SHĀSTRĀS

Māndūkya Upanishad

This Upanishad is from Māndūkya branch of Atharva Vēda written by Rishi Māndūkya. This is smallest among all Upanishads. Only twelve slōkās are present in this Upanishad.

1. The all pervading, indestructible, and immobile or single entity matter is called ‘AUM’ and is perceived only by Yogis. The Universe which is known by its three states of time past, present and future is nothing but ‘AUM’ and also this ‘AUM’ is not bound by the time and is beyond the control of time and space. Rather this Universe with its time and space is controlled by ‘AUM’.
2. ‘AUM’ is the greatest and biggest of all and is all pervading. Yogis realize this omnipresent ‘AUM’ during Samādhi and popularly describe in four parts (Here parts doesn't mean God can be divided. God is indivisible and indestructible. It is the description which is divided into four parts.)
3. When God or ‘AUM’ creates this Universe and rules over it or protects it, the state is called his awaken state. During this state it appears as if though He is exhibiting His outer skills. During this stage he appears to have a structure with 7 Angas (parts which can be describes as the 7 worlds viz., Prithvi, Jal, Agni, Vāyu, Anthariksham, Sūrya and Chandra)  and 19 facial features (viz., Pancha (5) Thanmātrās which are Pancha Bhūthā’s minute parts. Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, hands, legs, excretory system, reproductive system, and voice are called 10 Indriyās or senses. Manassu (mind), Budhi (knowledge), Chittam (memory) and Ahankāra are four other features which make totally 19 features. Human body is made of these 19 features. In this slōka it is described as if though God is like a human structure with the 7 worlds as His body parts and 19 features as His face. In Vēdas this structure is described as Virāt.). In this slōka He is described as Vyswānara.
4. This ‘AUM’ or God with his 7 Angas and 19 facial features can be described with a second part called Swapna or Dreaming state. During this state, He exhibits as a Yogi with pure knowledge or with inner knowledge and protects all those Yogis and scholars who know the difference between Prakrithi and Purusha. (When we say God protects a Yogi or a scholar, we should understand not only protection from calamities or bad people or bad circumstances etc., but also or mainly from birth and death cycle.). In this slōka God is described as Tyjasam (Brilliance/light/heat) and this is His second part. Why is this part described as Swapna? Because during Swapna state all of us are not awaken or in deep sleep. We work with our memory or inner skills during dreaming. So the author described the second part of God as equivalent to Swapna.
5. Deep sleep in which there are no dreams and no desires no thought process exists, such a state is called Sushupthi. AUM or God in this third part is described as being in Sushupthi and in this state every activity is withdrawn from the Universe and AUM exists in a state of ultimate knowledge. This part of AUM, which does not have even a tiniest amount of displeasure, and which has eternal joy, and which is all bliss, and which is ever awakened is called Pragya (Always knowing all matter ‘as it is’ is called Pragya) in this third part.
6. The above described ‘AUM’ is the king of the entire mobile and immobile Universe. He is the one who knows past, present and futuristic objects and pervades all of them. He is the basic cause of everything in this Universe and is reason for the production and destruction of everything in this Universe. [In this slōka we should note that God is present in all objects which are past, present and future. We should note that it is said God “IS PRESENT” in futuristic objects NOT Will be Present!!!. Also it is said that God “IS PRESENT” in past objects NOT Was Present!!!. Wow that means God is not bound by time. For God everything is present. There is neither Past nor Future for God].
7. Brahmam cannot be just be regarded with words such as Anthah (inner) Pragya, Bahih (outer) Pragya, Ubaya (both) Pragya, Pragyana Ghana (great), Pragya or Apragya (Without Pragya). Because Brahmam is Adrushtam (invisible), Avyavahāram (cannot be said with words), Aghrāhyam (inaccessible), Alakshanam (doesn’t have a property that can be sensed with our senses), Achintyam (is not caught by thought process), Avyapadesam (not having any sign), Ēkātma Pratyayasaram (omnipresent or all pervading), Prapanchōpashamam (Final resting place for the entire Universe), Shāntham ( does not contain any calamities in it), Shivam (auspicious) and Advytham (Not having any equivalent or more than itself) and is forth part of description. This is Āthma and is the only one thing that everyone and with special efforts should know about.
8. All the parts that were described in the above slōkās are the parts of ‘AUM’ and are called Māthrās and these Māthrās are Akāra (A), Ukāra (U) and Makāra (M) respectively.
9. Vyswānara (who sets up the creation system and makes everyone and everything to perform their respective function) the creator of the Universe as referred in the first part of the four parts is the meaning of Akāra Māthra in ‘AUM’. Because, Ādi (First) means beginning and Akāra is the beginning of the alphabets and creation is the beginning of spreading of the Universe. The Yogi, who realizes this will fulfill all his desires and will become the first person. [Here first person means someone who is recognized as the top most among all in the Universe].            
10. Thyjjasam (Self radiant or God) is given by Ukāra, the second Māthra of ‘AUM’. Thyjjasam is referred by the second part of ‘AUM’, which is the Swapna state. Since Ukāra in ‘AUM’ is connecting or binding Akāra and Makāra, it is the prominent among the three Māthrās. A person who realizes this fact will increase knowledgeable population and his/her family in futuristic generations will have children only as Brahma Gyanis.     
11. God is referred as Pragyana in the third part of ‘AUM’. Since Makāra is the third Māthra of ‘AUM’, Pragyana is the meaning of Makāra in ‘AUM’. Since Makāra in ‘AUM’ completes the ‘AUM-kara’, the Yogi who realizes this will know the God completely and gets separated from the body and gets salvation or Mōksham or Mukthi.
12. The fourth part of ‘AUM’ is not having any Māthra of ‘AUM’. This is the one a Yogi is in search of. It is nothing but Mukthi. In Mukthi there is no creation, existence or destruction. This is the Advytham and Āthma. The Yogi who realizes Āthma as described above will attain the fourth part or Mukthi.