Mandukya Upanishad : 9. T.N.Sethumadhavan.

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Chinmaya Mission :

Chinmaya Mission Pittsburgh has taken another step forward to impart Indian cultural traditions and Vedic values to today's generation. The inauguration of Chinmaya Amarnath in August 2022 of a new Vedanta centre and temple was held with grandeur in the presence of Swami Swaroopananda, Global Head of Chinmaya Mission and Swami Shantananda, President Chinmaya Mission West. 

As a temple and place of learning Chinmaya Amarnath will serve all ages from toddlers to youth and all those young at heart with its 21,000 square foot facility. As a temple, Chinmaya Amarnath will be the home of Bhagavan Shiva in the Linga form of Amareswara Swami, Devi Parvati in the form of Devi Lalitha Tripura Sundari, Shri Ganesh in the form of Kshipra Prasada Ganapati. In this city teeming with temples, Chinmaya Amarnath will be the first one dedicated to Bhagavan Shiva.  The centre will also house Navagrahas and will have space set aside for additional vigrahas in the future. A visit to the temple will be an opportunity to connect with Bhagavan and Devi and also with our Inner Self in a serene meditating room with the meditating form of Shri Jagadeeshwara.

Once the final finishing and township permits are obtained, the temple and centre will be open to the public. The team of dedicated volunteers of Chinmaya Mission Pittsburgh thank CM members and the entire community for their overwhelming participation in the inauguration festivities and generous contributions.

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Sunday, September25, 2022.07:00. 
An inquiry into what is Real And Unreal 
AGAMA PRAKARANA 
Post-9.

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TURIYA :
MANTRAM – 7.

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naantah-prajnam, na bahishprajnam, nobhayatah-prajnam, na 

prajnanaghanam, na prajnam, naaprajnam.h , adrishtam, avyavaharyam, 

agraahyam, alakshanam, achintyam, avyapadeshyam, ekatma-pratyayasaram, prapanchopashamam, shantam, shivam, advaitam, chaturtham, 

manyante, sa atma; sa vijneyah .. 7.. 

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Commentary :

Turiya 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 (Turiya). This is the Atman and it has to be realized. 

What a soft flowing lyrical language like an early morning breeze in the spring season! 

The main purport of Vedanta is that Brahman alone is real and the whole world of 

appearance is unreal, and that the Jiva is nothing but Brahman Itself. This abstruse theory 

cannot be comprehended by ordinary men of small understanding, who are immersed in 

the life of relativity and ignorance. They are taught this sublime Truth by means of 

illustrations suitable to them, so that they may fix their minds on the Reality through 

various angles of vision. The ancient sages adopted two popular methods to achieve this 

objective. They are 1. to explain the Unknown through the known by citing practical 

illustrations of daily life whereby its abstract truths can be understood by the finite 

intellect very easily and 2. to explain the Unexplainable by denying the known entities. 

The first method is called Nyayas or illustrations while the second is known as ‘neti neti’

Not this, Nor this’. The great doctrine of “Neti – Neti” says that the truth can be found 

only through the negation of all thoughts about it. This is extensively adopted by Sage

Yajnavalkya in his dialogues with his wife, Maitreyi, which are featured in the Muni 

Kanda or Yajnavalkya Kanda of the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad. 

This mantra of the Mandukya Upanishad adopted the “Neti Neti” method to explain 

Turiya, the fourth state of consciousness This doctrine in this Upanishad suggests the

indescribability of the Brahman, the Absolute. It is possible to describe Brahman as what 

‘It is not’ but not as to what ‘It is’. Atman is “neither this, nor this” (“Neti, Neti”). The 

Self cannot be described in any way. “Na-iti” – that is “Neti”. It is through this process of 

“Neti, Neti” that one gives up everything – the cosmos, the body, the mind and 

everything – to realize the Self. After knowing the Atman in this manner, one develops 

the attitude that the phenomenal world and all its creatures are made up of the same 

essence of bliss. Brahman is infinite, amorphous, colorless, characterless and formless 

Universal Spirit which is omnipresent and omnipotent, and like cosmic energy, it is 

pervasive, unseen and indescribable.

 

Now let us analyze the mantram. Using the language of negation it says that :

1. naantah-prajnam – The Atman or life force in man is not the dreamer or that which is 

conscious of the internal subjective world i.e. Turiya is not the dream state or Taijasa. 

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

Turiya is not the waking-state ego or vaisvanara. 

3. na ubhayatah-prajnam – It is also not that state which is in between waking and 

dreaming.

4. na prajnanaghanam – In deep sleep a person experiences undifferentiated 

consciousness and one is not conscious of anything including oneself. But the Atman has 

no such state (prajnanaghanam). 

5. na prajnam na aprajnam.h – It is not conscious or unconscious.

If none of these states are applicable to the Self then how can we describe it? The 

Upanishad says that one cannot describe the Self; one cannot predicate anything about it; 

one cannot say it is this or it is that. Once it is said that the Self is such and such, we limit 

the Self. Hence there is no way of saying exactly what it is. That is why it is said ‘Neti 

Neti’. 

The Upanishad further says that the Self is :

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 used by any of our organs. 

8. agraahyam – It cannot be grasped. 

9. alakshanam – It is beyond perception by any organ. 

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, our Self-consciousness 

which everybody has. This common ‘I’ consciousness is Brahman. it is the Param 

Atman, 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 upashamam - When the phenomenal world is negated, rejected or 

eliminated. The object world is nothing but names and forms – nama and roopa. 

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 state i.e. chaturtham. That is Turiya. That is our real state and 

that is Brahman - sa atma. 

That is to be known - sa vijneyah – that is to be realized. By whom? We have to realize 

that Self by ourselves. Sankara says that we are now ignorant of our own Self; we have to 

remove that ignorance and then only the Self can be known. The idea is that mere 

intellectual understanding of the Self is not enough; what is required is to experience the 

Self by oneself. The means to achieve this experience is Pranava Upasana i.e. meditation 

on AUM which is the theme of the mantras that follow. In these mantras the Upanishad 

tells us that meditation on the constituent matras (parts) of the pranava viz., A, U, M, (to 

pronounce these letters as in Sanaskrit - akara, ukara, makara) will secure for us all 

knowledge, glory and prosperity which the three padas of the Atman viz., Visva, Taijasa 

and Prajna are capable of bestowing upon man. But all these come under the sway of 

maya and therefore short-lived. To have an eternal bliss, the Upanishad advises us to 

meditate on partless, unified Pranava (AUM) thereby achieve the blissful condition of 

the divisionless Atman or Brahman. 

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Next-

A U M - `

MANTRAM – 8.

To be continued ...

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