Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad

Subhash Kak

Chapman University
2023
 Subhash Kak

Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad

INTRODUCTION

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, from the Atharvaveda tradition, is the shortest

Upaniṣad consisting of twelve verses that describe three states of
consciousness, namely waking (jāgrat), dreaming (svapna), and deep sleep
(suṣupti), and the fourth, that is beyond these three and yet their foundation.

Consciousness is the frontier of science, for we would like to know if

machines can become conscious. If it were possible to build such machines,
we will understand the secret of our own awareness. But this could be a
source of danger also: such machines will most likely enslave humans, if not
get rid of them altogether.

In the naïve understanding, consciousness is an artifact of the

electrical activity in the brain with two major phases in sleep: rapid eye
movement (REM), which is associated with dreaming, and non-rapid eye
movement (NREM) that corresponds to deep sleep. In REM sleep muscles
shut down, excepting in the rare case of sleepwalking, which is good, for
otherwise one might hurt oneself acting out the scenes playing in the dream.

The waking state, in which one’s awareness is turned outwards, is

constrained by the logic of the familiar outside world. Things are different in
the dream state as there is no awareness of the body although the self is
present. The dreaming self not only makes up its own world but also equips
it with characters and storylines that lead to joy and suffering, and even
terror. Clearly, consciousness is not only information processing together
with a sense of ownership of the data; it is a creative agent.

The view of consciousness with agency is radically different from the

popular physicalist understanding of the mind that only acknowledges

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automatic (unconscious) and controlled (conscious) behaviors together with

implicit (unconscious) and explicit (conscious) memory.

In sleep, one loses consciousness but the brain remains active.

Dreams spring from repressed memories, some of which are passed across
generations through the genome and the epigenome. Dreaming is seen as the
brain’s interpretation of the random firing of neurons in the brain stem, and
as a process that helps in the consolidation of information into long-term
memory. Altered consciousness states arise from ingestion of drugs,
suggestion as in hypnosis, extreme physical activity, or sensory deprivation
that affects the activity of the neurons, modifying perception and even be
hallucinatory. But where does the capacity of the brain to interpret come
from?

The physicalist theory does not and cannot explain the emergence of
consciousness emerges from neuron activity; all it does is to correlate certain
brain processes to states of awareness. Recent theoretical analysis of this
problem shows that no machine can ever be conscious, undermining the
physicalist approach completely. Although couched in terms of issues related
to computing and quantum theory, this research restates in modern language
what is already present in the standard texts of Vedānta and its commentaries.
Here’re two specific arguments that we come across in this analysis:

1. If consciousness is freedom, then it cannot exist in any individual for

that would be counter to the laws of nature, unless it is a universal
property (in which case there is only one consciousness).

2. If complexity of the brain leads to consciousness then one will have

to concede the absurd possibility of a conscious being whose subparts
are conscious in an endless recursion.

Universality

Given that consciousness in the individual is more than the activity of the
brain, its experience will, nevertheless, remain within the limitations of what
the senses can process. If we go beyond the sensory capacity of humans, one

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can speak of universal consciousness that transcends the individual one.

In the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, the universal of the waking state at the

level of the individual (jīva) is called Vaiśvānara; the corresponding state at
the level of the universe is Virāṭ (Great).

The second state is the dreaming mind that is inward-knowing as it is

not connected to the outer senses. It is called Taijasa (shining), and believed
to be the source of creativity at the individual level. Since the mind operating
on memories cannot go beyond their domain, one can see how Taijasa can
explain the out-of-the-box insight of artists and scientists. Taijasa works not
only during dreams in sleep, but also in day-dreams and trances. This creative
state at the universal level is called Hiraṇyagarbha (Golden Womb); it is the
womb of light that gives birth to new things.

The third state is deep sleep. In this state the underlying ground of
consciousness is in its pure nature for it is not connected to the mind or the
intellect. This state of consciousness is called Prājña (Intuitive) at the level
of the jīva and Īśvara at the universal level.

The fourth state is without characteristics, for it is the light that shines
on the mind; it is Brahman. The table below sums up the classification of the
first three states.

Form of consciousness In the jīva Universal

Waking consciousness Vaiśvānara Virāṭ
Dream consciousness Taijasa Hiraṇyagarbha
Deep sleep consciousness Prājña Īśvara

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad doesn’t address the working of the mind

specifically, but we know that other Upaniṣads speak of three aspects of it:
manas (mind together with memories, citta, and reasoning), buddhi
(intellect), and ahaṅkāra (ego). These three are also seen in the kośa system
described in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad as the progressively finer sheaths of the
Manomaya kośa, the Vijñānamaya kośa, and the Ānandamaya kośa, that lie
within the gross body (sthūla śarīra), consisting of the physical body

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(Annamaya kośa) and the breath and other processes (Prāṇamaya kośa).

The Manomaya and the Vijñānamaya kośa constitute the sūkṣma

śarīra (subtle body) of the individual, which is the mind-intellect complex.
The Ānandamaya kośa is the kāraṇa śarīra (causal body), which is also the
causal mind. These sheaths, if shown hierarchically normally allow
information to flow from top to bottom. This means that ordinarily the mind-
intellect complex does not have access to the causal mind. It does things
because it feels impelled to do them, due to the unfulfilled desires that lie
buried in the causal mind. In the famous chariot parable of the Kaṭha
Upaniṣad, the senses are the horses, the mind is the reins, and the charioteer
is the intellect. The real decision on how to drive come from the causal mind,
who sits behind the intellect.

It should be noted that the kośas are not sealed and in unusual
situations consciousness at the higher level acts based on what is happening
below. An example of this is a person waking up just ahead of the alarm,
which apparently is fairly common and has happened to me numerous times,
in which the causal mind makes the body get up to prevent others who may
be sleeping to be disturbed by the noise.

A tiered view of consciousness not only provides a deeper

understanding of the mind and of reality, it presents a framework for practices

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that can make the mind more effective and even access capacities one did not
know existed. These practices of yoga help the jīva to open the doors to the
causal mind and in doing so get intuitive insights of Prājña and for a moment
even be one with Īśvara.

Stillwater
June 12, 2023

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Invocation

ॐ भद्रं कर्णेभभिः शृर्णुयाम दे वािः ।

भद्रं पश्येमाक्षभभययजत्ािः ।
स्थिरै रङ्गैस्तुष्टु वागँसस्तनूभभिः ।
व्यशेम दे वभितं यदायूिः ।
स्वस्स्त न इन्द्रो वृद्धश्रवािः ।
स्वस्स्त निः पूषा भवश्ववेदािः ।
स्वस्स्त नस्ताक्षयो अररष्टनेभमिः ।
स्वस्स्त नो वृिस्पभतदय ाातु ॥

ॐ शास्तिः शास्तिः शास्तिः ॥

oṃ bhadraṃ karṇebhiḥ śṛṇuyāma devāḥ

bhadraṃ paśyemākṣabhiryajatrāḥ
sthirair aṅgais tuṣṭuvāgam̐sas tanūbhiḥ
vyaśema devahitaṃ yadāyūḥ
svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ
svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ
svasti nastākṣaryo ariṣṭanemiḥ
svasti no bṛhaspatirdadhātu

Om śāntiḥ; śāntiḥ; śāntiḥ

Om. May we hear the auspicious through the ears; may we see the auspicious
and the adorable with our eyes; may we live contented with strong body and
limbs; may we enjoy life that is beneficial to the gods. May Indra, of great
fame, be auspicious to us; may Pūṣan, who is all-knowing, be auspicious to
us; may Tārkṣya, the protector of the law, be auspicious to us; may Bŗhaspati
protect us and be auspicious.

Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

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॥ अि माण्डूक्योपभनषत् ॥

िररिः ॐ ।

ॐ इत्येतदक्षरभमदं सवं तस्योपव्याख्यानं

भूतं भवद् भभवष्यभदभत सवयमोङ्कार एव
यच्चान्यत् भत्कालातीतं तदप्योङ्कार एव ॥ १॥

aum ity etad akṣaram idam sarvam, tasyopavyākhyānam

bhūtam bhavad bhaviṣyad iti sarvamoṅkāra eva
yac cānyat trikālātītaṃ tad apyoṅkāra eva ||1||

Om. This is imperishable. The explanation of this all: the past, the now, and
the future – verily, all of this is Om. And what is beyond three states of time
– that too is Om.

Note: This consideration of reality in terms of the divisions of time is the

outer view. There is another inner view where one may speak of the triple
division of reality as existence, our consciousness, and the fact that we can
know, which is the triple of sat, cit, and ānanda; in the saguṇa form these are
Viṣṇu, Śiva, and the Goddess. One may even see the triad in the categories
of bandhu, parokṣa, and yajña.

Bṛhadāraṇyaka U. 5.4 has an interesting question: kiṃ-jyotir ayam puruṣa

iti? “What is the light that illumines the person?” It is the sun during the day,
and moon and stars at night that make it possible for us to see outside. Now
the brain is pitch dark, then how do we see things in our mind, say when we
shut our eyes, or are dreaming? The answer is that we see in our mind
through the light of Brahman.

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सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा चतुष्पात् ॥ २॥

sarvaṃ hyetad brahma, ayam ātmā brahma

so’yam ātmā catuṣpāt ||2||

2. All this, verily, is Brahman; the self is Brahman. This self has four quarters.

Note: Brahman, the transcendent reality, is viewed as a being with four feet;
pāda = foot = quarter. An interesting explanation for the choice of four
stressing the recursive nature of reality is provided in the Chāndogya U. 4.4-
8 through the story of Satyakāma Jābāla who is instructed by various non-
human teachers: bull (ṛṣabha), fire (agni), swan (haṃsa).

The first foot of Brahman is directionality, as in the four outer directions of

east, west, south, and north (these define the physical universe of the waking
mind) that leads to bright worlds (Prakāśa-vāna). The second foot are the four
kalās (arts) of the earth, the interspace (antarikṣa), the heavens (svarga), and
the waters (samudra) that are elements for the creativity of the dream state
that has infinite potential (Ananta-vāna). The third foot constitutes the kalās
of fire (agni), Sun (Sūrya), Moon (Candra), and lightening (vidyut) that is the
sphere of light (Jyotiṣmāna), which exists beyond the dreaming stage.

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जागररतथिानो बभिष्प्रज्ञिः सप्ताङ्ग एकोनभवंशभतमुखिः

थिूलभुग्वैश्वानरिः प्रिमिः पादिः ॥ ३॥

jāgarita sthāno bahiṣ-prajñaḥ saptāṅga

ekonaviṃśati-mukhaḥ sthūla-bhug vaiśvānaraḥ
prathamaḥ pādaḥ ||3||

3. The first quarter is the embodiments-enjoying Vaiśvānara. Its field is the

waking state; its consciousness is outward-turned; it is seven-limbed and
nineteen-mouthed.

Note: It is viewed as seven-limbed in analogy with a human with the head,

two arms, upper and lower torsos, and two legs; Chāndogya Upaniṣad 5.18.2
enumerates the seven limbs as the heavens (head), the sun (eyes), the air
(prāṇa), the fire (heart), the water (stomach), the earth (feet), and the space
heart). Others have counted this differently for this is just an analogy
mapping the terrestrial to the cosmic.

The nineteen mouths are five organs of action, five of cognition, five
tanmātras, and mind, intellect, ego, and citta (memory). As cosmic man,
without the limitations of the jīva, it is Virāṭ, or simply the “Great”.

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स्वप्नथिानोऽतिः प्रज्ञिः सप्ताङ्ग एकोनभवंशभतमुखिः

प्रभवभवक्तभुक्तैजसो भितीयिः पादिः ॥ ४॥

svapna-sthāno’ntaḥ-prajñaḥ saptāṅga ekonavimśatimukhaḥ

pravivikta-bhuk taijaso dvītiyaḥ pādah ||4||

4. The second quarter is Taijasa that enjoys disembodied objects. Its field is
the dream state and its consciousness is inward-turned. It is seven-limbed and
nineteen-mouthed.

Note: As in the waking state, it is viewed as seven-limbed with nineteen

mouths. Its universal aspect that is not limited by the individual jīva is
Hiraṇyagarbha, the golden womb out of which new things emerge.

Taijasa is most interesting from a scientific perspective for it implies a

capacity for creativity that runs counter to academic psychology.

Chāndogya U. 8.10 stresses the agency of the dreaming self by reminding

that the dreamer of a blind person can see in the dream and the dreamer of a
sick person is not sick. Clearly our sense of being is not from the body, but
from the subtle self within.

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यत् सुप्तो न कञ्चन कामं कामयते न कञ्चन स्वप्नं

पश्यभत तत् सुषुप्तम् । सुषुप्तथिान एकीभूतिः प्रज्ञानघन
एवानन्दमयो ह्यानन्दभुक् चेतोमुखिः प्राज्ञस्तृतीयिः पादिः ॥ ५॥

yatra supto na kañcana kāmaṃ kāmayate

na kañ cana svapnam paśyati tat suṣuptam
suṣupta-sthāna ekī-bhūtaḥ prajñānā-ghana evānandamayo
hy ānanda-bhuk ceto-mukhaḥ prājñas tṛtīyaḥ pādaḥ ||5||

5. The third quarter is Prājña, whence sleeping, there is no looking for desire
and neither is there dreaming; this is state of slumber. All-together, with
intuition, one is in dreamless sleep, blissful and feeding on joy, splendor-
faced and wise.

Note: In deep sleep, the citta (memory bank) is disconnected from the resting
mind, but the self is still there. This presence is seen when it helps out the
individual avoid the noisy ring of the alarm, or wake up the person if there is
danger, like fire.

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एष सवेश्वरिः एष सवयज्ञ एषोऽतयाय म्येष योभनिः सवयस्य

प्रभवाप्ययौ भि भूतानाम् ॥ ६॥

eṣa sarveśvaraḥ eṣa sarvajñaḥ, eṣo’ntāryami

eṣa yoniḥ sarvasya prabhavāpyayau hi bhūtānām.

6. This is the Īśvara of all, omniscient, indweller, the source of all, the
beginning and end of all beings.

Note: The jīva’s ego resides in the causal mind, although it is disconnected in
deep sleep for the subtle mind cannot look higher up. But corresponding to this
jīva self at the individual level, one may imagine the self at the universal level.

This is Universal Consciousness, Īśvara, that has another popular name, Śiva.

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नातिः प्रज्ञं न बभिष्प्रज्ञं नोभयतिः प्रज्ञं न प्रज्ञानघनं

न प्रज्ञं नाप्रज्ञम् । अदृष्टमव्यविाययम्ाह्यमलक्षर्णं
अभचन्त्यमव्यपदे श्यमेकात्मप्रत्ययसारं प्रपञ्चोपशमं
शातं भशवमिै तं चतुिं मन्यते स आत्मा स भवज्ञेयिः ॥ ७॥

nāntaḥ-prajñam, na bahiṣ prajñam, nobhayataḥ-prajñam,

na prajnañā-ghanam, na prajñam, nāprajñam;
adṛṣtam, avyavahārayam, agrāhyam, alakṣaṇam,
acintyam, avyapadeśyam, ekātma-pratyaya-sāram,
prapañcopaśamam, śāntam, śivam, advaitam,
caturtham manyante, sa ātmā, sa vijñeyaḥ ||7||

7. Known as the fourth quarter, with consciousness that is not inward turned,
nor outward-turned, and neither the two together; neither knowing, nor
unknowing, invisible, ineffable, intangible, devoid of characteristics,
inconceivable, indefinable, conscious of its own self, free from enlargement,
calm, auspicious, without a second. This Ātman is to be realized.

Note: Brahman is visualized as beyond any categorization for it is neither a

concept, nor a thing; it transcends all categories that the mind can imagine.
Neti neti.

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सोऽयमात्माध्यक्षरमोङ्कारोऽभामात्ं पादा मात्ा मात्ाश्च पादा

अकार उकारो मकार इभत ॥ ८॥

so’yam ātmādhyakṣaram auṁkaro’dhimātram pādā mātrā

mātrāś ca pādā akāra ukāra makāra iti.

8. This Ātman is above the syllables of Oṅkāra in the realm of sound. The
feet are the measures, and the measures are the feet A, U, M.

Note: This reiterates the previous verse. Om, the mystical word consisting of the
syllables A, U, M symbolizes the three states of consciousness, viz. waking,
dreaming, and deep sleep.

It also represents the three planes of reality: existence, consciousness, and

transformation.

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जागररतथिानो वैश्वानरोऽकारिः प्रिमा मात्ाऽऽप्तेराभदमत्त्वाद्

वाऽऽप्नोभत ि वै सवाय न् कामानाभदश्च भवभत य एवं वेद ॥ ९॥

jāgarita-sthāno vaiśvānaro’kāraḥ prathamā

mātrā’pter ādimattvād vā’pnoti ha vai
sarvān kāmān ādiś ca bhavati ya evaṁ veda.

9. In the waking state, Vaiśvānara is the first syllable, A, of full measure from
the state of having a beginning. He who knows thus, obtains all desires and
becomes the source [of new beginnings].

Note: The new beginnings are in all actions, because knowledge begins with
understanding the outer reality.

This outer knowledge is called aparā in Muṇḍaka U. 1; this is objective

knowledge that is accessible to language and it includes all that is written and
spoken.

Complementing it is parā, the knowledge of the experiencing self,

consciousness, which cannot be described for it is beyond characterization, as
in the previous verse 7.

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10

स्वप्नथिानस्तैजस उकारो भितीया मात्ोत्कषाय त्

उभयत्वािोत्कषयभत ि वै ज्ञानसतभतं समानश्च भवभत
नास्याब्रह्मभवत्कुले भवभत य एवं वेद ॥ १०॥

svapna-sthānas taijasa ukāro dvitīyā

mātrotkarṣāt ubhayatvādvotkarṣati ha vai
jñāna-saṃtatiṃ samānaś ca bhavati
nāsyābrahma-vit-kule bhavati ya evam veda.

10. Taijasa, the field of the dream state, is the second sound, U, is for
excellence, and has qualities of these two. He who knows thus, exalts
knowledge and approaches universal [understanding], and in his family,
there is no one born who is ignorant of Brahman.

Note: This knowledge leads to creativity in human affairs, sciences, the arts,
and in general understanding.

It is in Taijasa that, poetically speaking, a conversation takes place between

aparā and parā, in which the curtain over the mind restricting the light of
consciousness lifts.

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सुषुप्तथिानिः प्राज्ञो मकारस्तृ तीया मात्ा भमतेरपीतेवाय

भमनोभत ि वा इदं सवयमपीभतश्च भवभत य एवं वेद ॥ ११॥

suṣupta-sthānaḥ prājño makāras tṛtīya mātrā

miter apīter vā minoti ha vā idaṁ
sarvam apītiś ca bhavati ya evaṁ veda.

11. Prājña, whose field is deep sleep, is the third sound, M, because this is
the measure, into which all dissolves. He who knows thus, measures all and
becomes all.

Note: Prajñā means wisdom and intelligence. Deep sleep consciousness, Prājña,
is full of wisdom because it is not constrained by the mind from which it is
disconnected.

If one were to wonder how seers and sages have seen and written about
things which appear surprising in retrospect, it is because they were in touch
with the Prājña consciousness.

Since its universal form is Īśvara (Śiva) or Maheśvara (as in the

Bhagavad Gītā 13.23), one can understand why creative people like musicians,
artists, scientists, and authors often invoke it for inspiration.

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12

अमात्श्चतुिोऽव्यविाययिः प्रपञ्चोपशमिः भशवोऽिै त

एवमोङ्कार आत्मैव संभवशत्यात्मनाऽऽत्मानं य एवं वेद ॥ १२॥

amātraś caturtho’vyavahāryaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ śivo’dvaita

evamoṅkāra ātmaiva, saṃviśaty ātmanā’tmānaṃ
ya evaṃ veda ya evaṃ veda.

12. The fourth has no measure, is unutterable and a quieting of all [relative]
manifestation, blissful, auspicious, non-dual. Thus, OM is the Ātman, verily.
He who knows thus, merges his self in the Self – yea, he who knows thus.

Note: This reiterates verses 1 and 7.

Om śāntiḥ; śāntiḥ; śāntiḥ

Om Peace! Peace! Peace!

॥ इभत माण्डूक्योपभनषत् समाप्ता ॥

This completes the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad

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Note on the Bibliography: The first two papers show that computers will
never be conscious based on arguments from mathematics and physics; the
third paper demonstrates that consciousness cannot be a result of complexity;
the fourth paper describes how logic has been used in systems with a
transcendent element (Brahman). The last two are books: the first describes
some of the above-mentioned results within the cultural history of India, and
the next one shows how sat, cit, and ānanda can also be seen in the triad
bandhu, parokṣa, and yajña.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

S. Kak, Is consciousness computable? NeuroQuantology 17, 71-75, (2019).

https://doi.org/10.14704/nq.2019.17.05.2359

S. Kak, The limits to machine consciousness. Journal of Artificial

Intelligence and Consciousness 9, 59-72, (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1142/S2705078521500193

S. Kak, No-Go Theorems on Machine Consciousness. (2023). TechRxiv.

https://doi.org/10.36227/techrxiv.22580872.v1

S. Kak, Representation and reasoning in Vedanta. Studia Humana 12 (3), 15-

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