Mandukya Upanishad – Part I – Summary
Mandukya Upanishad is part of the Atharva Veda. It is the shortest among all Upanishads. The 12 terse verses provide the essence of all vedanta. In fact, Muktiko Upanishad states that Mandukya alone is sufficient to realize the state of liberation. This blog covers the Mandukya Upanishad summary.
There are many posts on the web that cover this Upanishad in great detail. So, I will not focus on the Sanskrit verses or their English translations. Instead, I will focus on trying to understand the essence of this masterpiece. Like peeling the layers of an onion we will progressively get deeper into the meaning of this Upanishad in the different parts of this blog on this topic.
The Mandukya Upanishad summary covers the main ideas easily gleaned by just reading the Sanskrit verses.
Idea 1: Mahavakya
The first idea (3 of 12 verses) is that the words Aum, Atma, Brahma, and “everything” are synonymous. The first verse defines “everything” as all that is in the past, present, and future and also all that is beyond these three periods of time. The second verse states the mahavakya – “ayam atma brahma”, equating Atma and Brahma.
Aum is everything (verse 1)
Everything is Brahma, This Atma is Brahma (verse 2)
Atma is Aum (verse 8)
Idea 2: Four States
Atma has four states. In its natural state, it exists without the Mind. When it combines with the Mind, it exists in the “waking”, “dream”, and “deep sleep” states.
In the first idea Atma was explained using the dimension of time. The second idea (5 of 12 verses) tries to explain Atma in the dimension of thoughts. The first part is the “waking” state covering all our thoughts while we are awake. This is the state in which we are conscious of the external world of objects. (verse 3). The second part is the “dream” state covering the subtle objects of the mental world. This is the state in which we are conscious of the internal world of objects. (verse 4).
The third part is the “deep-sleep” state covering the condition in which there are no thoughts. In this state the mind goes to rest and stays as an homogeneous mass of consciousness. Here the mind exists but there are no thoughts. (verse 5 and 6). The fourth part is the natural state of Atma. It is the state in which there is no mind. It can be thought as the substrate on which the mind exists. (verse 7)
Idea 3: Practical Means
The goal for a true seeker is to realize their (Atma) natural state. The recommended method is to meditate on the mystic sound OM.
The third idea (4 of 12 verses) states that the goal of a seeker seeking liberation is to realize their own natural state. Given, that this state is beyond the scope of the mind, the recommended method is meditation because it helps quieten the Mind.
Specifically, the Upanishad asks the seeker to breakdown OM into its three syllables – “A”, “U”, and “M”. The seeker should contemplate on the “waking” state when uttering the “A” syllable; the “dream” state when uttering the “U” syllable, and the “deep sleep” state when uttering the “M” syllable. The silence, between two OM chants, is used to contemplate on the “turiya” or natural state of Atma.
Part II – Life is but a dream!
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