Mandukya Karika
The Mandukya Karika is a commentary in verse on the Mandukya Upanishad that was most likely written by Gaudapada in the 6th century .
etymology
The Sanskrit term Mandukya Karika is derived from maņḍukya ( माण्डुक्य ), the title of the Mandukya Upanishad, and from the feminine noun kārikā ( कारिका ) - doctrine in verse form .
Authorship and position of the text
It was probably Gaudapada who wrote or compiled the Mandukya Karika. Some scholars, such as Karl Harrington Potter , however, because of its textual inhomogeneities, doubt that the work was written by a single author.
The Mandukya Karika is a precise explanation of the Mandukya Upanishad, which for its part only consists of 12 stanzas and thus represents one of the shortest Upanishads, but nevertheless has great depth. Even before Adi Shankara's time, the Mandukhya Upanishad was regarded as Śruti , but it was not of great importance. Only later did it gain a higher reputation and was even regarded as the essence of the Upanishads.
The Mandukhya Karika is the oldest systematic treatise on Advaita Vedanta. But there are still older writings with advaita standpoints. According to Nakamura, the Karika was not only venerated in the Advaita school within Hinduism, but also held in high esteem in the Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita . Generally speaking, Advaita scholars valued Gaudapada's writings, but they were not regarded as Śruti. Scholars such as Ramanuja and Madhva , who are not counted as part of the Advaita, did, however, regard the first chapter as Śruti.
content
The Mandukya Karika (sometimes also Gaudapada Karika) consists of a total of 215 individual verses, which are arranged in four chapters. The first chapter contains 29 verses (with 12 verses from the Mandukya Upanishad) and is titled Agama Prakarana (Traditional Doctrine). The second chapter, called Vaitathya Prakarana (Non-Reality), is made up of 38 verses. The third chapter is called Advaita Prakarana (non-duality) and has 48 verses. The fourth chapter, which is very extensive with 100 verses, is entitled Alatasanti Prakarana (The Extinguishing of the Burning Log).
Agama Prakarana - Traditional Doctrine
" बहिष्प्रज्ञो विभुर्विश्वो ह्यन्तःप्रज्ञस्तु तैजसः ।
घनप्रज्ञस्तथा प्राज्ञ एक एव त्रिधा स्मृतः ॥ १॥ "
"Bahiṣprajño vibhurviśvo hyantaḥprajñastu taijasaḥ
ghanaprajñastathā prājña eka eva tridhā smṛtaḥ"
“Vishva (the first quarter) is all pervasive and experiences the gross external things. Taijasa (the second quarter) recognizes the subtle inner states.
Prājña is an agglomeration of consciousness and stands alone under the three states. "
The self residing in the body knows three states of consciousness: waking, sleeping (with dreams) and deep sleep. In the waking state, the self experiences the Vishva , the manifestation of objects visible in the outside world. In the dream state, Taijasa is experienced, internal creations of the mind that appear in dreams. In deep sleep, Prajna , the unpolarized fruits of the heart full of bliss, manifests itself . According to Arvind Sharma, the description of these states in the Mandukya Karika is very similar to comparable descriptions in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and other ancient texts of Hinduism .
In chapters 6 to 9, Gaudapada presents the traditional views of life that prevailed during and before his time. Some claim that the cosmic manifestation is a result of the expansion of the self, others see in it only the magic work of a magical idea. Others believe that they recognize the result of the divine wishful nature in it. For the manifestation of all living beings, kala - time - is occasionally used . In chapter 10 of the Karika a fourth state of consciousness of the self is introduced - Turiya - full of non-duality ( Advaita ), all-pervading, unchangeable and without worries ( Duhkha ). This fourth state of consciousness mentioned by Gaudapada can also be found in chapters 8: 7 to 8:12 of the Chandogya Upanishad , which in turn deals with the four states of waking, dream-filled sleep, deep sleep and the fourth state beyond deep sleep. Gaudapada goes on to explain that the states of the self, Vishva and Taijasa, can act as a source of cause and effect, whereas Prajna is pure cause and Turiya is neither. The waking and dreaming states lead to awareness, errors and unconsciousness. The duality observable in the world is nothing else than Maya (illusion), where in reality only non-duality exists.
The Agama Prakarana ends with an explanation of the syllable Om , its symbolic content for Brahman and for the Atman , which is in the heart of all living beings.
"Om is bliss
Om is Brahman,
the higher as the lower,
as well as Ishvara, who dwells in all hearts,
immoderate and infinite,
the end of all duality
pure bliss"
Vaitathya Prakarana - non-reality
" वैतथ्यं सर्वभावानां स्वप्न आहुर् मनीषिणः ।
अन्तःस्थानात् तु भावानां संवृतत्वेन हेतुना ॥ १॥ "
"Vaitathyaṁ sarvabhāvānāṁ svapna āhur manīṣiṇaḥ
antaḥsthānāt tu bhāvānāṁ saṁvṛtatvena hetunā"
"Wise people recognize the non-reality of all impressions experienced in dreams, all of which have their starting point inside (the body), in a restricted space"
In the second chapter, Gaudapada takes the view that dream objects have no reality during sleep, since the dreaming never visits the places of which he dreams. Whatever he may dream he will leave behind when he wakes up. This view is also found in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
In verses 4 to 6 of Chapter 2, Gaudapada also takes the point of view that, similar to the dream state, the actual reality is hidden from the person even in the waking state: everything that is no longer present at the beginning and at the end has nothing in between Existence.
When we sleep we have the impression that objects in the outside world that we dream about are real, whereas states inside are viewed as unreal. In the waking state, however, both are recognized as unreal. Thus it is asserted in verses 10 to 15 that whatever we experience as real and unreal in the waking state is only a superimposition of the ultimate truth. Gaudapada is well aware that such an assertion raises the question of who is imagining the unreality of the internal and the external, who is actually experiencing it and who is only thinking about it? In the section on the Atman (self, soul) Gaudapada will then give an answer to this.
Gaudapada continues that while we are grasping objects we perceive and think. However, this process says nothing about the nature of reality and unreality, nor does our fear of a piece of rope in the dark that we mistakenly believe to be a snake. According to Gaudapada we construct realities and believe that the Jivatman is made up of things like Prana (breath), Loka (world), Deva (gods), Bhoktr (connoisseur), Bhojya (edible), Sukshma (subtle), Sthula (gross) , Murta (material), Amurta (immaterial) and so on.
Gaudapada also says that we imagine things with our mind, that the mind can invent things and then destroy them again. Yet none of this is different from the Atman. All mental constructs create dualities in our imagination, they are illusory (Maya). The ultimate truth is without duality, it is the Atman (verses 33 to 36). Those who have learned to master and transcend all attachments, to overcome all fears and anger, are beyond all dualities, know their self and are firmly anchored in their inner non-duality. Individuals who have become wise in this way do not care about the praise of others, are beyond all social ceremonies and are homeless wanderers, since they have realized the inner and also the outer truth in themselves (verses 36 to 38). They stay true to their inner nature at every turn.
Advaita Prakarana - non-duality
“Obligations of religious worship only arise for people
who believe that just because something is new (born)
they must be suspicious.
I will therefore go into the
opposite state in which (...) "
Gaudapada opens the third chapter with a criticism of devotional worship of all kinds and claims that this leads to the assumption that the Brahman-Atman has arisen again. Rather, he claims that the non-dual Brahman-Atman (self) only produces jivas (individual souls) out of an apparent duality, but remains unaffected even during this process. To illustrate this fact, he uses the analogy of the pot and the space surrounding it. The self resembles the surrounding space and the jivas resembles the space enclosed in the pot. If the pot is destroyed, the space enclosed in it unites with the surrounding outside space. Consequently, the Jivas are now one with the Self again.
Gaudapada refers to the Upanishads such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which also teach that one's own Atman (self) is identical to the Atman in other living beings and that all these Atmans ultimately merge into Brahman. Gaudapada admits that some Upanishads admit a difference between Brahman and the individual soul - but this is only due to the fact that these passages in the text bring out this apparent difference, since they believe in an apparently separate creation. In reality there is no separate creation of souls since, according to Gaudapada, they are identical with Brahman. One should not misconstrue passages for spiritual instruction. In verses 3:17 to 3:18, Gaudapada admits that followers of dualism disagree with his view. The old passages of the text give the duality in the realm of the phenomenal world a justification, whereas non-duality actually represents the ultimate reality.
Verses 3:33 to 3:36 explain that without conceptual constructs, consciousness is unborn and identical to the object of its consciousness - the Brahman. An unborn consciousness is not a mere metaphor, it is absolutely real. Such a consciousness shines without being clouded by fear, far from any words and thoughts, calm and motionless, full of equanimity and light. This quality of inner contactless concentration (Asparsha Yoga) is difficult to achieve even for most experienced yogis, as even they are distracted from this fearless bliss by their own fear. This awareness of indescribable inner calm can only be attained through self-reflection, through understanding, and by giving up our attachment to frustration (duhkha) and pleasure (sukha).
Alatasanti Prakarana - The extinguishing of the burning log
The last chapter of Gaudapada Karika is written in a completely different style than the first three. It opens with a praise of all the most outstanding of all people, through their awareness of non-duality comparable to cosmic space, free from self-contradictions and confusion and equipped with an understanding of the Dharma . Verses 3 to 10 repeat content from earlier chapters with different wording. Verses 11 to 13 quote the key position of Samkhya on duality, examine it carefully and then ask the question why and why should a cause be everlasting? It is also shown that the Samkhya premise that cause is born as its effect leads to an infinite regression and is therefore not convincing. The Mandukya Karika then deals with the Buddhist theory of Ajativada (non-emergence). Like the key position of Samkhya, it is examined in three ways. The premisses that do not arise only make sense if neither the starting point nor the end of a thing are known. But since we know the starting point of whatever products, the ajativada premise does not apply in this case. In addition, the premise makes the mistake of sadhyasama in its argumentation, ie it uses examples that have yet to be proven. Thirdly, in verses 29 to 41 it is asserted that neither samsara nor mukti (liberation) has a beginning or an end, because everything that is born has an end and everything that is unborn is endless.
In verses 45 to 52 it is claimed that only consciousness (Vijnana) has a reality and compares this with a log before and during the burning. Analogously to this, we construct or dismantle our state of consciousness. Verses 53 through 56 assert that there are neither causes nor effects and repeats that consciousness alone has real existence. Everything is fleeting, nothing from eternity and everything by nature has no beginning. (Verses 57 to 60)
Verses 61 to 81 repeat passages in the text on the subject of the four states from previous chapters in order to underpin the premises about impermanence and non-emergence. Clinging to the non-real causes desire, worry (duhkha) and fear, whereas letting go of such states leads to samadhi . Verses 87 to 89 introduce three forms of understanding: Laukika (usually, recognizes object and subject as real), Shuddha laukika (purified, knowledge per se is considered real, but objects not) and Lokottara (located above the mundane , neither cognition nor objects are recognized as real).
In verses 90 to 100 Agrayana , the vehicle for the knowledge process, is introduced. The text explains that all dharmas are beginningless and indistinguishable and consist only of consciousness. Only inexperienced people see duality, whereas wise people only see non-duality and an undifferentiated reality that is difficult to understand. The last verses of chapter 4 add that the Buddha's teaching is that consciousness does not affect the dharmas. Unfortunately, the Buddha himself said nothing about consciousness or Dharma!
Dating
According to Nakamura, the first three chapters should represent an older substrate. Chapter 3 was largely completed between 400 and 500. Chapter 1 was estimated to have been completed between 300 and 400. Chapter 2 is between Chapter 1 and Chapter 3. Chapter 4 is more recent and was probably written mostly between 400 and 600.
further reading
- Dvivedi, Manilal N .: The Mandukyopanishad: With Gaudapada's Karikas and the Bhashya of Sankara . Jain Publishing Company, 2003.
- Fox, Douglas: Dispelling the Illusion . SUNY Press, Albany 1993.
- Jones, Richard H .: Gaudapada: Advaita Vedanta's First Philosopher . Jackson Square Books, New York 2014.
- King, Richard: Early Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism: The Mahayana Context of the Gaudapadiya-Karika . SUNY Press, 1995.
Web link
- The Mandukya Upanishad / Mandukya Karika, Shankara's Commentary and Anandagiri's Tika Translated by Swami Nikhilananda, as an online ebook
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nakamura, Hajime: A History of Early Vedanta Philosophy. Part Two . Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, Delhi 2004.
- ^ Arvind Sharma: Sleep as a State of Consciousness in Advaita Vedanta . State University of New York Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0-7914-8430-2 , pp. 43-45 .
- ^ PT Raju: Structural Depths of Indian Thought . State University New York Press, 1985, ISBN 978-0-88706-139-4 , pp. 32-33 .
- ↑ Potter, Karl. H .: Gaudapada . In: Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Advaita Vedānta up to Śaṃkara and his pupils . Volume 3. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1981, ISBN 81-208-0310-8 , pp. 103-114 .
- ↑ RD Karmarkar: Gaudapada Karika . Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona 1953, p. 15–17 with footnotes, 77–84 .