Speech or any utterance need not be made audibly through the mouth. For example, the mind speaks silently in the form of thoughts, ideas, and notions. However, if there is no underlying sound (shabda), nothing can be heard or known.
As the awake and dream states dissolve into deep sleep, shabda also dissolves with them. Consequently, meaning dissolves as well, because meaning cannot exist without sound. In this framework:
- The internal idea or notion is the mAtra (vAcakam—the signifier; prmANa – the measurer).
- The external image or object is the pAda (vAcyam—the signified; prameya – the measured).
An object appears only after a preceding thought about it manifests in the mind. For instance, when the thought of an “airport” arises (mAtra), the corresponding image manifests in the imagination (pAda).
When both mAtra and pAda dissolve in turIya (the Fourth), the Residuum is “Me.” This “Me” holds neither the idea nor the image of an airport; both nAma (notion) and rUpa (object) have figuratively melted away into the Self.
When all thoughts cease, “You” (the Residuum) remain, but there is no object that can be called “yours.” “I” am present, but “mine” is gone. When you are silent, the individual (‘me’) and the world (mine) dissolve into Silence. This is jñAna samAdhi, which is distinct from yoga samAdhi.
In this state, you alone exist. Because even the guru dissolves in this Silence, there is no teacher left to guide the seeker further. Hence, it will be meaningless to ask what happens after this step. The answer will be known only upon attaining it.
An ordinary human being fears to be in that Aloneness. He projects a higher power or deity as a savior, a protector. In contrast, a jñAni exists beyond fear and devotion, as both these dissolve in jñAna. This is the eternal position of fearlessness—not a transitional condition.
Both mAtra (thought) and pAda (the reflected form) are parts. When these two parts are absent:
- It is deep sleep (suSupti), if your true intrinsic nature (svarUpa) remains unperceived.
- It is jñAna samAdhi, if they stay dissolved while svarUpa shines visibly by Itself.
Out of compassion for those who find the subtle truth difficult to grasp, the Upanishadkārs utilize our familiar daily experience of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep to demonstrate the teaching of the mANDUkya Upanishad.
The letters A, U, and M symbolically represent these three realms:
- A represents the waking state.
- U represents the dream state.
- M represents the deep sleep state.
The sacred sound Om encapsulates the systematic merger of A into U, and both into M, ultimately resolving into the absolute Silence that follows.
During the waking state, the singular, non-dual ĀtmA appears as though fractured into two: the seer (jIva, the individual—the mAtra) and the seen (jagat, the external world—the pAda). This broken perception is the condition of ignorance (avidyA).
To shift from ignorance to Wisdom (vidyA), one must progress into finer and finer states of consciousness. In terms of the mAtras (the sound letters), this means:
‘A‘ (Waking) ——> Dissolves into ‘U‘ (Dream)
Both ‘A and U’ dissolve into ‘M‘ (Deep Sleep)
Deep sleep ‘M’ into Silence (amAtra / apAda).
The final state of unmanifest Silence (amAtra and apAda) is the true, intrinsic nature of the ĀtmA.
How does this merger practically take place? It is accomplished through deliberate conceptualization (bhAvana) during meditation.
As you intone A-U-M seamlessly together, first the sounds A-U blend into “O“ and culminate in the resonant, tapering vibration of “m-m-m-m…“ This nasalized M–sound represents the threshold of deep sleep (suSupti). When this final vibration fades away entirely, only pure Silence remains.
Through this method, the seeker consciously dissolves both the name (abhidAna) and the nameable object (abhidheya).
Shankara highlights the profound purpose behind this practice in his commentary on Mantra 2:
एकेनैव प्रयत्नेन युगपत्प्रविलापयंस्तद्विलक्षणं ब्रह्म प्रतिपद्येतेति । तथा च वक्ष्यति — ‘पादा मात्रा मात्राश्च पादाः’ (mantra 8) इति । Shankara in his bhASya at 2, mANDUkya.
Meaning: The necessity of understanding their identity arises from the fact that once this identity is established, one can by a single effort eliminate both the name and the nameable to realise brahman that is different from both. And this is what the Upanishad will say in, “The quarters are the letters of Om and the letters are the quarters” (Ma. 8). (Translation: Swami Gambhirananda).
By establishing the total identity between the syllables of the name (mAtras) and the states of experience (pAdas), the seeker can dismiss both simultaneously in a single effort of attention.
To clarify the precise nature of the brahman that shines forth once both are eliminated, the Upanishad provides a series of apophatic pointers in its pivotal seventh mantra. This is the turIya avasthA.
नान्तःप्रज्ञं नबहिःप्रज्ञं नोभयतःप्रज्ञं नप्रज्ञानघनं नप्रज्ञं नाप्रज्ञम् । अदृश्यमव्यवहार्यमग्राह्यमलक्षणमचिन्त्यमव्यपदेश्यमेकात्मप्रत्ययसारं प्रपञ्चोपशमं शान्तं शिवमद्वैतं चतुर्थं मन्यन्ते स आत्मा स विज्ञेयः ॥ – 7, mANDUkya Upanishad.
Meaning: They consider the Fourth to be that which is not conscious of the internal world, nor conscious of the external world, nor conscious of both the worlds, nor a mass of consciousness, nor simple consciousness, nor unconsciousness; which is unseen, beyond empirical dealings, beyond the grasp (of the organs of action), uninferable, unthinkable, indescribable; whose valid proof consists in the single belief in the Self; in which all phenomena cease; and which is unchanging, auspicious, and non-dual. That is the Self, and that is to be known. (Translation: Swami Gambhirananda).
The Upanishad intentionally defines brahman via the apophatic method (via negativa). It exhorts us to know ekAtma pratyaya sAram—the single essence of the AtmA, which is “Me” alone. It is both the speaker and the spoken, mAtra and pAda. You are your own God; there is no other deity elsewhere.
While upAsana (ritualistic worship) focuses on the seen (dRshya) and Yoga focuses on the seer (draSTA), true vision must not restrict itself to either. Realization abides where all three—the seer (draSRA), the seen (dRshya), and the act of seeing (darshana)—merge into ekAtma pratyaya sAram.
At this point, the visible world abates, becoming null and void. The Sanskrit word nAsha is derived from the root ‘nash,’ meaning adarshane (not visible anymore). It does not mean “destruction” as some people tend to misinterpret.
This non-dual state is pure Peace, Tranquility, and the most congenial (shivam). It is designated as the “Fourth” (turIya) merely for communication. When all three preceding stages merge into It, one can no longer speak of a “fourth”—all that remains is the only One. This True AtmA is distinct from its individual aspects (vishva, taijasa, prAjña) and their cosmic counterparts (vishvAnara, hiraNyagarbha, Ishvara).
The visible world dissolves to reveal the Eternal Truth. The world is the indicator (lakSaNa); the Truth is the indicated Reality (lakSya). Consider the classic metaphor:
- The snake is lakSaNa.
- The rope is lakSya.
Had the snake not appeared and created fear, no one would have been prompted to investigate the reality with a lamp. Thus, the ever-changing world and its apparent miseries serve a vital purpose: they trigger the search for the Unchanging Truth, converting our ignorance (avidyA) into wisdom (vidyA).
The mANDUkya Upanishad reveals that the manifestation of parts (kalA-s) and mAtras serves as a necessary spiritual ladder. Just as physical illness prompts the search for a cure, the schema of the world incites the spirit of inquiry.
As inquiry progresses, our perception of reality refines as follows:
Gross Physical World (Awake) ——-> Subtle World (Dream) ——-> Causal World (Deep Sleep) ——-> A-causal Root / Silence (AmAtra)
We must learn to view the vivid awake world with the ephemerality of a dream, and the dream world as the unmanifest causal world. Through this methodology, the entire sum of the non-Self (anAtmA) dissolves into the act of seeing itself. That pure “seeing” is the AtmA, the ekAtmapratyaya sAram.
In this realization, the Om sound is discovered to be the AtmA itself. The mANDUkya Upanishad closes with this ultimate truth:
संविशत्यात्मनात्मानं य एवं वेद ॥ – 12, mANDUkya Upanishad.
Meaning: He who knows thus *enters* the Self through his Self.
Here, to *enter* means that the individual self fully captures and realizes the supreme Self. Whoever awakens to this truth grasps the intrinsic nature of the AtmA by the AtmA. When mAtra and pAda are transcended, You Alone remain. This is the absolute state of Liberation.
That is the final message imparted to us by the mANDUkya Upanishad.
(To Continue … Part 26 (taitti 1))