Concept of Oneness in the Upanishads (study)

by Chandra Shekhar Upadhyaya | 2015 | 52,584 words

This page relates ‘Concept of Oneness in Mandukya Upanishad’ of the study dealing with the Concept of Oneness in the Upanishads—Spiritual teachings of ancient India in the form of Sanskrit literature. The Upanisads teach us the essential oneness of humanity and guide us to the truth that the whole world is a family.This concept of oneness is the very essence of spiritualism, which constitutes the solid structure of Indian culture.

Concept of Oneness in Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad

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The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad belongs to the Atharvaveda which is shortest among all the Upaniṣads and consists of twelve mantras only. The Upaniṣad is so called because the composer of this Upaniṣad is sage Māṇḍūkya Gauḍapāda, the teacher of Govindapāda, who was the teacher of Śaṃkarācārya, wrote a kārikā on this Upaniṣad about two hundred and fifty verses. It is known as Gauḍapāda kārikā. This Upaniṣad has explained very beautifully the theory of non-dualism. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad says that the whole world is nothing but Brahman itself. According to this Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, Om is the symbol of Brahman and by the realisation of greatness of Om one can realise the greatness of Brahman also. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad describes the syllable Om and Brahman as one and same. Saying the statement, ‘All this world is Brahman, this individual self is also Brahman’, the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad gives the message of unity in diversity.

At the very beginning, the Upaniṣad says:

‘omityetadakṣaramidaṃsarvaṃ tasyopavyākhyānaṃ bhutaṃ bhavadbhaviṣyaditi sarvamoṅkāra eva/ yaccānyat trikālātītaṃ tadapyoṅkāra eva//’^[1]

[Trans: Aum, this syllable is all this. An explanation of that (is the following). All that is the past, the present and the future, all this is only the syllable Aum. And whatever else there is beyond the threefold time, that too is only the syllable Aum.]^[2]

According to the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad all in this universe is Om and there is no difference between Om and Brahman. In the above mentioned mantras of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, the sacred word Om and Brahman, the Ultimate Reality of this whole universe have been used as synonymous. So, Om stands for Brahman and is both the cause and effect. Therefore, according to the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, all in this universe is nothing but Oṃkāra only. Om is considered to be an apt symbol of Brahman. Brahman is all-inclusive, in the same way Om is also all-inclusive. When we are trying to pronounce Om, we touch all points in our mouth from where sound is produced. Therefore, Om is called ‘śabda brahman’, i.e., the śabda or sound represents the Supreme Brahman. According to this Upaniṣad, the world around us is not real.

It is the knowledge which can destroys our ignorance. When the phenomenal world is negated, there is only the substratum left–that is Om or Brahman or Ātman.

“The syllable Om is made up of three elements: A, U, and M. A is the root sound. It is produced from the back of the throat. M is the final sound, because it is produced by the closed lips. And U is the sound produced in between. Sound is nothing but an expression of something that exists, and Om represents all sounds. So, this Om stands for Brahman. It stands for everything, for the whole universe.”^[3]

Om is the instrument for realising the nature of Brahman or Ātman. No amount of discussion can give us the perfect knowledge about Ultimate Reality or Brahman. But the meditation of Om is the main door to realise the proper nature of Supreme Brahman which is everywhere and everything of this whole universe. Thus, Om which is also known as Brahman or Ātman consists of three letters A, U, M, which are the symbols of the ordinary states of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep. According to the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, a person who contemplates on A he contemplates on the whole universe, which guides him to viśva and to virāt level, i.e., viśva on individual level and to virāt on the cosmic level. Again this Upaniṣad states that a person who contemplates on U, he contemplates on subtle universe and it guides him to taijasa and to Hiraṇyagarbha, i.e., taijasa on the individual level and to Hiraṇyagarbha on the cosmic level. Again contemplation on M leads a person to the causal state to prājña and Īśvara. Thus, this Upaniṣad gives us easy methods of realising the nature of Ultimate Reality, i.e., Brahman.

R.G. Desai states in this regard that—

“Om is said to be an eternal mantra and the mother of all other mantras. It is a basic sound vibration which electrifies the whole body and soul. Apart from clearing the voice, it purifies the whole system. Under the guidance of an able guru, it can make one’s whole being vibrant. Any person who practises the right way can acquire a resonant, persuasive voice. What is needed is scientific research on OM, a mantra which has appealed to the people of India for centuries.”^[4]

The Śrimadbhagavadgītā, Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Praśna Upaniṣad, Taittrīya Upaniṣad have discussed the importance of Om and maintained that the Supreme Brahman is known by means of Om. According to the Traittirīya Upaniṣad, by meditating on Om, all these elements are identified with the Ultimate Reality. All the designated things in this universe depend for their designation on something else, all that we see is depend on the syllable Om. Thus, the syllable Om is assumed to be equal with Supreme Being, i.e., Brahman.

The Śrimad-bhagavad-gītā says:

‘omityekākṣaraṃ brahma vyaharanmāmanusmaran/
yaḥ prayāti tyajandehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatim//’^[5]

[Trans: He who leaves the body and departs uttering the one Indestructible Brahma, OM, and dwelling on Me in My absolute aspect, reaches the supreme goal.]^[6]

In the Praśna Upaniṣad Pippalāda tells his disciple Satyakāma about the nature of Om. He says that Om is both the lower knowledge (aparāvidyā) and higher knowledge (parāvidyā). By meditating Om one may reach both the lower and higher knowledge.

The reference of this fact is elaborated by G. Gispert Sauch, S.J. thus,

“If one is satisfied with a partial meditation one gains the lower worlds which remain within the transmigration circuit. If one does a meditation of the syllable as a whole, in its totality, one reaches that “Which is tranquil (sānta [sāntam]), unaging (ajara [ajaram]), immortal (amṛta [amṛtam]), fearless (abhaya [abhayam]), the supreme (para [param]).”^[7]

When one engages in meditation on the Supreme Reality with a view to realise the self, he should meditate on Om. The Śrimadbhagavadgītā says that a person who utters the single syllable Om remembering the eternal Brahman at the time of death, he goes to the highest goal.

The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad also states:

‘omityevaṃ dhyāyatha ātmānaṃ svasti vaḥ parāya tamasaḥ parastāt/’^[8]

[Trans: Meditating on Om one may cross the ignorance, which is full of darkness, and attains the Supreme Brahman.]

The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad also says:

‘vahneryathā yonigatasya mūrtirna dṛśyate naiva ca liṅganāśaḥ/ sa bhūya evendhanayonigṛhyastadvobhayaṃ vai praṇavena dehe//’^[9]

[Trans: As the form of fire when latent in its source is not seen and yet its seed is not destroyed, but may be seized again and again in its source by means of the drill, so it is in both cases. The self has to be seized in the body by means of the syllable Aum.]^[10]

Yama also tells to Naciketa that the letter Om is the Brahman and this is the Supreme. A person by worshipping this very letter Om as Brahman, fulfils his desires. Therefore, Oṃkāra is the best among all means to realise the Supreme Brahman.

In this way perhaps it can be said that Oṃkāra the symbol of Brahman, i.e., Ultimate Reality is non-different from Brahman. The Oṃkāra is the Parama Brahman itself. It is the past, present and future; and that which is beyond these three times and different from these is also Oṃkāra. Therefore, Om is all this.

Elaborating the nature of oneness among individual self and Supreme Self, the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad states:

‘sarvaṃ hyetadbrahmāyamātmā brahma so’yamātma catuṣpāt/’^[11]

[Trans: All this is Brahman, this individual self, i.e., Ātman is also Brahman; this Ātman (Brahman) has four legs.]

Here the Upaniṣad says that, the individual self and Supreme Self are one and same. There is no difference between them. Therefore, the individual self is nothing but Paramātman itself. The unborn and immortal element which is not to be confused with our body, life, mind and intellect, and the inner self of man is non-separate from Brahman. In this regard the concept of the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa^[12] and Chāndogya Upaniṣad has been rightly stated by S. Radhakrishnan-‘Verily this whole world is Brahman,’ and also ‘This soul of mine within the heart, this is Brahman.’ ‘That person who is seen in the eye, He is Ātman, that is Brahman.^[13] The microcosm and macrocosm are one and same.

In this way, the Reality, who is in this body, is also in the sun. It is the same self (Ātman), the same Brahman (the Ultimate Reality). Thus, the Reality is one and without a second. Almost all the Upaniṣads bring the idea of non dual Brahman. According to them, the individual self and Supreme Self are one and same and all these things and beings surrounding us is nothing but Brahman itself.

These mantras of the Upaniṣads prove the idea about oneness:

‘puruṣa evedaṃ sarvaṃ yadbhūtaṃ yacca bhavyam’^[14]
‘sarvataḥ pāṇipādaṃ tatsarvato’kṣiśiromukham/’^[15]
‘eko devaḥ sarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ sarvavyāpī sarvabhūtāntarātmā/’^[16]
‘tadetatsatyaṃ tadamṛtaṃ tadveddhavyaṃ somya viddhi/’^[17]

The Ultimate Reality is one and without a second. The individual self is Brahman itself. Brahman is everything and everywhere in this universe.

According to Padmajā Sen,

“The world is only a vivarta and appearance of Brahman and as an absolute appearance it is at once real and unreal. It is real as being the manifestation of the Brahman, and unreal as being alienated from Brahman.”^[18]

Brahman is the ultimate cause of this universe and He is all in all. It includes everything in it. All things come out from It and also return to It at last. Brahman is underlying all things, but in itself indescribable. This Reality is the soul of the world, the source of all things and is eternal. The non-dual Brahman is worshipped as uktha in the Ṛg, Agni in the Yajuḥ and the Mahāvrata in the Sāma.^[19]

The real essence of the Reality is one.

“We make sacrifices to the ultimate Lord of the Universe who runs through every particle of this Universe, the whole existence, and who is blissful and indescribable.”^[20]

The Ultimate Reality, i.e., Ātman or Brahman is independent reality and is distinct from other things. It has its own individuality and liberty. It is not limited by any principle and absolutely unique in its nature. Swami Vivekananda states that the Ultimate Reality which is known as Ātman or Brahman is eternal, eternally pure, the almighty, the all merciful, the all knowing, formless, omnipresent and partless reality. According to Śaṃkarācārya the Ultimate Reality, i.e., Brahman and Ātman are identical. Ātman is self-luminous consciousness. Śaṃkarācārya proclaims that the Ātman is pure intelligence, pure blessedness and pure being, which is one for all.^[21]

From the above discussion, probably it can be said that the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣadic view ‘This self is Brahman’ has been supported in almost all the Upaniṣads and by most of the Indian thinkers. Sometimes in our life, we feel that the world is real, and some time we think that the individual self and the Supreme Self is completely different things. It is happens on account of our ignorance or avidyā. In reality, there is nothing but one Reality that surround the whole and that is the real thing. This Reality is acosmic (niṣprapañca), qualityless (nirguṇa), indeterminate (nirviśeṣa), and indescribable (anirvacanīya). It is one and devoid of all kinds of duplication.

That is why, Swami Ranganathananda says in this context,

“Consciousness is never experienced in the plural, only in the singular … Consciousness is a singular of which the plural is unknown; that there is only one thing and that, what seems to be a plurality, is merely a series of different aspects of this one thing produced by a deception (the Indian Maya.)”^[22]

Elaborating the identification of Individual self and Supreme Self and the essential oneness of Brahman and Ātman, the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad states that this Ātman has four legs. They are viśva, the waking state, taijasa, the dream state; prājña, the state of dreamless sleep and turīya, the state of spiritual consciousness.

The Upaniṣad says:

‘jāgaritasthāno bahiḥṣprajñaḥ saptāṅga ekonaviṃśatimukhaḥ sthūlabhugvaiśvānaraḥ prathamaḥ pādaḥ//’^[23]

[Trans: The first quarter is Vaiśvānara whose sphere (of action) is the waking state, whose consciousness relates to things external, who is possessed of seven limbs and nineteen mouths, and who enjoys gross things.]^[24]

The Upaniṣad explains the four states of the Consciousness, i.e., Brahman. The first leg of Brahman is vaiśvānara.

It is called vaiśvānara because,

“He leads all creatures of the universe in diverse ways to the enjoyment of various objects, or because he comprises all beings.”^[25]

Śaṃkarācārya says:

‘viśveṣāṃ narāṇām anekadhā nayanād vaiśvānaraḥ; yad vā viśvaś cāsau naraś ceti viśvānaraḥ; viśvānara eva vaiśvānaraḥ//’^[26]

Vaiśvānara means viśva and nara–that is, all beings. The whole gross world is his body (śarīra) similar to the embodied soul in its wakeful state (jāgrata avasthā) whose knowing power permeates the outer world. The seven lokas, viz., bhūlokaḥ, bhubarlokaḥ, svarlokaḥ, mahalokaḥ, janalokaḥ, tapolokaḥ and satyalokaḥ are its parts. The five sense organs, viz., netram, śrotram, ghrāṇam, rasanam and tvak; the five karmendriyas, viz., vāk, pāni, pāda, pāyu and upastha; the five prāṇas (pañca prāna), viz., prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna and samāna and finally the four aspects of mind (antakaraṇa), viz., manas, buddhi, citta and ahaṅkāra–these nineteen cosmic agents are his nineteen mouths. These nineteen in number grasp the sense objects and is the enjoyer of the gross world. It is manifested in the outer gross world. This vaiśvānara of pantheistic nature is the first leg of the Brahman.

Gauḍapāda in his kārikā (Gauḍapāda kārikā) says that when the individual is awake and conscious of this world, he is called viśva. Gaudapāda describes him as vibhuḥ, all pervasive. In this state we see everything around us and we take everything through our sense organs. Therefore, our consciousness is outward (bahisprajña),^[27] i.e., in this state we are conscious of the external world and enjoy this gross physical world (sthūlabhuk).

The second stage of the Brahman is described in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad thus:

‘svapnasthāno’ntaḥprajñaḥ saptāṅga ekonaviṃśatimukhaḥ praviviktabhuk taijaso dvitīyaḥ pādaḥ//’^[28]

[Trans: The second part is Taijasa whose place is in the dream state, who beholds the internal objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths and who experiences the subtle objects.]^[29]

The second leg of Brahman is described in this mantra. Taijasa is the second quarter, whose sphere (of activity) is the dream state. It possesses seven limbs and nineteen mouths and enjoys subtle objects.

Regarding dreaming state, Śaṃkarācārya, the great commentator states,

“The senses are at rest, but the common sensory proceeds to work, and the images, painted upon it like pictures on a canvas, simulate the outward objects of the waking experiences. The common sensory is set in motion in this way by the illusion, the desires and the retributive fatality, which cling to the soul through all its migrations. The individual sleeping soul is styled Taijasa, the sum of sleeping souls in their invisible bodies is Hiraṇyagarbha.”^[30]

In the dreaming state the presiding jivatman of the subtle body has seven subtle limbs and nineteen subtle mouths. The seven subtle lokas—bhū, bhuva, svar, maha, jana, tapa, and satya are its seven limbs. The five sense organs—netra, śrotra, ghrāṇa, rasan and tvak; the five karmendriyas—vāk, pani, pāda, pāyu and upastha; the five prāṇas—prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna, samāna and the four antakaraṇas, viz.,—manas, buddhi, citta and ahaṅkāra, nineteen in number—accompanied with that is the subtle body of Brahman, which is in the form of the subtle world. Hiraṇyagarbha is the Ātmā of it (the subtle body-mind complex), who is the controller of the subtle world. That shining and subtle Hiraṇyagarbha is the second leg of Brahman.

The third state of Brahman is described in the Māndūkya Upaniṣad as:

‘yatra supto na kaṃcana kāmaṃ kāmayate na kaṃcana svapnaṃ paśyati tatsuṣuptam/
suṣuptasthāna ekībhūtaḥ prajñānaghana evānandamayo hyānandabhuk cetomukhaḥ prājñastṛtīyaḥ pādaḥ//’^[31]

[Trans: In which stage; the person sleeping; desires not any object; dreams not any dream; that is sleeping state; one who has the dissolving stage of the universe, i.e., the causal stage which is akin to deep slumber, as his body; who is alone in an undifferentiated stage; who is alone the solidified knowledge; bliss itself; effulgence as his mouth; enjoyer of the bliss; conscious par excellence is the third leg of Brahma.]^[32]

The Upaniṣad says that blissful prājña is the third leg of Brahman. In this stage a sleeping person neither desires any enjoyable object nor does he experience any dream. It is known as sleeping stage. Gough Edward has observed that, “Dreamless sleep is that state in which the sleeper desires no desire and sees no dream. The third quarter is the soul in the state of dreamless sleep, being one in itself, a mass of cognition, pre-eminent in bliss, with fruition of beatitude, having thought as its inlet, and of transcendent knowledge.”^[33] In this state, i.e., when a person lies in the dreamless sleep there is a sense of oneness. There is only consciousness, undifferentiated consciousness, consciousness that is not particularised. In this state both the body and the mind remain in rest, but there is consciousness. In this way, in viśva, i.e., in the first state of Brahman, the self enjoys all gross things, whereas in the taijasa state, it enjoys those in a subtle manner, according to its desires. But, in the prājña state, the self enjoys only bliss. In this way, there are the three kinds of enjoyment, which have been described in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad in a very beautiful manner.

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad states that prājña is the lord of everything, the protector of everything and also controller of everything. The prājña is omniscient, i.e., all knowing and all seeking. All things arise from him and also merge into him. He is antaryāmi, i.e., indwelling spirit. It is the essence of everything and living in the heart of every beings. He is sarvasya yoniḥ, i.e., he is the cause of every things and beings. Everything comes from the same source. There is only one single entity that is common to all of us.^[34]

Regarding the fourth leg of Brahman the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad says:

‘nāntaḥprajñaṃ na bahiḥprajñaṃ nobhayataḥprajñaṃ na prajñānaghanaṃ na prajñaṃ nāprajñam / adṛṣṭamavyavahāryamagrāḥhyamalakṣaṇamacintyama-vyapadesyamekātmapratyayasāraṃ prapañcopaśamaṃ śāntaṃ śivamadvai-taṃ caturthaṃ manyante sa ātmā sa vijñeyaḥ//’^[35]

[Trans: Not cognising the internal objects, not cognising the external objects, not cognising either, not being a mass of sentience, not cognising and not not-cognising, invisible, incapable of being spoken of, not capable of being grasped, not having any identifying mark, unthinkable, unnamable, the essence of the knowledge of the one self, that into which all phenomena get resolved, tranquil, blissful, non-dual -such they consider as the fourth (part). He is the self. He is to be known.]^[36]

The Upaniṣad has declared that the Self can be seen in four states (pādas), viz., viśva (the waking state), taijasa (the dream state), prājña (the deep sleep state) and turīya (pure consciousness). The last pāda, i.e., turīya is the real nature of the Self. The attributeless, formless and undifferentiated aspect is stated to be the fourth leg of Brahman. In above mantra, the Upaniṣad gives the nature of Para Brahman, who is non-dual. That is the real thing, which is acintyam, agrāhyam, avyapadeśyam, prapañcopaśamam, śāntam, śivam and advaitam. In the Gaudapāda-kārikā, Gaudapāda says, “Turīya is described [by the wise] as: one without a second, always the same, all pervasive [as water in a wave], the ultimate negation of the phenomenal world, self-luminous, pure consciousness, Para Brahman, who alone is able to remove suffering totally. [Suffering ends when one is able to realize one’s identity as Para Brahman.]^[37] Thus, this (turīya) is our real state and the knowledge of this state is very important.

In this way there are the four stages of Brahman. According to this Upaniṣad, turīya is, infact our own self. Our ultimate aim of life is also to know the self. If we know the nature of Ātman, we see oneness in the whole creation and realise that there is only the Self and nothing else.

According to the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, the partless Om is turīya. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad describes turīya state as amātra, i.e., partless. It is Om itself and it is also the self, i.e., it is Para Brahman itself. It is formless, beyond of mind and speech, attributeless, formless, and avyavahāryaḥ, i.e., beyond empirical relations. It is one without a second. There is nothing different from It. This non-dual Brahman cannot be said as couple. Because, we cannot say that here is one Brahman and there is another. It is only one and there is nothing beyond it. It is constant Reality and it never decays. He who knows it, assimilates his self with that Supreme Self, i.e., he becomes one with the Supreme Brahman.^[38]

Gauḍapāda in his Gauḍapāda-kārikā says that Om is both higher (superior) and lower (inferior) Brahman. Higher Brahman is Supreme, i.e., Para Brahman. It is qualityless, i.e., nirguṇa. Lower Brahman is apara Brahman, which is manifested as this universe. But, when this universe is negated by the knowledge (jñāna) there is only Brahman (one without a second) in the whole. He is unaffected and always the same. Thus, Para Brahman and apara Brahman are same and one. It is the beginning, middle and end of everything. According to Gauḍapāda, mātrā derived in the sense of that by which anything is measured, signifies dimension; but, Brahman cannot be determined by anything and is duality less. Therefore, Brahman is amātraḥ, i.e., partless.^[39]

In this way, the four legs of integral Brahman are three gross, subtle and causal–attributed form and the fourth attributeless and bodiless form, the Supreme Reality, the soul of all beings.

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad describes the Ātman or Brahman as peace. The Upaniṣad suggests that through the realisation of Ātman one gets peace, i.e., attains Brahman, the Ultimate Peace. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad gives the message of kindness, compassion, affection and co-operation among the people. It brings out the idea of oneness. The Upaniṣad says that human being is nothing but Brahman itself. Human beings are the creation of Brahman and there is no difference among them. They all are equal and the same.