Monthly Archives: March 2023

A Dream Within A Dream

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Vajragoni

All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream (Edgar Allan Poe)

Nothing, whatsoever, is born either of itself or of another. Nothing is ever produced whether it be being or a non-being or both being and non-being. read more

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Illusion

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Vajragoni

CHAPTER II

ILLUSION (Vaitathya)

The Lord (Ātman), with his mind turned outward, variously imagines the diverse objects (such as sound, etc.), which are already in his mind (in the form of Vāsanas or Sankalpas or desires). The Ātman again (with his mind turned within), imagines in his mind various (objects of) ideas. read more

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The Sacred Science of Aum

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Vajragoni

The remainder of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad reiterates what has already been covered on the nature of Aum and Ātman as a mystical science and sacred formula for the ages. The translation is by Swami Krishnananda and commentary will be offered for the final segment on the Divine Turīya, since it comes closest to the Nature of the Unborn. read more

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The Four States

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Vajragoni

III

How the four quarters are said to indicate Ātman –is thus explained…

The first quarter (Pāda) is *Vaiśwānara whose sphere (of activity) is the waking state, who is conscious of external objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths and whose experience consists of gross (material) objects. read more

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AUM

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Vajragoni

The sequence used in this series is to firstly place the text, followed by Śaṅkara’s commentary, and then subsequently a commentary in Light of the Unborn. The main translation used will be by Swami Nikhilananda, unless otherwise noted. read more

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Śaṅkara

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Vajragoni

Before the continuation of our series, reference needs to be made to the most renowned exponent of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy, Adi Śaṅkara (700-750 CE), since we shall be utilizing from time to time his commentary on the Māṇḍukya Kārikā. Some have placed his death at 32 years of age but the dates, 700-750, grounded in modern scholarship, are more widely acceptable. He wrote numerous works during his brief stay on this earth, but his monumental work, Brahmasūtrabhāṣya , is considered to be second to none in Indian metaphysics. His teacher was Govinda, who in turn was originally taught by Gauḍapāda. His primary assent to truth is psychological and religious rather than logical; thus, he is perhaps best known as a prominent religious teacher rather than a philosopher in today’s modern terminology. read more

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Māṇḍukya Kārikā

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Vajragoni

One of the premier texts in Advaitic literature is the  Māṇḍukya Kārikā, attributed to the 6th century CE philosopher and scholar of the Advaita (not two) *Vedanta (end of the Vedas) school of Hindu philosophy—Gauḍapāda, also referred to as Gauḍapādācārya. It consists of four chapters, the first of which focuses on the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. A small work, utilizing just 12 short stanzas, it actually consists of the absolute essence of the Upanishadic teachings. In itself, the work has never been surpassed and remains to this day the peak of awareness-expansion. read more

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