Mandukya_Upanishad

comparison of any kind is possible, anywhere, unless onehas a simultaneous consciousness of the two parties, twosides, or two phases of the case on hand. Now, we come tothe interesting question: who makes this comparison? Youcan make a comparison between the two states throughwhich you pass. Who is it that passes through the states ofwaking and dream? When you jump from waking todream, you are not in waking; you are only in dream. Andwhen you come from dream to waking, you are in waking,and not in dream. How can you be, simultaneously, in boththe states? And, unless you have a simultaneousconsciousness of two states, you cannot make acomparison. If you are entirely immersed in one statealone, then, no comparison is possible. But we do make acomparison, and pass judgments of value on the relationbetween the two states. This is indicative enough of a truthwhich surpasses common empirical perception. We are notthat which is apparently related wholly to the waking state,nor are we that which is apparently connected only with thedreaming state. We are something different from thespecific experiences of both the states. Neither can thewaking experiences exhaust us, nor can the dreamexperiences completely comprehend our being. We seem tobe something that is capable of being a witness of both thestates. This witness is not a party either to the waking stateor to the dreaming state. We are essentially, a third elementaltogether, something independent of waking and dream.What is that third element? This subject is the very purposeof the Upanishad, the core of investigation into the realityof the matter. Just as they appoint a commission when there70