MANDUKYA UPANISHAD with GAUDAPADA’S KARIKA : 18 - Swami Advayananda ji.

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MANDUKYA UPANISHAD

with Part 1 of Gaudapada’s Karika

“It Hops Like a Frog”

Mantras numbers-12.

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Sunday, 09 Jul 2023. 06:30.

INTRODUCTION TO MANDUKYA UPANISHAD

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A PECULIAR CHARACTERISTIC of this Upanishad is that its thought “hops about” 

rather abruptly between the four Quarters around which the theme is centred. The 

Quarters are like the four corners of a room in which a frog is trapped. The frog goes on 

hopping from one corner to the next. That is what this Upanishad does. It is why it gets its 

name – ‘Mandukya’ (pronounced ‘Maandookya’) means “like a frog”.

Another reason for the appropriate name is that frogs keep silent and reserved for 

nearly nine months of the year, and then when the rainy season appears, they suddenly 

come to life, sending their long-drawn out croaks across the valleys. In the same way, the 

Mahatmas of the Himalayas are in seclusion for most of the year, but during the four 

months called Chaturmasya, which coincides with the rainy season, they come out of their 

retreats, and into the company of men, “croaking” their Vedantic messages to humanity! 

And no one can avoid them!

The Mandukya Message – Not For the Faint-hearted :

Acharyaji gave us a tip that was meant to prepare us for a very serious period of 

study while we are busy with this text. Although the Upanishad itself has only twelve verses, 

making it the shortest of all the Upanishads, yet the coverage in these 12 verses is of the 

entire Vedanta philosophy. It literally “leaps like a frog” between the aspects of Vedanta.

In addition, Acharyaji prepared us for a very bold treatment of Vedanta. The text 

would boldly declare the Truth without mincing any words. It tells us the straight Truth, not 

concerned about how people may receive it. It is fearless in its attitude.

If we do not practice our Sadhana in conjunction with the studies, then we will soon 

tire of this text, and lose interest. It is relentless in asserting the falsity of the world. It makes 

it a special point of equating the waking state to dream to drive home the point that it is 

also unreal. So insistent is its call in this regard, that Acharyaji used his own specially 

prepared simile to explain the method employed by this Upanishad:

Acharyaji said: “There is a medicine called ‘Tincture of Iodine’. One applies a little of 

it onto wounds, very slowly, because its burn is very intense. The Mandukya Upanishad is 

like pouring a bottle of this medicine copiously onto the open wound, and then rubbing it in, 

with no regard for the yelling and screaming of the patient!”

The study of this text is sure to transform our way of looking at the world. after 

scaring away the faint hearts, it will take us to the stage of intense dispassion for the world –

thus setting up the right foundation for the practical Vedantic experience of Non-Duality.

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Next

MANDUKYA UPANISHAD 

with Part 1/4 of GAUDAPADA’S KARIKA

Agama Prakarana – “The Scriptural Treatise”

PART 1: Agama Prakarana (Mantras-29. )

Kar. Section 1.1: EXPERIENCE & ENJOYMENT (Mantras 1-5) 

Commentary on Mantras 1-5 of Mandukya Upanishad

Invocatory Prayer of Upanishad

From: Atharvana Veda

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To be continued

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