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Mandukya Upanishad & Karika with Shankara Bhashya

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Mandukya Upanishad & Karika with Shankara Bhashya “ If the sole object be the attainment of the Highest Truth <the supreme goal of .existence) the single Upanishad of MSndQkya is sufficient.” —Muktlkopanishad. “ The Upanishad (Mandflkya) with the Karik5 embodies in itself the Quintessence of the substance of the entire philosophy of Vedanta.” —Sankara. THE MANDUKYOPANISHAD WITH GAUDAPADA’S KARIKA THE mAndukyopanishad WITH GAUDAPADA’S KARIKA AND SANKARA’S COMMENTARY TRANSLATED AND ANNOTATED BY SWAMI NIKHILANANDA WITH A FOREWORD BY V. SUBRAHMANYA IYER SRI RAMAKR1SHNA ASHRAMA MYSORE 1949 Published by THE PRESIDENT SRI RAMAKRISHNA ASHRAMA MYSORE First EDmoN .. 1936 Second Edition . 1944 Third Edition .. 1949 All Rights Reserved printed at the bangalore press, bangalorb city TO HIS HIGHNESS SRI KRISHNARAJA WADIYAR BAHADUR IV G.C.S.I., G.B.E. Maharaja of Mysore AS A MARK OF THE HIGHEST ESTEEM FOR THE REMARKABLE EXAMPLE HE HAS SET BY HIS UNDEVIATING STEADFASTNESS IN THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH, WHEREVER FOUND : IN ART, RELIGION, SCIENCE OR PHILOSOPHY, OF WHATEVER AGE OR COUNTRY. *< If thou wouldst master care and pain, Unfold this book: and read and read again Its blessed leaves, whereby thou soon shalt see The past, the present, and the days to be With opened eyes ” C. R. Haines. CONTENTS Pages Foreword .. .. .. .. .. i-ix Preface . xi-xxxix Vedic Invocation . 1-5 Chapter I. Agama Prakarapa . 7-90 Chapter II. Illusion „ .. .. 91-144 III. 145-225 Chapter On Advaita _ Chapter IV. Quenching of Fire-Brand . 226-332 The Concluding Salutation by Sri Sankaracharya 333-334 Index . 335-339* NOTE “ The unique feature of Mtindukya lies in this that while all the other Upanishads deal with the several phases of Vedanta, such •as Religion, Theology, Scholasticism, Mysticism, Science, Meta* physics and Philosophy, Mindukya deals exclusively with Philosophy, as defined by the most modern authorities. The three fundamental problems of philosophy, according to this special treatise are, (1) the nature of the external (material) and the internal (mental) worlds ; (2) the nature of consciousness ; and (3) the meaning of causality. Each of these subjects is dealt with in a chapter. The 'first chapter sums up the whole at the very commencement. There is nothing more for philosophy to do. While it shows how the most advanced modern sciences and modern philosophies are approaching its conclusions, it gives to the world of our own times its central doctrine that partial data give partial truth, whereas the totality of data alone gives perfect truth. The ‘ Totality ’ of data we have only when the three states of waking, dream and deep-sleep are co-ordinated for investigation. Endless will be the systems of philosophy, if based on the waking state only. Above all inasmuch as this philosophy holds that mere ‘satisfaction’ is no criterion of truth, the best preparation for a study of Vedanta Philosophy is .a training in scientific method, but with a determination to get at ” ‘ •the very end : To stop not till the goal (of Truth) is reached.’ V. S. I. FOREWORD O one that knows anything of the philosophy of N the Upanishads can be said to be ignorant of the place that Mandukya Upanishad with its Kdrikas occupies in it. If a man cannot afford to study all the hundred and more Upanishads, it will be enough, it is declared in the Muktikopanishad, if he reads the one Upanishad of Mandukya, since, as Sankara also says, it contains the quintessence of all of them. Thoroughly to grasp the philosophy taught in Mandukya, one needs a know- ledge of the whole field of ancient Indian thought. Such being the nature of this work, one with my limitations of knowledge cannot presume to be able to do any justice to its merits and that in, what is called a “Foreword”. And yet if I agreed to write a foreword to Swami Nikhilanandaji’s most valuable publication it was not because I had any thouglit that this well-known and learned author of the translations of Vedantasara and Dry Drsya Viveka and frequent writer to many leading Indian journals on religion and philosophy needed an introduction to the literary world. Nor did I think that I could add anything of value to his critical and scholarly preface and notes. On the other hand, I consented because I felt that this was an opportunity for me to indicate in some measure the place of Gaucjapada, not among religionists, theologians, scholastics or mystics but among philosophers. In what high regard he is held by the Vedantins of the past is well known. But the esteem that he commands among distinguished men of •our own times has yet to be pointed out. With this object 2 ii FOREWORD in view and also with an idea of acknowledging my own- indebtedness to some of them I have ventured to say a few words. Of two such renowned personages of our day one was my most revered Guru, the late §ri Satchida- nanda Sivabhinava Narasimha Bharati Swami of Sringeri, who introduced me to the study of the Karikds, at whose- feet I had the inestimable privilege of sitting as a pupil. Here, a short account of my first lesson in Gaudapada may not be considered irrelevant by the reader. The very first day I paid my respects to the Swami more than forty years ago, I started thus: “The follower of every religion thinks that his faith, his scripture or his inter- pretation of it reveals the highest truth and that they are therefore superior to other faiths, scriptures or inter- pretations. This notion has contributed not a little to- the misfortunes of mankind in this world. The case is- not far different with many of those that are called philosophers. Though they have not instigated men to cause bloodshed, as mere religionists have done and are- still doing, yet they have made their followers delight rather in their points of difference than in those of agreement. How then is a Hindu in any way better than a Mahomedan «r a Christian ? Or, again, if truth- or ultimate truth, a something common to all minds,, cannot be rationally reached, is not philosophic enquiry a wild goose chase, as so many modern and honest: thinkers have held ? Lastly, as regards truth itself, every- one, even a fool, thinks that what he knows is the truth.”' The Swami in reply said, “What you say may be true with regard to mere religion, mysticism, theology or scholasticism which are mistaken for philosophy. It may be so with the early or intermediate stages in, philosophy. But Vedanta, particularly its philosophy,. FOREWORD iii is something different. It starts with the very question you ask. It sets before itself the object of finding a truth, ‘Free from all dispute’ and ‘Not opposed to any school of thought or religion or interpretation of 'scriptures’. Its truth is independent of sect, creed, colour, race, sex, and belief. And it aims at what is ‘Equally good for all beings’.” Then, I said, that I would devote the whole of my life to the study of "Vedanta, if the Swami would be so gracious, as to introduce me to a Vedantin, past or present, that did not or does not claim superiority for his religion over others on the authority of his own scripture, who does not refuse to open the gates of his heaven to those that differ from him, but who seeks only such philosophic .truth as does not lead to differences among men. Immediately the revered Guru quoted three verses from ’Gaudapada, Karikas II— 1, III— 17 and IV-2, and explained them, the substance of which has been quoted above. “If you want,” he added, “truth indisputable by any one and truth beneficent to all men, nay, to all beings, read and inwardly digest what Sankara’s teacher’s teacher, Sri Gaudapada says in his Karikas." The other eminent personage to whom I owe most of my effort to make a critical study of Gaudapada is His •Highness the Maharaja of Mysore, Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar Bahadur IV. His profound and extensive knowledge of philosophy and particularly his high regard for Mandukya Upanishad and the Karikas, led to frequent talks on the topics dealt with therein. His Highness who is accustomed to meeting learned scholars, pious religionists, and deep thinkers of all types and of different countries, is a most disinterested critic. This (drove me to the necessity of ascertaining how far IV FOREWORD Gauqiapada’s views are of value from the standpoint: of the student of Western science and philosophy and how far the ancient Vedanta could stand the fire of modern criticism, particularly of science, a knowledge of which is so indispensable to the study of philosophy nowadays. In this connection, I must not forget to mention that my debt is also immense to Mr. K. A. Krishnaswami Iyer, the Vedantin of Bangalore, and to those Swamis of the Sri Ramakrishna Order, that have devoted their life' to the philosophical pursuit of truth both from the- ancient and from the modern view-points and that have' been with me at Mysore. After studying Gaudapada for a time I turned to the Upanishads and to Brahma-Sutras as interpreted by Sankara, under the Sringeri Swami’s invaluable guidance.. I have now for more than forty years read and re-read them in the light of the Swami’s teachings and I find that Vedanta is far in advance, not merely of the most modern Western philosophic thought, but also of scientific thought, so far as its pursuit of knowledge for its own sake is concerned. To refer to an instance or two: Two thousand years ago Gaudapada anticipated what science is just beginning to guess in regard to ‘causal’ relation without a knowledge of which Vedanta can never be understood.
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