Talking about Talks on MK3.3-9

1. preface

Trying to get a handle on MK3.3-9 takes some effort.

In the end, I found Nikhilananda's new translation to be the easiest to follow.

Joseph Campbell edited the work and his sharp Mother English helps significantly.

2. in the beginning

Gaudapada spells out our simile first. Atman is like infinite space.

Death and infinite regression are to be seen through next.

K3.6 is the turn. No one is denying the Maya of names and forms.

3. in conclusion

Gaudapada isn't buying any chance of change in the changeless.

K3.7 leans into the turn. Atman is indivisible and beyond all cause and effect.

As the song is infinite space, the tenor is Atman, our song ends.

Talks on Mandukya K3.3-9: akasa

or Transcreating Nikhilananda

Say Atman is infinite space and Atman is manifesting in people like infinite space in clay pots. This is what birth is like.

Upon destruction of any clay pot, the infinite space contained in the pot merges with infinite space. So do people merge with Atman.

As the smoke-filled space in one clay pot doesn’t smudge the other spaces enclosed in other pots, so the emotions of one individual does not actually darken others.

Although a variety of names and forms of different spaces may be admitted, this does not imply there's any differentiation in space itself.

As the infinite space enclosed in a clay pot is neither an effect nor a part of infinite space, so an individual is neither a creation nor a part of Atman.

Only a child would think the actual dimension of space is being polluted by polluted air. Only the ignorant believe Atman can be similarly polluted.

Atman, in regard to its birth and death, its comings and goings, its dwelling in different bodies, is not unlike infinite space.

Some Commentary and Translations on and of MK3.1-2

K3.1

Upāsanā-āśrito dharmo jāte brahmaṇi vartate, prāg-utpatter-ajaṁ sarvaṁ tenāsau kṛpaṇaḥ smṛtaḥ.

The chief difficulty in this verse is the word dharma. Sankara… interprets the word dharma as the “seeker” meaning the individual soul (jiva). But why should the word have this unprecedented meaning? // …The explanation of dharma as soul… is somewhat forced, and it would be better to understand the word dharma in karika 3.1 along the lines of “teaching” or “doctrine”. ~Comans

Here, in this stanza, the word ‘upāsanā’ is used, though the word ‘bhakti’ is the term that is nowadays understood. Upāsanā is the term used in the Vedas. In the entire literature of Vedas there is no term as bhakti ever used. Bhakti is the term and a technique discovered by Vyāsa and elaborated in the mythological literature (purāṇas) of India. ~Chinmayananda

A doctrine (dharma) based upon a conceptual meditation occurs when Brahman is born. [That doctrine is]: “prior to origination, everything is unborn.” Therefore, that doctrine is considered as pitiable. (tr-Comans)

The individual ego taking to itself the path of devotion (upāsanā) imagines itself to be related to the Brahman, who is supposed by it as having manifested Himself. Such an ego is said to be of narrow intellect because it thinks that before creation, all was of the nature of the unborn Reality. (tr-Chinmayananda)

The aspirant, betaking himself to the devotional exercises, subsists in the conditioned Brahman. All this was but the birthless Brahman before creation. Hence such a man is considered pitiable (or narrow in his outlook). (tr-Gambhirananda)

K3.2

ato vakṣyāmy-akārpaṇyam-ajāti samatāṁ gatam, yathā na jāyate kiñcit jāyamānaṁ samantataḥ. (2)

Because of the reasons given in the previous mantra Gauḍapāda is now promising to explain to the sādhaka the supreme Reality which is beyond all limitations. // By the expression sama (same throughout), the Master means that the Reality is homogeneous and all-pervading. The implications are that there is nothing similar to It in It, nor dissimilar to It; nor is there any distinction in density or quality within Itself. // If the Reality be thus eternal and all-pervading how is it that, mortals as we are, we are recognising a world of plurality about and around us? The answer is that these are, in fact, nothing but the Reality Itself. The names and forms of the pluralistic world are but an illusory dream of the mind. ~Chinmayananda

Atah: “therefore”. This ‘therefore’ is quite significant and refers to the situation of the Upasaka of the above verse who finds himself in a pitiable, unworthy plight. He is unhappy of his condition of having taken birth and living in a state of conditioned consciousness rather than in Pure Consciousness. He takes recourse to worship of the Supreme Being in the hope that after his death he will merge into the state of Pure Consciousness again. To have such an idea in mind is itself a delusion, says Gaudapadaji. The Upasaka has reduced himself to a helpless entity for his whole life, imagining that only death will release him from his bound condition. With this background, expressed by the term ‘therefore’, Sri Gaudapadaji begins to elaborate on the correct interpretation of Brahman who is ‘without limitations’. ~Sandeepany / Gurubhaktananda

Therefore, I shall now describe to you (that Brahman) which is free from limitations, unborn, and homogeneous; and from which nothing is in reality born, though it appears to have manifested in endless forms everywhere. (tr-Chinmayananda)

Hence I shall speak of that (Brahman) which is free from limitation, has no birth, and is in a state of homogeneity; and listen how nothing whatsoever is born in any way, though it seems to be born. (tr-Gambhirananda)

Therefore T shall now describe that (Brahman) which is free from limitations, unborn and which is the same throughout; and from this, one understands that it is not (in reality) born though it appears to be manifested everywhere. (tr-Nikhilananda)

TOC Karika 3 Advaita Prakarana (from Chinmaya Sandeepany)

Advaita Prakarana

Section 3.1: NEED FOR AN OPEN INTELLECT

Verse 3.1: Keeping the Intellect Open

Verse 3.2: The Subject of This Chapter Stated

Section 3.2: THE METAPHOR OF POT-SPACE

Verse 3.3: The Pot Originates – BIRTH

Verse 3.4: The Pot Breaks – DEATH

Verse 3.5: Jeevas are Many, Atman is One

Verse 3.6: Upadhis are Many, Atman is One

Verse 3.7: Modifications or Parts are Many, Atman is One

Verse 3.8: The Taint of Impurity

Verse 3.9: The Value of the “Space” Simile

Verse 3.10: Conclusion: Objects are Projections of Maya

Section 3.3: SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITY

Verse 3.11: The Taittireeya Upanishad (II-Anuvaka 1 to 6)

Verse 3.12: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (II – v. 1-14)

Verse 3.13: Non-duality Praised; Duality Condemned

Section 3.4: ORIGIN OF DUALISTIC SCHOOLS

Verse 3.14: General: Primary and Secondary Senses

Verse 3.15: Duality Used As Illustrations

Verse 3.16: Catering for Three Stages of Understanding

Verse 3.17: Dualists Quarrel Amongst Themselves

Verse 3.18: Duality – An Effect of Non-Duality

Section 3.5: IMMORTALITY VERSES MORTALITY

Verse 3.19 Maya Alone Creates Multiplicity

Verse 3.20: The Unborn Cannot Be Born

Verse 3.21: Intrinsic Nature Never Changes

Verse 3.22: The Immortal Cannot Be Modified

Section 3.6: IS CREATION A REALITY?

Verse 3.23: Both Scriptures and Reason Must Prevail

Verse 3.24: What Do the Shrutis Say on the Topic?

Verse 3.25: Gross, Subtle & Causal Levels Negated

Verse 3.26: Earlier “Temporary” Theories Negated

Verse 3.27: Birth Possible Only Through Maya

Verse 3.28: The Unreal Can Never Be Born

Section 3.7: “DRISHTI-SRISHTI VADA”

Verse 3.29: Apparent Duality in Dream & Waking

Verse 3.30: The Mind in Dream & Waking

Verse 3.31: Mind IS the Duality

Verse 3.32: The Cessation of All Mental Activity

Verse 3.33: Cessation of Mind & “Birthlessness”

Verse 3.34 & 35a: The Controlled Mind vs. Deep Sleep

Verse 3.35b & 36: The Controlled Mind & Knowledge

Verse 3.37 & 38: The Controlled Mind & Self-Experience

Verse 3.39a: “Asparsha Yoga” – the ‘Contactless Yoga’

Section 3.8: “SRISHTI-DRISHTI VADA”

Verse 3.39b & 40: The Yogis or “Srishti-Drishti Vada” Students

Verse 3.41: The Difficulty of Mind Control

Verse 3.42: The Proper Means of Mind Control

Verse 3.43: Method 1: “Remember Sorrow, Remember God”

Verse 3.44: Method 2: Working on the Gunas

Verse 3.45: Method 3: Discrimination Keeps Away Attachment

Verse 3.46: A Final Checklist for Mind Control

Verse 3.47: Features of Nirvikalpa Samadhi

Verse 3.48: The State of Non-Dual Reality

Talks on MK2.35-38: tattvam

Gaudpada keeps it real. His advaita is neither neo nor conventional. Free from attachment, well-versed in vedantic revelations, and able to discern reality from illusion, his seer is free from phenomenal duality—nondual.

Having realized the nondual self and having trained the mind to self-remember that, the knower of the truth acts as one who does not know when in the world.

Having given up god, society, and sacraments, this unconventional seer makes one’s home in the nondual self, using the body-mind for public transportation as needed and accepting whatever food and clothing happens by.

Seeing the inner truth and the outer truth, being one with the real truth and reveling forever in that, this seer is never not the truth, Gaudapada says.

MK2.35-38: Shankara's Commentary on Gaudapada's Method of Sadhana

The textbook which we are now taking up is a prakaraṇa grantha (a textbook of instructions). It is not a śāstra, where theories and ideals are elaborately and exhaustively explained; but in a prakaraṇa grantha the Masters are compelled by the traditional rules of that particular literary composition to provide the students with the method of sādhanā... 

True to the literary demands of a prakaraṇa textbook, Gauḍapāda is providing us with detailed instructions on the spiritual sādhanā for students of Vedānta... In the chapter, that is now under discussion, we have a series of four stanzas which give a definite explanation of the technique by which the individuals can rise above the illusory world and come to cognise the non-dual Reality behind it. ~Chinmayananda

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhair-munibhir-veda-pāragaiḥ, nirvikalpo hyayaṁ dṛṣṭaḥ prapañcopaśamo‘dvayaḥ. (35)

वीत-राग-भय-क्रोधैः – free from attachment, fear and anger; मुनिभिः – by sages; वेद-पारगैः – well established in the Vedas; निर्विकल्पः – devoid of all imaginations; हि – (is) indeed; अयम् – this (Self); दृष्टः – seer; प्रपञ्च-उपशमः – free from the manifold world; अद्वयः – non-dual (tr-Chinmayananda)

The perfect knowledge as described above, is thus extolled. The sages who are always free from all blemishes such as attachment, fear, spite, anger, etc., who are given to contemplation, who can discriminate between the real and the unreal and who can grasp the essence of the meaning of the Vedas, i.e., who are well versed in the Vedanta (i.e., the Upanishads) do realise the real nature of this Atman which is free from all imaginations and also free from this the illusion of the manifold. This Atman is the total negation of the phenomena of duality and therefore it is non-dual. The intention of the Sruti passage is this: The Supreme Self can be realised only by the Sannyasins (men of renunciation) who are free from all blemishes and who are enlightened regarding the essence of the Upanishads and never by others, i.e., those vain logicians whose mind is clouded by passion, etc., and who find truth only in their own creeds and opinions. ~Shankara (tr-Nikhilanda)

Tasmād-evaṁ viditvainam-advaite yojayet-smṛtim, advaitaṁ samanuprāpya jaḍavallokam-ācaret. (36)

तस्मात् – therefore; एवम् विदित्वा – having thus realised; एनम् – this (Ᾱtman); अद्वैते – on the non-dual (Self); योजयेत्-स्मृतिम् – identify your mind with it; अद्वैतम् – non-dual (Self); समनुप्राप्य – having attained well; जडवत् – like an inert, insentient thing; लोकम् – in the world; आचरेत् – should move about (live) (tr-Chinmayananda)

As non-duality, on account of its being the negation of all evils, is bliss and fearlessness, therefore knowing it to be such, direct your mind to the realisation of the non-dual Atman. In other words, concentrate your memory on the realisation of non-duality alone. Having known this non-dual Brahman which is free from hunger, etc., unborn and directly perceptible as the Self and which transcends all codes of human conduct, i.e., by attaining to the consciousness that ‘I am the Supreme Brahman,’ behave with others as one not knowing the Truth; that is to say, let not others know what you are and what you have become. ~Shankara (tr-Nikhilananda)

Nistutir-nir-namaskāro niḥ-svadhākāra eva ca, calācala-niketaś-ca yatir-yādṛcchiko bhavet. (37)

निःस्तुतिः – having given up all prayers; निर्नमस्कारः – having given up all rituals; निःस्वधाकारः एव च – and also having given up all the rites for manes and so on; चल-अचल – and having the body and the Self; निकेतः – support or (as his) abode; च – and; यतिः – the man of self-restraint in other words, renunciate; यादृच्छिकः – whatever comes by chance or dependent on circumstances; भवेत् – should live on (tr-Chinmayananda)

What should be his code of conduct in the world? It is thus stated:—He should give up all such formalities as praise, salutation, etc., and be free from all desires for external objects. In other words, he should take up the life of a Paramahamsa Sannyasin… Such a wise man never takes shelter under external objects. He entirely depends upon circumstances, that is to say, he maintains his body with whatever food or strips of cloth, etc., are brought to him by mere chance. ~Shankara (tr-Nikhilananda)

Tattvam-ādhyātmikaṁ dṛṣṭvā tattvaṁ dṛṣṭvā tu bāhyataḥ, tattvībhūtas-tadā-rāmaḥ tattvād-apracyuto bhavet. (38)

तत्त्वम् – the Truth; आध्यात्मिकम् – internally; दृष्ट्वा – having seen; तत्त्वम् – the Truth; दृष्ट्वा – having seen; तु – indeed; बाह्यतः – outside; तत्त्वीभूतः – becoming one with the Reality; तदा-रामः – and derives pleasure from it (revelling in that Reality); तत्त्वात् – from the Reality; अप्रच्युतः भवेत् – does never deviate (tr-Chinmayananda)

He becomes one with Truth and derives his enjoyment from Truth and not from any external object. But a person ignorant of Truth, takes the mind to be the Self and believes the Atman to be active like the mind, and becomes active. He thus thinks his self to be identified with the body, etc., and deviated from Atman saying, “ Oh, I am now fallen from the Knowledge of Self.” When his mind is concentrated he sometimes thinks that he is happy and one with the Self. He declares “ Oh, I am now one with the essence of Truth.” But, the knower of Self never makes any such statement, as Atman is ever one and changeless and as it is impossible for Atman to deviate from its own nature. The consciousness that “I am Brahman” never leaves him. In other words, he never loses the consciousness regarding the essence of the Self. ~Shankara (tr-Nikhilananda)

The non-dual Ātmā which is division-less and which is free from the world is indeed seen by the sages who are free from attachment, fear, and anger and who are well versed in the Vedas. (35)

Therefore, having thus known this (Ātmā,) one should fix the mind on the non-dual (Ātmā.) Having attained the non-dual Ātmā, one should behave in the world like an ignorant one. (36)

A saṃnyāsi is without praise, without salutation, without rituals, and with the body and the Ātmā as the abode. He is spontaneous. (37)

Seeing the Reality within the body and seeing the Reality outside, he becomes one with the Reality. Reveling in that (Reality,) he does not deviate from the Reality. (38)

(tr-Paramarthananda)

259823st19

I'm singing a song.

I am singing the song of I am.

I am; I know I am; I love I know I am.

Awareness and consciousness and memory.

Real Myth

Nonduality is the name of god. Saguna brahman minus maya equals nirguna brahman. 

I minus avidya equals that minus maya. Welcome to the now math. Real Math 101.

God is the absence of duality. The presence of nonduality transcends all gods.

People are unaware. God is aware. Awareness is that in which the mithya appears.

Passage to Advaita

If Shankara is like Saint Paul, Gaudapada is Jesus of Nazareth.

The Epistles are like Bhashyas. The Karikas are like red-letter Gospels. The Mandukya Upanishad is the prophet of old.

The waking state is the third state of sleeping and the second state of dreaming. The fourth is not a state but Turiya (ayam atma brahma) in which sleeping and dreaming appear. Om.

Talks on Mandukya K2.32: na vai mukta

In K2.32, Gaudapada, radical nondualist par excellence, throws a bomb upon the Vedantic structure of teaching. He says there is no bondage, no striving student, no one desiring liberation, and no one ever liberated. That's the highest truth.

It's the highest truth from that perspective of reality. From the perspective of this transactional world, it’s another side of the enlightenment coin. But there are those poor fools who find themselves lost in friendly fire. They call their condition neo-advaita.

Look, it's like the old example of using a thorn to remove a thorn. Like Gaudapada is saying hold this thorn lightly and use it with the same dispassion and discernment as anything in this dream world. Upon removal of such a problematic thorn, be prepared to throw this thorn away.