Mandukya_Upanishad

PUBLISHERS’ PREFACEThe present publication consists of the lectures, deliveredextempore, by the Swamiji, in the year 1968, on thephilosophy and teachings of the Māndūkya Upanishad.The First Section of the discourses expounds the meaningof the great mystical symbol, Om, or Praṇava, as aconnotation as well as denotation of the Absolute.The Second Section explains the nature of the UniversalBeing, Vaiśvānara, or Virāt, as delineated in the Upanishad.The Third Section propounds the mystery of Dream andSleep, as also the cosmic counterpart of this state, namely,Hiraṇyagarbha, the Divine Immanent Being.The Fourth Section is an exposition of the profoundsignificance of Sleep in the interpretation of the nature of theSpirit in man.The Fifth Section is centred round the great theme, thenature of Īsvara, the Supreme God of the Universe.The Sixth Section concerns itself with the majesticcharacter of Reality as such, the Absolute, as the TranscendentPresence.The Seventh Section is the concluding summary, devotedto an explanation of the harmony between the constituents ofOm, or Praṇava, and the four states of Consciousness, whichforms the subject of the Upanishad.Herein, the students of Philosophy and Spiritual Life willfind presented the quintessence of the acme of thought andexperience reached in ancient times – the Upanishads.—THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETYShivanandanagar16th November, 1996.