(EXAMINATION OF THREE STATES OF EXISTANCE)
We shall do a revision on whatever we discussed in these lectures so that they remain fresh in your minds. Recapitulation is fine as it strengthens the thought pattern and sets deep rooted in your minds.We have found that Vedānta can give a solvable approach to the problems of various facets of our life. We found that there are two sides. One is the ritualistic side. Distinguished from this, you have the Parīkṣa side or the investigation side. Two routes of investigation were suggested - one is Sukha-Duḥkha-parīkṣa and the other is ātmāparīkṣa. In the first one, you do the investigation on the involved question or the involved issue which we covered exhaustively. Equally productive is the other method- ātmaparīkṣa - suggestion to examine the self, to understand one’s true nature. In fact śāstra recommends this parīkṣa more often. Most of the scholars or most of the traditional Vedāntic literature emphasises on ātmaparīkṣa. In my previous lecture I had mentioned about the discussion found in Bṛhahadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad between Yajñavalkya and his two wives Kātyāyani and Maitrēyi. When Maitrēyi asks the husband to show her the way for everlasting happiness, he says that the only way is to find out one’s true nature.
आत्मा वा अरे द्रष्टव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यो मैत्रेयि ।
Ātmā vā arē draṣṭavyō mantavyō
nididhyāsitavyō Maitrēyi. (Bṛh. Upa, 2-4-5)
Oh Maitrēyi, SELF is to be heard of, contemplated upon and get established into.
You must rightly understand your true nature and then try to stay there. That’s the way to come out of sorrow. Every Upaniṣad has a method of investigation called Prakriyā - प्रक्रिया. Prakriya is a logical framework, a logical structuring, by which you can understand your real nature. A style of thinking which ultimately puts you into your true nature is called a prakriya. Every Upaniṣad has at least one prakriya. Prakriya is the juice of the Upaniṣad. That’s the key point. Some of the Upaniṣad-s carry more than one prakriya. Let us take up two such Prakraiya-s for our discussion. Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad offers the prakriya called Avasthātraya Parīkṣā - अवस्थात्रयपरीक्षा. Taittirīya Upaniṣad offers the prakriya called the Pancakośa Viveka- पञ्चकोशविवेक. We will discuss them one after the other.
Tradition holds the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad in very high esteem for the reason that in four mantras the entire discussion on the subject gets to a conclusion. You are yet to see brevity of that order in scientific regions. In fact, the Upaniṣad is held so high in parampara that a student who is serious about enlightenment is directed to go to Māṇḍūkya.
एकं माण्डूक्यमेव अलं मुमुक्षूणां विमुक्तये।
Ēkaṁ māṇḍūkyam-ēva alaṁ mumukṣūṇāṁ vimuktayē. Muktikopaniṣad
If a person is very serious about liberation, all that he has to do is to study Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad to clear all his doubts. That is the importance with which tradition places Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. The Upaniṣad straight away goes into depths of human existence. After extolling Omkāra, the Upaniṣad goes to affirm that everything in this universe is Brahma.
सर्वं ह्येतद्ब्रह्म अयमात्मा ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा चतुष्पात्।
Sarvaṁ hi-ētat-brahma ayam-ātmā brahma sa-ayam-ātmā catuṣpāt. (Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 2)
**sarvaṁ hi ētat brahma -**All this is Brahma. Let us understand this technically. There is a Causal stuff which is single and unique and that has become this Jagat - this Universe.
**ayam ātmā brahma -**I am also Brahma-This ‘Me’ is also Brahma.
A thought which came to my mind that ‘sarvam hi ētat Brahma’ includes ‘ayam ātmā Brahma’. This repetition seems to be redundant. I was wondering as to why the Śruti is repeating the phrases.
Śankara observes this and gives an explanation and an answer for this ambiguity. This is the point where science and Vedānta differ. We are all academicians and think in a very simple way. Scientists think that the origin of this universe can be got by understanding this existence externally. Whereas, Indian thinking or Vedāntic approach suggests that the Causal Stuff of this universe can be realised only by studying the inside of ourselves. There is no way of getting to the causal stuff by a study of the outside world and this is the set premise in Vedānta.
Śankara however makes a point here. Why did the Indian thinkers go inwards to find the origin of this universe? Why did they not go outwards as the physicist is tempted to go? If we can get a satisfactory answer to this one, we have made big strides. These activities or these entities of the external world are inflexible. These bull forces which are mutually acting, for example, shining of the Sun, blowing of the wind, cloud formation due to evaporation etc are all rigid having no flexibility. All these activities are mechanical in nature and thus they are inflexible forces.
But the forces within us on the contrary have malleability and flexibility. One can manipulate the inside forces. One can manipulate to be fast or slow or remain stationery. By a mere suggestion that one should be quiet, one becomes quiet. Where from these activities arise? One can do an experiment inside and soften them to their source. This is Śankara’s position.
प्रत्यगात्मतया एव ब्रह्म ग्राह्यम् नान्यथा ।
**Pratyagātmatayā ēva brahma grāhyam na anyathā.**Śankarabhāṣya.
This causal stuff of the universe cannot be grasped by the study of the outside. I am sure the physicist will come to the point of deadlock one day and turn to eastern ways. They have already started recognising the importance of observer in experimental physics. Because of the role of the observer, observations become defective. He disturbs the phenomena and there is no way by which one can avoid this observer. The scientists have come to that position of impasse. Śāstra recognizes this point. One can retrace these steps as far as the inside forces are concerned. That is what I am doing, called nāḍiśuddhi prāṇāyāma - नाडिशुद्धि प्राणायाम. Slow down the inner forces until you touch the origin. Such a manipulation is possible inside- not possible outside. Therefore the manipulation of the activities inside is a convenient method for understanding the source of the universe. Some of the physicists appreciated this point in those international conferences where in I had to enforce this point because it makes a reference at the basic level itself. We will now continue with the ātmaparīkṣa.
Sa-ayam-ātmā catuṣpāt - That ‘I’ (that Me- ātmā-Brahma-Self) has four components. Let us see the first component.
जागरितस्थानः बहिष्प्रज्ञः सप्ताङ्ग एकोनविंशतिमुखः स्थूलभुग्वैश्वानरः प्रथमः पादः।
**Jāgarita-sthānaḥ bahiḥ-prajñaḥ sapta-aṅga ēkōnaviṁśati mukhaḥ sthūla-bhuk-vaiśvānaraḥ prathamaḥ pādaḥ. (**Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 3)
He is identified as Vaiśvānara. His sphere of activity is the Waking State. He is conscious of the external world of objects. He has seven limbs and nineteen outlets. He enjoys the gross objects of the world. The nineteen outlets of the waking state are – the five organs of perception, the five organs of action, the five aspects of our vital breath – Prāṇa (Prāṇa, Apāna, Vyāna, Samāna, and Udāna), the Mind, the Intellect, Egoity (Ahankāra) and Citta. If any one of them is missing, our experience of the world shall, to that degree, become imperfect. In the waking state, we are outwardly conscious and are enjoying gross objects of the world through the above gateways.
Let us not worry about the details as they are not very important to our study. This is one aspect of me which is called Jāgṛth Avastha. I have a world outside of me, the details of which I can capture through the five sense organs. I am a perceiver of the outside world. Having perceived, I apply likes and dislikes such as-this is a good carpet that is a bad carpet, he is a fine person, he is not a fine person, etc. These are called rāga-dveṣa. Having perceived the world outside of me, I begin to choose and select. This facet of mine is called Jñātṛtva - ज्ञातृत्व –the knower’s capacity, the seer’s capacity.
Having applied my selection, to get what I want and avoid what I do not want, I work towards that. This facet of mine is called Kartṛtva - कर्तृत्व, the doer ship.
Having chosen and worked, I want to enjoy the fruits of my so doing. This facet of mine is Bhoktṛtva - भोक्तृत्व, the capacity to enjoy.
Jnātṛtva, bhoktṛtva, kartṛtva - this is ‘Me’ in my Jāgṛth.
I do not think that even a scientist can simplify to this degree of accuracy. My tens of thousands of activities have been brought down now to three terms - I am a perceiver, am emotionally involved and a doer. Millions of my activities have been condensed into three terms, that’s a brilliant scientific performance even by today’s standards. This is what Vedānta does. Thus one who enjoys the external world as above in his waking state, is called as Sthūlabhuk- स्थूलभुक् - enjoyer of gross objects. He is also otherwise called as Vaiśvānara in this state. This is the first state of ‘I’ – the wakeful state – Jāgarita- Sthāna - जागरितस्थान. The second state of ‘I’ is:
स्वप्नस्थानोऽन्तःप्रज्ञः सप्ताङ्ग एकोनविंशतिमुखः प्रविविक्तभुक्तैजसो द्वितीयः पादः।
Svapna-sthānaḥ-antaḥ-prajñaḥ sapta-aṅga ēkōnaviṁśatimukhaḥ pravivikta-bhuk-taijasō dvitīyaḥ pādaḥ. (Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 4.)
His second state is called as Taijasa. His sphere of activity is Dream State. He is conscious of internal world of objects. He has seven limbs and nineteen outlets. He enjoys the subtle objects of the inner world. This state is called as Svapna State.
This Dream State is the same as the first one (Jāgṛt-Avastha) but the difference being that you are seeing inside where as in the first state you are seeing outside. Now, there is an inside world, the dream world, exactly a replica of the Jāgṛt with all the details. This is the world of your own making. In this world, you fail in an examination although you have passed the same in the Jagṛt phase forty or fifty years ago- you may walk twenty miles and still are not tired. So you have another phase of existence where the region of perception is different from that of the first phase but the experiences are common to both the phases. Even in this phase, you perceive things, you involve emotionally and you are a doer here also.
We have by now understood our two states of existence i.e., wakeful State and dream State. Nothing big has come out of such a study. We are sufferers both in Jāgṛt and Svapna States.
However, we have one more state which is generally missed by us. It is neither wakeful State nor the dream State. That third state of existence of ours (Or that ‘I’) is called **Dreamless Sleep State.**Psychology has given least importance to this state whereas Vedānta gives all the importance. It’s an experience which the world takes no notice of. The whole study of Vedānta is built on this one experience without which there is no Vedānta at all. So, in this phase, there is neither transaction of the outside world nor transaction of the inside world. This “I” also has experience of this deep sleep. This state is beautifully defined in Upaniṣad as:
**यत्र सुप्तो न कञ्चन कामं कामयते न कञ्चन स्वप्नं पश्यति तत्सुषुप्तम् । (**Māṇḍ Upa. 5.)
Yatra suptō na kañcana kāmaṁ kāmayatē na kañcana svapnaṁ paśyati tat-suṣuptam.
That is the state of deep sleep wherein the sleeper (that ‘I’) does not yearn for any desires nor does he see any dreams – That is the third state of the ‘I’ – Suśupti– Dreamless Sleep.
No scientist could have given a better definition to the sleeping state. In this state there are no thoughts, no emotions no cognition, no emotional involvement, no work. The karmendriyā-s are resting, the jnānedriyā-s are resting, the talk centre is resting, and the mind is also not there. None of the three lakṣaṇā-s, Jñātṛtva, kartṛutva and bhokṛutva which are found in the jāgṛt and in the svapna phase are seen here. Well, definition wise it is alright, what is so big about it?
One can feel that in Jāgṛt or waking state he is transacting with what is best for him while in deep sleep he is doing nothing. But, as per Vedānta one cannot belittle this state which is the best and richest experience of man. The deep sleep state is clearly described in the Upaniṣad as:
सुषुप्तस्थान एकीभूतः प्रज्ञानघन एवानन्दमयो ह्यान्दभुक्चेतोमुखः प्राज्ञस्तृतीयः पादः॥
Suṣupta-sthāna ēkībhūtaḥ prajñāna-ghanaḥ ēva-ānandamayō hi-ānanda-bhuk-cētōmukhaḥ prājñaḥ tr̥tīyaḥ pādaḥ.(Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 3)
This ‘I’ is called Prājñā. Here, in deep sleep, all experiences become undifferentiated. He is verily a homogeneous mass of consciousness in entirety. He is full of bliss and enjoying bliss and whose door is conscious wisdom – This is the third state of the ‘I’– called as Suśupti- Dreamless Sleep.
In the jāgṛt or svapna state your enjoyment gives you only a fraction of ānanda, but in Suśupti state you are eating ānanda itself. What a beautiful metaphor! Bhuk means eater, enjoyer. Ānandabhuk means eater of ānanda itself. Ānandamayaḥ means ānanda personified. Given this extra information, you cannot take the sleep state in a light way. It is valuable because, your very question is tackled here. There is a ready answer to your starting question - your search for joy.
In nidrā you have no objects of enjoyment. You are not walking with your girlfriend. You are not having your ice cream stuffed with nuts, no vanilla, none of these things, no word of compliment, no word of flattery, and no company. You shine in your native glory. Happiness is not outside. You are yourself a mass of happiness. That is a fact born out of your own experience. Generally, when one misses one night’s sleep, it does not bother him much. But, one gets disturbed with more number of sleepless nights. One starts worrying and even becomes desperate. So desperate that he consults a doctor for a sleeping pill! Why this sort of urge? Should not the serious thinker study this aspect more comprehensively? What fresh information about the source of joy! Whatever conclusions we made in our sukhaparīkṣa, are the very conclusion that are available to us here in ātmaprīksha. Non-doing is the essence of joy. In nidrā, you are utterly in non-doing state. The limbs are resting, the talk centre is resting, the jñānendriyā-s - the sense organs are resting, and the mind is also resting. There is no activity at any functional centre whatsoever. And that must be the cause for Ānanda.
If the constituents of nidrā are these and nidrā is a very happy state, then the constituents of nidrā must be responsible for that happiness. That is simple logic. What are the constituents of nidrā? na kañcana kāmaṁ kāmayatē na kañcana svapnaṁ paśyati - न कञ्चन कामं कामयते न कञ्चन स्वप्नं पश्यति । There are neither thoughts nor emotions. You have a definition of sukha once again. It is proved by experience that involvement is not sukha whereas non involvement is sukha. If the world were to appreciate this point, the whole civilization, takes a new turn. You don’t require anything for joy. You are yourselves a stuff of joy. When you stay in non-doing state, the triad- knower, knowing and the known - have completely collapsed. The knower himself is out of scene, but still exists
That’s the entire lesson you draw from the nidrā experience. So what is the lesson? This is how I put it: if you can incorporate the qualities of nidrā into jāgṛt, you have the solution. Commenting on Nidrā, Bṛhahādaraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4-3-22) goes to poetic heights. It explains as to what happens to everyone during the phase of Nidrā.
अत्र माता अमाता भवति पिता अपिता भवतिस्तेनो अस्तेनो भवति भ्रूणहा अभ्रूणहा भवति अनन्वागतं पुण्येन अनन्वागतं पापेन तीर्णो हि तदा सर्वाञ्छोकान्हृदयस्य भवति.
Atra mātā amātā bhavati pitā apitā bhavati stēnō astēnō bhavati bhrūṇahā abhrūṇahā bhavati ananvāgataṁ puṇyēna ananvāgataṁ pāpēna tīrṇō hi tadā sarvān-śōkān-hr̥dayasya bhavati.
Aatra māta amāta bhavati. What are you here in jagṛt? You are burdened with your motherhood. Oh, this child doesn’t eat. This child overeats. He is indifferent to studies. He is a bookworm.Whereas in nidrā, she is rid of the motherly cares.
Pitā apitā bhavati. The father has come out of his responsibilities, rid of his fatherly responsibilities, fatherly cares, and fatherly duties.
Steno a-steno bhavati -Similarly you are also free from your wrong side. The thief has lost his thief hood.
Bhrūṇaḥ abhrūṇaḥ bhavati - Killing the embryo in those days was a very big sin. A sinner who kills the embryo has come out of his sin in sleep.
Ananvāgatam puṇyena- ananvāgatam pāpena - not pursued by your virtuous calls, not pursued by your sinful calls.
Tīrṇo bhavati tadā sarvān śokān hṛdayasya- You have crushed the ocean of duḥkha. All possible worries, anxieties, lurking inside the mind have disappeared. One has come out of them.
एषाऽस्य परमा गतिरेषाऽस्य परमा सम्पदेषोऽस्य परमो लोक एषोऽस्य परम आनन्द एतस्यैवाऽऽनन्दस्यान्यानि भूतानि मात्रामुपजीवन्ति॥
Ēṣaḥ-asya paramā gatiḥ-ēṣāḥ-asya paramā sampadḥ-ēṣaḥ-asya paramō lōka ēṣaḥ-asya parama ānanda ētasya-ēva-ānandasya-anyāni bhūtāni mātrām-upajīvanti. (Bṛh. Upa. 4-3-32)
- This is your happiest state.
- This is the highest state to be achieved.
- This is your highest way of existence.
- All the creatures in the universe sustain and survive only because of an iota of this bliss.
By taking a lesson from this one and living rest of your life in obedience to this truth, how can you be miserable?
May be a very dreadful proposition, but that’s the true proposition for complete happiness. That’s the essence of vedānta. The truth cannot change to your convenience. Your value systems must be revised in conformity with the truth. It cannot be the other way because truth is truth. If a person appreciates this logic, he comes out of duḥkha. What one has to do from now on? Nothing can touch one because one can afford to be that way. What prevents one from being that way in the wakeful state? Although nearly half of your lifetime is spent in nidrā state, you are unwilling to evaluate that. What a tragedy with man!-wonders the śāstra. You have the answer to the problem of suffering this way.
Nobody can say that he got lost when he went in to sleep and a new person came on the scene when he woke up. That would be absurd, as it is a continuity of the self. In nidrā there is only prāṇa vyāpāra. Karmendriyā-s are not functioning, Jñānendriyā-s are not functioning, talk centre is not working, and Citta is not doing anything. For this reason one must be happy. Whatever are the ingredients of Nidrā must be the factors responsible for that joy, obviously. Nidrā is non dual and blissful state. It is any body’s admission. Thus a no mind state is the common factor we have arrived at while doing the Sukha-Duḥkha Parīkṣā as well as Nidrā Parīkṣā.
Q. Can a man ever be zero inside?
A. It is a very intricate question. I have a model for liberation, where I have the convenience of calculus language. There is nothing like a zero function at all to me. Mukti is not ‘non doing’ utterly - we both agree that anything less than one divided by ten to the power of ten is negligible. If the softness obtained is of that order, then it is liberation. Each R̥ṣi is liberated, if there is a line of activity less than that permitted agreed line. Then, nothing bothers them and they are comfortable. But there can be spandana vyatyāsa. But, the spandana is so less that they don’t complain at all. So, that is mukti. This is the calculus language I worked out. According to me, this is a better method of understanding mukti. Then you can explain how a feeble spandana-Īśvara, otherwise a non doing thing, start creating. If Brahma is defined as utter non doing, then the question arises as to how can doing come from non doing? How can opposite qualities be related in the janya-janaka sambandha? How can darkness produce light? How can non motion produce motion? This is the difficulty with the classical model.
Whereas in our model Brahma is not a total inactive principle (avyāpāra) as the tradition puts it. But it is atyalpa spandana that can magnify. You see the convenience of Calculus which gave me happier position in understanding Brahma. I suggested this to many scientists who appreciated this model. Bhṛgu is different from persons like Dūrvāsa with regard to their levels of citta samādhāna but they are beyond duḥkha because their citta had achieved an optimum degree of samādhāna. Even with us if there is an increase of ten percent of the samādhāna, we stop complaining. Twenty percent samādhāna makes us to drop the complaining nature. That means, time is beautiful, life is beautiful, time passes sweetly, then there could be a state of mahā samādhi. Rāmakṛṣṇa is different from Ramaṇa. Rāmakṛṣṇa was more participating, but Ramaṇa was the opposite of it. He would talk only when a question was put. Otherwise there was total silence. So, hundreds of mukthā-s could be accommodated with variation in their levels of vyāpāra within this calculus model. Nidra, the non doing state of mind is glorified in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4-3-19) as follows:
तद्यथास्मिन्नाकाशे श्येनो वा सुपर्णो वा विपरिपत्य श्रान्तः संहत्य पक्षौ संलयायैव घ्रियते एवमेवायं पुरुष एतस्मा अन्ताय धावति यत्र सुप्तो न कंचन कामं कामयते न कंचन स्वप्नं पश्यति ॥
Tat-yathā-asmin-ākāśē śyēnō vā suparṇō vā viparipatya śrāntaḥ saṁhatya pakṣau saṁlayāyaiva ghriyatē ēvam ēva ayaṁ puruṣa ētasmā antāya dhāvati yatra suptō na kaṁcana kāmaṁ kāmayatē na kaṁcana svapnaṁ paśyati.
It explains this aspect very beautifully, śyeno vā_ suparṇo vā, Viparipatya - a big bird, flying and flying and flying … śrāntaḥ- tired of beating its wings, svanīḍam _viśati - wings reaches to rest in its nest, and becomes empty.
Śankara in his Bhāṣya on the above comments as:
यथा जागृत्स्वप्नयोः जीवस्य पक्षिणः परिपतनजः इव श्रमः भवति । तत् श्रम अपनुत्तये संसारधर्म विलक्षणम्
क्रियाकारकफल आयास शून्यम् स्वामात्मानम् विशति ।
Yathā jāgṛt svapnayoḥ jīvasyapakśinaḥ paripatanjaḥ iva śramaḥ bhavati.
tat śrama apanuttayē saṁsāradharma vilakṣaṇam kriyākārakaphala āyāsa śūnyam svāmātmānam viśati.
Yatha- like wise,
jāgṛt svapnayoḥ- jīvasya pakṣiṇaḥ paripatanajaḥ iva śramaḥ bhavati- in the very same way , this Jīva, this sufferer both in the jāgṛt and svapna phase always doing and cognising, emotionally becomes tired.
tat śrama apanuttaye samsāra dharma vilakṣaṇam kriyā kāraka phala āyāsa śoonyam swam ātmānam viśati.–to come out of this toiling phase, one comes to the sleep state.
How apt is this comparison! What a metaphor! While we think that we should give value to work or achievement, Śāstra says that one must give value to the sleep phase without which man would have become lunatic, crazy, if he were not alternating between these two phases. This nidrā phase is the recouping phase. You have a dip into this ānanda, strengthened by that, reinforced by that, refreshed by that, you are able to work again. What is the lesson? Even in the wakeful state, if you can always be that way as if you are untouched by details and you are in that expansive state with leisurely activity, then you have attained peace of mind.
Further, nobody can say that he was non-existent in the sleep phase and a new person came the next day. That would be the most ridiculous conclusion. In fact, at one place if one has left his pen or his spectacles, next day he gets them back from the same place. This is the continuity of existence. The fellow who was non-existent for all practical purposes, during nidrā, the very same fellow is there for all of us to see the next day.
Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad describes the fourth state-TURĪYA as-
प्रपञ्चोपशमं शान्तं शिवमद्वैतं चतुर्थं मन्यन्ते॥
Prapañca-upaśamaṁ śāntaṁ śivam-advaitaṁ caturthaṁ manyantē. (Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 7)
The end of evolution, peaceful, non-dual is deemed as the fourth state of ‘I’. This fourth state is also called Turīya.
स आत्मा स विज्ञेयः - sa ātmā sa vijñēyaḥ
(Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣat 7)
That is SELF. Why don’t you discover this aspect of You?
You know there are four states of existence viz Jāgṛt, Svapna, Suśupti, and Turīya. Now what is Turīya? Nidrā incorporated into the Jāgṛt phase is Turīya. Turīya is no mystery- na kañcana kāmam kāmayate-no emotions - na kañcana svapnam paśyati- no planning, scheming, thinking - thoughts are absent, emotions are absent. If you are able to bring in the qualities of Nidrā into Jāgṛt phase, you are always happy. Can action go on in such a state is the question. It can very well go on as we do not go away from work. Once you know this point most of you can be in the expansive state which is carefree and unconcerned. This can happen as if it is a reflex action. We do not have to volitionally do anything. While walking you do not say next step, it just goes on sequential, although bulk of me is resting. Co-existence of the nidrā dharma inside and vyāpāra outside is possible. Then you are a Jeevan Mukta. Then your efficiency increases. A Vedāntin is more efficient in his work. Arjuna became more efficient, Rāma came back to kingship. This is what we refer to as- sākṣī bhāva, udāsina bhāva, anāsakti bhāva. Activities can go on without involvement. You take the attitude of ‘let go’, but functions can go on. While talking of three guṇās and their divisions Lord Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna in Bhagavad-Gīta (3-28)
तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः।
गुणागुणेषु वर्तन्त इति मत्वा न सज्जत ॥
Tattvavittu mahābāhō guṇa-karma-vibhāgayōḥ,
guṇā-guṇēṣu vartanta iti matvā na sajjata.
He, who knows about the classification of the Guṇā-s and their respective functions, understands that the qualities of sense organs move amidst qualities of sense objects is not attached to the actions.
I can talk, I can transact, and I can walk ten miles, while the citta is zero. A mechanical work does not require brain or the thinking portion. Śāstra says manage it that way, life will be beautiful, charming, and every one can do that.
How Nidrā is different from Turīya? The answer is, in Nidrā you are not liberated, you are not yet Brahman, you are not pure ātman, because you come back from nidrā into jāgṛt Avastha. That means the forces operating in Jāgṛt must be there in the seed form in Nidrā. (Māṇ. Upa.1-Kā.13)
द्वैतस्याग्रहणं तुल्यमुभयोः प्राज्ञतुर्ययोः।
बीजनिद्रायुतः प्राज्ञः सा च तुर्ये न विद्यते॥
Dvaitasya-agrahaṇaṁ tulyam-ubhayōḥ prājña- turyayōḥ,
Bīja-nidrāyutaḥ prājñaḥ sā ca turyē na vidyatē.
Non-cognition of duality is common to the Prājñā and Turīya. But Prājñā is associated with the causal state of sleep, and that does not exist in Turīya. This is the difference between Nidrā and turīya. Nidrā carries the Jāgṛt forces in a seed form, in a potential form, in latent form. They are not eliminated. Gauḍapāda makes a beautiful point. Though non doing is a common factor between nidrā and turīya, there is a difference. There is a residue in nidrā which is absent in turīya. That is why you come back. All the forces are there intact, like hunger, jealousy, etc., and none of the forces were eliminated there; they are existing in seed form.
When you go to nidrā, you have not tackled the forces at all. It is possible to tame and dissolve consciously the forces by softening. One can soften even the respiration rate. In nidrā there is cittalaya and in turīya there is cittanāśa. It has taken the form of mere vibrations instead of specific vibrations like seeing, listening, talking and all that has become mere prāṇic activity. A specific form is replaced by a general prāṇic activity. In turīya, even the general prāṇic activity is diffused. You diffuse into everywhereness, there is no spandana at all, that is the difference – This is known as cittanāśa.
Q. Nature has given all the means of comfort for people to enjoy and people in turn help the nature to sustain the balance. Thus I feel it is necessary for one to use them and one cannot sit quiet without using them. What do you think?
A. That is our notion, that’s our belief. But, what do you say to this experience which is part of you? How can you turn this down? What’s your logic? It is so glaring that nothing extraordinary is required for one to be in a state of ānanda. If this is the problem with you, then the śāstra says that this human problem is due to lack of parīkṣā having made wrong conclusions about things you are suffering.
Q. But we are not ready yet as we are bound by vāsanās?
A. Yes, all that we accept.
Q. But the quietness what you try to achieve makes you more inert, more lazy and all that?
A. Remove that aspect. If you can bring the qualities of nidrā into jāgṛt, you are a liberated person. But you are asking me a funny question - Do you want me to be continuously in sleep? The answer is – be consciously indifferent (sleep like state) to all the external activities in the wakeful state. The normal sleep which is not under your control is defective in the sense you have no mastery over that. You cannot wilfully go to sleep. Something drags you to sleep where as you can wilfully sit and empty the mind in the jāgṛt phase. These are the words for that- Conscious sleep- Volitional sleep - Ajādya nidrā as śāstra puts it - awakened nidrā – Jāgrannidrā - calculated sleep - self managed sleep. The indriyā-s are not corrupted. They are readily available, but you don’t put them to work. Every person has to find out for him or herself the level at which he/she can practice this depending on the maturity of his/her sādhana, but first of all we have to appreciate the Indian thinkers for the announcement of this truth. Can any scientific mind object to the conclusions made out in the Upaniṣad-s?
**Q.**How can we differentiate between Bhogasukha and nidrā?
A. That is exactly the Indian way of thinking. You are prepared to exchange any bhogasukha to nidrā. Suppose we look at an alternative for one to be happy. Just sit quiet with the innocence of a child, with nothingness inside. Śankara, commenting on happiness in the Sādhana Pañcaka, (Śloka 5) concludes very clearly:
एकान्ते सुखमास्यताम् परतरे चेतस्समाधीयताम् ।
Ēkāntē sukham-āsyatām paratarē cētaḥ- samādhīyatām.
Very simple. Just sit wherever you are. Just sit and empty the mind. Ēkānte sukahamāsyatāṁ, means simply stay put. Difficult, I agree. Can we find fault with this value system and with this hint from the Upaniṣads for global civilization? Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen recently said that the poorest country in this part of the world is the happiest one because they apply this vedāntic finding. There are statistical rigorous scientific findings. So where does happiness lie?
**Q.**Why was this truth which is so simple to adopt was hibernating these many years? Why has it not seen the light of the day?
A. Very good question. Because, it is difficult to follow/practice. The point one has to bear in mind is that the truth must be accepted. Secondly, one has to enter into sādhana phase. Life’s value systems must change. Life’s habits must change. That’s the important question. Don’t think that in India everybody is this way. That’s making a wrong conclusion. Most of the people in that country also are after materialism. Everyone in that country, given a chance wants to come to America because this is a country of plenty. But the society at large must appreciate this wisdom and they should be the path setters. If the intellectuals were to appreciate and adopt them in their lifestyle, then the ordinary people will automatically follow. Mahājanāḥ yena gatāḥ sa eva panthāḥ - **महाजना: येन गता: स एव पन्था:।**The average person treads on the path set by noble people.
We shall take up another prakriya, Pancakośa Viveka, in our next lecture and see how it takes us to deeper levels of understanding our true nature.