Is "Soul" Singular or Plural

[Guest guest]

Shanti "Shanti" ,

 

 

Correspondences can be made with Kshara, Akshara and Purushottama as

states of consciousness, and what is been quoted here:

 

 

««««

 

.... Every world can be subdivided into other worlds or spheres of

existence; therefore mention is made of three, five, seven and even ten

worlds; the number is of little importance, it depends upon the point of

view from which one wishes to examine things.

 

..........

 

.... we can say with the Upanisad:

«All this is surely Brahman. This atman is Brahman and atman has four

quarters (padas).

«The first quarter (pada) is vaisvanara, whose sphere (of action) is the

waking state...

«The second quarter (pada) is taijasa (the luminous), whose sphere of

action is the state of dreaming...

«The third quarter (pada) is prajna, whose sphere of action is deep

sleep...

«The sage believe that the Fourth... is invisible, non-acting...» .

 

The Mandukya is defined as that Upanisad which alone synthesizes the

whole of Vedanta teaching. We find in it the enunciation of the three

states of Being as well as the Fourth which refers to the metaphysical

and transcendent state.

 

..........

 

The entity-jiva-prajna manifests itself upon the existential level of

Being, of Isvara; this is the Brahmaloka level, the abode of Brahmaa,

where multiplicity dissolves into unity. In it we can see how the three

states are but one having different modes of expression; in it there are

no distinctions, there is no duality, there is no opposition. He who

discovers this condition has the privilege of seeing the unity of life,

of understanding how consciousness has become so vast as to embrace the

whole of existence. The entities and the planes are not without but

within oneself, because there is no without and therefore no within.

Oneness is, and it is everywhere in its indivisibility.

 

Prajna is assimilated to deep dreamless sleep, because in prajna

everything goes back to silence, to non-becoming, to non-motion.

 

Therefore, waking, dreaming and deep dreamless sleep correspond to

vaisvanara, taijasa and prajna, and as waking, dreaming and deep sleep

are experienced by a sole witness. So vaisvanara, the gross state,

taijasa, the subtle state and prajna, the germinal state, are all

experienced by one and the same witness (saksin), the only real and

constant factor, while the three states appear and disappear. This

witness, also called avasthatraya saksin (witness of the three states)

is a reflection, on the plane of the manifest, of the transcendent

Brahman-atman (the Fourth) beyond the three states, while at the same

time permeating them.

 

»»»»

 

 

Correspondences can be made with Kshara, Akshara and Purushottama as

states of consciousness.

 

 

Shanti,

 

Carlo Frua

 

 

Quoted from:

Raphael

The Pathway of Non-duality

Ch. The Three States of Being

Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1992

 

 

 

There is MEDITATION on

Gaudapada's MANDUKYAKARIKA at

 

http://www.vidya-ashramvidyaorder.org/

[Guest guest]

praNAms

Hare Krishna

 

Sometime back when I was personally interacting with Sri Sadananda prabhuji

for the clarification regarding Shvetaashvata Upanishad verse : ekOdevaH

sarva bhuuteshhu guuDhaH....kevalo nirguNashcha , he has clarified his

stand about multiple jivas. With sadananda prabhuji's kind permission, I

am sending his reply to the list for the benefit of other members :

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar

 

//quote//

 

In all beings, hidden is only ekaH devaH. The mantra says -

manifestations are many but there is only one enlivening factor -

devaH is ekaH - jiiva is qualified consciousness - that is gaNa

lakshaNa - whereas the one that upanishad is referring to kevalo

nirguNaH ca -(that which is pure beyond any qualifications) since

guNa are qualities measured at the level of mind and intellect - they

beclong to perceved manefestations or objective world. Objects alone

has qualifications - visheshhaNa - the subject 'I' cannot have

qualifications. I is beyond qualifications - sat - chit and ananda

aspects of I are not qualifications or visheshhaNa but they are

swaruupa lakshaNa - just as H2O is not a qualification of water but

its swaruupa lakshaNa. that is is colorless, odorless, tasteless etc

are qualifications and do not define water swaruupa or intrinsic

nature of water. The sloka is emphasizing that there is one entity -

ekaH devaH - that which is kevala niruguNaH - and is the indweller of

all beings as their essence - is is guuDaH - is secret or not

directly -perceivable since it is the very subject which cannot be

objectified.

 

If there are multiple jiiva-s then each jiiva is different from the

other. The differences rest in terms of qualifications since only on

the basis of qualifications one can distinguish one jiiva from the

other. If they are identically the same in all respects then they

are indistinguishable and if they are together there is no way to

separate one from the other - one one ends and the other starts - How

does jiiva know where it ends and other starts. In addition jiiva can

know itself since it is self-conscious entity - but how does it know

other jiiva where there are no distinguishing marks to identify the

other from itself. Swaruupa lakshaNa of jiiva is sat chit and ananda

aspect - Cit and sat cannot be distinguishing features one jiiva to

other. Consciousness cannot be an object of another consciousness.

- Hence sat and consciousness which are the same are indivisible and

unlimited - hence ananda aspect also comes in - Sat eva saumya ....

Chaper of Ch. Up emphasizes essentially this aspect and is

extensively analyzed in the notes on B. Sutra.

 

Bhagavaan Ramaanuja and Madhava provide obviously different

interpretations - Advaitic interpretation, in my opinion, is more

scientific and logical.

 

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