Mandukya_Upanishad

cow, with four feet? The four feet of a cow are differentfrom one another by a spatial distinction among them. Onefoot of the cow is different from another foot. We can seethe four feet of a cow separately. Has the Ātman four feet inthe same way? What does the Upanishad mean by saying,so’yamātmā chatuṣhpāt, four-legged, four-footed is theĀtman? It is not true that the four quarters of the Ātman arelike the four feet of a cow, but rather these are like the fourquarters contained in a Rupee coin. You may say that thefour quarters are contained in a coin, a Rupee, which youcannot see distinctly. The four quarters are in the coin, andyet they are not distinguishable. You recognise theirpresence, but you cannot behold them with the eyes. In thissense, we may say that the Ātman has four feet, and not inthe sense of the four feet of a cow. The four quarters of theĀtman described in the Māndūkya Upanishad are the fouraspects in the study of the Ātman, and not fourdistinguishable, partitioned quarters of the Ātman. Thesequarters, these four aspects in the study of the nature of theĀtman, which are the main subject of the MāndūkyaUpanishad, are also a process of self-transcendence. Thewhole scheme is one of analysis and synthesis and alsotranscendence of the lower by the higher. This MāndūkyaUpanishad itself is an exhaustive study of the Vedānta,because, in a few words, phrases or sentences, it states whatour primary duty in life is. A transcendence of the lower bythe higher by way of analysis, excluding nothing, butincluding everything, is the way to synthesis. We enter intoan analytical process by self-transcendeace, becausesynthesis, by itself alone, is not sufficient. If you total up all45