The Three States and their objects

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Srigurubhyo NamaH

 

The Three States and their objects:

 

In the Mandukya Upanishad, we have the analysis of the three states

of waking, dream and deep sleep. While discussing these three

states, the Upanishad, especially the Kaarikaas, embark upon this

scheme:

 

In each of the three states there is a bhokta, subject, experiencer,

a bhoga, experience, and and bhogyam, object of experience. Also,

there is a bhoga, experience, in each state that the interaction

brings about. This is succinctly known as 1.sthAna-trayam 2.bhoktru-

trayam 3.bhogya-trayam and 4. tripti-trayam. (let us not bother

about the `sthana' in this discussion.)

 

In the Upanishad the mantras: 3,4,5 and 6 deal with the above and

the Kaarikaas: 1 to 5 expatiate on these. The Acharya's bhashya is

also there.

 

While the waking bhokta is called vishva, his bhogyam is the entire

gross universe, experienced through the sense organs and mind. The

Tripti that he gets is the sukha- duhkha from this experience.

 

The dream experiencer is known as taijasa. His bhogyam is the

entire subtle universe. He experiences this subtle (mind-created)

universe with the sense organs, also created there for that

purpose. The tripti he gets, again, is the sukha and duhkha

experienced there.

 

The sleep-experiencer is known as prAjna. His bhogyam is Ananda.

While all the sense organs and even the creating mind are resolved

then, he experiences this ananda. The Bhashyam clarifies that this

ananda is not the Ultimate Bliss, as this sleep state is only in the

relative, ignorant, plane. The Bhashya for the kArikA no.2

clarifies at the fag-end:

 

// The causal state, too, is very much experienced in the body,

inasmuch as an awakened man is seen to have such a recollection: `I

did not know anything (in my deep sleep).'

Hence it is said, `tridhA dehe vyavasthitaH' = existing in three

ways in the body.'//

 

What is pertinent here is, just like in each of the waking and

dream states there is the duality of: experiencer and experienced

(object), in the deep sleep also there is, according to this

Upanishad and the KArikaa and bhashya, this duality of experiencer-

experienced, in other words, subject-object, viShaya-viShayI.

 

That the `viShaya-s', objects, in all the states, are mithya, is

another matter. Nevertheless, in the state of ignorance, the

division does exist. The adhyAsa-bhAshya starts with this

distinction of the Consciousness-ViShayI (subject-seer) and the

vishaya (object-seen) of the opposite characteristic.

 

The `object' obtaining in deep sleep that is experienced by the

sleeper-subject has been analyzed in the Vedanta shastra. For

example, the Panchadashi, chapter 11 states this in the following

manner:

 

58. A text of the Atharva Veda says: `In the state of deep sleep,

when all the objects of experience have been absorbed and only

darkness (Tamas) prevails, the Jiva enjoys bliss'.

 

59. A man from deep sleep remembers his happiness and ignorance and

says: `I was sleeping happily; I knew nothing then'.

 

60. Recollection presupposes experience. So in sleep there was

experience. The bliss experienced in dreamless sleep is revealed by

consciousness itself which also reveals the undifferentiated

ignorance (ajnana) covering bliss in that state.

 

The Panchadashi continues:

 

62. The mind (mano-maya kosha) and the intellect sheaths (vijnana-

maya kosha) are latent in the state called ignorance. Deep sleep is

the condition in which these sheaths are latent and it is therefore

a state of ignorance.

 

63. Just as melted butter again becomes solid, the two sheaths in

the states following deep sleep again become manifest. The state in

which the mind and intellect are latent is called the bliss-sheath

(Ananda-maya kosha).

 

64.The modifications (Vritti) of the intellect in which, just before

sleep, bliss is reflected becomes latent in the state of deep sleep

along with the reflected bliss and is known as the bliss-sheath

(Ananda-maya kosha).

 

65. This Vritti thus turned within, which is termed the bliss-

sheath, enjoys the bliss reflected on it in association with the

modifications of ignorance, catching the reflection of consciousness.

 

66. The adepts in Vedanta say that the modifications of ignorance

are subtle, whereas those of the intellect are gross.

 

67. This is fully explained in the Mandukya and Tapaniya Upanishads.

It is the sheath of bliss which is the enjoyer and it is the bliss

of Brahman which is enjoyed.

 

The Commentary clarifies:

 

In deep sleep, the mano-maya and vijnAna-maya koshas are in resolved

state. But the Anandamaya-kosha is very much there to experience

the sleep state's contents of sukha and ajnana. When the man wakes

up, the recollection expressed by him is: 'I slept happily; I did

not know anything'. This recollection-expression is by the vijnaana-

maya kosha that is now awake. The arthApatti

(implicational/inferential) conclusion is: The Ananada-maya aspect

of the mind that was awake in sleep state grasps the sukha and

ajnana anubhava (which are the objects of the subject PrAjna) then

and when waking occurs, expresses the experience through the vijnana-

maya aspect of the mind.

 

Thus, despite the resolving of all the objects and the instruments

along with the mind in deep sleep, there is this undeniable

experience of everyone in sleep which is later given expression to

as `I slept happily; I did not know anything then' which the

Mandukya bhashya confirms. The mechanism of this experience was

explained above.

 

The long and short of the analysis is: In deep sleep state there is

the subject, experiencer, prAjna. For him there is the object, the

experienced: sukha, bliss, and ajnana, ignorance.

 

For someone who has listened to Swami Paramarthananda ji's Mandukya

discourses, it is something unmistakable that he says: In sleep, the

object is the `blankness'. This is called ignorance, ajnana. He

uses the Tattvabodha concepts to explain this. There is the

Reflected Consciousness (RC) and the Objectified Consciousness (OC)

in each of the three states. RC 1, 2 and 3 for the three

Experiencers (Subjects) and OC 1,2 and 3 to represent the three

objects in the three states. Thus RC- 3 is the PrAjna and OC- 3 is

the ajnana in deep sleep.

 

In the Mandukya kArikA bhashya for I .2, the Acharya states in no

unmistakable terms that:

 

// the Brahman, in which the jiva gets resolved during deep sleep,

is not shuddha-Brahman; it is the Brahman with the bija (kAraNa,,

that is, it is the causal Brahman) of the yet-to-come universe. He

reasons that if this Brahman were to be taken as nirbIja-Brahman,

then there would be the absurdity of everyone going to sleep having

to come out again. Moreover, the need for Vedantic knowledge to

dispel ignorance will stand obviated. Therefore the Brahman in which

the jiva resolves during sleep is sa-bija alone.//

 

This shows that the jiva remains endowed with ignorance even during

deep sleep. Conversely, the jiva is not divested of his basic

ignorance in deep sleep as well.

 

With humble pranams to all seekers,

Subbu

Om Tat Sat

[Guest guest]

This shows that the jiva remains endowed with ignorance even during

deep sleep. Conversely, the jiva is not divested of his basic

ignorance in deep sleep as well.

 

praNAms Sri Subbu prabhuji

Hare Krishna

 

First, to the Moderators, kindly pardon me for too many mails today...I am

garrulous when it comes to vEdAntic topic:-)).

 

Declaring that deep sleep has the seed form of ignorance (bIja rUpa ajnAna)

is just to show our special affiliation to Waking state nothing else!!

when we are analysing three states we have to do that exercise by holding

the sAkshi view point..If we hold the waking state as real & if we hold

that stand point, it seems that sleep is also a passing cloud of ignorance

in which we are daily enveloped and this state appears as a temporary

inactivity into which we are daily thrust, by nature!!! But when we analyse

this same state from the philosophical sAkshi (witness) view point, this

much neglected, ignorance bound, inactive state comes to have entirely

another meaning for us which we can ill afford to ignore...subbu prabhuji,

you have completely ignored this view point while presenting your

understanding of the three states & giving verdict that all the three

states have ignorance!!!...But please note that if you do that exercise

from that view point, it is evident that this deep sleep state is nothing

but an intuition of our true nature divested of its apparent individuality

with the complex combination of ego, mind & senses...Anyway, I'll not go

into the details where shankara appreciated deep sleep state & equated the

vivEka of this *experience* of this state with that of mukti etc. etc.

and where shruti itself glorified this peculiar state (for example

chAndOgya & bruhadAraNyaka)...coz. today I've talked too much:-))

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar