Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 24 (mANDU 3)

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[Part – 23 (mANDU 2)]

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).  Continue reading →

Upadesa Sahasri (Part24)

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Part 23

17.17 and 17.18                                                                                                         During dream, one mind is divided into subject (knower), object (known) and instrument of knowledge. The divisions are unreal. Likewise, in the waking state, one consciousness appears differently when desires in the intellect causes action. The desires arise because the jiva thinks that it is incomplete though it is essentially complete. The desires and actions are revealed by consciousness. The waking state is a superimposition on consciousness, the substratum. The divisions in the waking state are as unreal as the divisions in the dream. The ideas of interior and exterior in the waking state are unreal like reading and writing which are interdependent. Reading depends on a written page without which nothing can be read and writing also depends on reading as we first read and then write. So, both of them are unreal as the sounds represented by written letters are all-pervasive and have no forms. Hence, they can neither be really written nor read.

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Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 23 (mANDU 2)

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[Part – 22 (mANDU 1)]

An important aspect of our awake world is that we do not perceive it simply because it independently “exists out there,” much like we do not perceive a dream merely because it exists. A notion (pratyaya) first arises in the intellect, and we then project it outward to appear as an external object. This mechanism is common to both dream and waking states. Through constant repetition and habitual engagement day after day, we gradually become convinced that the objects perceived by us are independently real and constitute an objective world.

Consider this: when the mind ceases to imagine waking-world objects and becomes occupied with dream objects, the waking world disappears from experience. When neither the waking nor the dream world is conceived, no object is perceived at all; this is the condition of deep sleep (suSupti).

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‘Difference’ is not real

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The post ‘Duality is mithyA’ (see here) is based on the verses 19.20 -22 of Upadesa Sahasri (US). Swami Parmarthananda has discussed (transcripts of his talks on Chapter 16 of US) the same topic with a different reasoning which according to him has scriptural support though he has not cited it. 
Advaita Vedanta acknowledges six means (Pramana) of knowledge of which direct perception and inference are important. I see red colour and green colour and say that the two colours are different which is my experience too. If asked whether I see the ‘difference’ as an object, my answer is in negative. That is to say, there is no direct perception of the ‘difference’. It also means that the ‘difference’ cannot be inferred, because for inference, there should be a previous direct perception. Other means of knowledge, namely, comparison, postulation, non-cognition also do not prove difference. Sabda Pramana i.e., scriptures, affirm that ‘difference’ is not real though it is experienced. QED

Upādhi: the ‘Limiting Adjunct’

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One of the most persistent challenges for any student of Advaita Vedānta is reconciling the ‘Great Equation’—the scriptural declaration that the individual Self (Ātman) is identical to the non-dual Absolute (Brahman)—with our daily experience of being a finite, limited person. If reality is truly ‘not two,’ why do we feel so distinctly separate? The traditional teaching answers this riddle through a vital technical concept: the upādhi, or ‘limiting adjunct’.

Understanding the upādhi is essential because it serves as the mechanism through which the infinite appears to become finite, the one appears as many, and the actionless Witness appears to be an active doer and enjoyer.

The Meaning of the Term

Etymologically, the word upādhi is a compound of the Sanskrit roots upa (meaning ‘near to’ or ‘by the side of’) and ādhadāti (meaning ‘imparts’). In a general sense, the Sanskrit dictionary defines it as ‘that which is put in place of another thing; a substitute, phantom, disguise, or appearance’.

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Upadesa Sahasri (Part 23)

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Part 22

Chapter 17   Right Knowledge

17.01 to 17.03 The author pays obeisance to Self and the teachers. Self is non-dual as It alone exists. It is of the nature of existence, consciousness and bliss. Other things depend on Self for their existence. It is witnessing consciousness and therefore omniscient. It is not an object. It is the ultimate subject and is to be known as such. Though supporting everything It is unattched, untainted and pure.  The author bows down to Self. He bows down to all the teachers who are conversant with words, sentences of the scriptures and have transmitted the knowledge of Self since ancient time. The author bows down to his own teacher whose words have sparked knowledge in him and destroyed ignorance as sunrays destroy darkness.

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Quintessence of 10 Upanishads – 22 (mANDU 1)

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[Part – 21 (muNDaka 4)]

mANDUkya Upanishad 

(Gaudapada kArikA not included)

The muNDaka Upanishad, towards its conclusion, refers to the fifteen constituents of the human body, each of which resolves into its respective source at the time of liberation:

गताः कलाः पञ्चदश प्रतिष्ठा देवाश्च सर्वे प्रतिदेवतासु ।
कर्माणि विज्ञानमयश्च आत्मा परेऽव्यये सर्व एकीभवन्ति ॥ — 3.2.7, muNDaka Upanishad.

Meaning: To their sources repair the fifteen constituents (of the body) and to their respective Gods, go all the gods (of the senses). And the karmas, and the self that simulates the intellect, all become unified with the Supreme Undecaying. [Translation: Swami Gambhirananda.]

However, the prashna Upanishad, which precedes the muNDaka, speaks in its final question of sixteen parts constituting the individual. There thus appears to be a discrepancy between the two Upanishads regarding the total number of constituents. Shankara too does not explicitly explain the reason for this difference.

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Ahaṃkāra: The Making of the “I”

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In our daily existence, the word “I” is the most frequently uttered and least understood term in our vocabulary. We use it to signify our successes, our failures, our bodies, and our deepest emotions. Yet, traditional Advaita Vedānta, as systematized by Ādi Śaṅkara, suggests that this “I” to which we habitually refer is not our true nature, but a mental construct known as ahaṃkāra. Understanding the nuances of this term is not merely a linguistic exercise; it is a fundamental requirement for the seeker who wishes to dismantle the illusion of a separate self and realize their identity as the non-dual Brahman.

Etymology and Basic Definition

The word ahaṃkāra is a compound derived from two Sanskrit roots: aham, meaning “I,” and kāra, meaning “making” or “uttering”. Literally, it translates as “the making of the I”. In common parlance, it is often equated with the Western concept of the “ego,” but its Vedantic definition is more precise: it refers specifically to the identification or attachment of the true Self (Ātman) with something else, typically the body, mind, or a social role.

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Upadesa Sahasri (Part 22)

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Part 21

Part 23

16.45 to 16.50                                                                                                            Earlier the author has refuted different theories of the Buddhists. Advaita and Samkhya are similar in some respects and dissimilar in other aspects. The author refutes some theories of Samkhya philosophy. According to Samkhya, both purusha (consciousness), and prakriti (material and inert) are real. Purusha is action-free and unattached. Prakriti works for purusha and the latter is the enjoyer. There are many purushas, one for every jiva. Prakriti has three constituents, sattva, rajas and tamas. Samkhya further says that prakriti alone is the cause of creation. Purusha has no role. When the constituents are in equilibrium, the creation is unmanifest. Creation unfolds due to imbalance in three constituents.

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Q. 561 – Dangers of unsupervised teaching

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Q: I recently had what I would call an experience of ‘dissociation’, accompanied by a profound sense of anxiety.  This has not happened before and maybe it was ‘psychotic’ rather than anything else. But research suggested that such an experience may follow prolonged periods of unsupervised self-enquiry. Can you tell me how to avoid a recurrence?  

(I have been following the teachings of Nisargadatta for the last 3 years of a 10-year period of self-enquiry meditation. I see in the Q&A postings that having no access to a teacher is a common theme and makes progress monitoring and understanding of book-based teachings difficult). 

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