Hiraṇyagarbha | The Golden Egg

Hiranyagarbha

Hiraṇyagarbha (IAST)
Translation: "The Golden Egg"

A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: हिरण्यगर्भ
Transliteration: Hiraṇyagarbha

Translation: "“golden egg”; gold germ; the cosmic form of the self; cosmic womb; creator of the subtle universe"

Definition:

1. It is the thread self or the subtle vesture. It is the form of all the individuals together or the only individual. It is the seed of the universe. It is also known as Sūtrātman. The Ṛg Veda (X.121) says, “Hiraṇyagarbha arose in the beginning; born, he was the one lord of things existing.”
2. A name of God, the Creator (Saguṇa Brahman) as born from a golden egg. This egg was formed from the seed deposited in the primordial waters by the self-existent Brahman on the eve of creation. The seed took the form of a golden egg, out of which Brahman was born as Brahmā, the creator. It also means the soul invested by the subtle body. Various synonyms for this term include Mahat, Virāt, Īśvara, Saguṇa Brahman.

Glossary to the Record of Yoga

Hiraṇyagarbha – "the Golden Embryo of life and form,” Brahman manifest in the second of the three states symbolized by the letters of AUM as “the Spirit in the inner planes;” the Self (Ātman) supporting the dream state (Svapna) or subtle (Sūkṣma) consciousness, “the Dream-self which is the continent of all subtle, subjective or supraphysical experience.”

Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad (Swami Krishnananda)

Commentary: "Even as you have the state of individual dream animated by a consciousness called Taijasa, there is, from the cosmic point of view, Hiraṇyagarbha, pertaining to the cosmic dreaming state. While the dream world of Taijasa may be regarded, tentatively speaking, as an effect of the waking world of Viśva, we cannot say that Hiraṇyagarbha is an effect of Virāt. This is the difference between individualistic perception and Cosmic Knowledge. While Viśva may be said to precede Taijasa, Virāt does not precede Hiraṇyagarbha. On the other hand, the reverse is the case in the cosmic state. The dream consciousness which is Taijasa has certain characteristics of Viśva, also. The subtle body has the same contour as the physical body. If the physical body is a form, the subtle body is the mold in which this form is cast. The subtle body has, thus, a reference to the physical body, and, almost in every respect, it corresponds in form, shape and structure to the physical body. This is why the words, Saptāṅga and Ekonaviṃśati-Mukhaḥ, are repeated, both in the waking and the dream descriptions.

The Viśva, or the Jāgarita-Sthāna, is Saptāṅga and Ekonaviṃśati-Mukhaḥ; and so is Taijasa, or the Svapna-Sthāna. Hiraṇyagarbha and Virāt seem to have the same structural formation, though Hiraṇyagarbha is subtler than Virāt. Hiraṇyagarbha and Virāt are both cosmic, and their difference is one of a degree of subtlety, but not of structural formation. Hiraṇyagarbha also would be beheld by us in the state of realization as the Virāt only with the distinction that Hiraṇyagarbha is subtler than the Virāt. The seven heads described of Viśva or Vaiśvānara can also be described as of Hiraṇyagarbha or Taijasa. Taijasa individually and Hiraṇyagarbha cosmically are Antaḥ-Prājñaḥ, internally conscious because of their objects being not physical but subtle, constituted of Tanmātra: Śabda, Sparśa, Rūpa, Rasa, and Gandha. Though waking and dream have their similarity of character in respect of Saptāṅgatva and Ekonaviṃśati-Mukhatva, the dream consciousness is Pravivikta-Bhuk, both individually and cosmically, it absorbs subtle things into itself in both cases. And that distinction we draw between Viśva and Vaiśvānara, we can also draw between Taijasa and Hiraṇyagarbha. The relation between the Virāt and Viśva, and the relation between Hiraṇyagarbha and Taijasa are the same. The dream world is very complex when it is judged from the point of view of the Jīva, the individual; but it is simple from the point of view of Cosmic Experience."

The Upanishads: Volume I (Swami Nikhilananda)

"Hiraṇyagarbha, or Brahmā, is mentioned in the Rig-Veda as the first-born when Brahman becomes conditioned by Māyā. He is the first entity endowed with the consciousness of individuality. "Who creates the God Brahmā in the beginning and who communicates to Him the Vedas also." He is called Brahmā (masculine) and is differentiated from Brahman (neuter). He is the "Golden Egg," containing in potential form the future manifold universe. In contrast with the Jīva, the individualized consciousness, who is conscious only of his own soul, Brahmā is conscious of all souls. The totality of all beings is His individuality (Sarvābhimāni).

It is implicit in the Upanishadic teachings that the entire objective universe is possible only in so far as it is sustained by a knowing subject. Though this knowing subject is manifested in all individual subjects, yet it is not, by any means, identified with them. Individual subjects come into existence and die, but the universe continues to exist. Who, then, is its perceiver or knower? It is Brahmā, or Hiraṇyagarbha, who is the eternal Knowing Subject by which the universe is sustained. All living beings respond in more or less like manner to the outside world, and experience the same sensations, because their individual minds are controlled by the cosmic mind of Brahmā, and also because they are part and parcel of Him. When, at the end of a cycle, Brahmā dies, the universe dies with Him."

References:

1. Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
2. Hartz, Richard. Glossary to the Record of Yoga (Sri Aurobindo). Retrieved from http://wiki.auroville.org.in/wiki/Glossary_to_the_Record_of_Yoga
3. Krishnananda, Swami (1996). The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand_0.html. p. 65-66.
4. Nikhilananda, Swami (1949). The Upanishads: Volume I—Katha, Iśa, Kena, and Mundaka. New York, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers. p. 69.

Ukāra | "the letter U"

Ukara

Ukāra (IAST)
Translation: "the letter U"
From Mandukya Upanishad (Verses 8, 10)

Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads (Swami Sharvananda)
Sanskrit: उकार
Transliteration: Ukāra
Translation: "the letter U"

Commentary: "the common feature between the dreaming state and the letter U lies in their both being intermediary, one between the two states – the awakened and deep sleep, and the other between the two letters A and M. The superiority is in the sense of subtleness."

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad (Swami Krishnananda)
Sanskrit: उकार
Transliteration: Ukāra
Translation: "the letter U"

Commentary: "Ukāra is the second syllable of Om, which can be compared with the second Pāda or foot of the Ātman. The Ukāra is regarded as Utkarṣa or elevated in the sense that it is beyond Akāra, proceeds after Akāra. In the series of the letters of the alphabet, ‘U’ comes after, as an effect, as it were, of the pronunciation of Akāra; and while Akāra may be regarded as the commencement of language, Ukāra is the middle of all vowel-formations. When you utter ‘U’, you find that the middle of the throat begins to function. It is elevated, symbolically, says the Upaniṣad, in the sense that it is above Akāra in the process of word-formation. So also is Taijasa or dream-consciousness that comes afterwards as an effect of the waking experience; proceeding from the waking experience, existing midway between waking and sleep. Ubhayatvādvā; It is Ubhaya, or both, in the sense that it has two sides, namely, waking and sleep, from the point of view of the Pāda of the Ātman, and it is between Akāra and Makāra, from the point of view of the Mātrā(s), or syllables, of Oṃkāra. Thus we can compare, in meditation, Ukāra with Taijasa, the dreaming consciousness. These comparisons are made by the Upaniṣad to help one in meditation, so that one can bring Oṃkāra in juxtaposition with the states of the Ātman. All these comparisons are symbolic, and we should not take them literally. All meditations are symbolic; all Vidyā of the Upaniṣad are symbolic, as the comparison of Brahman to the rope and the world to the snake seen in the rope, in the analogy of the snake-in-the-rope, is symbolic. When you say, Brahman is like the rope, it does not mean that Brahman is long like the rope. The analogy is limited to the symbology intended; and likewise we have to take this comparison as a symbology to help meditation on the unity of all names and forms, comprehended in the unity of Oṃkāra with the Ātman in all its phases. Thus, Ukāra being elevated above Akāra, existing midway between Akāra and Makāra, is comparable with the dreaming state, which is elevated above the waking state as an effect of it, and exists between the waking and the deep sleep states. Utkarṣati Ha Vai Jñāna-Santatiṃ: And one who meditates in this manner, rises in his status of knowledge. As ‘U’ is raised over ‘A’, and dream is raised over waking, the knowledge of the meditator rises above all the ordinary informative understanding of the schools of thought. He becomes a real knower, a Jñāni, by a meditation on the unity of Ukāra with the Taijasa. Samānaś-Ca Bhavati: Just as there is an equilibrating effect of Taijasa in relation to the waking and sleep states, in the sense that it is conscious like waking, and yet not externally conscious in the same sense, just as there is an equalising effect of Ukāra between Akāra and Makāra, one who meditates thus becomes an equalising factor in society and in all creation. One becomes a harmonizing element everywhere. There is no conflict in one’s mind, then, and one does not create conflict in society when established in this meditation. One has peace within oneself, and creates peace outside, too, on account of the radiance of peace emanating from oneself. The meditator becomes a spontaneous peace-maker. His existence itself is a peace-making. He need not say anything in the world. In his presence, conflict cannot arise, and turmoil ceases, vexations and emotional tensions come to a close on account of meditation practiced thus as an equalizing factor of consciousness between waking and deep sleep through the syllable ‘U’ of Ukāra, says the Upaniṣad. Not only that; Nāsyā-Brahma-Vit-Kule Bhavati – so purifying is this meditation, such an effect it has upon the meditator and all those connected with him, that in his family no one who does not know Brahman can be born. He will have only Brahmavid in his family on account of the effect of this meditation. His blood gets purified so much, the very cells of his body are charged with this super-physical knowledge to such an extent, that an idiot child cannot be born to him. What is a child after all? It is you, yourself, reborn. Ātmā Vai Putranāmā Asi: You yourself are reborn, as your child, in some other form; and your knowledge will be communicated to the child, and because of this meditation, when it takes effect, you become flooded with knowledge; you become knowledge itself. Rather, it is not your body that is reborn; it is knowledge that is reborn. You do not merely pass on the chromosomes or blood-cells in the birth of a child, but you pass knowledge. You get inundated with spiritual knowledge to such an extent that you cease to be a mere physical body. The physical body vibrates as a body of knowledge. Such is the power of this knowledge. The family is nothing but the generation of your children, which, the Upaniṣad says, should be one of knowledge alone. Therefore, your generation, your posterity shall be a series, not of bodily children, but children of knowledge – Amritasya Putrāh. Such is the glory of this meditation."

References:

1. Sharvananda, Swami (1920). Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads: With Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-For-Word Literal Translation, English, Rendering and Comments. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math
2. Krishnananda, Swami (1996). The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand_0.html. p. 93-95.

Taijasa | The Self of the Dream State

Taijasa

Taijasa (IAST)
Translation: "The Self of the Dream State"
From Mandukya Upanishad (Verse 4, 10)

A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: तैजस
Transliteration: Taijasa
Translation: "the dream self; the vital self; the fiery"
Definition:

1. It is the self having a conceit in an individual subtle body in dream experience. It is so called because it is of the nature of light and, thus, can function in the absence of external objects. It knows subtle internal objects and enjoys them through the mind.

Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads (Swami Sharvananda)
Sanskrit: तैजस
Transliteration: Taijasa
Translation: "lit. One of shining element"

Commentary: The macrocosmic aspect of Ātman in the subtle or mental state is called Hiraṇyagarbha. Like Virāt, Hiraṇyagarbha is here alluded to in unification with the microcosmic Taijas.

Mandukya Upanishad (James Swartz)

"The dreamer, consciousness turned inward, enjoys a world similar in some respects to the waking state world and radically different in others. In the dream state, The Self illumines only subtle objects, a replay of the Vāsanā [Saṃskāra] gathered in the waking state expressing in pictorial form. In the waking state, the Vāsanā [Saṃskāra] express as the waker’s thoughts and feelings. Like the waker, the dreamer believes he or she and his or her world is real. The dreamer is equipped with the same instruments for experience as the waker: dream senses to consume dream objects, a dream mind to emote and feel, a dream intellect to think dream thoughts, and a dream ego to go about the business of experiencing the dream life. The dreamer is referred to in the Upaniṣad as Taijasa, the “shining one,” a term indicating its nature as Consciousness. All dreams appear in light, even though the waking senses are inactive, because the Self, Consciousness, is shining through the dreamer, just as it shines through the waker."

The Upanishads: Volume II (Swami Nikhilananda)

Selected from Chapter I: Āgama Prakaraṇa: "Taijasa is the cognizer of internal objects. Taijasa is the cognizer through the mind within. Taijasa experiences the subtle. The subtle object satisfies Taijasa. Taijasa is conditioned by cause and effect. Taijasa, is associated with sleep. The clear ground for realizing Taijasa as of the same nature as the letter U is the common feature of superiority. Another plain reason for such identity is their being in the middle. Through meditation on U, the seeker attains Taijasa."

References:

1. Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
2. Sharvananda, Swami (1920). Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads: With Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-For-Word Literal Translation, English, Rendering and Comments. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math
3. Swartz, James (1996). Mandukya Upanishad: An ancient Sanskrit text on the nature of Reality. Retrieved from https://www.holybooks.com/mandukya-upanishad-an-ancient-sanskrit-text-on-the-nature-of-reality/.
4. Nikhilananda, Swami (1952). The Upanishads: Volume II - Śvetāśvatara, Praśna, and Māndukya with Gauḍapāda's Kārikā. New York, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers

Svapna | The Dream State

Swapna

Svapna (IAST)
Translation: "The Dream State"
From Mandukya Upanishad (Verses 4, 5, 10)

A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: स्वप्न
Transliteration: Svapna
Translation: "dream; the dream state"
Definition:

1. It is to be immersed in one’s own self.

Glossary to the Record of Yoga (Sri Aurobindo)

"Svapna, dream, dreaming; the state of sleep in which dreams occur, in contrast to deep and dreamless sleep (Suṣupti); internal vision in Svapna-Samādhi."

Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads (Swami Sharvananda)
Sanskrit: स्वप्न, स्वप्नं
Transliteration: Svapna, Svapnaṃ 
Translation: "dreams "

Māṇḍūkyopaniṣat and Kārikā (Swami Paramarthananda)

Commentary: "In dream, one and the same waker divides himself into the experiencing individual and the experienced world. Similarly I, the Ātma, with Māyā-Śakti bifurcate into the experiencing mind and the experienced world; the experiencing thought and the experienced object."

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad (Swami Krishnananda)
Sanskrit: स्वप्न, स्वप्नं
Transliteration: Svapna, Svapnaṃ

Commentary: "The subtle desires repressed within manifest themselves in dream, when the will does not operate. The desires cannot all operate in the waking world, because the ‘reality’ is there, opposing them from outside. You cannot go on tom-toming your desires to people. They will oppose you, censure you, and make your life hard in the world. And the desires, too, are very intelligent. They know where to express themselves, and where not. But in the dream world there is no such censure from the reality outside. There is, then, no will and intellect or ratiocination working, and there is only the instinct operating. You live in an instinctive world. Your real personality, at least partially, comes out in the dream world.

Dreams, therefore, are due to repressed desires. This is one of the causes behind dreams. This is the only factor that the psychoanalysts of the West emphasize. But Indian psychologists and psychoanalysts, like the Rāja Yogins and the philosophers of the Vedānta, have touched another aspect of dream. The dreams may be, to some extent, of course, the results of complexes created by frustrated desires. But, this is not wholly true. Dreams may be due to other reasons also; one such reason being the working of past Karma. The effects of past Karma, meritorious or unmeritorious, may project themselves into dream when chances are not given to them for expression in waking life. Also, a thought of some other person may affect you. A friend of yours may be deeply thinking of you; and you may have a dream of him, or you may have a dream with experiences corresponding to his thoughts. Your mother may be far away, crying for you, and her thought can affect you; you may have a dream. All this is equal to saying that a telepathic effect can produce dream. In the case of spiritual seekers, guru’s grace can cause a dream; and catastrophic experiences that one may have to pass through in the waking world may pass lightly as a dream experience by his grace. Due to the power of the guru, one may have a dream suffering, instead of a waking one. If the disciple has to fall down and break his leg due to a Prārabdha, the guru will make him experience it in dream, and save him the trouble in waking. One may have a dream temperature, or fever, instead of a waking fever. One may have a calamity in dream instead of its coming in waking. This is due to the grace of the guru. So, Śaktipata can also be a cause of dream. All this the psychoanalysts of the West do not know. And, Īśvara’s grace, also, can bring about dreams. God may bless you and give you certain peculiar experiences in dream. You may ask, “Why should they not come in waking? Why should the guru work only in dream, and Īśvara’s grace come only in dream?” The reason is that you oppose their function in waking life, due to the assertions of the ego. You counteract Īśvara’s working and guru’s blessing by the action of your own egoism. But, in dream, the ego subsides, to some extent. You become more normal, one may say, and you approximate yourself more to reality, rather than to artificiality, in dream. Thus, it is easier for these powers to operate in dream than in waking. The opposing will of the ego, which functions in waking, subsides, to a large extent, in dream, and so there is a greater chance provided for the diviner forces to function in the dreaming condition. The physician puts the patient to sleep first, before the healing process can take place, because the ego opposes interference in the waking life, while there is no such opposition in dream and sleep. In hypnosis, the patient is put to sleep. The nerves must be soothed; the agitation of the mind should come down; the ego should not oppose the healing forces. Dream is helpful, in this way, for the operation of the higher powers coming from the guru, or from Īśvara.

Dream, therefore, can have umpteen causes. Whatever the causes be, dream in the individual is regarded as an effect of waking, and is often judged as a consequence of impressions of waking perception and cognition. The world of dream being subtle, projected only by the mind, is regarded as Pravivikta, Sūkṣma, non-physical – this is so both in the case of Taijasa and Hiraṇyagarbha. While Hiraṇyagarbha has Cosmic Knowledge, the Jīva has no such knowledge, for the reason already explained. Hiraṇyagarbha is Īśvara’s form, and Taijasa is Jīva’s form. Thus is the twofold mystery which dream bolsters up before us."

Lessons on the Upanishads (Swami Krishnananda)

"In the dream state something else happens. The actual physical world – which is seen, contacted through the sense organs in the waking state – is absent, but it looks as if it is present even in the dream state due to an action of the mind. Without the assistance of the gross senses and of the organs of action which are active in the waking condition, the mind alone concocts, imagines, projects a world of its own and we see a world in dream. We exist there, in the dream, in the same manner as we exist in the waking state. We can see ourselves now seated here in the waking state; in a similar way, we can see ourselves seeing certain things in the dream state also. There is a ‘dream me’ in the same way as there is a ‘waking me’. There is also a dream world. We see all sorts of things in the waking state – mountains, rivers, sun, moon, stars, and all kinds of people. We can see all that in the dream world also. There is space, time, and externality in dream, as there is in the waking state. The difference between the waking and the dream is that the mind has created the entire world of external cognition and perception of its own accord without the assistance of externally existing physical objects or physical sensations.

In dream also there are nineteen mouths operating. We have dream eyes, dream ears, a dream nose, a dream tongue that tastes, dream touch and dream legs, dream hands, dream organs of every kind. In dream we run with legs; we eat a good meal in dream. We can even live and die – even that experience is possible in dream. One can feel that one is born or one can feel that one is dead; one can observe one’s own cremation in dream. All kinds of fantastic things can be experienced in dream. A new world is projected by the mind. Space, time, causation, objects, people, all blessed things are in the dream world because the psyche is operating through the vital energy, the mind and the intellect in a diminished form – not in an active way. The only difference is that the physical body is not there as an object of awareness. People sometimes sleep with their mouths open; if a few particles of sugar are put on the tongue of a sleeping man, he will not taste it because his mind is withdrawn.

The mind is the main operative organ that causes the sensations of seeing, hearing, tasting, etc. Even the ego is very active in dream. If somebody calls us – either in dream or deep sleep – by a name that is not ours, we will not listen to it; we will not wake up. If John is sleeping and he is called Jacob, he will not wake up. John must be summoned only as John. That is, the ego is so very intensely identified with this particular name-form complex that it is active even there, in the submerged condition of dream and sleep. So the nineteen mouths of the waking condition are psychologically projected by the mind in the dreaming state also. There also we have all these experiences, every blessed thing, as we have in the waking state."

References:

1. Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
2. Hartz, Richard. Glossary to the Record of Yoga (Sri Aurobindo). Retrieved from http://wiki.auroville.org.in/wiki/Glossary_to_the_Record_of_Yoga
3. Sharvananda, Swami (1920). Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads: With Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-For-Word Literal Translation, English, Rendering and Comments. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math
4. Paramarthananda, Swami. Māṇḍūkyopaniṣat and Kārikā. Coimbatore: Arsha Avinash Foundation. p. 186.
5. Krishnananda, Swami (1996). The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand_0.html. 68-70.
6. Krishnananda, Swami (1991). Lessons on the Upanishads. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/upanishad.html. p. 102-103.

Saptāṅga | "seven-limbed"

Saptangga

Saptāṅga (IAST)
Translation: "seven-limbed"
From Mandukya Upanishad (Verses 3, 4)

Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads (Swami Sharvananda)
Sanskrit: सप्ताङग
Transliteration: Saptāṅga
Translation: "seven-limbed"

Commentary: "It is described elsewhere in the Śruti that the head of Vaiśvānara is the heaven, the sun His eyes, the air His breath, the sky His body, water His lower organ, and the earth His feet. So these are the seven limbs of the Viśva referred to here."

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad (Swami Krishnananda)
Sanskrit: सप्ताङग
Transliteration: Saptāṅga
Translation: "seven-limbed"

Commentary: "The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad has a beautiful Mantra to which reference is made by the word, Saptāṅga (seven-limbed):

Agnir Mūrdha, Cakṣuṣī Candra-Sūryau, Diśah Śrotre, Vāk Vivṛitāsca Vedāh; Vāyuh Prānah, Hṛdayam Viśvamasya, Pādbhyām Pṛthvī; Eṣa Sarva-Bhūtāntarātmā.

This is the all-pervading Paramātman, residing in all beings: Eṣa Sarva-Bhūtāntarātmā. Who is this Being? Agnir Mūrdha: The shining regions of the heaven may be regarded as His head. The topmost region of creation is His crown. Cakṣuṣī Candra-Sūryau: His eyes are the sun and the moon. Diśah Śrotre: The quarters of the heavens are His ears, through which He hears. Vāk Vivṛitāsca Vedāh: The Vedas are His speech. Vāyuh Prānah: His breath is all this air of the cosmos: Hṛdayam Viśvamasya: The whole universe is His heart. Pādbhyām Pṛthvī: The earthly region may be regarded as His feet. This is the Universal Ātman, from the point of view of the waking consciousness. This is the Virāt, or the Universal Person, who is sung in the Puruṣa-Sūkta of the Veda. This is the Virāt whom Arjuna saw, as described in the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā. This is the Virāt who was exhibited in the Kaurava court, by Sri Kṛṣṇa, when He went for peace-making. This is the Virāt which Yaśoda saw in the mouth of the baby Kṛṣṇa. This is the Cosmic Man, Nahapuruṣa, Puruṣottama, Virāt-Puruṣa. He is also called Vaiśvānara, from the term Viśvā-Nara. Viśva is the cosmos; Nara is man. He is called Vaiśvānara, because He is the Cosmic Man, the only Man in the whole cosmos. There is only one Man, and He is this. We are reminded here of the opinion of saint Mīrā who is reported to have said that there is only one Puruṣa: There are not many men in this world. There is only one Man, and this is the Man: He is Vaiśvānara."

References:

1. Sharvananda, Swami (1920). Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads: With Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-For-Word Literal Translation, English, Rendering and Comments. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math
2. Krishnananda, Swami (1996). The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand_0.html. p. 44-45.

Ekonaviṃśati-Mukhaḥ | "nineteen-mouthed"

Ekonavimshati-Mukhah

Ekonaviṃśati-Mukhaḥ (IAST)
Translation: "nineteen-mouthed"
From Mandukya Upanishad (Verse 3, 4)

Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads (Swami Sharvananda)
Sanskrit: एकोनविंशतिमुखः
Transliteration: Ekonaviṃśati-Mukhaḥ
Translation: "nineteen-faced/mouthed"

Definition: "i.e., possessing five Jñānendriya (sensory organs), five Karmendriya (motor organs), five Prāṇa (vital energy) and four Antaḥ-Kāraṇa (four aspects of the mind). These are called mouths because through these He enjoys the external world."

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad (Swami Krishnananda)
Sanskrit: एकोनविंशतिमुखः
Transliteration: Ekonavimśati-Mukhaḥ
Translation: "nineteen-faced/mouthed"

Commentary: "Its mouth is the organ by which we consume things, take in objects, appropriate material by assimilation into our bodies, digest them into ourselves, as it were. This is the function of the mouth. The medium of the reception of objects into our own self is the mouth. In one sense, the eyes also are the mouth, the ears, are the mouth, because they receive and absorb certain vibrations through different functions. Vibrations impinge on our personality through the avenues called the senses, viz., eyes, ears, etc., and all these may be regarded as mouths; in this sense, everything that is cognized by the senses is Āharā or food for this personality. Anything that we consume with our senses is Āharā. Āharā-Śuddhau Sattva-Śuddhiḥ: When there is purity of food, there is illumination by means of Sattva from within, says the Chāndogya Upaniṣad. It does not mean that we should take only milk and fruits every day, which we usually regard as Sāttvica diet, while we may think evil thoughts, see ugly sights, hear bad news, and so on. Sāttvica Āharā is the purified vibration which the senses receive and communicate to the personality through all their functions, at all times. So, the senses are the mouths, and every kind of sense may be regarded as a mouth."

Lessons on the Upanishads (Swami Krishnananda)

Commentary: "Consciousness has nineteen mouths through which it eats the food of objective experience. What are these nineteen mouths? They are the five senses of knowledge: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. With these five sensations we come in contact with things in the world outside and enjoy them with the actions and reactions produced by means of such sensory contact. These five mentioned are called senses of knowledge, or Jñāna Indriya. They are so-called because they give us some sort of knowledge of either sight or sound or taste or smell or touch.

Apart from these five senses of knowledge, there are five organs of action. They do not give us any independent knowledge, but they act. The hand that grasps is one organ of action; the speech that articulates words is another organ of action; the feet that cause locomotion or movement are also organs of action; the generative organ and the excretory organ are also two of the active elements, or organs of action. They act, but they do not give any new knowledge. Whatever idea, knowledge, experience, etc., we may have through any one of these organs of action comes through the sensations already mentioned – namely, the Jñāna Indriya. Even when the organs of action act and we are conscious that they are acting, this consciousness is available only through the Jñāna Indriya and not separately through the organs of action. They do not give additional knowledge. It looks as if we have some sensation even through the organs of action, but actually it is not so. The sensation, the experience of the actions of the Karma Indriya, as they are called, arises on account of the simultaneous action of the Jñāna Indriya, or senses of knowledge. So these five senses of knowledge and five organs of action make ten mouths of consciousness.

There are five Prāṇa. The Prāṇa, or the vital energy in us, operates in five ways. When we breath out, expel the breath, the Prāṇa is active. When we breath in, when we inhale the breath, the Apāna is active. The Vyāna is the third form of the operation of this energy. It causes circulation of blood and makes us feel a sensation of liveliness in every part of the body. The operative action of the bloodstream is pushed onward in a circular fashion throughout the body by the action of a particular function of Prāṇa called Vyāna. There is another action of the Prāṇa, which is Udāna. It causes the swallowing of food. When we put food in the mouth, it goes inside through the epiglottis and it is pushed down by the action of a Prāṇa called Udāna. Udāna has also certain other functions to perform; it takes us to deep sleep. Our Jīva consciousness, our individualized consciousness, is pushed into a state of somnolence. That also is the work of Udāna. Udāna also has a third function to perform, namely, the separation of the vital body from the physical body at the time of death. Three actions, three performances are attributed to Udāna. The fifth Prāṇa, Samāna, operates through the navel region and causes the digestion of food. It creates heat in the stomach and in the navel region, causing the gastric juices to operate, and so we feel appetite. Hunger is created, and food is digested by the action of Samāna. Thus, there are five Prāṇa: Prāṇa, Apāna, Vyāna, Udāna, and Samāna. Five senses of knowledge, five organs of action, and five Prāṇa make fifteen ways in which we contact things.

There are four functions of the psychic organ. The internal psyche, which is generally called Manas – or mind, in ordinary language – has four functions. In Sanskrit, these four functions are designated as Manas, Buddhi, Ahaṅkāra, and Citta [Antaḥ-Karaṇa-Catuṣṭaya]. Manas is ordinary, indeterminate thinking – just being aware that something is there. That is the work of the mind; that is Manas. Buddhi determines, decides, and logically comes to the conclusion that something is such and such a thing. That is another aspect of the operation of the psyche – Buddhi, or intellect. The third form of the mind is ego, Ahaṅkāra, affirmation, assertion. “I know that there is some object in front of me and I also know that I know. I know that I am existing as this so-and-so.” This kind of affirmation attributed to one’s own individuality is the work of Ahaṅkāra, known as egoism. The subconscious action, memory, etc., are called the Citta, which is the fourth function. Thus, Manas, Buddhi, Ahaṅkāra, and Citta are the four basic functions of the internal organ, the psychological organ.

Hence, we have five senses of knowledge, five organs of action, five Prāṇa, and four operations of the psyche totaling nineteen. Consciousness grasps objects from outside through these mouths. We feel secure and happy because all these nineteen aspects are acting at the same time, in some form or other, with more or less emphasis. Any one of the nineteen can act at any time under special given conditions. Inasmuch as anyone can act at any time, it is virtually saying that all are acting at the same time. Therefore, we are actively, objectively conscious through the nineteen operative media of the individual consciousness in the waking condition. We are aware of this vast world of sensory perception, and we go on contacting these objects of the world through these media."

References:

1. Sharvananda, Swami (1920). Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads: With Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-For-Word Literal Translation, English, Rendering and Comments. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math
2. Krishnananda, Swami (1996). The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand_0.html. p. 48.
3. Krishnananda, Swami (1991). Lessons on the Upanishads. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/upanishad.html. p. 98-100.

Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ | "consciousness is inward"

Antah-Prajñah

Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ (IAST)
Translation: "consciousness is inward"
From Mandukya Upanishad (Verse 4)

A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: अन्तःप्रज्ञः
Transliteration: Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ
Translation: "inwardly cognitive"
Definition:

1. The dream state wherein consciousness still functions but is not externally manifested. This dream consciousness is technically called Taijasa. Here, the dreamer experiences subtle objects which are projections of the mind. 

Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads (Swami Sharvananda)
Sanskrit: अन्तःप्रज्ञः
Transliteration: Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ
Translation: Whose consciousness is inward

Commentary: "i.e., whose consciousness cognises only the stored up mental impressions of the objective world produced during the awakened state. As the consciousness is completely immured within the mind only, it is called Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ in contradistinction to that in the awakened state, although psychologically it would be wrong to call the states of consciousness, internal or external."

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad (Swami Krishnananda)
Sanskrit: अन्तःप्रज्ञः
Transliteration: Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ

Commentary: Dream is not merely a metaphysical problem; it is also a psychological occurrence. It is a reversion of the mind into its own abode, from the world of sensory operations. That is why it is called Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ, and Pravivikta-Bhuk. It is Antaḥ-Prajñaḥ, or internally conscious, because the mind can project a world in dream, independent of the operation of the waking senses. The eyes may be closed, but yet you will ‘see’ in dream. You may plug your ears and go to bed, and yet you will ‘hear’ in dream. Though the tongue does not actually work, you can ‘taste’ in dream. You can have all the sensory functions in dream, though the waking senses are not active then. The mind projects itself as the senses of dream and becomes capable of contacting dream objects which, also, are a partial manifestation of the same mind. The mind divides itself into the subject and the object, the seer as well as the seen. You are the beholder of the dream, and you are also, simultaneously, the world which you behold. The world of dream, together with the beholder in dream, vanishes, when there is waking, in which the dream subject and the dream objects coalesce, come together to form a more integrated consciousness.

References:

1. Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
2. Sharvananda, Swami (1920). Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads: With Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-For-Word Literal Translation, English, Rendering and Comments. Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math
3. Krishnananda, Swami (1996). The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. Retrieved from https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand_0.html. p. 64.