NOEMAYA

In this exploration, we delve into the profound wisdom of the Mandukya Upanishad through the insightful commentary of Adi Shankara, a pivotal figure in the history of Indian philosophy and metaphysics. Born in the early 8th century CE, Adi Shankara is revered as an exponent of Advaita Vedanta, a school of thought emphasizing the non-dual nature of reality. The Mandukya Upanishad, a gem in the fabric of Indian philosophical traditions, becomes a focal point as we navigate through its twelve verses, gaining a deeper understanding of Shankara’s perspective on the essence of reality, consciousness, and the transcendent. Let’s dive into the verses and explore the layers of meaning embedded in this ancient text.

Verse 1: AUM is the imperishable Brahman. All that is past, present, or future is verily AUM. And whatever is beyond the three periods of time is also verily AUM.

Adi Shankara begins his commentary by elucidating the profound significance of the primordial sound ‘AUM’ (Om). In this verse, the Upanishad declares that AUM represents the imperishable Brahman, the ultimate reality. Shankara underscores that Aum is not just a symbol but is, in fact, the very essence of the Supreme.

This verse emphasizes that transcendent aspect of Brahman while highlighting its immanence. Brahman, or ultimate reality, is that which is both transcendent and immanent. In other words, it is not anything that’s thought or conceptualized; it’s neither a subject nor an object, nor a relationship of any sort involving names or forms. At the same time, nothing that’s thought or perceived is anything apart from Brahman: Nothing is perceived but Brahman, and Brahman is not anything that’s perceived. Analogically, the wave is nothing but the ocean, but the ocean is not the wave.

Verse 2: All this is surely Brahman. This Self is Brahman. The Self, such as It is, is possessed of four quarter.

In the second verse, the Upanishad introduces the four states of consciousness: the waking state, the dreaming state, the dreamless state, and the fourth, transcendent state. Adi Shankara delves into the intricacies of these states, guiding us to discern the transient nature of the first three while establishing the permanent nature of the fourth state.

The Inner Self or Atman, whose identity with Brahman is established elsewhere, is envisaged as being apparently divided into four quarters. The first two, the waking and dreaming states of consciousness, are states of manifestation in which the indefinite potentialities of Atman is manifested in differentiated form. The third state, the dreamless state of consciousness, is still a state of manifestation, however in undifferentiated form. The fourth or Turiya is indeed the transcendent, unmanifest which cannot truly be called a state as doesn’t stand in contrast with the previous three states but includes them within itself in the same manner that geometrical space includes within itself the various possibilities of extension such as points, lines, surfaces, etc.. According to Shankara, Turiya is realized by successively merging the earlier three states.

Verse 3: The first quarter is Vaisvanara whose sphere of activity is the waking state, whose consciousness relates to things external, who is possessed of seven limbs and nineteen mouths and who is the experiencer of gross objects.

In the third verse, Adi Shankara introduces the first quarter as being Vaisvanara, the aspect associated with the waking state. In this state, the Self, is directed to things other than Itself. According to Shankara, in this state, consciousness appears as though related to outer objects. The limbs and other organs, which are not to be understood as physical forms, are simply the organs of outer perception that are only constituted, phenomenologically speaking, in virtue of the primordial ignorance associated with this state. In other words, the existence of organs of perception are posited only as a logical implication of the acts of perception.

Verse 4: The second quarter is Taijasa whose sphere of activity is the dreaming state, whose consciousness relates to internal experiences, who is the enjoyer of subtle objects and who is endowed with seven limbs and nineteen mouths.

Continuing the exploration of the four quarters of the Atman, Shankara turns our attention to the second quarter, Taijasa. This aspect is associated with the dreaming state, wherein consciousness turns inward and experiences what’s called subtle objects. It’s important to emphasize that all these distinctions are purely phenomenological in that there’s no real division within the self. The notions “internal” and “external” are simply ways consciousness relates to itself rather than to an alterity.

The dreaming state is still a state of primordial ignorance wherein the Self appears to be concealed by its own differentiation. In this state also, consciousness appears to be directed to things other than itself; however, in light of the waking state, the dreaming state is realized to be a directedness toward non-existence objects and organs of perception. One can say, upon transition into the waking state, the dream state is realized to be nothing but consciousness making itself manifest to itself.

Verse 5: The third quarter is Prajna whose sphere is deep sleep, in whom all experiences become unified, who is, verily, a mass of consciousness, who is full of bliss and who is undivided.

Verse 5 introduces the third quarter of the Atman, Prajna, associated with the state of deep sleep. Adi Shankara unfolds the profound nature of Prajna, where all experiences become unified, transcending the dualities of the waking and dreaming states. According to Shankara, the dreamless state is the doorway to the experience of the two earlier states.

It’s important to note that within Advaita Vedanta, dreamless state is not the absence of awareness but rather the absence of objects. Awareness is equally present in all states; however, in dreamless state, all names and forms are reintegrated into the their seed form, hence awareness can’t reflect back from them in order to produce experience. Here we establish a difference between experience and awareness: experience is the awareness of differentiation, of names and forms.

There’s an almost perfect analogy between light and awareness that can help understand the nature of dreamless sleep: light itself is dark and invisible and only illumines matter upon interaction with it. For example, empty space between celestial objects is dark not because of the absence of light but because of the absence of material objects to reflect the light. In fact, empty space is filled with light though it appears dark. Similarly, dreamless state is still an aware state though the awareness is not directed at, or reflecting, any form, including agency. That’s why we all know about such a state without being able to say anything about it. If there was no awareness, we would not have a notion or vocabulary for this state.

Verse 6: This third quarter is the Lord of all; it is omniscient; it is the inner director; it is the source of all; it is verily the place of origin and dissolution of all beings.

In Verse 6, Adi Shankara continues with the exposition of the significance of the third quarter. He states that this quarter is the ever-present foundation of the preceding two states. It’s like the background silence in and through which sound is able to manifest itself. This state, being the seed of all names and forms, is that which gives birth to the phenomenal universe and is deemed to be the inner controller.

Verse 7: The Fourth, Turiya, is to be known as that which is neither inward-turned nor outward-turned consciousness nor conscious of the two worlds together; which is neither void nor non-void nor both; which is neither knowing nor unknowing nor both; which is unseen, beyond empirical dealings; which is neither thinking nor non-thinking nor both; which is neither a part nor a whole nor both; which is un-inferable, unthinkable, and indescribable. It is that in which all phenomena cease and which is unchanging and non-dual. That is the Self, and That is to be realized.

The fourth and final quarter of the Atman, Turiya, takes center stage in Verse 7 and is one of the most mystical verses in all of human spiritual traditions. Shankara’s commentary on this verse is particularly illuminating, as it guides us into the realm beyond the three states of consciousness.

The Fourth or Turiya is the ultimate goal of all spiritual journey and is the essence of all reality the vision of which transforms the seer in a deep and permanent manner incommunicable to those ignorant of this state. Upon its realization, it’s seen that all the three preceding states were nothing but Turiya, and in fact nothing is, was, or will be but Turiya. Nothing is ever created; nothing has ever been, is, or will be. All things are done and all knots united when Turiya is realized.

In the realization of Turiya, everything is realized to be an illusion, and that includes the spiritual aspirant himself and even his journey toward Turiya. In fact, the aspirant realizes that “being an aspirant seeking realization and finally realizing the goal which he/she calls Turiya” was itself nothing but Turiya: thinking, seeing, seeking, leaving and arriving, finding and realizing, and even being and non-being, are all none but Turiya itself. From the state of Turiya, there’s nothing to realize as all realization presupposed a separation or a duality.

Turiya is the nature of all things, and all things are nothing but Turiya. Turiya is ultimately inexplicable and it’s futile to try to grasp or even describe it as is also emphasized in the verse. However, such verse and other spiritual instructions are helpful pointers for the spiritual aspirant to know that such a state exists and is real and can be realized, all of which are provisional, though unavoidable, statements from the framework of ignorance and illusion. The aspirant who realizes Turiya, instantaneously realizes the illusory nature of himself and his journey too, and it’s seen that Turiya never was not; it’s always already permanently realized as nothing exists apart from Turiya in order to realize it in the first place.

Verse 8: The Self, considered from the standpoint of the syllable AUM, is that to which it refers’ it’s the meaning and referent of AUM. Considered from the standpoints of the letters, the quarters of the Self are the letters of AUM and the letters are the quarters of AUM.

In this verse, Shankara establishes the relationship between the Self, Atman, and its apparent quarters on the one hand, and the mystic syllable OM and it’s letters on the other hand: Atman or the Self is the very meaning of the syllable AUM; that is, when OM is uttered, it’s the Supreme Self that is indicated by it. However, the quarters of this Self can be seen as the letters of AUM. The designation is elaborated on in the following verses.

Verse 9: The waking state is the letter A in AUM.

In Verse 9, Adi Shankara states that the first letter, corresponding to the first state of individual manifestation, is the nothing but the first quarter, or the waking state. States of human manifestation alway begin with the waking state, phenomenologically speaking, that is, as experienced from the individual point of view. It’s also the beginning of the alphabet, the foundation of speech and the Word, and hence of all subsequent differentiation in the realm of name and form.

Verse 10: The dream state is the letter U in AUM.

In the tenth verse, Shankara assigns the second quarter, dreaming state, to the second letter: it is the intermediate state and letter. In the same way that U is between A, the beginning, and M, the final, dream state is also an intermediate state between the waking and the dreamless states.

Verse 11: The dreamless state is the letter M in AUM.

In Verse 11, Shankara states that the third quarter, dreamless state, corresponds to the letter M. This is significant in light of what we previously said regarding the presence of awareness and absence of motion in dreamless state. In vocalizing the sound M, the mouth is closed and the tongue in unmoved, relaxed position, similar to the seed form of names and forms in dreamless sleep; however, there’s still a sound that’s being produced by the airflow, in analogy to the presence of awareness. It’s the deepest sound of all the alphabet where the outward instruments of speech are in their most passive form.

Verse 12: The partless OM is Turiya – beyond all conventional dealings, the limit of the negation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the nondual. OM is thus the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self through his self.

In the final verse of the Mandukya Upanishad, Shankara brings our attention to OM as a whole and not as spelled out in its letters, as in AUM. Turiya, the Absolute Self, is neither a letter or part of the AUM nor its meaning; it is also nothing apart from AUM. The Absolute Self, or Brahman, as OM, is transcendent to all the letters and corresponding individual or integral meanings. It is the very Being of OM in such a way that it’s also immanent in its articulated letters.

One way of pointing to the difference in levels of meaning between the three letters and quarters in contrast to the fourth quarter and OM as a whole, is to reflect on the relationship between the things that are perceived and the very act and flow of perceiving. We can always shift our attention from objects of experience to the experiencing of the objects by simply noticing the flow of experience than the things experienced in the flow. The flow itself is not an object, of course unless we conceptualize it, and even in that case we can still shift our attention to the flow of conceptualization instead of the conceptualization of the flow.

Thus, Turiya is not in a proximate relationship with the rest of the quarters but rather it is the very essence of the quarters and more. It is all that has been, is, and will ever be. Nothing is but Turiya.

Conclusion

In this comprehensive exploration of Adi Shankara’s commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad, we’ve traversed through the profound teachings encapsulated in its twelve verses. Shankara’s insights guide us through the letters of AUM, the four quarters of the Atman, and the transformative journey from the waking state to the realization of Turiya.

It is a shocking and quite painful realization for the aspirant, upon the apparent return to human state, that there was no aspirant, no journey, no creation or existence, and not even a realization: there’s only the eternal, unchanging, and nondual Turiya.

The Mandukya Upanishad, enriched by Shankara’s commentary, is one of the very few works of mystical literature in which the summit of spiritual ascent, Turiya, is given the most explicit description, considering the limitations of language and human understanding in comprehending this nondual state. It is an invitation to go beyond intellectual understanding and directly experience the nondual nature of the Self.

It won’t take a deep analysis of comparative religion to see that all the mystics across the world and throughout history, regardless of their religion or lack thereof, have given a more or less the same, uncanny description of this nondual state: it’s the state of Fana in Sufism, Sakina in Judaism, Breakthrough in Meister Eckhart, Nirvana in Hinduism, etc..

The journey continues, and the Mandukya Upanishad stands as a timeless guide, inviting us to discover the infinite within the finite, and to recognize the eternal gaze of Turiya as that which is always staring us in the face. I wish I could just say that it is us who can’t see It, but that’s not true: we are seeing It, and we are seeing nothing but It, alas we only keep failing to recognize It, not because it’s strange and alien but simply because it’s the most familiar of all things in the universe: it is YOU!