I ( the viswa “waking state”) am asleep in Ignorance due to Maya since Beginningless!!
When did the Ignorance started??? Gaudapadacharya says ! it is from beginningless ….
Infact , all the ignorance is Beginningless !! How??
If I ask you - "Do You know German?", suppose you don't know German then you will say , "No , I don't Know German". So, You are ignorant about German!
Now again , If I ask you "Since when you are ignorant about German" ??
You say " since my birth I do not know German ! oh so, before your birth you knew German...? NO!! Hence You are ignorant about German from (अनादि) Beginningless..!!
But , Ignorance has an end … When does it end ??When we take up a book and start learning German!.
Similarly, Ignorance is actually Beginningless (अनादि ), but It can end . When knowledge comes it Ends !
अनादिमायया सुप्तो (anādimāyayā supto) – You cannot say since when you are in Ignorance!
यदा जीवः प्रबुध्यते (jīvaḥ prabudhyate) – when the jīvaḥ (जीवः ) awakens (प्रबुध्यते ) {Buddha came from here }
अजमनिद्रमस्वप्नमद्वैतं बुध्यते तदा ( ajamanidramasvapnamadvaitaṃ budhyate tadā ) – Then I realise
I am अजम (Ajam) i.e Unborn
I am anidram (अनिद्रम ) i.e Sleepless (without sleep) —-> referring that I am not prājñaḥ
I am asvapnam ( अस्वप्नम ) i.e. without dream —-> referring that I am not the Taijasa
I am advaitaṃ (अद्वैत) i.e. there is no second reality apart from me , I am the Viswa in waking state , I am the taijasa in the dream state and I am the prājñaḥ in the deep sleep state. Where “Viswa” , “Taijasa” and “prājñaḥ” are all appearances but the reality in all is “Turiya”
Another big questions comes in Mind is after realisation ,will this world disappear ??? will there be body after realisation?? will the body live after realisation ??
“nivṛtteḥ sarvaduḥkhānām / निवृत्तेः सर्वदुःखानामी” – ‘You’ the Turiya are beyond all the dukkha’s (sadness). Right now we feel that ” I am in Pain” but one who has realized Turiya will say -” I am the witness of the pain in the body or mind”.
e.g. Same sunlight falls on the ditch , it falls on the ganga river and it falls on the Himalayas . But it is not polluted by the ditch or purified by the Ganga river, it illumines . Same way ‘Turiya’ the pure consciousness which we are illumines the sufferings of the waking world , nightmare or good dreams of dream world and nothingness of deep sleep.
īśānaḥ prabhuravyayaḥ / इशानः प्रभुरव्ययः – ‘You’ the ‘Turiya’ is God and it is Unchanging . Turiya is witness to all states
अद्वैतः सर्वभावानां देवस्तुर्यो विभुः स्मृतः– ‘You’ the Consciousness , you are the non dual (Advaita) with all the existing things . There is no second independent reality apart from Turiya (pure consciousness)
न अन्तःप्रज्ञम्। न वहिःप्रज्ञम्। न उभयतःप्रज्ञम्। न प्रज्ञानधनम्। न प्रज्ञम्। न अप्रज्ञम्। अदृष्टम् अव्यवहार्यम् अग्राह्यम् अलक्षणम् अचिन्त्यम् अव्यपदेश्यम् एकात्मप्रत्यसारं प्रपञ्चोपशमम् शान्तं शिवम् अद्वैतं चतुर्थं मन्यन्ते विवेकिनः । सः आत्मा सः विज्ञेयः ॥
Anvaya Transliteration
na antaḥprajñam | na vahiḥprajñam | na ubhayataḥprajñam| na prajñānadhanam| na prajñam| na aprajñam| adṛṣṭam avyavahāryam agrāhyam alakṣaṇam acintyam avyapadeśyam ekātmapratyasāraṁ prapañcopaśamam śāntaṁ śivam advaitaṁ caturthaṁ manyante ( vivekinaḥ )| saḥ ātmā saḥ vijñeyaḥ ||
Expanation of the Mantra
न अन्तःप्रज्ञम् / na antaḥprajñam – ‘YOU’ the ‘Turiya’ are not the dreamer
न वहिःप्रज्ञम् / na vahiḥprajñam – ‘YOU” the ‘Turiya’ are not the waker .
This means You are not the person named as Mr. SO & SO but “YOU” are the consciousness or Turiya illumining this temporary appearance of physcial body and mind in the waking state .
न उभयतःप्रज्ञम् / na ubhayataḥprajñam – ‘YOU’ the ‘TURIYA’ are not something in between waker or dreamer i.e state which is inbetween waking and dream .
न प्रज्ञानधनम् / na prajñānadhanam – ‘YOU’ the ‘TURIYA’ are not the Sleeper i.e. the person who is in a Deep Sleep or Sushupti state .
न प्रज्ञम्। न अप्रज्ञम् / na prajñam| na aprajñam – ‘YOU’ the ‘TURIYA” you are niether any kind of omniscient God ( Bhagwan or Ishwar) and niether you are Sentient ( जड़ वस्तु ) .
अदृष्टम् / adṛṣṭam – ‘YOU” the ‘TURIYA” is not an object of our five sense organs. It is not the subject of normal vision. You cannot see , smell , taste or hear the ‘TURIYA’
अव्यवहार्यम् / avyavahāryam – ‘YOU” the ‘TURIYA’ is not with in transaction. ( Transaction means usable)i.e. pure Consciousness is not an object which can be talked about , seen , felt and used . It is not transactable it is अव्यवहार्यम् . But, remember it is the ground source of all Vyavahar . Without this ‘Turiya’ none of this (touch, smell, see ,taste) can occur. In the light of Turiya everything is illumined.
अग्राह्यम् / agrāhyam – ‘YOU’ the ‘TURIYA” cannot be grasped . It is not the subject of the panch karma indriyas i.e You cannot hold ‘Turiya’ into your hands and you also cannot walk to a turiya just like you walk to pilgrimage . It is not possible to walk to Turiya.
अलक्षणम् / alakṣaṇam – ‘YOU’ the ‘TURIYA’ cannot be inferred.
For e.g if we say ‘the road is wet’ , then what do you infer that there was rain earlier thats why the road is wet . Similarly , There is fire on the hill because I could see smoke coming out of the hill . here there is a relation between smoke and fire .So, if i see smoke i can “infer” that there was fire earlier due to which there is smoke . But , it is not possible to infer TURIYA. Here ‘alakṣaṇam’ means there is no sign by which you can infer to TURIYA.
अचिन्त्यम् / acintyam – ‘YOU’ the ‘TURIYA’ cannot think about it . But, remember the opposite also holds – whatever you think about ,is illumined by the ‘TURIYA’.
अव्यपदेश्यम् / avyapadeśyam – It literally means you cannot name “TURIYA”. It cannot be named.
Shankarayacharya tried to explain this that why “TURIYA” cannot be named –
Where can we use language???there are 5 areas where language can be used but none of the 5 applies to the “TURIYA”. as mentioned below
We could use language if there is some species (जाति) .i.e if some object belongs to a class you could use language like e.g ‘COW’ as we know the characterstics of the cow we could match it with the set and say it belongs to that set . But there is NO class for “TURIYA” . it cannot be part of a class (जाति).
We could use language if there is some Quality (गुण): If you say ” Give me a Red flower ” you are distinguishing the other flowers from ‘Red Flower ‘ by the quality of its colour red. But You cannot say that ” TURIYA” is red or any other colour. “TURIYA” is beyond all quality it is supposed to be called as Nirgunam (निर्गुण).
We could use language if there is some Action (क्रिया) : For e.eg if you are saying ” Call the cook ” how did you use language , by the function of that person. But “TURIYA” has no activity , it is niShkriyaM (निष्क्रियं)
We could use language if there is some Relationship (संबंध) : e.g if you say call the teacher , that means there is a student teacher relation, here we are talking where we can address one as a student and another as teacher . But , with ‘TURIYA” there is no second apart from it , it is the only unchanging reality .
We could use language if there is Convention ( रूढि ) : e.g if you say ” this persons name is prakash”, to call somebody you have to point out to that person i.e. apart from all other objects this person is now on called as prakash . But you cannot point out “TURIYA” that way .
Hence ” LANGUAGE” cannot operate for “TURIYA”
एकात्मप्रत्यसारं / ekātmapratyasāraṁ – ‘Ek’ means one , ‘Atma’ means atma, ‘Prataya’ means congnition , ‘Saram’ means essence . The feeling of “Atmapratya” or I .
i.e. ” If you follow the essence of ‘I” ness (Conscious I in all states ) you shall reach “TURIYA”.
प्रपञ्चोपशमम् / prapañcopaśamam – “TURIYA” is completely untouched by the Jagrit Prapanch ( Waking state ), Swapna Prapanch ( dream state) and Sushupti ( deepsleep ) even though all these three states are illumined by the TURIYA.
शान्तं / śāntaṁ – TURIYA is absolutely Peaceful and ever undisturbed . There is no world to disturb the TURIYA. That is the reality of TURIYA.
शिवम् / śivam – Shivam here means TURIYA is anand swaroopam . It is full of Joy.
अद्वैतं / advaitaṁ – “Advaitam ” means non dual , because there is nothing apart from TURIYA , Just as GOLD is advaitam with respect to Bangle , necklace and Ring .
चतुर्थं मन्यन्ते विवेकिनः / caturthaṁ manyante ( vivekinaḥ ) : Foolish people think there is a 4th reality apart from remaining 3 but actually “TURIYA” is the only reality in whose light the entire game of the waking world ( Jagrit state ) , Dream world ( Swapna state ) and Deep Sleep ( Sushupti ) is illumined .
सः आत्मा सः विज्ञेयः / saḥ ātmā saḥ vijñeyaḥ :
“saḥ ātmā” means that, the answer to the question “who am i” is TURIYA .
“saḥ vijñeyaḥ” means it need to be realised . Just by listening about TURIYA wont work we need to realise it as well.
