Mandukya Upanishad states Life is but a dream!
Part I provides the summary of the Mandukya Upanishad. This part focuses on the fact that Mandukya Upanishad states life is but a dream.
Part II delves deeper into verses 3 and 4, describing the waking and dream states. Mandukya Upanishad asserts that waking state is as illusory or as real as the dream state.
| Verse 3 – Waking State | Verse 4 – Dream State |
|---|---|
| Jagarita-sthano bahis-prajnah saptanga ekona-vimsati-mukhah sthula-bhuk vaisvanarah prathama padah | Svapno-stano antah-prajnah saptanga ekona-vimsati-mukhah pravi-vikta-bhuk taijasa dvitiyah padah |
| Waking state is conscious of the external world of objects It has seven limbs and nineteen mouths The experiencer of gross objects is called Vaisvanarah This is the first quarter | Dream state is conscious of the internal world of objects It has seven limbs and nineteen mouths The experiencer of subtle objects is called Taijasa This is the second quarter |
For instance, in the table above, the description of the waking and dream state – having seven limbs and nineteen mouths – is identical. The only difference is in the name we give these two states and the kind of objects experienced. The waking state is called Vaisvanarah and the dream state is called Taijasa. The waking state experiences gross external objects, while the dream state experiences subtle internal objects. In a brief, 12 verse, Upanishad it is significant that the description for the two states is repeated word for word.
The seven limbs represent the elements air (breath), space (abdomen), water (kidney), earth (feet), fire (mouth), sun (eyes), and effulgent (head). The nineteen mouths represent the five sense organs, the five organs of action, the five aspects of prana, mind, ego, intellect, and chitta.
Story of King Janaka and Ashtakavakra
The story of King Janaka, in Ashtakavakra Gita, beautifully illustrates this point. An enemy King attacks Janaka’s kingdom, Mithila. Unfortunately, King Janaka’s army loses the battle and the King flees the battlefield. He runs many miles and feels exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. He knocks on a little cottage, but the old lady inside the cottage refuses to help him saying that she fears repercussions from the new ruler. The King walks further until he reaches the border of his kingdom. Finally, he sees some food on the ground and rushed to satiate his hunger. However, two dogs run towards him and drag the food away. The King becomes completely dejected and sits down in tears. He then hears a familiar voice calling out “wake up King”. King Janaka wakes up and finds himself in his bed in the royal palace. He had had the most terrible dream!
A normal person would be glad that it was all a dream and proceed with his or her daily tasks. King Janaka, however, was intrigued by this experience. He asked the court, am I the poor King who, out of exhaustion, is dreaming that everything is fine or am I the King, sleeping in his bed, dreaming that he has been defeated? In addition, King Janaka, wanted to know which King was the real one, the one in the waking state or the one in the dream state!
Ashtakavakra’s reponse
Our normal understanding makes the person in the waking state the seeker and this person experiences dreams in the dream state. However, what if, the person in the dream state is the seeker and he experiences dreams, that are essentially the waking state! Ashtakavakra explains to King Janaka that the true seeker is neither the person in the waking state nor the person in the dream state.
Sri Ramana Maharishi answers the same question in the work “Who am I?”. In this, when asked, if there was a difference between waking and dream states, the Maharishi answers that there is no difference; just that waking is long and dream is short. He also adds that just as waking happenings seem real while awake, so do those in the dream while dreaming.
In trying to achieve the ultimate goal, realizing one’s self, the seeker should give experiences in the waking state the same level of importance as he/she would to similar experiences in the dream state. I will dwell deeper into this statement in future blogs. Therefore, Mandukya Upanishad states that life is but a dream.
Nursery Rhyme
On a lighter note, the idea that “life is but a dream” should not be unfamiliar to any English speaking person. We have all learned it as a child in the famous nursery rhyme –
Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream.
Part I – Summary
Part III – Turiya Atma
Bear in mind, we’ve come to Earth for schooling.