Mandukya Upanishad, Class 63

After negating the other dharshanam
up to verse 28, now Gowdapadha is summarizing the Vedantic teaching, the
teaching given in Mandukya Upanishad.  The essence of this teaching is
Brahman is alone is sathyam; Sathya Brahman is none other than jiva, I the
consciousness principle alone is the ultimate reality and everything else is
mithya.  This mithya jagat consists of jagradh prabanja and swapna
prabanja.  Unreal does not mean it is not real, but not absolute reality
but only empirical or relative reality.  Relative reality means jagrath
prabanja is real from the standpoint of waker, but it is unreal from other standpoint
of taijasa or thiruyum.  Similarly, swapna prabanja is very real from the
stand point of dreamer, but it is not real from the stand point of waker let
alone the stand point of thuriyum.  Relative standpoint means the relative
standpoint of the observer.  Even when it doesn’t have absolute reality, the jagradh
and swapna prabanja are experienceable and it can be experienced. 
Experience of the world will continue even though it does not have absolute
reality.  In waking state jagradh prabanja will be experienced; in dream
state the swapna prabanja will be experienced.  Vedanta does not negate experience. 
The utility of the objects is also not negated.  The dream water, food
etc. will have their utility in dreams.  Divisions are not negated. 
Vedanta only removes the absolute reality which we attach to this world. 
After that we continue to experience the world, but it does not get the
absolute reality.  The world will give samsara only when you attach
absolute reality.  Whatever is not absolutely real, cannot give
security.  Whatever only relative reality can’t be relied up on.  You
can rely up on only sathya vasthu – it is none other than I the witnessing
changing jagradh and swapna prabanja.  For all practical purposes jagradh
and swapna are the same.

When you are in dream, you will not
accept it is unreal.  In dream, if someone asks about jagrath prabanja,
they will state that there is no jagradh prabanja.  If you wake up in one
moment, everything in dream will all wake up.  From Taijasa to viswa ,
swapna prabaja goes away.  From viswa to thiriuum through wisdom, jagradh
prabnaja will go away similar to swapna.

Verse 36

When you are in dream, we experience
a body in dream.  With that dream body alone, I do all the
transaction.  This body is called vasana maya sareeream, because that
physical body, I have protected with my own mind or thoughts.  During
dream I do not look up on them thoughts body, but as tangible body. With that
body I travel, eat etc.  But that body is mithya body projected by
mind.  Because on waking up, there is another non traveling body,
lying on the bed.  From that it is clear, that body alone relatively real,
swapna body is mithya.  That body is stationery and does not move with the
dream body.  After waking up, I commit the same mistake and say this body
is real.  But this body is also exactly like swapna sareeream.  Swapna
sareeram appears real in swapna avastha; similarly, jagradh sareeram is real
only in jagradh prabanja.

Anything experienced is
mithya.  Because the absolute reality is never an object of an
experience.  Not experienceable with any instrument.  From this we
get that whatever we experience is not reality.  Just as the dream body is
unreal, any object of consciousness is unreal.  Consciousness alone is real,
and that consciousness is you tat twam asi.  I the observer alone is
absolute reality and whatever I experience is relative reality or mithya.

Verse 37

Generally, we accept that swapna
prabanja is caused by jagradh prabanja.  Because jagradh prabanja alone
gives variety of experiences that registered in the mind, becomes vasana and
those vasanas are activated in dream.  We dream only what we experience in
jagradh prabanja.  Jagradh prabanja is karanam and swapna prabanja is
kariyam.  There is a kariya karana sambandha between jagradh prabanja and
swapna prabanja.  That is why the experiences in jagradh and swapna are
similar.  In jagradh prabanja also there is desa (space), kala (time) and
thritupdi (subject, object, instrument).  In swapna also we have these
three.  If they are similar in all respects, then you can extend to
mithaythvam as well.  Swapna prabanja is mithya, therefore jagradh
prabanha is also mithya.  Each prabanja will appear real in that
condition.  Swapna prabanha will appear real for the swapna observer
during swapna avastha; Jagrath prabanja will appear real for jagradh observer
during jagradh avastha.

Swapna prabanja is a product of
jagradh prabanja.  Since swapna and jagradh have karana kariya sambandham,
jagradh prabanja is real only for jagradh observer, just as swapna prabanja is
real only for swapna observer.

Verse 38

There is no real creation at all,
and Brahman can’t be a cause or karanam.  Brahman is kariya karana
vilakshanam.  A real creation can never be proved logically.  Therefore,
there is no creation.  Everything which you look up on as creation is not
creation – it was Brahman, it is Brahman and it will ever be Brahman. 
While discussing sankya and gyana philosophy, we asked does an existent pot
originate or a nonexistent pot originate.  The answer is neither because
an existent port can’t originate as it already exists.  A nonexistent product
can’t originate because it doesn’t exist.

Verse 39

Karana jagradh prabanja and kariya swapna
prabanja is also mithya.  You experience a mithya jagradh prabajna which
product a mithya vasana which produces a mithya swapna prabanja.  In
jagradhavastha I experience a mithya jagradh prabanja.  Because of
ignorance, I look up on it as sathyam.  Out of that experience I get the
vasanas – it gets registered in the memory.  Jagrath avastha is like VCR
and swapna prabanja is like VCP.  Certain vasanas are feeble; certain
vasanas are strong.  With those vasanas, the same events appear in
swapna.  When you watch the jagrath, you swear that jagrath is real; when
you see the same in swapna you will swear that is real; but both are
mithya.  From the thuriya dhrishti, you can boldly say this prabanja is
mithay.  Now we are trying to negate the world from the standpoint of
waker.  You should never negate the world from the waker standpoint. 
When you wake up from dream, the dream expreince will disappear.  When you
become a gyani, the jagradh prabanja won’t disappear; experiences will
continue.  It is like continuing the dream, knowing that it is a
dream.  Gyani will continue to see the world with the knowledge that it is
another dream.