Mandukya Upanishad

Mandukya Upanishad is one of the shortest of the Upanishads with only 12 shlokas. It is also called as Advaita Vedanta. This upanishad is the insight of Rishi Manduka. The initial part of the Ganesha Atharva comes from this Upanishad.This Upanishad describes the four states of consciousness and their relation to the Pranava (Aum).

There are four states of consciousness
Awake state or Vishvanara

in this state, outer world is perceived through senses feeding into the mind. this state is characterised by the desire to attain pleasure. The outer world in all its glory is called Virat.

Dreaming or Taijas

the outer world perceived in the awake state through the senses is reflected on the inner world through the mental  impression, this is a state of all possibilities also called as Hirnayagarbha. connection to this state brings out intuition

These two states bind the individual soul (Jivatma) to Karma (cause and effect) and are responsible for duality including birth and death. They are connected with the first four Koshas - Body, Prana, mind and intellect.

Deep sleep or Pragna - Here the consciousness which is usually spread out in various faculties in the awake or dream state becomes integrated and condensed.  The individual soul connects to the universal soul (Brahman) or the small mind merges with the big mind. This is the state of no desire or dream and free from efforts. It is beyond Karma, and linked to Bliss body - Anandamaya kosha. Joy experienced in this state is unrelated to external objects and is because of connection to the source (Self). Connection to this state brings forth higher knowledge.

Turiya - literally means the fourth state. Rishis have said - Mind cannot reach it and speech cannot describe it. It is beyond cause and effect and is the substratum of the three states and refers to the undivided consciousness or Brahman. State of total awareness and witness consciousness. Connection to his source eliminates all impressions.

The first three states are mutually exclusive while Turiya is a witness to all, so as per the Upanishadic definition, it is the only True State

Relation to AUM...

AUM has 4 Maatraas (syllable) - the final maatra (unheard syllable) - has vibrations as half and silence as the other half. 

Understanding Om gives us a idea of the creation - from silence to sound, from subtle to gross. Chanting Om takes you from sound to silence, from gross to the subtle. Silence or emptiness symbolises the undivided consciousness or Brahman. This is equivalent to the modern concept of the Black hole - space from which everything emerges and into which everything dissolves. When a desire to express arises in this consciousness, the first manifestation is in the form of pure vibrations (Purusha). From the Purusha arises the individual soul (Jivatma) which then manifests through the integration of the five elements. 

The awake state is related to the Aaa syllable (Brahma), mastery over the syllable brings about the ability to achieve all worldly desires. the Uuu syllable is related to the dream state (Vishnu) and is the source of intuition; the Mmm state is connected to deep sleep (Shiva) state and is the source of all knowledge. The unheard syllable is connected to the Turiya (Guru) state.

When AUM is chanted, all states of existence get connected, thus the harmony of the sound.

Upanishads

Upanishad literally means sitting close. When a disciple sits close to the Master with a willingness to learn and listen, he triggers the flow of knowledge from the Master. This intimate conversation is the Upanishad. Upanishads are also called as Vedanta - the end of knowledge, or the essence of all learning.

At a scholarly level, Vedas are divided into four parts. Samhita (Mantras), Brahmana (rituals), Aranyaka (sadhana for the forest dweller) and the Upansihads. The first three constitute the ritualistic part of the Vedas (Karma Kanda), which is aimed at bringing prosperity to life (Abhyudaya) while the Upanishads deal with liberation (Gnana Kanda). As long as you live in the world you are involved in action. Compulsive action creates an impression that acts as seed to more actions. This generates a positive or negative merit leading to pleasant or unpleasant experiences. Karma kanda deals with actions that minimise  the impact of past impressions and prescribes processes such as awareness, endurance, charity that bring positive merit or Punya, thereby leading to prosperity. This prescribed code of action is Dharma. Thus Karma kanda deals with Dharma and Karma. Gnana Kanda (Upanishads) deals with the knowledge of the Self.

The importance of Patanjali

Enlightened sages have always stressed the importance of Viveka - the ability to discriminate between the real and the Unreal, the truth and the illusory. They stressed that the world is an illusion and the self is the only reality and one can only experience bliss when they connect to the Self. However this understanding  was not within the grasp of the common man. Hence most of the wise talk was limited to the classes and did not reach the masses. This probably led to the class system with the wisest getting into the Brahman class. Out of compassion for the masses, Rishis also devised techniques or rituals that was once again performed by the Brahman class in a prescribed manner. The masses did not find any logic in believing that what they thought was the ultimate reality of life such as power, status, family and in fact their own body was unreal. They also could not grasp the unseen or abstract as real. So they got too much engaged in the world becoming restless and disturbed. 

It is said that Shiva the master of the spiritual sciences was concerned that most people are being denied the knowledge of the Self and thus the bliss of existence. So as usual he sought help of Vishnu. Vishnu then gave the knowledge of Yoga to Adi Shesha his serpent and asked him to spread it among the masses. AdiShesha reincarnated as Patanjali and presented the abstract spiritual knowledge as a logical subject. Art became a science. Thus he ensured that the knowledge of the Self reached the masses.

While the sages said your true nature is bliss, Patanjali took a different view and instead of focussing on the nature of the Self as bliss he said the the nature of the worldly life is suffering, the cause of suffering is the mind and these are the techniques to manage the mind. As most people understood suffering, they could easily relate to Patanjali's teaching. He describes suffering enumerating its causes and explains the impact of Karma and destiny. Adishesha is the symbol of awareness. Patanjali says mind and awareness do not co exist, mind is the absence of awareness. Mind is darkness and awareness is light, and once the light appears darkness naturally disappears. He prescribed various techniques that enhance awareness which are very popular as the eight limbs of Yoga. He revealed that once one is established in awareness, the veil of ignorance thins away, revealing the true glory of the Self. While the original definition of Yoga was the union of the body - mind - spirit , Patanjali called it the skill of managing the mind - Chitta vritti Nirodaha. He rarely spoke about God or Maya or bliss, but prescribed the Discipline of Yoga as a tool for the worldly man to remove suffering even before it has arisen - Heyam Dukham Anagathaha. 

Anyone who is educated, logical or new to the spiritual path will definitely understand Patanjali, but may struggle to understand a Ashtavakra or a Vasista.
Sri Sri’s commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are a revelation and I strongly recommend everyone to listen again and again and contemplate on the nature of the world.

Chapter 16 - Divine and Demonic qualities

Summary

Krishna here again talks about the real (self/Purusha) and unreal (world/Prakriti/name and form) and says those who engage in the world unaware of the Self can never find peace or joy, but encounter constant suffering. If they don’t make any effort to come out of their false nature, they continue to be born in the company of the ignorant and continue to suffer. Only through self effort, maturity, good merit and contact with holy men, can one rise above the demonic qualities. 

Yatharth

There are only two types of people in the world. those with divine qualities and those with demonic qualities. Divine qualities lead to liberation while the demonic qualities lead to bondage.  

Qualities of divine beings

• free from fear, contented, purity in the inner faculties, committed to knowledge, generosity, yagna, self study and endurance
• non violent (free from aggression), seeker of truth, denounced anger, established in peace, soothing speech, compassionate, gentle, live in the world but not attached to it, not swayed by the sensory pleasures.
• radiant, forgiving, steadfast, clean, not upset with those who tend to upset them, not arrogant.

Qualities of demonic beings

• arrogance, pride, anger, harsh nature and ignorance
• unaware of the functioning of the existence - so they are not bothered about purity, conduct or truth, they feel that the whole universe is a product of lust.With this limited understanding, they forget their true nature, become dull witted and engage in activities that destroy the world around them.
• They run behind endless desires, get established in wrong knowledge and engage in unholy actions
• They are always worrying, thinking about sensory pleasures and believing that there is no joy beyond the senses.
• They are engaged in accumulating wealth through improper means only with the intent of fulfilling desires or sensory pleasures
• They get stuck with doership and believe everything is happening because of their effort and intelligence, believe in taking revenge and giving back to those who have hurt them.
• though they may engage in worship, yagna and charity, all these are only show off without any real devotion or intent.

When one lives his life with the demonic qualities, he suffers enormously and what more, being unaware that it is Me who dwells in all beings, he hates others. When I see such people who are not making any effort to come out of ignorance or change their conduct, i put them again and again in the wombs of similar minded people. In spite of being surrounded by suffering, if they dont wake up, they move into darker worlds with more suffering.
 

The three things that lead to your downfall are lust, anger and greed. Make every effort not to be in their grip. Follow the scriptures to help you to get out of these vices and you will attain Me. And once you have attained Me you attain both the worldly prosperity and the inner peace. One who ignores the scriptures and does things as he pleases in the world will neither experience joy, nor attain Me.

Chapter 14 - The Three Gunas

Summary
This Prakriti is composed of the five elements and exhibits three qualities. The three qualities or Gunas come in cycles and make you experience the different states of existence. Krishna elaborates on the influence of the three Gunas. The wise see all the happenings as a play of the Gunas and stays a witness to the world. The Guru is a Siddha who is beyond the limitations of the five elements and the influence of the three Gunas.

Yatharth
Dear Arjuna, I will now enunciate to you the knowledge knowing which you can be free from Samsara (life and death cycle) and attain Siddhis ( powers beyond the limitations of the five elements). This knowledge will keep you strong even in the middle of a dissolution (Pralaya).

The creation
Creation is the product fo the union of the inert (prakriti/Jada/passive) and the dynamic (Purusha/chaitanya/active). I am both the womb (prakriti) and the seed (chaitanya). All the manifestations in creation are through Me only and they exhibit three qualities - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas - which binds the Jeevatma (purusha) to the body.

The Three Gunas
the satttva gun is pure, illuminating and blemishless. Sattva binds you to Joy (Sukha) and knowledge. Rajo Guna brings attachment, desire and interest in the world. it binds you to Karma and its effects. Tamas leads you to ignorance. it binds you to blunder (Pramada), lethargy and dullness. To summarise, Sattva brings Sukha, Rajas binds you to Karma and Tamas brings about Pramada (inability to overcome the tendency of the mind). These Gunas are mutually exclusive - meaning when Sativa dominates Rajas and Tamas are subdued, when Rajas dominates Sativa and Tamas are subdue and so on.

When light, knowledge and clarity radiate from you know that Sattva is dominating. When greed, interest in activity, restlessness and desires arise, know that Rajas is dominating. When there is dullness, disinterestedness in activity (lethargy), delusion and Pramada - know that Tamas is dominating.

Sattvic actions bring joy, knowledge and dispassion, Rajasic actions bring greed, attachment and suffering, while tamasic actions lead to ignorance and delusion. People engaged in sattvic actions reach heaven, rajas actions reach earth while those engaged in Tamas suffer in hell.

When you die in Sattva, you are reborn in a noble, knowledge loving family with prosperity similar to heaven. when you die in Rajas, you are born in the company of people that are ambitious and greedy. when you die in Tamas, you attain the company of the impoverished and ignorant or are born as animals or worms.


How to move beyond the three Gunas?
through knowledge and devotion

one who, when engaged in the illuminating Sattva, or the restless Rajas or the Delusional Tamas neither regrets it when engaged nor desires it when disengaged; one who stands as a witness to the qualities and is not shaken by their impact; One who is always established in the self, and is equanimous with pleasure and pain,praise and insult, respect and humiliation; one who treats gold, and mud, friends or enemies similarly and deals the blessed, loved and the hated in the same way; He stays as a witness to the events free from doership and sees all actions as the play of the gunas. By realising that I exist beyond the Gunas, he attains ME. Such a wise person moves beyond the limitation of the five elements (Samsara) and the Gunas; and rests in bliss free from all suffering.

One who realises the I AM the source of all that is bliss, auspicious, Truth and Eternal, and focuses on Me at all times with humility and devotion is also able to cross the limitations of the Gunas.

Three steps to inner growth

1. See life as a dream
2. Drop judgements - what you are and what you do are different
3. Be aware

Chapter 15 - Purushottama Yoga

Vedas are the insights of the enlightened. these sages being compassionate have provided solutions to every being no matter what their state of mind or evolution of consciousness is. The vedas are broadly divided into two aspects - one for the worldly man who seeks prosperity in the world. This ritualistic part fo the veda is called Karma Kanda and deals with Dharma and Karma. it also states the limitations of these as they can only lead you to pleasure or pain or heaven or hell. Pleasure also can become a bondage as described in various stories of the Devas in the Puranas. To one who sees this world inspite of all its pleasures as a bondage and misery and longs for freedom, to him they prescribe the knowledge part of the Vedas called Gnana Kanda. Purushottama Yoga belongs to the Gnana Kanda fo the Vedas.

Purusha literally means Being. This chapter of the Gita enlightens the Essence of Being. Being is that which IS, it is Present & continuous. It indicates Now and the Dynamism of Consciousness.

In creation, there is the seen and the unseen. the seen is the world which is the reflection of the unseen or the self. The ignorant mistake the seen as the only reality while the wise move beyond the seen towards the unseen. The trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits of the tree are all seen while the source or life of the tree which are the roots remain hidden. Krishna starts this chapter by describing an Inverted Peepal Tree with its roots spread in the sky - indicating that the root or source of existence is infinite. Unseen is the source of the seen. Unseen has infinite potential.The seen tree is the world -Samsara- that has grown by the water of the 3 gunas and is held strongly by the mud of ego, attachment and Vasana. 
The unseen can only be realised by the one who reflects on the scriptures and is firmly established in the Asanga/ dispassion or witness consciousness.

The consciousness for the sake of understanding can be said to be in two states - the unmanifested and the manifested - also called as Purusha and Prakriti in general terms. The unmanifested consciousness can be further divided into the contented consciousness (Brahman) and the consciousness with the desire to express (Purusha). the same concept is provided by Krishna by naming these three aspects of consciousness as kshara, akshara and uttama purusha

Kshara - Prakriti (iphone)

Akshara - Purusha/Jeevatma (icloud)

Uttama - Brahman / Paramatma (Apple)

The first two are only relevant in the waking state while the Uttama pervades all the states. One who understands and surrenders to this Uttama Purusha is called Purushottama 

Where is my abode

My abode is beyond the world. logic and mind do not function here. My abode is  where once one reaches does not return (become worldly). My abode is self sufficient, and doesn’t need Sun to brighten up or Moon to cool or fire to heat or support Life

How do I express myself

In everything seen & unseen. in the outer world i am nature and in the inner world, I am seen as the Jeevatma (individual soul). As a Jeevatma, I perceive and experience the world through the mind and the five senses. Just like the blowing wind carries with it the fragrance of the flower leaving the flower behind, the jeevatma carries the impressions of the world from the senses leaving the body behind.

I am in every aspect of creation and am responsible for every act of creation. I am the source of all life and I am essence of all creation. I am the fire in sun, coolness in the moon and am established in the heart of all beings as Urja. I support life through Prana, unburden through Apana and digest through Samana. Everything runs through me, I am memory and I am forgetfulness . I am success and I am failure as well. I am hunger and I am satiety as well. Your role in this world is just being a witness. Do not become engaged ( Lipt) in the world. Become Nirlipt, Asang and a witness.

Who realises me

One who with pure Anthah Karana - mind, intellect, memory and ego  - makes sincere self effort will only realise me. If the inner faculties are not pure, no amount of effort will lead to me. Sadhana without dispassion or devotion will not help in reaching me.

How do I become a Purushottama?
by fulfilling the following

Nirmana moha Jita sanga dosha 

Adhyatma nitya Vinivritta kamyaaha 

Dwandwair vimyktha Sukh dukh sangaihi 
Gachanti amudha Padam avyayam tat 

Nirmana moha (Indifferent to Status (Maan)

Jita sanga dosha ( overcoming bad company or poor associations)

Adhyatma nitya - constantly relflecting on the knowledge of the real vs unreal (viveka)

Vinivritta kamyaaha - non feverish about desires

Dwandwair vimykthas -  no dual

Sukh dukh sangaihi - gets along the intensities of life such as pleasure and pain

Gachanti amudha Padam avyayam tat - such as wise one gets to walk on the path of infinity towards me.

Hey Anasuya, 

I have thus told you the secret of Life and my abode. One who follows my direction will remain free from misery and be ever grateful.