Amatra or Turiya, Atman and Brahman – the Self as per Mandukya
Pranava or OM
The Mandukya Upanishad is a principal Upanishad in the Athraveda. Mānduka, its etymological root, refers to a “teacher” or ‘spiritual distress” as per Monier’s dictionary.
When the world begins each time in its cyclical evolution after pralaya, as per nasadiya suktam*
न अस॑त् आ॒सी॒त् नो
इति॑ सत्
आ॒सी॒त् ।
ná ásat āsīt ná u sát āsīt
not the non-existent existed, nor did the existent exist
then
At the time of evolution, there was no sound or soundless-ness
as we more commonly understand it. Om or Pranava is the “primordial” or the
first sound in the universe. Before the Pranava, there was no sound. It is
important to note that both, sound, and absence of sounds, are present only in
duality, therefore. This sound is also called as “shabda Brahman” by the
shaktas.
Amatra – the infinite
Now let us examine Amatra. In Sanskrit, Matra denotes a quantity
or duration - which could be the length or the time of sound, or length of anything
else for that matter. Therefore, A-matra would mean the absence of all forms of
measurement. In other words, immeasurable or infinite. Isn’t this Atman or
Brahman as we know it?
The constituent syllables of OM are A,U and M as per Mandukya. When
the vibrations of A, U and M occur in the throat (or from the bell for that matter)
they produce the sound of OM. Mandukya states that the Amatra is present
throughout as the background or is the sub-stratum of A, U and M in OM. In
other words, A,U and M rise and fall in Amatra.
The significance of words
We all know that our entire universe is known to us by ideas or
speech. Both ideas and speech describe the phenomenal world. That is how a
human being understands the world. Thus, names and forms collectively and
comprehensively denote the Universe.
The syllables A,U and M represent the entire spectrum of all
sounds that can be produced by a human. Why is that? To start uttering OM, one
opens the mouth and finishes the utterance by closing the mouth. This means all
the words can be described as a combination of these three syllables. Hence the
word OM represents the entire vocabulary of words that can be used to describe
the Universe. Mandukya further states that names and forms can be described
uniquely by words. Hence, words are equal to the objects in the Universe that
they describe.
Conclusion
OM is the primordial sound, and it represents the phenomenal universe. It arises from the Amatra. As we have noted before, the Amatra is infinite and hence the Atman. This Amatra is present all through the utterance of OM. At the end of the utterance of OM, it merges into the Amatra again. The one who realises that would attain to the knowledge of the Self as he would have understood the nature of his Self as Atman.
Other
references of creation are found in other Upanishads such as
Aitareya Up 1.1.1 आत्मा वा इदमेक एवाग्र आसीन्नान्यत्किञ्चचन ।
Brhad
Up 1.2.1 नैवेह किंचनाग्र आसीत् ।
Brhad
Up 1.4.1 आत्मैवेदमग्र आसीत्पुरुषविधः ।
Brhad
Up 1.4.10 ब्रह्म वा इदमग्र आसीत्, तदात्मानमेवावेत्, अहम् ब्रह्मास्मीति ।
Brhad
Up 1.4.17, आत्मैवेदमग्र आसीतेक एव ।
Brhad
Up 5.5.1 अप एवेदमग्र आसुः, ता आपः सत्यमसृजन्त ।
Chand
Up 6.2.1 सदेव सोम्येदमग्र आसीदेकमेवाद्वितीयम् ।
Taittirya Up 2.7.1
असद्वा इदमग्र आसीत् । ततो वै सदजायत ।
About the author
Om Sri Gurbhyoh Namah! The timeless tradition of Advaita
continues even today. The author is a follower of that long lineage of teaching
that has seen Swami Dayananda Saraswati leading by his thought leadership in
recent times – a process which was set in motion by Adi Shankara. The author is
an ordinary individual grappling with the very questions described at the
beginning of this piece. The author believes that one needs a firm conviction
to solve any problem – either pertaining to this life or the life after. This
Truth is so commonplace, profound, and yet invisible to the naked eye or the
finest intellect even. It is obtainable easily by the one who strives earnestly
for it.
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