The Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest yet one of the most critical Upanishads. It is regarded for its concise yet deep exploration of the essence of reality and self. It underscores the power of AUM (Om) and the four known states of human consciousness: waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and the transcendent state of Turiya or consciousness itself. The Mandukya Upanishad is the epitome of metaphysical insights into mysteries of the human experience. It is often meditated upon alongside the Karikas or commentaries by Gaudapadacharya and, his grandstudent, Shankaracharya.
The Mandukya Upanishad outlines the four states or dimensions of human consciousness as follows:
1. Waking (Vaishvanara): Experiences of the external world through sentient senses.
2. Dream (Taijasa): Experiences of the internal dream world through imagination and other faculties.
3. Deep Sleep (Prajna): The experience of absence, constituted by no desires and dreams, without the disappearance of the self.
4. Turiya (the Fourth State): The transcendental experience of pure consciousness, that lies beyond the other three states, and it is in this experience that the unclouded self (Atman) lies, symbolized by the sound AUM.
In fact, according to the Mandukya Upanishad, AUM (Om) symbolizes a phonetic representation of the singularity of the entire universe and the self. It comprises the following three sounds:
A (अ): Representing the experience of the waking state (Vaishvanara).
U (उ): Representing the experience of the dream state (Taijasa).
M (म): Representing the experience of the state of deep sleep (Prajna).
The silence that follows AUM signifies the state of Turiya, of pure consciousness, beyond thoughts and words. This state is the ground of cognizing all reality and the keystone for self-realization. Turiya underlies the experience of all the other states. It is unchanging and eternal. Known as Atman, or the true self, it is also described as nondual, transcending distinctions of subject and object. Experiencing it or becoming one with Turiya can leads to liberation (moksha).
The Mandukya Upanishad is extremely helpful when it comes to learning how to practice compassion and forgiveness. This can emerge from the realization that all existence is essentially united. If we meditate on AUM, knowing that it represents the singularity of universal consciousness, Brahman, we realize that we are not disconnected or potentially different from those who traumatize us. The distinction between the self and the other diminishes and disappears. We are essentially the expressions or manifestations of the same reality. This can help us let go of resentment. Gradually, we will be able to cultivate compassion. As the Mandukya Upanishad instructs us, Turiya, the fourth state, is “peaceful, blissful, and non-dual.” When we are able to connect with this deeper reality, forgiveness becomes our second nature. And we begin to see all beings and things as expressions of a divine essence.
Arup K. Chatterjee 