Turiyam, the word ‘Silence’ has a special connotation. It is not the conventional silence for two reasons.  The first reason is that if the conventional silence is taken to mean a mere absence of sound or noise, it becomes a negative entity.  If this negative description is applied to Turiyam, one will end up with the Buddhist sunyavada teaching that the ultimate truth is emptiness.  The second reason is that the conventional silence is experienced only when the sound has disappeared.  Conventional silence is a relative entity subject to arrival and departure and equating with conventional silence will make Turiyam also a relative entity.  So Amatra, Silence, should not be taken as the relative silence or conventional silence.  When one experiences silence externally, it is the absence of sound and when thoughts and disturbances are absent in the mind, one experiences internal silence, blankness. When one experiences internal silence and there is internal blankness, there is something else also, i.e. Consciousness, because of which one is aware of the blankness.  If the silence is experienced and known by one, it means that there is a knowing Consciousness principle as well that pervades the silence. That Consciousness principle one cannot see, hear or objectify because that Consciousness principle is ‘I am’, that pervades and illumines the silence. The meaning of “Silence” is that Consciousness principle that reveals the silence. That Consciousness is Amatra.  It is not absence in itself but it is that one which reveals the absence of sound. That Consciousness is not subject to arrival and departure and it illumines the relative sound and the relative silence. That is Turiyam.  By enquiry into Athma one arrives at Turiyam. By enquiry into Omkara one arrives at Amatra.   Both Amatra and Turiyam are Consciousness only which is aware of both presence and absence of sound as well as the presence and absence of world.  Whoever understands that he is the Turiyam all the time, he ‘merges’ into Turiyam Athma and becomes one with the Turiyaṃ Athma. This is total merger like water merging into water, unlike salt merging into water. This is Atmasakshatkara, Realization of Athma, also called Brahmasakshatkara, Realization of Brahman.  This is the goal of life, Moksha and Mandukya Upanishad ends with this Mantra.

Acknowledgement

While concluding the series of blogs on Mandukya Upanishad I wish to record my deep debt of gratitude to the speeches and writings on Mandukya Upanishad, of:

1)   Swami Paramarthananda

2)    Swami Chinmayananda   &

3)  Sri T.N.Sethumadhavan

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Mandukya Upanishad – 5

 

Mantras 8 to 11

Mantra 8

So'yamathma'dhyaksaramomkaro'dhimatraṃ pada

matra matrasca pada a-kara ukaroma-kara iti ॥ 8॥

The same Athma is Omkara from the standpoint of the total syllable. From the standpoint of the individual letters, the padas are the letters and the letters are the padas. The letters are ‘A’, ‘U’ and ‘M’. 

After completing the chatushpat Athma-vichara with the 7th mantra, now from the 8th mantra onwards, the Upanishad is starting the Omkara-vichara.  So the emphasis shifts to the sound of Om, taken as a whole as well as syllable by syllable. The Mantra starts equating total Athma with total Omkara.  Total Athma means all the four padas of Athma i.e. Viswa, Prajna, Taijasa and Turiyam.  Total Omkara means all the three letters ‘A’, ‘U’, ‘M’ and the ‘Silence’ that follows the utterance of Omkara called ‘Amatra’.  A matra is a specific duration for the chanting of each syllable.  The matras are equal to padas.  For the sake of pronunciation “kara” is added after each letter in the Mantra. ‘kara’ is equivalent to using the inverted commas; “A”, “U”, and “M”.  According to the Sanskrit grammar A(अ)+U(उ) equals O(ओ), and so AUM is written for OM.

Mantra 9

Jagaritasthano vaisvanaro'karaḥ prathama

matra''pteradimattvad va''pnoti ha vai sarvan

kamandischa bhavati ya evaṃ veda ॥ 9॥

Vaisvanara, whose field is the waking state, is the first letter ‘A (अ)’ due to (the similarity of) all-pervasiveness and primacy.  One who knows thus attains all desires and becomes the foremost. 

After equating Athma and Omkara generally in the previous Mantra, the Upanishad is starting to equate component-wise from this Mantra i.e. Viswa with A-kara, Taijasa with U-kara, Prajna with M-kara, and Turiyaṃ with Amatra, silence.  Of these four equations, the first equation is presented in this Mantra.  This Mantra talks about A-kara - Vaisvanara identity.  Two explanations for this equation are given, the two common features of all-pervasiveness and primacy. This is based on the phonetic principle.  According to Sanskrit grammar, the first, original, natural alphabetic letter is ‘A’, when you open the mouth. The letter ‘A’ is the cause for all the other letters. ‘A’ alone becomes ‘U’, ‘I’, etc., ‘A’ alone becomes all the other alphabetic letters. Cause must pervade all the effects. The letter ‘A’ pervades all the letters. Vaisvanara as Viswarupa also pervades everything.  All-pervasiveness is the common feature of the letter ‘A’ and Vaisvanara. Thus ‘A’ becomes the symbol for the entire waking universe. The second common feature is that both of them are the first one in the list.  Because of the two common features, pervasion and primacy, A-kara is equated with Vaisvanara.  Upasana on this identity will help fulfillment of all worldly desires in terms of possession and position in life.

Mantra 10

Svapnasthanastaijasa ukaro dvitiya matrotkarsad

ubhayatvadvotkarsati ha vai jnanasantatiṃ samanascha bhavati

nasyabrahmavitkule bhavati ya evaṃ veda ॥ 10॥

Taijasa, whose field is the dream state, is the second letter ‘U (उ)’ due to (the similarity of) superiority and middle-ness. One who knows thus extends the range of knowledge and becomes equal (to all).  In his family there will be no one who is ignorant of Brahman. 

The second equation is presented in this Mantra. ‘U (उ)’ is the second letter of Omkara and Taijasa is the dream state. We have to include the Hiranyagarbha at the total level. Two common features of U-kara and Taijasa are stated. The first is that both are superior to the previous pair. U-kara is superior to A-kara because U-kara is closer to silence compared to A-kara. Similarly, Hiranyagarbha is closer to Turiyaṃ, Brahman. Hiraṇyagarbha is the cause for Virat and so superior. The second is that U-kara is intermediary between A-kara and M-kara. Similarly, Hiraṇyagarbha is intermediary between Virat and Isvara.   One doing Upasana on this identity as described above will attain superior knowledge, will be treated respectfully by all in the society, and all the successors in his family will be knowers of Brahman which means that in his family there will be no Self-ignorant people. 

Mantra 11

Susuptasthanah prajno makarastṛtiya matra miterapiterva

minoti ha v idagṃ sarvamapitischa bhavati ya evaṃ veda ॥ 11॥

Prajna, whose field is the deep-sleep state, is the third letter ‘M(म)’ due to (the similarity of) being a ‘measure’ and being the ground of dissolution. One who knows thus realises (the truth) of all this and becomes the ground of dissolution. 

The third equation is presented in this Mantra. The third letter M-kara is equated to Prajna and Iswara.  The common feature of M-kara and Iswara is that both are like a measuring vessel. Just as the measure holds the grain (invisible) and pours out the grain (visible), Iswara holds the creation in unmanifest form and creation comes out of Iswara.   When the speaker closes his mouth after speaking many words, the sound made is M-kara.  Into M-kara all the words resolve and from M-kara all words arise again. The second common feature is that in both deep sleep state and in the letter M of AUM, the earlier plurality and differences merge themselves to become one-whole.  For one doing Upasana on this identity between the two the benefit is the increased capacity to discriminate and assess everything ending in the realisation that this world is mithya and the truth of the world is Brahman.

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Mandukya Upanishad – 4

 

Mantra 7

Mantra 7

nantahprajnaṃ na bahisprajnaṃ nobhayatahprajnaṃ

na prajnanaghanam na prajnaṃ naprajnaṃ ।

adrstam avyavaharyam agrahyam alaksanam

acintyam avyapadesyam ekatmapratyayasaram

prapancopasamam santam sivam advaitaṃ chaturtham manyante

sa Athma sa vijneyaḥ ॥ 7॥

Turiyam is not that which is conscious of the internal (subjective) world, nor that which is conscious of the external (objective) world, nor that which is conscious of both, nor that which is a mass of all consciousness, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which is unconscious. It is unseen (by sense organs), not related to anything, incomprehensible by the mind, uninferable, unthinkable, indescribable, essentially of the nature of Consciousness constituting the Self alone, negation of all phenomena, the peaceful, all-bliss and the Non-dual. This is what is known as the fourth (Turiyam). This is the Athma and it has to be realized.

Mantra 7 is the definition of Turiyam, the fourth pada, called chathurtham,the fourth, in the Mantra.  Turiyam is the foundation of the other three padas and is also different from them but It is not away from them.  It is in and through Viswa, Taijasa and Prajna.  It is avilable in all the three as it co-exists with Viswa, Taijasa and Prajna like gold in chain, bangle and ring.  It is the Athma, the witness Consciousness principle, and is called the waker, dreamer, or deep-sleeper when associated with waking, dream or deep sleep states.  In fact, it is disassociated from the three states and the things obtaining there, namely the three bodies and the three universes.  Swami Paramarthananda calls this Mantra “the essence of the entire Mandukya Upanishad as well as the entire Maṇdukyakarika.” Athma is Brahman, we have seen in Mantra 2.  Brahman is not an object of knowledge and is not available for Jnana or karma transaction.  So the Upanishad is adopting the ‘Neti, Neti’ logic i.e. trying to explain the unexplainable indirectly by denying the known entities as ‘Not this, Not this’.  Using this method of negation, Upanishad explains Athma as below:

1. naantah-prajnam – The Athma is not that which is conscious of the internal subjective world i.e. it is not the dream state or Taijasa.

2. na bahishprajnam - It is not that which is conscious of the external object-world i.e.

it is not the waking-state or Viswa.

3. na ubhayatah-prajnam – It is also not that state which is a combination of both waking and dreaming.

4. na prajnanaghanam – It is also not the deep sleep state where a person experiences undifferentiated consciousness and is not conscious of anything including oneself.

5. na prajnam na aprajnam– It is not conscious or unconscious. This rules out the possibility of all the three states happening together, i.e. waking, dream and deep sleep.

6. adrishtam – It cannot be seen i.e. it cannot be experienced by means of any sense organ.

7. avyavaharyam – It is not capable of being interacted by any of the sense organs.

8. agraahyam – It cannot be grasped.

9. alakshanam – It is beyond inference as there is no indicator for inference.

10. achintyam - It is beyond thought. One cannot even think of it.

11. avyapadeshyam – One cannot describe it.

Then what is the Self?

12. ekatma-pratyaya-saram - It is only this ‘I’ consciousness, one’s Self-consciousness which everybody has. This common ‘I’ consciousness is Brahman. It is the Athma, the substratum, the common base, the Cosmic Self. The Upanishad has thus very cleverly led us from 'not this, not this' to the conclusion that we are Brahman. In the end there is only one thing that exists ekam atma-pratyaya – only the “I’ consciousness that is the support of the whole universe and the essence of our being.

When do we realize this?

13. prapancha upasamam - Free from the three types of prapanchas.  The object world is nothing but names and forms – nama and rupa and mithya.

When these are eliminated what is left?

14. shantam, shivam, advaitam - That is peace, happiness and non-duality. There is peace because there is no diversity, no plurality, and no competition with each other.  When there is unity there cannot be anything but peace and happiness.

This is called the fourth pada i.e. chaturtham. That is Turiyam. That is our real Self and that is Brahman - sa Athma.  This Turiyaṃ alone is the real Self and the other three are roles that Self plays in life.  The essential message of this significant Mantra is that Turiyaṃ is the name of Athma, the Self, the consciousness or witness principle and it is Turiyam that is called the waker, dreamer, or sleeper when Self is associated with waking, dream or sleep. Self itself is called Turiyaṃ, the fourth, when Self is dissociated from waking, dream and deep sleep, through knowledge.

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Mandukya Upanishad – 3

 

Mantras  4,5 & 6

Mantra 4

Dream State

Swapnasthano'ntahprajnaḥ saptanga ekonaviṃsatimukhah

praviviktabhuktaijaso dvitiyah padah ॥ 4॥

The second pada is Taijasa whose field is the dream state, whose consciousness is inward, who has seven limbs, who has nineteen mouths, and who is the experiencer of subtle (objects).

 The first pada of Athma, as the waking Consciousness, was discussed in the earlier Mantra 3.  Now the second pada of Athma, dream Consciousness, named Taijasa is taken up for discussion in this Mantra. The dream state is restricted to the individual mind only and not the senses and body.  As dream is its abode, Upanishad names Taijasa as swapnasthana.   Being aware of the internal only and not external it is also described as antaprajnah.  The dream-state experience consists of the impressions gained in the past in waking state manipulated by the mind unrestrained by the presence of body and these vasanas of past experience being subtle, Taijasa is called pravivikthabhuk, experiencer of the subtle.  For the dreamer the dream body available for interaction with the dream world is a total one and so Taijasa has nineteen mouths as Viswa, only these are subtle in the form of thoughts being parts of the subtle dream body which is of thought only.   The very same second pada when associated with the entire dream universe at the macro level is called Hiraṇyagarbha.  This Hiraṇyagarbha has seven dream limbs similar to Vaisvanara.

 From the stand-point of dreamer, dream objects are as gross and material as those experienced in the waking state, during the dream-time.  From the view point of waking state alone, one may infer that the dream objects are subtle, i.e., composed of mere impressions of the waking state, in as much as in the dream state no gross object exists at all.

Mantra 5

Deep Sleep State

yatra supto na kaschana kamaṃ kamayate na kaschana svapnaṃ pasyati

tat sushuptam । sushuptasthana ekibhutah prajnanaghana

evanandamayo hyanandabhuk cetomukhah prajnastrtiyaḥ padah ॥ 5॥

That is the state of deep sleep wherein the sleeper does not desire any objects nor does he see any dream. The third Pada is the Prajna whose field is the deep sleep, in whom all experiences become unified or undifferentiated, who is verily, a homogeneous mass of consciousness entire, who is full of bliss and who experiences bliss and who is the gateway to the experience of the two other states (of the waking and the dream).

This Mantra describes the third pada of Athma, sushupthi Consciousness named Prajna and is associated with the individual causal body. As Prajna’s field is deep sleep, Prajna is called sushupthisthana.  Sushupthi being the state of deep sleep without dreams, different from the waking and dream state, there is no external object desired, liked or disliked by the person as in the waking state, nor does one experience the internal projected world as in the dream state.  There is the experience of only one thing, namely a “homogenous mass of consciousness”, prajnanaghana.  There is absence of duality without the knowledge of non-duality in this state. The state of sushupthi is also a state of total bliss due to the absence of mind and samsara and is called anandamaya and so Prajna is called anandabhuk, experiencer of bliss.   But this bliss is not the bliss infinite of Athmananda and the state of bliss that one enjoys during deep sleep is temporary only and one realizes only on waking up that he had been in a state of bliss.  He is not conscious of the bliss during the time of deep sleep.  Deep sleep is simply a temporary state of experience of good rest as the desires, agitations and hidden tendencies that remain dormant in deep sleep, come back to rule over one’s mind on waking up.  This deep sleep state is the link between the waking and the dream states.  Through the deep sleep state alone, one goes to the other two states: waking – deep sleep – dream –deep sleep – waking.  Being the doorway to the experience of waking and dream states this state is called Cheto-mukhah, doorway of experience.  The universal causal Consciousness, Iswara will be discussed in the next Mantra 6.

Mantra 6

esa sarvesvarahesa sarvajna eṣo'ntaryamyesa yonih

sarvasya prabhavapyayau hi bhutanam ॥ 6॥

He is the lord of all. He is omniscient. He is the inner controller. He is the source of all, being the ground of origination and dissolution of beings. 

Consciousness associated with the universe at the total causal level is called Iswara. Though Prajna and Iswara are the Consciousness associated with the sleeper’s body and the sleeper’s world respectively, unlike Prajna,  Iswara is free from ignorance. On the contrary Iswara has omniscience, not just knowledge of one body and one mind but the knowledge contained in the total universe, the past, present and even the yet to be discovered future knowledge, all in potential condition.  The words ‘lord of all and omniscient’ mean the intelligent cause. The word ‘source’ means the material cause. Thus Iswara alone is both the intelligent and material cause of the entire universe.  Iswara is the source of origination of all things and beings and is the ground of resolution just as the ocean is the source of all the waves and the ground of the resolution of all the waves. So to summarise Iswara is described as:

i)             Sarvesvara –  Lord of all beings

ii)            Sarvajna – Omniscient

iii)           Antaryami – “inner controller” of all beings

iv)           Yonih – He is the source of all beings since from the causal state the whole subtle and gross Creation arises.

v)            Prabhava – Originator of all

vi)           Api Ayau – Dissolver of all

In the previous mantra, Athma was called Prajna.  In this mantra, Athma is called Iswara.   Prajna and Iswara put together is called the third pada of Athma.

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