Talk 104 Aug 01, 2010.pdf - arsha vidya kendra trust bangalore

Talk 104 – Aug 1, 2010 :
AS we have seen before this mandukya Upanishad has got three parts. First part is in the
form of an introduction to omkara vicara and introduction to atma vicara, second part is on
atma vicara and the third part is on omkara vicara . We have completed the third part of
the Upanishad. Now the commentary in sloka form given by Gaudapadacharyaji is being
seen. He is commenting on omkara vicara especially amatra omkara.
In the 24 th karika Gaudapadacharyaji says that one should know omkara in terms of the
padas of atma because there is no doubt that the matras of omkara are non-separate from
the padas of atma. Having understood omkara in terms of padas one would not think
anything else ie, one would not think about worldly things or svarga,etc. The ideas derived
from this karika are –
i) First there is identification between omkara and atma. The matras of omkara are
equated to the padas of atma.
ii) Then there is resolution of the matras and padas. Each previous matra of omkara
is resolved into the following one. A into U , U into M and M into Amatra. Similarly
Vaisvanarah into taijasah and taijasah into prajna and prajna into turiya.
iii) Appreciating that this amatra omkara which is non-separate from turiya atma
is what I am. I am Turiyam Brahma.
iv) One would remain in this understanding.
These are the four points which can be derived from this sloka.
In the next mantra – karika 25, the meditation on pranava is talked about which is otherwise
called nidhidyasanam or contemplation. What is the necessity to do nidhidyasanam?
Really nidhidyasanam is not done to create new knowledge. It is just to remove one
particular pratibandhaka in knowledge. Knowledge can have two types of obstacles –
and – doubts and habitual wrong thinking. We have been entertaining so
many wrong ideas about ourselves for a long time – Like I am samsari, I am limited, I am
father, mother, poor or rich, dull or intelligent, efficient or inefficient, etc. This new
understanding – I am Brahma – has come, but the old habitual thinking is not going away. If
somebody asks you – “ do you know you are Brahman” . You can say - “I know that I am
Brahman “. Then he may say – “Why are you then so anxious about so many things”. Like
you worry about old age so this means that you think you are going to become old, helpless.
This means that your conclusion that I am this body-mind complex has not gone. So this new
understanding of Brahman is there, but those old conclusions have not gone. Because of
that, the old conclusions are still governing my life. This new understanding should have
stopped the reactions. But it has not done its job.

Like many old ministers do not leave their govt. residential quarters even though they are
no longer ministers.
Similarly the old understanding prevents the new knowledge from doing its job. Because of
that we don’t get the full benefit of the new understanding. That is why we start feeling that
Vedanta does not work. Therefore we have to be aware of this particular situation where
understanding has come but the benefits of understanding is not started. In that situation
the old conclusions called viparita bhavana or opposite orientation have to be dropped, so
that the new understanding can start working. If the old understanding continues then my
new understanding does not seem to govern my life.
There is a beautiful story about how old orientation does not let the person enjoy new
achievements. There was a beggar who was staying near a palace. One day he saw a notice
on the palace announcing a grand dinner being hosted by the king. People with royal dress
are permitted to join the dinner. The beggar read the notice and looked at his own dress
which was in rags. So he felt sad that he could not go for the royal dinner.
But when he reached home, an idea came to his mind which seemed frightening – “Why not
I borrow an old dress from the king himself, then I can attend the party.” Uncertain of the
king’s response, he decides to go to the palace anyway and ask the king. The watchman
informs the king and on the king’s consent takes the beggar in front of the king. The beggar
with great courage asks the king – “Your majesty, can you give me some old royal dress so
that I can attend the dinner party.” The king was pleased with his courage and he agreed.
He asks the prince to give the beggar a royal dress. The prince gave him a royal dress.
The beggar right there dropped his old robes and wore the royal ones and looked at himself
in the mirror with the royal dress which he had never dreamt he would wear in his life. The
prince told him- “Now you are qualified to attend the party. Also the dress I have given you
is a very special dress. It lasts forever so you will not require another dress.” The happy
beggar in royal clothes thanks the king and the prince. Just as he was about to leave the
palace, he looks at his old rags on the floor. A thought comes to his mind – “suppose I loose
this royal dress, then the old one will be of use.” So he made a bundle of his old rags and
carried it out with him.
The beggar attended the royal dinner wearing the royal dress. But he came along with the
bundle of his old rags. It was very uncomfortable to hold the bundle, while eating and it kept
falling off. Everytime they served a new item of delicacy, the beggar missed it because he
was busy picking up his fallen bundle. Thus he could not really enjoy the dinner very much.
After dinner he went home with his bundle of rags. After that everywhere he went, even
though he wore the royal dress, he carried the bundle with him. Some fancy got into his
mind, that he should keep it ready at hand incase he loses the royal dress.

People also started noticing the bundle of rags in the hand of this crazy beggar instead of
noticing the royal dress he was wearing. He became known as the old man carrying the
bundle of rags. He lived his life like this wearing the royal dress and carrying the bundle of
rags. When he was dying, the king who lived nearby came to see him. When the king saw
him wearing the royal dress and having the bundle next to him. He felt very sad. The beggar
also understood at that moment, how holding on to the rags cost him the royalty. He could
have lived like a royal member but did not. He died with his rags. The story ends with this
moral – to get ahead, one has to learn to let go of the old. Welcome the new ones and drop
the old ones.
This is exactly what is happening to the jiva. He reads this notice that if you get knowledge
you will get moksha. The jiva like the beggar goes to Bhagvan who is like the king and asks
for knowledge. Bhagvan sends a guru who is like the prince in the story. He gets the
knowledge and thanks the guru and Bhagvan. But he continues to carry his old orientations
and his not able to enjoy moksha. He is very close to it, but cannot enjoy it. People also see
him as a samsari only, though he has got this new knowledge. We are exactly like that.
What is to be done is that the bundle of rags is to be thrown away. Like the beggar who
does not have too much faith in the statement of the prince that what he has will last
forever. Similarly the jiva does not have faith in the knowledge he has received, so he still
sticks to his old conclusions.
Physically also we cannot let go of a lot of material things because we feel it will be useful
sometime. Even new ideas we cannot accept easily because we have stubborn thinking.
They think they alone are right. Love for one’s ideas , prejudices infact comes in the way
from getting right knowledge. That is why in life if we don’t have the habit of letting things
go, then in Vedanta also we cannot let go. So first learn to let go of physical things. Let all
unnecessary things go away. They say that one of the reasons for constipation is that a
person cannot part with things. Similarly we will have mental constipation, if we don’t let
go. So if you want to imbibe and remain in this understanding, then you should have the
readiness to drop old conclusions especially negative conclusions and accept the new ideas.
State what you have to say in a positive way. Like you need not say –“I am inefficient”.
You can say – “I do commit mistakes.” When you say that I am inefficient, you are really
make a judgement of yourself. You are indirectly saying that I cannot do anything efficiently,
You are putting yourself in a slot from which it is very difficult to get out and creates
unnecessary complexes in us. But when you say that I commit mistakes sometimes, you are
just narrating some facts which are subject to change. You don’t commit mistakes all the
time. That makes a lot of difference. Even when talking to children or other people state
things positively. You don’t strengthen others complexes and you don’t strengthen your
own complexes. This type of alert life is also called nidhidyasanam.

Even if it is some happening. Like suppose someone has lost his eye sight . If at all you want
to know then you don’t ask him when he became blind, But instead ask him when this eye
problem got aggravated. So leading an alert life is one type of nidhidyasanam.
Another type of nidhidyasana is to sit in a particular posture and remind yourself of
Vedantic teaching with the help of pranava or avasthatraya prakriya or sariratraya vicara.
You take some topic and contemplate. That is also nidhidyasanam. That type of
nidhidyasanam is talked about in the 25 th karika.
Karika 25 –
Yunjita pranave cetah pranavo brahma nirbhayam.
Pranave nityayuktasya na bhayam vidyate kvacit.
One should fix the mind on omkara because omkara is Brahman which is fearless.
Ever-established in omkara, one will never have fear anytime.
Yunjita means one should fix , chetah means the mind. Pranavah means the word OM.
Pranavah - pranuyate sthuyate parmatma anena iti pranavah - the word by which
parmatma is praised is called pranavah. Grammatically pranava is from Pra purvaka nu
dhatu. Praise means revealing the facts about parmatma. We can never flatter parmatma
because whatever you say is less than what parmatma is.
So one should fix one’s mind on Omkara. Why should the mind be fixed on pranava and not
Brahma ? That is answered next by saying that pranava itself is nothing but turiyam Brahma
which is fearless. Since pranava is Brahma, meditating on pranava is meditating on Brahma.
This Brahman is described here by one word – – fearless. - one
for which fearlessness is the nature.That Brahma is pranava. One strong lakshana of
samsara is bhayam. Fear is in various forms –worries, anxiety, stress – are all expressions of
the same bhayam. We cannot relax and let things go. We feel something will happen. When
everything is going well, we will have fear of drsti. We say – “Touchwood”.
Note : Touchwood is an expression of fear. Actually touchwood is not a part of our culture.
It is western thinking based on the idea that if something is going well then evil will have its
eye. Touching wood represents touching god who will protect us and it is maybe
representative of the wooden cross . But mainly it is expression of fear. Instead of
touchwood, it is better to say –“ by God’s grace everything is going on well” . If you still
have fear then you can add –“ I pray that it will continue”. But we need not have fear.
We live our life in fear and we die with fear. Even while dying the fear is there which naraka
Yamaraja will take you to .

Because we are convinced that we will go to naraka especially if you have read Bhagavatam
where there is a vivid description of the various narakas for various types of papa. We
definitely feel that we have committed atleast a few and we will go to a few narakas. So
fear follows us all the time. This happens because of our wrong understanding about ourself
and about the world. Therefore this idea is emphasized – . You meditate upon
yourself as – . I am amatra omkara which is turiya atma which is
fearless Brahman.
Or if you can appreciate Bhagvan’s presence in every situation, then also there will not be
fear. Whatever he does he will do for my good only. Perhaps here the fear may be there
that I should please Bhagvan or he will be displeased. But still it is a good way to get rid of all
other types of fears. But that is not ultimate freedom because sometime you may have fear
that god may be displeased. We have a way of projecting our mental state on bhagavan if
you are closely associated with Bhagavn with prayer, puja,etc. So if you are happy, Bhagvan
also appears happy.
And if you are frightened, then the frightening form of bhagvan appears. But still seeing
Bhagvans grace in each situation is a very good solution for most of the people most of the
time, till you reach the ultimate solution –“I am that fearless Brahma which cannot be
affected by anything.” Suppose body gets some disease there will be pain, that pain is also
jnanam. It is one manifestation of consciousness. Happiness also is one manifestation of
consciousness. If my drsti is on consciousness then it does not matter whether there is pain
or comfort consciousness.
Like if I am a goldsmith, then whether gold is given to me in the form of a Krishna vigraha or
a rakshasa vigraha will not matter. What matters to me is that it is gold. Then there is no
reaction. Similarly the person who has understood that – “ I am pure consciousness “,
all the thoughts are manifestation of me the consciousness alone, then he will never have
any fear. That fearless brahma I am.
Further it is said – pranave nityayuktasya na bhayam vidyate kvachit – One who is everestablished
in pranava never has any fear. Pranava talked about here is not the sound
pranava . Bhashyakara says – parmartha rupe yatha vyakhyate – pranava which has been
explained before. Only pranava sound will not solve the problem, thought it is useful for
getting vairagyam. That is why pranava is prescribed for sanyasas for getting vairagyam.
They are supposed to chant about 12000 omkara japa everyday. It is not usually
recommended for a grahastha because it may be unsettling for the family .

So mere chanting of pranava is useful. But that itself does not give you moksha. Only if
pranava is understood as amatra turiya atma, then only it gives moksha. So ever-established
in brahman which is fearless, he will not have fear in any situation.
Some people say I am not afraid of getting old, losing money, or of my children going out.
So many things they may not be afraid of and they may not be afraid of dying themselves,
but they cannot think of their spouse or child dying. So as long as there is a clause, it is good
enough to keep you a samsari. But here it says that he will not have any fear anytime.
This does not mean that if a tiger is pouncing on a wise person he will not move away.
Ofcourse he will definitely move away . That is because of the samskara of the body. But he
will not have any after-effects. Immediate reaction will be there and that will also be
reducing. Time will come when even the physical phenomenon will also be reducing.
Like Ramana Maharshi underwent surgery without anaesthesia. He did not even move
inspite of the pain.
Main thing here is that fear in general will not be there. One of the greatest fear we have is
what people will think ? The wise person is free from any fear because he is beyond any
conclusions. So in this mantra the nidhidyasanam on pranava and the result of this
nidhidyasanam in the form of fearlessness is described.