aumdada maya studios

Saturday, February 28, 2026

Suite Turiyam

1. Dark Side of the Sun (a)

Consciousness-existence transcends space-time.

It is one without a second and a second in no time.

It doesn't have a reason. It transcends all rhyme.

2. Dark Side of the Sun (b)

I am of that order of the principle of existence.

I know the ground of consciousness like the back of my mind.

I am here transcending space. I am right now beyond time.

3. Song of Isvara

Brahman lives at the crossroads of Saguna and Nirguna.

That Great Square where the power of Maya veils and unveils!

This is where the Gita and Mandukya coexist. Om.

4. Seasons

Memories are like dreams remembered.

The Fourth of July. The Fifth of November.

This blessed eve of meteorological spring.

5. To Turiyam

The Quantum Controller of Maya is Isvara. Isvara is the God of Universal Consciousness! Turiyam is the Godhead. Aum.

~sr16

Song of Isvara

Brahman lives at the crossroads of Saguna and Nirguna.

That Great Square where the power of Maya veils and unveils!

This is where the Gita and Mandukya coexist. Om.

~rj33

In the Dark Side of the Sun

Consciousness-existence transcends space-time.

It is one without a second and a second with no time.

It doesn't have a reason. It transcends all rhyme.

I am of that order of the principle of existence.

I know the ground of consciousness like the back of my mind.

I am here transcending space. I am right now beyond time.

~rj32

Isavasya 10 Translation Fantasia

anyad evahur vidyaya anyad ahur avidyaya

iti shushruma dhiranam ye nas tad vichachakshire.

अन्यत् – different; एव – definitely; आहुः – (they) say; विद्यया – by vidyā; अन्यत् – different; आहुः – (they) say; अविद्यया – by avidyā; इति – thus; शुश्रुम – (we) have heard; धीराणाम् – of the wise; ये – who; नः – to us; तत् – that; विचचक्षिरे – explained

One thing, they say, is verily obtained from vidyā, another thing they say from avidyā; thus we have heard from the wise who explained that to us.

Both vidyā and avidyā, in fact, are bondages. Knowledge is certainly a release from the shackles of ignorance, but knowledge itself is a painful limitation upon the Absolute. One may get over the confusions of ignorance with knowledge but, in itself, this will find us only chained by the limitations of knowledge. To transcend both is to reach the state of absolute Perfection.

~Chinmayananda

Other, verily, it is said, is that which comes by the Knowledge, other that which comes by the Ignorance; this is the lore we have received from the wise who revealed That to our understanding.

By Vidya one may attain to the state of the silent Brahman or the Akshara Purusha regarding the universe without actively participating in it or to His self-absorbed state of Chit in Sat from which the universe proceeds and towards which it returns.

By Avidya one may attain to a sort of fullness of power, joy, world-knowledge, largeness of being, which is that of the Titans or of the Gods;, of Indra, of Prajapati. This is gained in the path of self-enlargement by an ample acceptance of the multiplicity in all its possibilities and a constant enrichment of the individual by all the materials that the universe can pour into him.

~Aurobindo

They say that the result of knowledge is different from the result of ignorance. This, we have heard from the wise, who have explained it to us.

The rishi is talking in humble terms. He does not say, ‘I am saying this.’ He says, ‘This has been explained to me by the wise, from whom we have heard that there are two results.

~Sri M

One thing, they say, is obtained from knowledge; another, they say, from ignorance. Thus we have heard from the wise who have taught us this.

ONE THING: That is to say, the Plane of the Deities. ANOTHER, ETC: The Plane of the Fathers (Pitriloka). THIS: Both rituals and knowledge of the deities. The instruction given in this verse has come down through a succession of teachers.

~Nikhilananda

Friday, February 27, 2026

Isavasya 9 Translation Fantasia

andhantamaḥ praviśanti ye’vidyāmupāsate, tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u vidyāyāgṁratāḥ. (

अन्धम् – blinding; तमः – darkness; प्रविशन्ति – enter; ये – who; अविद्याम् – avidyā (see commentary for details); उपासते – worship; ततः – than that; भूयः – greater; इव – as though; ते – they; तमः – darkness; ये – who; उ – verily; विद्यायाग्म् – in vidyā (see commentary for details); रताः – devoted, engaged in

They who worship avidyā alone fall into blindening darkness, and they, who worship vidyā alone fall, as though, into even a greater darkness.

In this stanza, the ṛṣi has opened up the problem and he is to summarise his conclusions in the following three mantras.

Those who are following the path of upāsanā or introvert life, who meditate deeply, seeking nothing but the all-pervading Reality seem to fall as though into a still greater darkness because such hasty and unprepared meditators may overdo the negation aspect of the technique of meditation and reach a destination of blind non-existence! In this connection, the term ‘as though a greater darkness’ is very significant; it is not really darkness.

The context here would demand that we take vidyā to be the ‘higher meditation’, and avidyā to be ‘all sādhanās’ that prepare one, by exhausting one’s existing vāsanās, to have a peaceful mind that can readily be brought to the seat of meditation.

~Chinmayananda

Into a blind darkness they enter who follow after the Ignorance, they as if into a greater darkness who devote themselves to the Knowledge alone.

All manifestation proceeds by the two terms, Vidya and Avidya, the consciousness of Unity and the consciousness of Multiplicity. They are the two aspects of the Maya, the formative self-conception of the Eternal. Unity is the eternal and fundamental fact, without which all multiplicity would be unreal and an impossible illusion. The consciousness of Unity is therefore called Vidya, the Knowledge.

Those who are devoted entirely to the principle of multiplicity and division and take their orientation away from oneness enter into a blind darkness of Ignorance. To turn away from the progression towards Oneness is to turn away from existence and from light.

Those who are devoted entirely to the principle of indiscriminate Unity and seek to put away from them the integrality of the Brahman, also put away from them knowledge and completeness and enter as if into a greater darkness. They enter into some special state and accept it for the whole, mistaking exclusion in consciousness for transcendence in consciousness.

~Aurobindo

They enter into blind darkness who worship Avidya (ignorance and delusion); they fall, as it were, into greater darkness who worship Vidya (knowledge).

Those who follow or "worship" the path of selfishness and pleasure (Avidya), without knowing anything higher, necessarily fall into darkness; but those who worship or cherish Vidya (knowledge) for mere intellectual pride and satisfaction, fall into greater darkness, because the opportunity which they misuse is greater.

~Paramananda

Into a blind darkness they enter who are devoted to ignorance (rituals); but into a greater darkness they enter who engage in knowledge [of a deity] alone.

BLIND DARKENESS: It is characterized by an absence of knowledge because it is opposed to knowledge. IGNORANCE: The word avidya in the text signifies karma, or ritualistic action, such as the Agnihotra sacrifice. GREATER DARKNESS: The result of meditation on the deities without any ritual leads to a greater darkness. KNOWLEDGE: The word knowledge here means knowledge or contemplation of a deity. It does not signify Supreme Knowledge.

The following interpretation of the text is adapted from Sankara's com:mmentary: "The first verse of the Isa Upanishad refers to devotion to the Knowledge of Brahman through renunciation of all desires. The second verse lays down devotion to action (rituals) for those who are ignorant, desirous of a long life on earth, and incapable of cultivating devotion to Knowledge." Verse nine condemns ignorant people with a view to harmonizing work with knowledge of a deity.

~Nikhilananda

Note: There are three interpretations presented here: Shankara via Nikhilananda (Vedic ritual and meditation); Aurobindo (Integral Yoga); Chinmayananda (BMI Advaita).

Isavasya 8 Translation Fantasia

sa paryagach chukram akaayam avranam asnaaviram shuddham apaapa viddham kavir manishi paribhuh

svayambhur yathatathyatorthan vyadadhac chashvatibhyas samabhyah.

सः – he; पर्यगात् – all-pervading; शुक्रम् – bright; अकायम् – bodiless; अव्रणम् – scatheless, without wound; अस्नाविरग्म् – without muscles; शुद्धम् – pure; अपापविद्धम् – unpierced by evils; कविः – wise; मनीषी – omniscient; परिभूः – transcendent; स्वयम्भूः – self-existing; याथातथ्यतः – respectively; अर्थान् – functions, duties; व्यदधात् – allotted; शाश्वतीभ्यः – eternal; समाभ्यः – for years to come (figuratively the Creators that is Prajāpatis)

He, the Ᾱtman, is all-pervading, bright, bodiless, scatheless, without muscles, pure, unpierced by evils, wise, omniscient, transcendent and self-existing. He alone allotted respective functions (duties) to the various eternal Creators.

Here is a stanza typical of the literature of Upaniṣads which attempts at a complete and exhaustive definition so as to give to the readers, if not a word painting of the Eternal, at least a sufficient amount of data to give a sincere student an intuitive understanding of the all comprehensive factor called Life or Ᾱtman. The great commentator, Śaṅkara, has himself more than once used this stanza and the expressions therein in his commentaries to indicate the Self in us.

It is this Self or pure Consciousness that is the power and the strength behind the laws of all natural phenomena. If the movement of the planets, the regularity of the seasons, the harmony in nature, the rhythm in reproduction have all been strictly followed without exception all around the globe for millions of years now, it is because of the unquestionable authority of the law giver and His law. That authority, might or power belongs to the supreme Reality, the Self.

~Chinmayananda

It is He who pervades all-He who is bright and bodiless, without scar or sinews, pure and by evil unpierced; who is the Seer, omniscient, transcendent and uncreated. He has duly allotted to the eternal WorldCreators their respective duties.

WHO PERVADES ETC: Brahman interpenetrates everything and pervades the phenomenal universe as fragrance pervades sandal-paste. BRIGHT: Refers to the luminosity of the pure Self. BODILESS: Without a subtle form. WITHOUT SCAR ETC: Without any defect. Brahman is devoid of a gross form. PURE: Free from a causal body. BY EVIL UNPIERCED: Uncontaminated by such limitations of prakriti as dharma (righteousness) and adharma (unrighteousness). As a witness, He watches the modifications of prakriti; He is not impressed or troubled by them. SEER: He sees all in detail as well as in its totality. OMNISCIENT: The ruler of the mind, which is the· organ of understanding. TRANSCENDENT: Beyond all manifestations.

~Nikhilananda

He (the Self) is all-encircling, resplendent, bodiless, spotless, without sinews, pure, untouched by sin, all-seeing, all-knowing, transcendent, self-existent; He has disposed all things duly for eternal years.

This text defines the real nature of the Self. When our mind is cleansed from the dross of matter, then alone can we behold the vast, radiant, subtle, ever-pure and spotless Self, the true basis of our existence.

~Paramananda

Isavasya 7 Translation Fantasia

yasmin sarvani bhutani atmaivabhud vijanatah

tatra ko mohah kah shokah ekatvam anupashyatah

यस्मिन् – in whom; सर्वाणि – all; भूतानि – beings; आत्मा – Self; एव – alone; अभूत् – have become; विजानतः – knowing; तत्र – these; कः – what; मोहः – delusion; कः – what; शोकः – grief; एकत्वम् – oneness; अनुपश्यतः – while constantly seeing

To the seer, all things have verily become the Self: what delusion, what sorrow, can there be for him who beholds that oneness?

Both ignorance (avidya) and its effect, that is to say, multiplicity, are destroyed for the knower of Atman. This Knowledge itself is Liberation. The knower, though living in a body, is free from attachment and aversion, pain and pleasure, and the other pairs of opposites.

~Nikhilananda

When, to the knower, all beings have become one in his own Self (Ᾱtman), how shall he feel deluded thereafter? What grief can there be to him who sees oneness everywhere?

In the previous stanza, the ṛṣi explained to us the glory of Self-realisation in a language of negative assertions and not in the language of positive declarations. We were only told that the individual will have no more any repulsion against or hatred for anything in life. But here, in this stanza, the same idea has been explained to us by the ṛṣi with more emphasis and practical assertions.

~Chinmayananda

This is a corollary to what has already been said before. Yasmin sarvani bhutaniatmaivabhud vijanatah – ‘When one realizes that that Supreme Self is the inner reality of all beings, when one realizes that all beings are verily his own Self,’ Tatra ko mohah kah shokah ekatvam anupashyatah- ‘Such a person, who is established in complete Oneness, when he sees that all is One, where in him is the place for delusion and where is the place for sorrow?’

~Sri M

Mandukya 2025 TOC

Isavasya 6 Translation Fantasia

yas tu sarvani bhutani atmany evaanupashyati

sarva bhuteshu chatmanam tato na vijugupsate.

यः – who; तु – however; सर्वाणि – all; भूतानि – beings; आत्मनि – in the Self; एव – alone; अनुपश्यति – constantly sees; सर्वभूतेषु – in all beings; च – and; आत्मानम् – Self; ततः – then; न – not; विजुगुप्सते – shrinks, feels hatred

He who constantly sees everywhere all existences in the Self and the Self in all beings and forms, thereafter shrinks not from anything.

This stanza explains more vividly than in any other Upaniṣad about the state of perfect tranquillity gained by a Self-realised sage, and as such, this stanza has been oft quoted and repeated in books and heard from platforms.

The one who has thus realised the core of all beings as the core in himself, and his own Self as the Self in every name and form, he is a sage, a prophet, a God-man, a true leader of the people, and a guiding power in the universe.

In realising thus, the individual gets permanently divorced from all his mental ideas of repulsion, shrinking, dislike, fear, hatred and such other perversions of feelings.

~Chinmayananda

The wise man beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings; for that reason he does not hate anyone.

The perception that Pure Consciousness is the essence and reality of all is the foundation of the Golden Rule. He who is firmly established in the perfect equality of Atman, samatva, has overcome all repulsion, secretiveness, shrinking, dislike, fear, hatred, and other perverse traits which arise from the perception of separation.

~Nikhilananda

He who sees all beings in his own self, and his own self in all beings, does not feel any revulsion whatsoever.

That means, a person who begins to understand, who is absolutely still and quiet, who begins to inhale the fragrance of that Supreme Being, sees that he has no enemies anymore. He cannot be revolted he cannot be against anything or anybody, because he sees his Self in them and their Self in him. That Supreme Being pervades all. He is your antaryami, the antaryami in every one of us.

~Sri M

He who sees all beings in the Self itself, and the Self in all beings, feels no hatred by virtue of that (realization).

This is only a restatement of a known fact. For, this is a matter of experience that all revulsion comes to one who sees something as bad and different from oneself, but for one who sees only the absolutely pure Self as a continuous entity, there is no other object that can be the cause of revulsion. Therefore he does not hate.

~Shankara (tr-Gambhirananda)

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Dayananda on Jijnasu & Jnani (BG7:16)

caturvidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛtino’rjuna ārto jijñāsurarthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha (16)

caturvidhāḥ – four-fold; janāḥ – people; sukṛtinaḥ – who do good actions; mām – me; bhajante – worship; arjuna – O Arjuna!; ārtaḥ – the one in distress; arthārthī – the one who seeks security and pleasure; jijñāsuḥ – the one who desires to know; ca – and; jñānī – the one who knows; bharatarṣabha – O the foremost in the clan of Bharata!

Arjuna, the foremost in the clan of Bharata! People given to good actions, who worship me are four-fold–the distressed, the seeker of security and pleasure, the one who desires to know (me), and the one who knows (me).

The jijñāsu is not invoking Īśvara’s grace for simple accomplishments. He wants to know the truth of Īśvara, the ultimate cause of everything. And this jijñāsu is a great devotee. He does not use Bhagavān as an accomplice for his small pursuits. He wants to know who is Īśvara and as a bhakta he invokes Īśvara’s grace for this.

Knowledge of Īśvara is nothing but knowledge of ātmā. Īśvara, the cause of everything, happens to be in essence, oneself. If Īśvara were other than ātmā, he would be anātmā, and therefore, inert. The only conscious being is ātmā, and Īśvara is not separate from it.

This seeming difference between Īśvara and the individual is due to upādhi, as we have seen. There is only one reality which the jijñāsu wants to know. He is a devotee because he seeks the help of Īśvara and performs prayerful actions to earn this help.

When one is a jijñāsu one necessarily becomes a jñānī, the one who knows the truth of Lord Viṣṇu, Parameśvara, as oneself. Such a person is a real bhakta.

The jñānī’s devotion is what we call sādhya-bhakti. There are two types of bhakti. One is sādhana-bhakti, a devotion to Īśvara as a means. This is the devotion of a jijñāsu. But the bhakti of one who understands Īśvara, who recognises the truth of Īśvara as ātmā, is sādhya-bhakti. It is a bhakti that has fulfilled itself in the form of parama-prema-svarūpa-bhakti, absolute love.

This is the devotion of a jñānī. For him, the bhakti has fulfilled itself. So, how can we call him a bhakta? He is still a bhakta if we consider a bhakta as someone who is in union with Īśvara. For a jñānī, Īśvara is aparokṣa, immediate. It is the only difference, and it is a great difference.

For a jijñāsu, however, there is a possibility of Īśvara becoming aparokṣa and for the jñānī, he is aparokṣa because Īśvara, the cause of everything, is non-separate from ātmā. Even though Īśvara is the ātmā of everyone, it is only the jñānī who appreciates it. Only he has an intellect subtle enough to recognise what is true for everyone. And the jñānī is distinguished here among the bhaktas as a fulfilled bhakta. The jijñāsu is going to be fulfilled.

Bhakti, devotion, is any type of union between jīva and Īśvara. By a proper action or even a thought you are uniting yourself to Īśvara. But jñānī does not try to make a bridge between jīva and Īśvara. Gaining the knowledge, he finds that he is always united. There is only one thing–Īśvara, that is ātmā. There is no second thing at all to unite with. So, he is nitya-yukta, always united.

There are four kinds of virtuous men who worship me, Arjuna: the man in distress, the man who seeks power, the man who seeks wisdom, and the sage. ~Bhagavad Gita 7:16 (tr-Stephen Mitchell)