As a total eclipse appears to swallow sun or moon, the power of Maya rests in its art of concealment.
As existence remains while the mind withdraws, a person goes into deep sleep.
Previously I was sleeping upon awaking one discovers.
Commentaries
The Emptiness School argues that deep sleep proves the self doesn’t exist. When the senses withdraw and the mind shuts down, there’s nothing—no experience, no Consciousness, no self. Every night we cease to exist and every morning we pop back into being. // But Shankaracharya offers a different interpretation of the same experience. Yes, in deep sleep the senses stop functioning. Yes, the mind with all its thoughts and dreams becomes quiet. But what remains? He quotes from the Chhandogya Upanishad10: In deep sleep the individual being has become merged in pure being, pure existence itself. It is just existence without any manifestation. ~Sarvapriyananda
It is not true to say that in deep sleep there is nothing. In that state, the instruments of cogni-tion do not function. Yet, the Self remains as pure existence-consciousness-bliss. It is not proper to build a philosophy, ignoring the evidence provided by deep sleep experience. The various systems seek to structure their philosophies on the foundations provided by only one aspect of experience, viz. waking. Advaita examines experience as a whole in its triple form-waking, dreaming, and sleep. The evidence of sleep is of special importance, because it reveals a truth which is otherwise unob-tainable by us. Sleep is not a state of emptiness. While in waking and dreaming, consciousness is related to a world of objects and images, in sleep it shines as Existence unrelated to anything else. It is also evident that consciousness is not to be regarded as a characteristic of the mind, because in sleep there is no mind, and yet there is consciousness. That there is consciousness in sleep is clear because on waking up we say, 'I slept happily; I did not know anything. Just as consciousness is required for knowing the presence of anything, even so it must be there for knowing the absence of all things. ~Mahadevan
Why should we make the effort to get rid of anātmā? Can’t anātmā disappear by itself as it does in deep sleep? During waking and dream states we have the sense of ‘I’ and of the object ‘I’ see. But in deep sleep we do not have that sense of I-ness. We are not aware of either the external or the internal world. Even our thoughts disappear in deep sleep. Ātmā alone Is. If ātmā alone Is, why are we not aware of It in deep sleep? If ātmā is Consciousness Itself, shouldn’t it be aware of Itself even in deep sleep? Does ātmā disappear along with anātmā in deep sleep? These are the questions that Shankara addresses in this verse. // Even if the body, mind, and external world disappear in deep sleep and it appears as though there is nothing, there certainly is something. It is not the gross body or the subtle mind. It is the causal body, which is subtler than the mind. While the gross body and mind are dormant in deep sleep, the causal body is active and present like a thick curtain of darkness. ~Rao
Translations
rāhugrasta-divākarendu-sadṛśo māyā-samācchādanāt sanmātraḥ karaṇopasaṁharaṇato yo’bhūt-suṣuptaḥ pumān, prāg-asvāpsam-iti prabodha-samaye yaḥ pratyabhijñāyate tasmai śrī-guru-mūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye. (6) राहुग्रस्तदिवाकरेन्दुसदृशः – like the sun or the moon during eclipse; मायासमाच्छादनात् – enveloped in māyā; सन्मात्रः – becomes Existence alone; करणोपसंहरणतः – on folding up all the functions of the senses; यः – He who; अभूत् – enters; सुषुप्तः – the state of deep sleep; पुमान् – Puruṣa; प्राक् – before; अस्वाप्सम् – well slept; इति – thus; प्रबोधसमये – on waking; यः – He who; प्रत्यभिज्ञायते – remembers; तस्मै – to Him; श्रीगुरुमूर्तये – divine Teacher; नमः –prostration; इदं – this; श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये – to Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti
6. On folding up all the functions of the senses, He, who enters into a state of deep sleep and becomes there Existence alone, veiled in māyā, like, the sun or the moon during eclipse and who, on waking, remembers to have slept; to Him, the divine Teacher, Śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrti, is this prostration. ~Chinmayananda
To the self, who in sleep becomes pure Exis-tence, on the withdrawal of the veiling by mayā, like unto the sun or the moon, in eclipse, and on waking recognizes, I have slept till now to Him, of the form of the Preceptor, the blessed Dakshinamurti, may this obeisance be! ~Mahadevan
To the Atman who, going to sushupti on the withdrawal of sense-organs, becomes the One Existence, enshrouded by Mâyâ like unto the sun or moon in eclipse, and whose then existence is recognised on waking in the consciousness "I have slept till now;" to Him who is incarnate in the Teacher, to Him in the Effulgent Form Facing the South, to Him (Siva) be this bow! ~Sastri
The Ātman who, on the withdrawal of the sense organs, becomes the one existence and, shrouded by māyā like unto the sun or the moon in eclipse, and whose existence is recognized on waking in the Consciousness ‘I have slept till now’—to him who is incarnate in the guru, to him in the effulgent form facing the south, to him Shiva be this salutation. ~Sarvapriyananda
When the senses withdraw and a person goes into deep sleep then there is awareness of existence alone, just as the sun or moon is known to exist during an eclipse but cannot be seen, or as the glory of the Self is hidden beneath the covering veil of Māyā. At the time he awakens, he remembers himself and says ‘I slept well’. To that Self in the blessed guru and in the representation of wisdom facing south, humble veneration. ~Denton
rāhu-grasta-divākarendu-sadṛśo māyā-samāchchādhanāt
- rāhugrasta: swallowed by Rahu
- divākara: the sun (divā = day, kara = maker)
- indu: the moon
- sadṛśo: similar to / like
- māyā: of illusion / the veiling power of Maya
- samāchchādhanāt: because of being covered or concealed
Meaning of Line 1: Just like the sun or the moon being swallowed by Rahu (during an eclipse), the true Self (Atman) appears lost because it is covered by the veil of illusion (Maya).
sanmātraḥ karaṇopasaṁharaṇato yo’bhūt-suṣuptaḥ pumān
- sanmātraḥ: remaining as pure existence (sat-mātraḥ)
- karaṇa: the senses and the mind (internal and external instruments)
- upasaṁharaṇato: due to the withdrawal of
- yo’bhūt: who becomes (yaḥ + abhūt)
- suṣuptaḥ: deeply asleep / in deep sleep state
- pumān: the individual / the person
Meaning of Line 2: The individual, who during deep sleep becomes seemingly inert due to the withdrawal of all senses and mental functions, still remains as pure existence.
prāg-asvāpsam-iti prabodha-samaye yaḥ pratyabhijñāyate
- prāk: previously / before
- asvāpsam: I slept
- iti: thus
- prabodha-samaye: at the time of waking up / realization
- yaḥ: who
- pratyabhijñāyate: is recognized / recalled
Meaning of Line 3: Upon waking from deep sleep, the same person recognizes and recalls, "I slept until now."
tasmai śrī-guru-mūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye
- tasmai: to Him (that)
- śrī-guru-mūrtaye: to the embodiment of the Guru / the divine teacher
- nama: salutations / prostrations
- idam: this
- śrī-dakṣiṇāmūrtaye: to Sri Dakshinamurthy (the Lord facing South)
Meaning of Line 4: Salutations and this prostration are offered to Him, the embodiment of the Guru, who is Sri Dakshinamurthy.
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