Atman is Sat-Chit-Ananda by Swami Sivananda

Atman is Sat-Chit-Ananda

Divine Life Society Publication: Atman is Sat-Chit-Ananda by Swami Sivananda

Atman is Sat

Atman is Sat. That which exists in the past, present and future, which has no beginning, middle and end, which is unchanging, which is not conditioned in time, space and causation, which exists during Jagrat, Svapna and Sushupti, which is of the nature of one homogeneous essence (Sada Ekarasa, Sada Ekarupa) is Sat. This is found in Atman. Srutis emphatically declare: Sat only was prior to the evolution of this universe.

Our common experience, rather innate inherent feeling, that we never were not and that we never will cease to be, even though our physical bodies may disappear, clearly proves that Atman always exists. In reply to the question whether we are in this world or not, it is said by all men: We are here. Do we possess body or not? Yes, we have bodies. Whence came this body? There must be some cause for our getting these bodies, for otherwise it cannot be a cause. That cause is Karma. It is only our Karma that gives birth to this body. The Karma which generated this body in the previous birth ought to have been performed in a birth anterior to that and so on backwards ad infinitum. Thus, on enquiry, we find that Karma and body are beginningless, of the nature of an unceasing flood, the source of which is unknown. Karma and body form an ever-receding chain. Therefore it is certain that Atman which subsists and forms the substratum for this chain must also be beginningless by virtue of its nature. Thus it is proved now through inference that Atman is Sat during the past and present periods.

Why can we not say that this body is generated by the works performed in this birth? Just as the seed which can generate a tree cannot generate that tree which is the cause for its own birth, so also the works performed by this body will produce a new body in the next birth but cannot generate this body. Therefore we cannot say that this body has been produced by works done in this birth.

Then another point is, does that Karma which generates the body belong to us or to others? Certainly it is ours. We cannot enjoy in heaven through the Karma of another. If Mr. Krishna does an evil act, he will have to suffer. It cannot affect Mr. Sadasiva. Virtue brings its own reward for the person who does the virtuous action. That is the immutable law of Nature. If one were to go to heaven through the Karma of another man, a servant also should attain heaven through the performance of a sacrifice by a learned Brahmin. All should have attained liberation through the Nirvikalpa Samadhi of Sri Sankara or Dattatreya. But this is not the case. Therefore it is quite obvious that it is only one's own Karma which generates one's own body.

The Karma that we perform now in this birth will not go in vain. Actions are indestructible. They will generate fresh bodies in the future. We will do fresh Karmas with these new bodies which will form the seed for still future bodies and so on forwards ad infinitum. The current of Karma and body will never have an end in the future, but there is an end to Karma through Knowledge of the Self. Karma is completely annihilated by the dawn of Brahma-Jnana. Then comes a cessation of body. Even if Karma is destroyed and future births come to an end, the Atman does not perish. It is ever existent. It is eternal. Karma is of the nature of Avidya. When Karma is destroyed, all causes of pain vanish. Jivahood disappears. The Jiva enjoys the supreme bliss of the Self. Atman always is. It exists in the three periods of time. The world may come and go, but Atman always remains. Pralaya or dissolution is only for this phenomenal universe but not for the changeless, self-existent Atman. The deluge and fire may destroy the illusory names and forms but they cannot touch the imperishable Atman. You can thus clearly understand that Atman is Sat.

Atman Is Chit

Atman is Chit for it shines by itself unaided by any other light and illumines the whole universe by its own light. It may be asked, how can we be said to illumine the whole universe when we are ignorant? The universe is of two kinds, viz., the external and the internal. The external universe embraces the five elements and their properties, sound, touch, form, taste and odour and their combinations of various sorts, various names and forms, qualities, properties, the quintuplicated elements, Brahma's egg, the four kinds of beings, viz., the oviparous or egg-born, the sweat-born, the seed-born and the womb-born. The external universe, however varied and big it may be, is after all only inert matter. It cannot be the object of our perception unless we throw upon it the flood of our consciousness light; it can never know us. It is illuminated by us only. It can never illuminate us.

The internal universe embraces the five Koshas; the three bodies, viz., gross, subtle and causal; the six changes, the six waves, viz., birth, death, hunger, thirst, grief and delusion; the five organs of knowledge; the five organs of actions; the five Pranas; the fourfold Antahkarana, Sankalpa-vikalpa, determination, self-arrogation and enquiry; the three states of consciousness, Jagrat, Svapna and Sushupti; the activities of the Avasthas, Visva, Taijasa, Prajna; Samadhi and fainting; mind, speech and body; friendliness, mercy, complacency and indifference; Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi; the eight kinds of proofs; hatred, jealousy, lust, anger, pride, hypocrisy; Sattva, Rajas and Tamas; pleasure and pain; the four means of salvation; the three kinds of pain; thoughts, feelings, emotions, sentiments. This entire inside world is also inert and cannot be the object of our perception unless we turn upon it our consciousness. We only can know it; it can never know us. The mind is finite and inert. It has no independent intelligence. It is not self-luminous. It shines by borrowing the Light from the source. It is subject to various limitations and changes. It is only an inert product of subtle matter. Atman only is the source of Chit. Mind also is perceived by the Chit. Mind has a beginning and an end.

Gold shines with splendour when molten by fire in a crucible. Whence is this lustre? The fire does not impart this glitter in the gold. It is only an instrument in removing the dross from the gold. When the impurities in the gold are removed by fire, the gold shines in its real state. Even so when the purified mind dispels Ajnana, the Atman shines in its native glory and pristine splendour. The dispelling power of the mind is borrowed from the Atman. It does not belong to the inert mind. It is generally said that a lamp dispels the darkness of a room but the mere lamp-vessel, the oil or the wick have no power in themselves to remove darkness. Nor is Agni (fire) able in itself without the help of the wick, oil and lamp-vessel to dispel darkness. It is only when the fire and the three other materials join together that there arises the name, The light of the lamp, which light destroys darkness. Even so in this lamp of body filled with oil of Karma, the fire of Atman igniting the wick called mind acquires the name of Jiva and removes the darkness of Ajnana. This power is really in Atman and not in others. It is thus clearly proved that Atman is of the nature of Chit.

Atman is Ananda

Ananda is that bliss which is eternal, uncaused and unexcelled. It is the real nature of Atman. The pleasure derived from objects such as flowers, scents, woman, fruits, sweetmeats and others is temporary and subject to Upadhi or vehicle and degree and so it cannot be called the bliss of Atman. We experience the bliss of Atman every day in deep sleep. It is not mere absence of pain that we experience there. It is undoubtedly positive happiness, for we remember on waking up that we slept happily. This indicates the fact of the existence of bliss to Atman in that state. Other objects which make us happy in waking state and in dream are entirely absent in deep sleep. The bliss in deep sleep state is Upadhiless. The bliss of deep sleep is unexcelled, because we eagerly long for it above all pleasures and we dislike those people who stand in the way of our enjoying the happiness from sleep. We prepare soft beds, soft pillows to enjoy this happiness. There are eleven degrees of bliss from that of man to that of Hiranyagarbha. Each of these degrees of bliss is a hundredfold greater than that which precedes it. But the Supreme Bliss of Brahman is degreeless. It is infinite or illimitable as there is nothing superior to it. The bliss of deep sleep is degreeless.

It must not be argued that the bliss of deep sleep cannot be eternal as we do not feel it in waking state or dream. There is that bliss existing in the waking and the dreaming states also. But it is not enjoyed clearly in these states, being veiled by the actions of the internal organs. The experience of the passing, finite sensual pleasures obscures the ever-shining bliss of the Self. Although the smoke produced by the fire obscures the fire, though the fog veils the sun behind it, yet the wise do know that the fire or the sun can never be obscured by them. They see beyond the ashes and the fog, the fire and the sun. Similarly the knower of the Self fully knows that though the finite sensual pleasures caused by flowers, fruits, women and the like seem to veil the inherent infinite bliss of the Atman, they really owe their origin to the latter. They are fully aware that the infinite bliss of Atman shines unobscured and unlimited during all the three periods of time and all the three states of experience. The bliss of Brahman cannot be adequately expressed in words. It has to be felt and realised through direct Self-realisation. Though we experience it, it is not an experience like the enjoyment of an object, because you are then an embodiment of bliss itself. Therefore it is clear that the bliss of the Atman and that of deep sleep, which is no other than the former, are eternal.

The love which the father shows towards the friend of his son is on account of his love towards his own son. The love which the father has for the son is not on account of the friend of his son. Therefore son is dearer than the friend of his son. Similarly wealth and son are dear on account of one's own self. The love which one has for his own Atman is not on account of wealth or son. Therefore Atman is dearer than a son or wealth.

Man loves his wealth immensely. He crosses the seas and goes to the far off climes to earn money. But a son is dearer than the wealth; the father spends a lot of money to get his son out of the jail when he is locked up there for some crime. Therefore, son is dearer than money. Body is dearer than the son; the father even sells his son during famine for the sake of protecting his body. The Indriyas or senses are dearer than the body, because man protects his eyes, ears, nose, etc., when another comes to attack him. Prana or life is dearer than the senses. If the king orders to take away the life of a criminal, the criminal rather prefers to have one of his senses removed rather than give up his life. Therefore life is dearer than the senses. Atman is dearer than the life. When one is suffering from a serious incurable disease, he says: Let my Prana depart from the body. I will be happy. Therefore Atman is dearer than the life itself because it is an embodiment of bliss.

Satchidananda is only a provisional definition of Atman. We see in this phenomenal universe untruth, insentience and pain. The Atman which is distinct from Anatman is therefore characterised for the purpose of easy understanding by us as Sat (real) as opposed to Asat or Anrita (unreal), Chit (consciousness) as opposed to Jada (insentience or unconsciousness) and Ananda (bliss) as opposed to Duhkha (pain). Even these terms, therefore, do not define Atman, but only distinguish it which is beyond definition by words. To define Brahman is to deny Brahman only.

Sat, Chit and Ananda are not three distinct entities. They are not different from one another. They are coeval and coexistent with Atman. Just as water, Jal, Pani signify one and the same thing, so also Sat-Chit-Ananda signify the one Atman. Sat is Chit. Sat is Ananda. Chit is Sat. Chit is Ananda. Ananda is Sat. Ananda is Chit. You cannot split up Sat-Chit-Ananda into three separate entities, just as you cannot separate light, heat and luminosity from fire.

Limitation (Parichheda) is of three kinds: (1) by space (Desa), (2) by time (Kala) and (3) by things (Vastu). Body is limited by space. Atman cannot have any limitation by space, because it is all-pervading and all-full. It transcends space. Atman is eternal. It cannot be limited by time. This body is conditioned in time and so it is perishable. The third kind of limitation, by things (Vastu Parichheda), is of three kinds: (1) Sajatiya, i.e., limitation by the existence of a similar thing, e. g., a tree is limited as a similar tree exists. (2) Vijatiya, e. g., a tree is limited, as a dissimilar stone exists. (3) Svagata limitation by the existence of differentiation in itself, e. g., a tree is limited as it is differentiated into the trunk, leaves, branches, flowers, root, fruits, etc., or a man is limited as he is differentiated into face, trunk, hands, legs, etc. Isvara is Abhinna-nimittopadana Karana. He created this universe out of His own body (Maya), just as the spider creates its web out of its own saliva, and entered Himself into these names and forms. Therefore there cannot be any Sajatiya Bheda such as Jiva-Isvara Bheda. There is no second Atman. There are no two Sats.

This phenomenal universe is not real. It is a mere appearance like snake in the rope or silver in the mother-of-pearl. It has no independent existence. Therefore there cannot be any Vijatiya Bheda.

Sat, Chit and Ananda are one. Atman is partless and homogeneous. The three characteristics Sat, Chit and Ananda are not distinct from one another. The tree can be differentiated into branches, flowers, twigs, etc., for they are finite things limited to particular part, of the tree, but Atman has no parts. Sat is present wherever there are Chit and Ananda. Sat cannot be limited by another Sat for there are no two Sats, nor by Asat for Asat cannot exist. If it is said that Chit is different from Sat, then it will be Asat like the horn of a hare. This sort of assumption will land you in a serious dilemma and confusion. All miseries come to a termination when one realises Atman. Therefore Atman must be an embodiment of bliss. Sat is Chit. Sat is Ananda also.

He who has realised this Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman is a liberated sage. He has nothing more to learn, has nothing more to do, has nothing more to gain. All his desires are gratified. He has obtained all worlds. He is freed from the jaws of death. He attains immortality.

If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?

If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at:

generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org

(Aug 14,2013) The Nature Of Avidya

 The Nature Of Avidya

Divine Life Society Publication: Moksha Gita  by Swami Krishnananda

Avidya is the same as Maya, but only in relation to the individual. Avidya is Malina-Sattwa or Sattwa polluted by Rajas and Tamas. There is a preponderance of distractive activity and stupor in Avidya. The individual is controlled by Avidya whereas Ishwara is not controlled by Maya. The force of Avidya limits the consciousness to such an extent that the individual is falsely made to believe that its body is the entire truth. Not only the body but even the objects and persons fictitiously connected with the interests of the body are also superimposed on the self and their loss or pain is considered as a real loss to the self itself.

There is a terrible degeneration of consciousness in the case of the individual earthly being. It first forgets the Reality; secondly it centres its consciousness in a localised body; thirdly it drags other external bodies also to its self and regards such of the few as are beneficial to its egoistic pleasures as its own self and consequently begins to hate those entities or individuals which are not connected with its interests or which are set in opposition to it. The grosser the form of consciousness, the greater  is the extent of superimposition; the greater the bondage, the lesser is the light and purity; the intenser the passions, the thicker the nescience and the denser the delusion.

The seat of Avidya is the Karana Sarira or the causal body of the soul. There is a dense clouding of Self-awareness due to the agitative vibrations of the intense desire for self-materialization. This is the story of self-imprisonment and acute suffering created by the self-manifestation of egocentric consciousness. The storehouse of the power of illusion and torment is the Anandamaya Kosha or the bliss-sheath of the soul which keeps in stock all the seeds of Samskaras and the psychic effects of all mental actions done by the individual. This stock of impressions maintains the future embodiments of ignorance and agony as an individual in terrestrial life. Avidya is therefore the mother of misery and the cause of the prison-life of the egoistic personality as a distinct individual of the vast universe.

Avidya is a false perception by which the ignorant Jiva takes the body and intellect as pure, permanent and a source of pleasure. "Avidya" is "that which does not exist." In fact, it is a conceit based on the belief that the objects perceived through externalization and the organs of such perception are all absolutely real in their forms. A shadow is taken to be the substance and the mirage is believed to be a tank. The dreadful fever of life is the agitation of the One Consciousness which dreams itself to be many. The universe is the dream of the subjective Self, the object of the reverie of Self-hypnotization.

The body, the mind the intellect and all the modifications of imagination are taken for granted as pure and perfect and a source of permanent happiness for the self. The self is the blissful eternal being and it wishes to find bliss in what it has merely imagined and what really does not exist. This delusion is reinforced by continuous activity and struggle to maintain the state of the self-imposed individuality and the energy necessary for the keeping up of the illusion is supplied from the fund of the source of ignorance, the Anandamaya Kosha. Even in the death of the body, this center of ignorance is not destroyed. It is carried to all bodies which are manifested by the self. This cycle of Samsara never comes to an end since the sheath of nescience adds to the old stock of Samskaras, the impressions of psychic actions performed in the daily life of the individual. Liberation from this cycle comes only through a snapping of the thread of thought through spiritual meditation.

The question why the drama of the world appears has not satisfactorily been answered. It can be understood as a self-imposition on absoluteness.  Just as a king acts the part of a beggar, out of his own free will on the stage in a drama, so also the Sat-Chid-Ananda Brahman acts the part of a Jiva in this drama of the world out of his own free-will for sport.

The individual or the Jiva does not know that it is playing a sport, but thinks that it is actually what it appears to be in the imagined garb. Here lies the bondage of the individual in contradiction to the Essence of Satchidananda which consciously appears to itself as the manifold universe. Whatever one thinks, that he becomes, for the source of imagination is the omnipotent Self. One who believes that he is Brahman becomes Brahman Itself.

The man with a defective vision has got a perverted perception of things. The Consciousness with its vision infected by the urge for materialization, objectification, diversification and self-multiplication conceives of the body as the Self and the Self as the body. The five sheaths are superimposed on the Atma and the Atma in turn is superimposed on the five sheaths which constitute the body. A straight rod appears bent like a bow when dipped in water and the disturbance on the surface of the water makes the sun in the sky appear shaky. The subjective defect makes the object also appear defective and thus the Eternal Brahman is seen to appear like the manifold cosmos merely on account of the clouding of consciousness and distraction of subjective awareness. The ignorance of the Jiva is colossal. The faith pinned on untruth transforms untruth to appear like truth and Jiva is thus deceived by its own thought-constructions.

When one gets knowledge of the Self (the wisdom of the Truth), this Avidya vanishes. It exists only until the melting away of egoism. The realization of the Self is the destruction of Avidya. The two acts are simultaneous. The act of realization is not a positive achieving but a negative destroying. It is not getting something but removing something. It is not an invention but a discovery. That is why the Upanishads take recourse to negative processes of world-denial and Brahman-realization.

The Self is not to be caught from outside, it is the innermost being of man. Those who run away from their Self are led astray by the force of Avidya into the pit of births and deaths. The spiritual aspirant should therefore restrain his mental functions. Then only the glorious Truth of the Self will be revealed.

Just as the mirror is dimmed by dirt, so Brahman is veiled by Avidya. Avidya is the origin of selfish endeavor and narrow interests which try to make the ego live long. When the requirements of the ego are supplied life on earth is prolonged and the stream of Samsara never comes to an end. The Sadhaka therefore is required to root out selfishness by denying the individual interests through self-abnegation and refusal to abide by personal cravings. A complete sacrifice of the self for the purpose of others' interests renders the Jiva fit to be alive to the higher knowledge. This is the method of Karma-Yoga which abstains from personal enjoyment of life and gives happiness to others.

Human beings are deluded by Avidya and they can be freed from its snares only through Sadhana for Perfection. Every way of spiritual effort is centered in the breaking open of the ego which is the root of the passion for living. Avidya is the progenitor of the succeeding afflictions of Asmita, Raga, Dwesha and Abhinivesha. These afflictions can be eradicated through a turning to the Source of Eternal Life through regulation of conduct and meditation on the spiritual Ideal.

Mind, senses, egoism, intellect and body are the effects of Avidya. If the cause is destroyed, the effects are destroyed by themselves. The Hathayogins start from the outside body to the inward truth by disciplining the physical sheath at first, but the Vedantins directly start from the innermost intelligence and break down the whole super-structure of the world-phenomenon.

When with the power of Viveka or discrimination the Absolute Self is asserted by the Vedantin, the mind is held standstill, the senses turn back to their psychic source, the ego is not allowed to make further arrogations and the Chitta or the store of Samskaras is held in check.

Thus the Vedantic Meditation which seeks to destroy the cause of Avidya, automatically overcomes the effects thereof, and burns the seeds of past impressions which are lodged in the heart. The knots of ignorance are rent asunder and the individual becomes the Supreme.

Excerpts from:

Moksha Gita – The Nature of Avidya by Swami Krishnananda

If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?

If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at:

generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org

(August 3,2013) Weekly Svadhyaya - 'I' is the Greatest Bondage - by Swami Chidananda

 ‘I’ is The Greatest Bondage

The entire question of Bondage and Liberation, of human consciousness and Divine Consciousness, of sorrow and Joy, hinges upon this crucial point, namely, what is your relationship with the mind? In the ultimate analysis, your entire life and its struggle is in this area only. The outer manifestation has its root and cause inside. So, ultimately, it is only the solution that is inside that will have a lasting effect.

The ancient Buddhist texts say: “Mind is the slayer of the Atman, Slay this slayer and attain the light.” This means that we are all prey to the tyranny of our inner, latent tendencies, which are the very essence of the individual’s behavior pattern. The mind is only a bundle of vasanas. The crux of the whole problem of Bondage and Liberation is explained in a simple way in Yoga Vasishtha: “Liberation is attained when there is manonasha (the cessation of mind activities).” When the vasanas are dormant, the mind is not there. The mind sinks and subsides in the state of deep sleep. ‘I’ is eliminated together with the mind. ‘I’ is the mind; mind is the ‘I’. In deep sleep vasanas are in a state of dormancy. When the latent tendencies are in a state of dynamic manifestation in the active state, you find that the mind becomes a tyrant. Vasishtha has summed up the whole process of Liberation as a process of destruction of vasanans. Ultimately, the final blow that is given destroys the mind itself. People will say, “Oh, that is a very fearful prospect. With what will I think ‘I am’?” This is a great delusion. We cling to this delusion, this evil, this little filth of limited consciousness. The annihilation of the ‘I’ is the grandest and the greatest and the greatest good fortune. The best thing that can ever happen in life is for ‘you’ to be gone. You are the kingpin of the whole problem of Bondage.

‘I’ is the greatest bondage. It is the opposite of light, bliss, peace, perfection, wholeness, truth. The practice of Yoga, results in gradual thinning of our vasanas, which spring out from this little I-consciousness, and ultimately the mind itself vanishes. Mind is the myth. But when it is there, it seems to be everything. Your essential being is Satchidananda. You are a wave of Ananda upon that ocean of Paramananda. That is real identity. It is pure Consciousness. This pure Consciousness, disassociated from any limiting adjunct, is pure bliss. “I am Existence filled with awareness. I am this wave.” The wave is never apart from the ocean. Merge into the vastness and become one with the vastness. “I am the ocean, immeasurable. My depth cannot be fathomed.”

Continue to Read:

Self-Knowledge by Swami Sivananda

Nature of the Mind – Moksha Gita by Swami Sivananda, commentary by Swami Krishnananda

The Cause of Bondage by Swami Krishnananda
Brahman as Consciousness or Intelligence by Swami Krishnananda
The Self as the Universal Whole by Swami Krishnananda

(May 4,2013) The Mandukya Upanishad – Consciousness and Sleep

The Mandukya Upanishad – Consciousness and Sleep

Divine Life Society Publication: Section 5: Mandukya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda

The waking world and the dream world, from the point of view of the Jiva, are two aspects of the function of the mind. The mind projects itself in perception, both in waking and dream. The mind is active, and it ceases from activity when it is too much fatigued. The complete cessation of the activity of the mind, due to exhaustion, is sleep, known as Sushupti.

Sushupti, or deep sleep, is where one desires nothing, because the mind has withdrawn itself from both the physical and subtle objects.  It does not dream also, because even psychic activity has ceased.  This is complete absorption of the mind into itself. But this absorption is of an unconscious nature.

The mind, while it appears to be a little conscious in dream, and more conscious in waking, is not conscious at all in deep sleep.  We are not aware of the world outside in the state of sleep because of the absence of Vrittis, or psychoses, of the mind. Only when the mind becomes extrovert can it have consciousness of the outer world, whether in dream or in waking. But, there is no agitation of the mind, of that nature, in sleep. The happiness of deep sleep is greater than all other forms of happiness or pleasure born of sense-contact. It is filled with Ananda, bliss, delight, satisfaction.

An empire cannot give you that happiness, the power which you may seem to have over the world cannot give you that satisfaction, which you have while you are alone in deep sleep, unbefriended, unprotected, unseen, unpossessed of anything. In that condition, when you are alone, you are more happy than when you are in the midst of people in the waking state. It is all bliss.

Your real nature is aloneness, not sociability. Your real nature is singularity, not multiplicity. Your real nature is a total transcendence of all sensory and mental phenomena, not contact with objects. Therefore you are Anandamaya, Anandabhuk: filled with bliss, enjoying bliss.

If consciousness were there in sleep, you would not like to return to this waking world. But you remain unconscious. So, you are driven back by an impulse of work, once again, to the waking world. Consciousness of sleep is equal to Samadhi. If sleep is to be coupled with consciousness, it becomes Atma-Sakshatkara, the realisation of the Atman. This is what they call Superconsciousness. This is Nirvana, Moksha, Kevalata – Liberation. This is your real nature.

What is the instrument through which you enjoy this Ananda? It is 'Chit' that experiences 'Ananda', not the Indriyas or the Manas, the senses or the mind. In deep sleep there is only Ananda experienced by Chit. You experience Satchidananda, here, Consciousness-Being, as such. But something covers the consciousness, and makes you come back to the waking life with the same foolishness with which you entered the state of sleep.

This is Prajna, the consciousness which is in its own pristine nature, knowing everything and not being associated with anything external. This is the transcendent state in relation to waking and dreaming, the cause of all experiences in waking and dreaming, the Karana-Avastha, in relation to which waking and dreaming are effects, Karya-Avastha.

In correspondence with this Prajna, or the causal condition of Anandamayatva of the Jiva, there is a Universal Causal Condition, known as Isvara. While the waking consciousness, individually, is called Visva, it is called Taijasa in dream, and Prajna in the deep sleep state. Correspondingly, from the cosmic level, we have Virat in waking, Hiranyagarbha in dreaming, and Isvara in deep sleep. The relationship between the individual and the cosmic, between Visva and Virat, Taijasa and Hiranyagarbha, Prajna and Isvara is one of organic integrality, and a realisation of this organic connection of being, will land the Jiva in Isvaratva and make it at once omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.

Continue to read:

Section 5: Consciousness and Sleep – Mandukya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda

If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?

If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at:

generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org