Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad Text 5 & 6

TEXT 5
यत्र सुप्तो न कञ्चन कामं कामयते न कञ्चन स्वप्नं पश्यति तत् सुषुप्तम् ।
सुषुप्तस्थान एकीभूतः प्रज्ञानघन एवानन्दमयो ह्यानन्दभुक् चेतोमुखः प्राज्ञस्तृतीयः पादः ॥ ५ ॥

yatra supto na kañcana kāmaṁ kāmayate na kañcana svapnaṁ paśyati tat suṣuptam suṣupta-sthāna
ekī-bhūtaḥ prajñāna-ghana evānandamayo hyānanda-bhuk cet- mukhaḥ prājñas tṛtīyaḥ pādaḥ

When the sleeper experiences no desires and no dreams whatsoever, that is known as deep sleep. This is the third aspect of the Supreme known as Prājña. At this stage, one becomes united with the Supreme, who is a mass of consciousness, full of divine bliss and whose face emanates pure consciousness.

Commentary

Saṅkarṣaṇa is the Deity who presides over the false ego, and He is known in this verse as Prājña. Saṅkarṣaṇa/Prājña governs the state of deep sleep (suṣupti or prājña), and on a macrocosmic scale, He appears as Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu who creates the unmanifest material elements (avyakta-mahat-tattva). At that time, Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu lies down in the mystic slumber of creation (yoga-nidrā), yet His transcendental sleep should not be mistaken to be the same as the sleep of ordinary jīvas. The sleep of conditioned living beings is wholly a product of the mode of ignorance. This is why Saṅkarṣaṇa is known as Prājña –the Lord who creates the highest ignorance in the jīva (pra – highest; ajña – ignorance).*

* na bāhyam jñāpayed yasmād prājñastena janardanaḥ – ‘Because He prevents external objects reaching the living entity’s consciousness, Lord Janardana is known as Prājña.’ (Madhva’s commentary to Text 5 of Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad)

In regards to the individual living beings, Saṅkarṣaṇa/Prājña represents the causal body (karaṇa-śarīra) which is the seed of the subtle and gross bodies. The causal body is made up of ignorance (avidyā) and houses our innate material instincts (svabhāva) and individual primeval karma.

When the living beings rest at night, they eventually enter the stage of deep sleep – a perverted reflection of the yoga-nidrā of Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. In deep sleep, the mind is quiet and one no longer perceives the physical world of the senses, therefore it is described as a state of ‘dreamless sleep.’ In deep sleep, one loses awareness of time; thus, we sometimes feel as though we have only slept for a short time, when in reality, we may have slept for many hours.

Most of our sleep at night is dominated by taijasa, and the prājña period lasts but for a short time. When prājñā is reached, all dreams completely cease. During the dreaming state, the mind and consciousness flows through 72,000 subtle nerves that are spread throughout the body known as the hitā-naḍi. But in the stage of deep sleep, they retire to the heart and enter the subtle nerve known as the purītat (which surrounds the pericardium):

atha yadā suṣupto bhavati yadā na kasyacana veda hitā nāma nāḍyo dva-saptatiḥ sahasrāṇi hṛdayāt purītatam abhipratiṣṭhante tābhiḥ pratyavasṛpya purītati śete

When the jīva is unaware (of the external world) he is said to be in deep sleep. The seventy-two thousand subtle nerves, known as hitā, spread from the heart and converge at the purītat. The jīva moves along these nerves and finally rests at the purītat. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.1.19)

Prājña is created by the material mode of ignorance (tamas) because in this phase, the jīvas are ignorant of everything – the karma they have accrued, their physical body, and the attachments that come along with it are all forgotten. Because of its severance from the mental and physical world, it is described as blissful. The state of prājña is the marginal stage of consciousness. This is explained by Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja:

Generally, when awake, we are fully connected with the negative side (the material world). We are engrossed, captured wholesale. And in the dream stage, it is less powerful. We are captured there with mundane things, but it is weak and vague. In dreamless sleep, we almost withdraw from the negative side. We are nearer to the cause, but we are not conscious of the cause – we withdraw from the negative, but have no conception or practical participation with the positive. We remain at the margin, in the abscissa. We come to Brahman.

In other words, prājña is the closest that the conditioned being gets to the state of brahmānanda, the bliss of Brahman, while remaining within the material body. Of course, this does not suggest that the living being is liberated during deep sleep. Paradoxically, because prājña is produced from tamo-guṇa, it is considered to be the mūlāvidyā, or root of ignorance, and ignorance is the primary obstacle in attaining self-realisation. Unless we learn how to cross the spiritual limitations of prājña, we will never realise the state of higher consciousness that lies beyond it.

A question may be raised that if prājña is almost samādhi, why can’t we simply remain in perpetual deep sleep, or cross beyond that state to the realm of transcendence? The answer is that the inherent desires stored within our causal body forces us to return to the dream and waking stages. The conditioned jīvas must first rid themselves of material desires and realise their true spiritual self.*

* The situation of somebody in a coma is altogether different. A coma (known in Sanskrit as mūrccha) and prājña/suṣupti are not the same, although they may seem similar. Unlike deep sleep, a coma is not a natural state. In deep sleep, the body is relaxed, whereas in a comatose condition, one’s body may experience spasms. In deep sleep one is unaware of anything, but during a coma one may be aware of the external environment, yet unable to interact with it. Furthermore, one can be roused easily from deep sleep, yet it may be virtually impossible to wake someone from a coma.

Some monist philosophers claim that the only difference between prājña and the fourth stage of transcendence (turīya) is that turīya is eternal – prājña is but a minute taste of the impersonal bliss of merging into Brahman. They believe that in the state of deep sleep, we completely forget the concept of ‘I’ and our individual identity is extinguished during that short period – thus, this text of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad uses the phrase eki-bhūta (‘becomes one’).

However, this is not so. Even in prājña, we retain individual self-awareness (dharmi-jñāna) because when we awake from deep sleep, we recollect, “I slept soundly!” One cannot recollect something without experiencing it, therefore the person that perceives the feeling of deep sleep and the person recollecting it must be identical. Furthermore, such a witness cannot be connected to either the mind or body, since both these functions are inactive during deep sleep. In fact, because our mental faculty is interrupted during that time, whatever memory we do have of deep sleep remains indistinct and we have difficulty describing the experience. Thus, the witness can only be the ātmā because it is imbued with self-awareness.

To experience any type of bliss, be it material or spiritual, there must always be an experiencer. If the jīva merges into Brahman, who is bliss personified, then he has no individual existence. How then, can he experience bliss if he has become bliss? For example, when we eat chocolate, we experience the sweetness of chocolate – but if we become chocolate, how can we experience our own sweetness? Thus, for the ātmā to experience bliss, whether it is in the state of deep sleep or in turīya, he must maintain individuality. The Vedānta-sūtra (1.3.42) confirms this when it states, suṣuptayutkrāntyor bhedena – ‘Both during deep sleep and even after leaving the body, the jīva and the Supreme remain individual.’

Thus, the phrase eki-bhūta does not suggest absolute oneness with the Supreme – rather, it indicates a state of similarity. For example, in a dark room, every object is enveloped in darkness, yet each object maintains its individuality. Similarly, during deep sleep, the jīva experiences a somewhat blissful state, independent of the mind and senses, which can be likened to the bliss of impersonal Brahman. However, even in this condition, the jīva retains his distinction.

At the end of this verse, the phrase ceto-mukha is used, denoting that the face of the Supreme is composed of pure consciousness. This naturally suggests that the rest of the Lord is also comprised of the same transcendental substance. Besides this however, Madhvācārya, quoting the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, gives a further meaning:

mukha-śabdastu sarvasya dehasyāpy-upalakṣanaḥ
tathāpi mukha-śabdo’yam pūrṇatvaṁ sucayed vibhoḥ
jñānasya mukhya vācitvān mukha vācyapi san svataḥ

The word mukha denotes not only the face, but the observation of the entire body. However, the word mukha also suggests the completeness of the Lord’s knowledge. The word mukha should also be understood to mean mukhya (greatest).

In other words, one of the Lord’s attributes is that He is full of the greatest transcendental intelligence. Due to this, He can never be bewildered or contaminated by His own māyā potency.

The state of deep sleep also occurs on a universal scale when Saṅkarṣaṇa, as Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, inhales and collapses the physical and mental worlds during cosmic annihilation. At that time, all the conditioned living beings withdraw into His form and enter into a collective state of deep sleep. Upon His exhalation, the universe is again generated, and the jīvas awake and continue their individual karmika patterns.

TEXT 6
एष सर्वेश्वर एष सर्वज्ञ एषोऽन्तर्याम्येष योनिः सर्वस्य प्रभवाप्ययौ हि भूतानाम् ॥ ६ ॥

eṣa sarveśvaraḥ eṣa sarvajña eṣo’ntaryāmy eṣa yoniḥ sarvasya prabhavāpyayau hi bhūtānām

This (Saṅkarṣana) is the Controller of all things, who is omniscient, the internal witness, the primeval cause, the origin and end of all living entities.

Commentary

Text 6 continues to describe Saṅkarṣaṇa/Prājña and His transcendental attributes. Firstly, He is referred to as sarveśvara (the Controller of all things). This implies that He is superior to all living beings, including the mighty Demigods that are secondary controllers in the universe, such as Brahmā, Śiva, Indra etc. The Śrī Vaiṣṇava philosopher, Vedānta Deśika gives the following definition of sarveśvara:

sarveśvaratvaṁ vyāpakatve sati-cetanatvaṁ sarva-śeṣitvaṁ sarva-karma-samārādhyatvaṁ sarva-phala-pradatvaṁ sarvādhāratvaṁ sarva-kāryot-pādakatvaṁ sva-jñāna-svetara-samasta-dravya-śarīrakatvaṁ svataḥ satya-saṅkalpatvādikaṁ ceśvara-lakṣaṇam

The essential characteristics of one who is sarveśvara are all-pervading, all-conscious, all-controlling, to whom all actions are offered to please, one who bestows all benedictions, the foundation of all things, who is the cause of all causes, who has full knowledge of Himself and others, whose form contains all things, who is fully independent, the highest accomplisher of all deeds – these are the characteristics of the Supreme Controller. (Nyāya-Siddhāñjanam 3.1)

In text 24 of his commentary on Viṣṇu Sahasranāma, Śrī Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa elaborates further:

teṣāṁ sarvāṇi cakṣurādīni karaṇānyāśvaśnute vyāpnoti sarveśvaraḥ

He Who pervades all the senses of His devotees is known as sarveśvara.

This is especially so when the Lord appears in His original form as Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is also known as Govinda because He gives pleasure to the senses of His beloved devotees (go vindayati iti govindaḥ). In this regard, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura writes:

tataś ca premaiva cumbakībhāvam āpadya kārṣṇāyasébhūtaṁ kṛṣṇam ākṛṣyānīya kasmiṇścana kṣane bhaktasyāsya nayana gocarī karoti. tatra ca saundarya saurabhya sausvarya saukumārya saurasyaudārya kāruṇyānīti svīyāḥ svarūpabhūtāḥ parama kalyāṇa guṇāḥ bhagavatā svabhaktasya tasya nayanādiṣvindriyeśu nidhīyante

Divine love (prema) assumes the nature of a magnet and attracts the black iron-like Kṛṣṇa making Him appear before the devotee for a moment. At that time, the senses of the devotee become the repository of the Lord’s supremely auspicious qualities – His beauty, fragrance, melodious voice, youthfulness, tastiness, generosity and compassion. (Mādhurya-kāḍambinī, Ch.8.)

Seeing the transcendental desire of His devotees, the Lord manifests within their senses and they experience His divine attributes. The more the devotees experience the Lord’s presence within, the more they hanker for Him. In this way, their bliss increases at every moment. The bliss of Kṛṣṇa’s association surpasses any type of material happiness and even excels the bliss of impersonal Brahman.

tvat-sākṣāt-karaṇāhlāda-viśuddhābdhi-sthitasya me
sukhāni goṣpadāyante brāhmāṇy api jagad-guro

O Universal Teacher, upon directly experiencing You, I am now established in an ocean of pure bliss. Even the happiness found in Brahman seems to be as insignificant as the water contained within the hoof-print of a calf. (Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya 14.36)

brahmānando bhaved eṣa cet parārdha-guṇī-kṛtaḥ
naiti bhakti-sukhāmbhodheḥ paramāṇu-tulām api

Even if the bliss derived from Brahman were multiplied according to the number of days in a lifetime of Brahmā, it would still not compare to an atomic particle of pleasure that one attains from the ocean of bhakti. (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.38)

The text of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad then states that Saṅkarṣaṇa is all-knowing (sarvajña) and the internal witness (antaryāmi). Saṅkarṣaṇa expands as Aniruddha/Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Super Consciousness within all beings. He is aware of all their desires and karma; He knows the past, present and future etc, thus, He is omniscient and is fully aware that He is the indwelling monitor in all things (sarvātmanātmanānaṁ jānātiti sarvajñaḥ).* In regards to His devotees, the Lord is known as sarvajña because He is fully aware of what they can and cannot accomplish.**

* Text 61 of the Viṣṇu-Sahasranāma commentary of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa.

** teṣām śakyāśakya sādhyāsādhyādikam anusandatte iti sarvajñaḥ – Parāśara Bhaṭṭa’s commentary on Viṣṇu-Sahasranāma.

Next, Saṅkarṣaṇa is referred to as yoni – the primeval origin of all things. In His expansion as Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, He generates the sum total of the unmanifested material elements (avyakta-mahat-tattva) at the time of creation. Therefore, He is both the material cause (nimitta-kāraṇa) and efficient cause (upādāna-kāraṇa) of everything. Thus, in Bhagavad-gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa says:

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate

I am the source of everything. All things emanate from Me. (Bhagavad-gītā 10.8)

sargāṇām ādir antaś ca madhyaṁ caivāham arjuna

O Arjuna, in creation I am the beginning, the middle and the end. (Bhagavad-gītā 10.32)

Next, the text says, sarvasya prabhava-apyayau hi bhūtānām – He is the origin and end of all living beings. During the time of creation, Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu exhales and all the jīvas expand from His form, thus they originate from Him. This is confirmed in the śruti:

yad bhūta-yoniḥ paripaśyanti dhīrāḥ

Those who are wise see the Lord as the origin of all beings. (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.6)

Also, in the Bhagavad-gītā and Bhāgavatam:

aham ādiś ca madhyaṁ ca bhūtānām anta eva ca

I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all creatures. (Bhagavad-gītā 10.20)

ahaṁ hi sarva-bhūtānām ādir anto’ntaraṁ bahiḥ

I am the beginning and end of all beings and I exist both within them and outside of them. (Bhāgavatam 10.82.45)

The next text will explain turīya, the fourth stage that transcends the aforementioned states of consciousness.

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