"An unexamined life is not worth living"
-Socrates
The mandukya upanishad examines the various states of human existence in detail.Written in easy-to -understand sanskrit,the mandukya upanishad is rich in meaning,though it consists of just a few verses.
This upanishad deals with 4 states of human existence:
3)सुशुक्थी (Deep sleep)
4)तुरीय
Jagrati refers to the normal waking state in which we experience happiness,sorrow,joy,pleasure,pain and other emotions.
Swapnam refers to the dream state.Now,an important question arises....
Which of the two states is the real one-waking or dream state?
Anybody will tell you that the waking state is the real one.
let's for argument sake,assume that the dream state is the real state.In the dream state too,we experience happiness,sorrow,joy,pleasure,pain and other emotions.While we are dreaming,we are not aware that we are not in the waking state.From the dreamer's perspective,that is his jagrat(or waking state).The dreamer is under the impression that the experiences/emotions he undergoes are real.There is even an iota of doubt that these may all be unreal.
He realizes that they are unreal only when his dream ends and he awakes into his consciousness.Now,what is the indication to show that the dream state is unreal?Nothing.We know that the dream state is unreal only when the dream ends.In the same way,man realises his existence(read as jagrati) is unreal only when death occurs.This is the clinching argument of the upanishad to show that this world is unreal-a result of maya.Man is under the impression that jagruti is real because of avidya-ignorance.
A close examination of human existence will show that we are all living in an unreal world.That our ancients knew so much about the states of human existence and published the holy texts based on strong reasoning and inquiry is what separates the ancient Hindu religion from those religions based on mere belief and forcible conversion.
Before we move on to the third state of sushukthi,it is imperative to understand the difference between happiness(सुखं) and bliss(आनंदम ).Happiness and sadness are a result of the mind's imagination.What is the source of happiness today becomes the source of sadness tomorrow.
Take this for example-if you live in Chennai,you like to be in an air-conditioned room because of the searing heat.But if you were to live in say,Shimla,would an ac bring you happiness?
In the Bhagavatha purana,Kapila lists what he calls as Dhvandhvam in संख्या योग :(The yoga Rajnikanth claims to follow!!)
Happiness-sadness
Profit-loss
pride-embarrassment
Hotness-coldness.
all these feelings are a result of the mind's imagination.Happiness,too is a result of the mind's imagination.
"मनो एव कारणं मनुष्यानाम बंधा मोक्ष यो हो".
Happiness has its end in sadness.
Bliss(aanandam),on the other hand knows no boundaries.now,the question areises:What is bliss?
The third state is that of sushukthi-the state of deep sleep.
In the state of deep slle,we experience neither sadness nor happiness.This is because we have no desires or thoughts in this state.We usually experience happiness or sadness when we get to know the result of our actions.The state of deep sleep knows neither desire nor the result of it."आशा दुखास्य कारणं ".
This is what the mandukya upanishad calls the state of bliss.The state of no emotions.The state of peace,when body is in harmony with the soul.We are closer to God than we think in the state of deep sleep.Even in this state of bliss,there's a disadvantage.
We are unconscious.In other words,we are unaware of our own existence.We are unaware of the bliss we experience.This disadvantage is overcome in the fourth state of turiya.....
In the state of turiya(the state of a yogi),we experience bliss in the presence of consciousness.This state is beyond description.Beyond the understanding of normal humans.
In the words of the mandukya upanishad,"The
fourth, turiya, is not inwardly cognitive, nor outwardly cognitive, not both-wise
cognitive. It is not a cognition mass, not cognitive, not noncognitive, unseen,
incapable of being spoken of, ungraspable, without any distinctive marks, unthinkable,
unnameable, the essence of the knowledge of the one self, that into
which the world is resolved, the peaceful, the benign, the non-dual. That is the
atma. That is to be realised.”
This is how our ancient seers understood existence.
P.S:The views expressed in this post are NOT personal.All this is knowledge that has been transmitted through countless generations.The author is a native of Tamil Nadu and apologizes for inadvertent mistakes that might have crept in while trying to write in English.Word to word matching is also not to be found as far as Sanskrit and English are concerned.This is my attempt to express what i think i know.When we say"I have bathed in the Ganga",it doesn't mean that we have swam from this side of the river to the other.In the same way,i think I've done my best.
May peace prevail.
-Socrates
The mandukya upanishad examines the various states of human existence in detail.Written in easy-to -understand sanskrit,the mandukya upanishad is rich in meaning,though it consists of just a few verses.
This upanishad deals with 4 states of human existence:
1)जाग्रति (Waking)
2)स्वप्नं (Dream)3)सुशुक्थी (Deep sleep)
4)तुरीय
Jagrati refers to the normal waking state in which we experience happiness,sorrow,joy,pleasure,pain and other emotions.
Swapnam refers to the dream state.Now,an important question arises....
Which of the two states is the real one-waking or dream state?
Anybody will tell you that the waking state is the real one.
let's for argument sake,assume that the dream state is the real state.In the dream state too,we experience happiness,sorrow,joy,pleasure,pain and other emotions.While we are dreaming,we are not aware that we are not in the waking state.From the dreamer's perspective,that is his jagrat(or waking state).The dreamer is under the impression that the experiences/emotions he undergoes are real.There is even an iota of doubt that these may all be unreal.
He realizes that they are unreal only when his dream ends and he awakes into his consciousness.Now,what is the indication to show that the dream state is unreal?Nothing.We know that the dream state is unreal only when the dream ends.In the same way,man realises his existence(read as jagrati) is unreal only when death occurs.This is the clinching argument of the upanishad to show that this world is unreal-a result of maya.Man is under the impression that jagruti is real because of avidya-ignorance.
A close examination of human existence will show that we are all living in an unreal world.That our ancients knew so much about the states of human existence and published the holy texts based on strong reasoning and inquiry is what separates the ancient Hindu religion from those religions based on mere belief and forcible conversion.
Before we move on to the third state of sushukthi,it is imperative to understand the difference between happiness(सुखं) and bliss(आनंदम ).Happiness and sadness are a result of the mind's imagination.What is the source of happiness today becomes the source of sadness tomorrow.
Take this for example-if you live in Chennai,you like to be in an air-conditioned room because of the searing heat.But if you were to live in say,Shimla,would an ac bring you happiness?
In the Bhagavatha purana,Kapila lists what he calls as Dhvandhvam in संख्या योग :(The yoga Rajnikanth claims to follow!!)
Happiness-sadness
Profit-loss
pride-embarrassment
Hotness-coldness.
all these feelings are a result of the mind's imagination.Happiness,too is a result of the mind's imagination.
"मनो एव कारणं मनुष्यानाम बंधा मोक्ष यो हो".
Happiness has its end in sadness.
Bliss(aanandam),on the other hand knows no boundaries.now,the question areises:What is bliss?
The third state is that of sushukthi-the state of deep sleep.
In the state of deep slle,we experience neither sadness nor happiness.This is because we have no desires or thoughts in this state.We usually experience happiness or sadness when we get to know the result of our actions.The state of deep sleep knows neither desire nor the result of it."आशा दुखास्य कारणं ".
This is what the mandukya upanishad calls the state of bliss.The state of no emotions.The state of peace,when body is in harmony with the soul.We are closer to God than we think in the state of deep sleep.Even in this state of bliss,there's a disadvantage.
We are unconscious.In other words,we are unaware of our own existence.We are unaware of the bliss we experience.This disadvantage is overcome in the fourth state of turiya.....
In the state of turiya(the state of a yogi),we experience bliss in the presence of consciousness.This state is beyond description.Beyond the understanding of normal humans.
In the words of the mandukya upanishad,"The
fourth, turiya, is not inwardly cognitive, nor outwardly cognitive, not both-wise
cognitive. It is not a cognition mass, not cognitive, not noncognitive, unseen,
incapable of being spoken of, ungraspable, without any distinctive marks, unthinkable,
unnameable, the essence of the knowledge of the one self, that into
which the world is resolved, the peaceful, the benign, the non-dual. That is the
atma. That is to be realised.”
This is how our ancient seers understood existence.
P.S:The views expressed in this post are NOT personal.All this is knowledge that has been transmitted through countless generations.The author is a native of Tamil Nadu and apologizes for inadvertent mistakes that might have crept in while trying to write in English.Word to word matching is also not to be found as far as Sanskrit and English are concerned.This is my attempt to express what i think i know.When we say"I have bathed in the Ganga",it doesn't mean that we have swam from this side of the river to the other.In the same way,i think I've done my best.
May peace prevail.
