Mandukya Upanishad – Explains the importance of OM or AUM

Mandukya Upanishad is one of the shortest Upanishads and explains the significance of OM or AUM. Mandukya Upanishad is credited to sage Manduka.

Summary

Introduction and Invocation: The Upanishad begins with an invocation, expressing the desire for auspiciousness and well-being. It invokes various gods such as Indra, Pusha, and Brihaspati, seeking their blessings for prosperity and peace.

Verse 1: The Significance of Om: Om is declared to encompass everything - past, present, and future. It transcends time itself, symbolizing the ultimate reality.

Verse 2: Om and Brahman: Brahman, the ultimate reality, is equated with Om. Brahman is the essence of everything, including the Self.

Verses 3-5: The Four Quarters of the Self: The Self is described in four quarters. Vaisvanara represents the waking state, Taijasa the dream state, and Prajna the deep sleep state. The fourth quarter transcends consciousness and is the source of all states.

Verse 6: The Supreme Lord: The Self is identified as the Lord of all, omniscient and omnipresent. It is the source, sustainer, and dissolution of all beings.

Verse 7: The Unmanifest Fourth: The fourth quarter is described as beyond consciousness, indescribable, and non-dual. It is the state of pure awareness beyond all phenomena.

Verses 8-11: Significance of Om's Components: Om is analyzed into its constituent parts - 'a', 'u', and 'm'. These components correspond to different states of consciousness - waking, dream, and deep sleep. They symbolize the entirety of experience and existence.

Verse 12: Om as the Ultimate Reality: Om is identified with the Self, representing the highest truth. Understanding Om leads to realization of the Self and ultimate liberation.

Conclusion and Invocation: The Upanishad concludes with a repetition of the invocation, emphasizing the desire for auspiciousness and peace.

Attribution and Closing: The Upanishad concludes with an attribution to the Atharva Veda, acknowledging its source.

This summary highlights the key points and teachings of the Mandukya Upanishad, emphasizing the significance of Om and its connection to the ultimate reality, Brahman. 

Below is the English Translation of Mandukya Upanishad.

Om ! O gods, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious; May we see with our eyes what is auspicious; May we, while offering our praise to gods With our bodies strong of limbs, Enjoy the life which the gods are pleased to grant us. May Indra of great fame be well disposed to us; May the all-knowing (or immensely wealthy) Pusha be propitious to us; May Garuda, the vanquisher of miseries, be well pleased with us; May Brihaspati grant us all prosperity. Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !

1. All this is the letter Om. A vivid explanation of this (is begun). All that is past, present, and future is but Om. Whatever transcends the three periods of time, too, is Om.

2. All this is certainly Brahman. This Self is Brahman. This Self, as such, is possessed of four quarters.

3. (The Self) seated in the waking state and called Vaisvanara who, possessed of the consciousness of the exterior, and seven limbs and nineteen mouths, enjoys the gross objects, is the first quarter.

4. (The Self) seated in the state of dream and called Taijasa who, possessed of the consciousness of the interior, and seven limbs and nineteen mouths, enjoys the subtle objects, is the second quarter.

5. Where the sleeper desires not a thing of enjoyment and sees not any dream, that state is deep sleep. (The Self) seated in the state of deep sleep and called Prajna, in whom everything is unified, who is dense with consciousness, who is full of bliss, who is certainly the enjoyer of bliss, and who is the door to the knowledge (of the preceding two states), is the third quarter.

6. This is the Lord of all; this is omniscient; this is the in-dwelling controller (of all); this is the source and indeed the origin and dissolution of all beings.

7. The Fourth is thought of as that which is not conscious of the internal world, nor conscious of the external world, nor conscious of both the worlds, nor dense with consciousness, nor simple consciousness, nor unconsciousness, which is unseen, actionless, incomprehensible, unthinkable, indescribable, whose proof consists in the identity of the Self (in all states), in which all phenomena come to a cessation, and which is unchanging, auspicious, and non-dual. That is the Self; that is to be known.

8. That same Self, from the point of view of the syllable, is Om, and viewed from the stand point of the letters, the quarters are the letters, and the letters are the quarters. The letters are a, u and m.

9. Vaisvanara seated in the waking state is the first letter a, owing to its all-pervasiveness or being the first. He who knows thus verily accomplishes all longings and becomes the first.

10. Taijasa seated in the dream is u, the second letter (of Om), owing to the similarity of excellence or intermediate position. He who knows thus verily advances the bounds of his knowledge and becomes equal (to all) and none who is not a knower of Brahman is born in his family.

11. Prajna seated in the state of deep sleep is m, the third letter (of Om), because of his being the measure or the entity wherein all become absorbed. He who knows thus measures all this and absorbs all.

12. That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.

Om ! O gods, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious; May we see with our eyes what is auspicious; May we, while offering our praise to gods With our bodies strong of limbs, Enjoy the life which the gods are pleased to grant us. May Indra of great fame be well disposed to us; May the all-knowing (or immensely wealthy) Pusha be propitious to us; May Garuda, the vanquisher of miseries, be well pleased with us; May Brihaspati grant us all prosperity. Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !

Here ends the Mandukya Upanishad, as contained in the Atharva Veda.