Ignorance (avidyA) is the misperception of the non-Self (unAtmA) in place of the Self (AtmA). Conversely, true vision born of Self-knowledge (vidyA) is the direct perception of the all-pervasive AtmA.
The mANDUkya Upanishad provides the precise metaphysical framework for this realization. It teaches us how to deliquesce—or dissolve—the observer and the observed into the single act of observation, thereby resolving the triad into absolute Oneness.
To understand this dissolution, we must examine how language and perception structure our reality. The “seer” or observer is the signifier (vAcaka or abhidAna), while what is seen is the signified (vAcyam or abhideya).
abhidAna means to speak about, to name, or to measure.
abhideya means to be shown, expressed, or to appear.
When an object is perceived by the eye, our vision is actually measuring that object across various dimensions and descriptors, such as color and form. In the language of epistemology, the act of “seeing” is the instrument of knowledge (pramANa), and the object seen is the measurable object of knowledge (prameya).
When the individual and the world merge, the distinction between the measurer and the measured collapses. Reality is no longer defined by mAtrA or pAda; it becomes amAtra (measureless) and apAda (partless). This is the partless, indivisible absolute (akala or niSkala)—the intrinsic nature of the Self, which is Brahman. As the mANDUkya Upanishad declares in its central mahAvAkya:
अयमात्मा ब्रह्म … … ॥ – mantra 2, mANDUkya
Meaning: This Self is Brahman.
This great aphorism connotes that one’s innermost AtmA (the pure, real sense of “I”) is identical to the cosmic brahman, and brahman is none other than one’s own AtmA. The reality you might have expected to be remote or external is revealed to be your immediate presence; it has simply gone unrecognized.
The implication of this mahAvAkya is that the entire perceived universe must be dissolved into the indivisible Oneness of Brahman. Until this collapse is achieved, the partless essence of reality cannot be truly grasped. Such an understanding cannot remain merely indirect or inferential (parokSa); it must be immediate and direct (aparokSa). This is vidyA, in the light of which no ignorance can survive.
How, then, did the partless niSkala appear divided? The Upanishad introduces the concept:
अयमात्मा ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा चतुष्पात् ॥– mantra 2, mANDUkya
Meaning: This AtmA is brahman. The Self is four-footed (four-parted).
Does the Self genuinely possess parts? No. In our ignorance, our mistaken vision projects division onto the undivided—much like a rope mistakenly perceived as a snake in the dim light.
By virtue of this misperception, the waking state arises. The Supreme Self, viewed through this distorting lens, appears as Viswa in the waking state (jAgarita sthAna). The very same Self appears as taijasa in the second quarter (the dream state), and as prAjna during deep sleep (suSupti).
In absolute terms, these three quarters are unreal. When you reach the fourth quarter (turIya), it is revealed to be the AtmA itself—your own intrinsic, unconditioned nature. As long as we differentiate the Self into these individual quarters, the AtmA appears fragmented. Therefore, the pAda-s exist only within the realm of ignorance and represent unAtmA.
To know the Self, we can approach this dissolution through either the mAtrA-s (letters) or the pAda-s (quarters), using the sacred syllable Om as our contemplative map. *Om* is formed by the blending of three sounds:
A + U + M = Om
When consciousness assumes the viewpoint of Viswa, it corresponds to the letter A, where the “seen” appears as the externalized waking world.
Techniques like mere conceptual meditation or ritualistic worship cannot bridge the gap from avidyA to vidyA. Instead, the seeker must actively dissolve the waking world into the dream world (Viswa into taijasa), the dream world into deep sleep (taijasa into prAjna), and deep sleep into turIya.
Expressed in terms of the mAtrA-s from the vantage point of *Om*:
- The A is merged into U.
- The U is merged into M.
- The M is merged into the ultimate Silence.
This final Silence is brahman. At this precise point, both mAtrA (measure) and pAda (measured) reveal themselves as the identical essence of AtmA.
What does this merging actually mean in practice? How does it happen?
The phonetic structure of *Om* serves as a direct indicator of our existential reality. *Om* can be understood as an atmospheric distillation of the mantra “so ‘ham” (saḥ + aham), meaning “It [brahman] is I [AtmA].” If one utters “so ‘ham” while dropping the sibilant consonants (sa and ha), the remaining vocalized breath naturally resolves into *Om*.
Therefore, one contemplates *Om*. In vocalized chanting, notice how the individual sound of A glides into U, losing their separate identities to sound together as O. As you transition into the nasalized M, the O sound recedes, leaving only the resonance of M. Eventually, even this vibration dies away into absolute silence.
“`
[A] Waking / Viswa
↓
[U] Dream / taijasa
↓
[M] Deep Sleep / prAjna
↓
(Silence) turIya / brahman
“`
Here, M represents the threshold of deep sleep, and the final soundless state (amAtra) is turIya, which is brahman.
Shankara advises that both the cosmic quarters (pAda-s) and the phonetic measures (mAtrA-s) should be merged simultaneously (yugapat). Because both the observer and the observed dissolve in the deep sleep state, no individual thought arises, nor does any external object appear. This complete resolution serves as the doorway to Advaitic samAdhi.
When *Om* is uttered audibly, it is Ahata nAda (struck sound); when it resonates internally without physical friction, it is unAhata nAda (unstruck sound). The ultimate practice is the complete dissolution of this sound into the silent “Me”—the pure Witness-Consciousness. It is the perfect illustration of how shabda-brahman (the absolute manifested as sound) deliquesces into the Supreme Self.
(To Continue … Part 25 (mANDU 4))