The four aspects of the Lord
Om is everything, encompassing past, present, and future, and even what is beyond the material universe. This transcendental Lord manifests himself in four aspects.
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The three states of consciousness are the waking state, the dreaming state, and the unconscious state of deep sleep, presided over by three forms of the Lord: Viśva, Taijasa, and Prājña. Our consciousness alternates between these three states during our conditioned life, pulled by these three forms of the Lord. To these three, another state is added: Turīya, the transcendental state, presided over by Krsna Himself in His personal aspect. The Lord is represented by the Omkāra, His sound incarnation. The goal of life is to revive our eternal relationship with Him.
The four aspects of the Lord
The syllable Om is the Lord Himself, present in the form of His holy name. The Lord is everything, and therefore Om is everything, encompassing past, present, and future, and even what is beyond the material universe. This transcendental Lord manifests himself in four aspects, controlling the four states of consciousness enjoyed by the soul. Three of them are experienced in the conditioned state, and the last one is fully transcendental, beyond matter. By explaining these different aspects of the Lord and the different states presided by them, the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad helps us to attain the perfect stage.
Text 1.1
om ity etad akṣaram idam sarvam
tasyopavyākhyānam bhūtam bhavad bhaviṣyad iti sarvam onkāra eva
yac cānyat trikālātītam tad apy onkāra eva
Om. Indeed, this imperishable syllable is everything. All that is material exists under the purview of past, present, and future, and all of that is Om. And everything that transcends space and time (the spiritual realm) is also Om. There is nothing apart from the Lord. He is full of all auspicious attributes, He is close to all, and He is unchangeable, beyond all transformations of matter.
Commentary: The syllable Om is the holy name of the Lord, non-different from the mantra Hare Krsna. Om is the Lord Himself. In a marriage ceremony, for example, a fire ceremony is performed to invoke the presence of the Lord to witness the vows made by the couple. However, in previous ages, marriages were sometimes performed by just invoking the syllable Om. When Om is chanted with faith, the Lord is personally present, just as He is when we chant the mahā-mantra Hare Krsna.
In the Caitanya Caritāmṛta (Adi 7.128), it's mentioned:
"The Vedic sound vibration omkāra, the principal word in the Vedic literatures, is the basis of all Vedic vibrations. Therefore one should accept omkāra as the sound representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the reservoir of the cosmic manifestation."
In His purport, Srila Prabhupada elaborates:
"All potencies are invested in the holy vibration of the holy name of the Lord. There is no doubt that the holy name of the Lord, or omkāra, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In other words, anyone who chants omkāra and the holy name of the Lord, Hare Kṛṣṇa, immediately meets the Supreme Lord directly in His sound form. In the Nārada Pañcarātra it is clearly said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa personally appears before the chanter who engages in chanting the aṣṭākṣara, or eight-syllable mantra, om namo nārāyaṇāya. A similar statement in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad declares that whatever one sees in the spiritual world is all an expansion of the spiritual potency of omkāra."
All the qualities of the Lord are present in the syllable Om, and similarly, all the qualities that are attributed to Om in this and other verses are personal attributes of the Lord. Omkāra is beginningless, changeless, supreme, and free from deterioration and external contamination. This is made clear in the verse by the word akṣaram (imperishable). Nothing that is material can be eternal, and everything spiritual is without beginning and change. Akṣaram thus simultaneously conveys all this meaning.
Because Omkāra is the sound incarnation of the Lord, it is the origin, middle, and end of everything. This is indicated in the word sarvam (all, everything). Some philosophers believe in the theory of dualism, in which the material nature and the jīvas are considered separated and different from Brahman, but both Vaishnava and Māyāvādis disagree with this. Both accept that Brahman is everything.
Māyāvādis err by believing that the material creation is false and the jīvas are one with Brahman, but Vaishnavas offer the conclusive truth of simultaneously oneness and difference. Different Vaishnava ācāryas explained this delicate concept in different ways, but they all agree on the basic principle.
Another meaning of the word sarvam is that not only is the Lord everything, but also that He has all qualities. This makes clear that the Lord is not just an impersonal object, but a person with qualities, attributes, and transcendental activities. One who truly understands the Lord attains the perfection of his original spiritual identity in His company.
The word upavyākhyānam is the combination of upa (near) and vyakhyana (explanation). It indicates that Brahman is near everyone. This is confirmed in the Gītā, where the Lord says: "The Supreme Truth exists outside and inside of all living beings, the moving and the nonmoving. Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know. Although far, far away, He is also near to all."
All living entities change over time, going through birth, death, and all transformations in between. In other words, all material creations exist under the influence of time, divided into past, present, and future (bhūtam bhavad bhaviṣyad). All of this is Brahman (iti sarvam onkāra eva) and has no separate existence. The Lord is everything, the Lord is everywhere, and the Lord transcends the division of time in past, present, and future. These points are confirmed by the Lord Himself to Brahma in the first three verses of the catuḥślokī Bhāgavatam:
"Brahmā, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who was existing before the creation, when there was nothing but Myself. Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead.
O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness.
O Brahmā, please know that the universal elements enter into the cosmos and at the same time do not enter into the cosmos; similarly, I Myself also exist within everything created, and at the same time I am outside of everything." (SB 2.9.33-35)
It's only due to the influence of the illusory energy that we see ourselves or other things as separate from the Lord. In reality, not only does everything come from Him, but everything is part of His different energies, and therefore, everything should be used for Him in devotional service. When we adopt this process, then ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam: the mirror of the heart is cleansed and the fire of material existence extinguished. We can then see that we are always with the Lord, and only due to illusion we previously taught we were separated from Him.
Text 1.2
sarvam hy etad brahma ayam-ātmā brahma so’yam-ātmā catushpat
All of this is indeed Brahman. Brahman is the Supreme Self (ātma), the controller of all beings. He manifests Himself in four aspects (catushpat).
Commentary: The word ātmā (Self) is sometimes used in the sense of the individual soul, or even the mind or body. However, the primary meaning of the word is addressing the Supreme Brahman. Brahman is ātmā, the Supreme Self. This ātmā is everything, and includes everything (sarvam). The words sarvam hy etad brahma also indicate that the Lord, the Supreme Brahman, is the controller of everyone, including even Brahma. The Lord is also in full control of His multiple potencies.
Māyāvādis interpret the words "ayam-ātmā brahma" (this, ātmā, Brahman) in this verse as meaning that the jīva is the same as Brahman, but this is not the correct interpretation. On the contrary, ayam-ātmā brahma indicates that this ātmā referred to in the verse is not the individual soul, but the Supreme Brahman.
The Kaṭha Upaniṣad (2.2.13) mentions:
nityo nityānām cetanaś cetanānām, eko bahūnām yo vidadhāti kāmān
tam ātma-stham ye ’nupaśyanti dhīrās, teṣām śāntiḥ śāśvatī netareṣām
The Lord is the Supreme Eternal (nityo) amongst eternals (nityānām), the Supreme Conscious (cetanaś) amongst the conscious beings (cetanānām), the one who provides for all others and helps them to satisfy their desires (eko bahūnām yo vidadhāti kāmān). That (tam) Supreme Being residing in the heart (ātma-stham) is perceived by the self-realized who can see with clear vision (anupaśyanti dhīrās). For then (teṣām) there is eternal peace (śāntiḥ śāśvatī) and not for others (netareṣām), who, due to their contaminated consciousness, are forced to remain in this material world.
What about the words so’yam-ātmā catushpat (He, this ātmā, has four aspects)? This section introduces the description of the four forms of the Lord who preside over the four states of consciousness, which are the main topic of the Māṇḍūkya Upanisad.
The Lord is present in the hearts of everyone, and he provides the tools for the jīvas to perform actions and thus satisfy their desires. Although consciousness is an inherent characteristic of the soul, material consciousness is manifested by the Lord. In other words, in his original, liberated state, the soul is eternally conscious in his position of service to the Lord, but when the soul comes in contact with material nature, another type of consciousness is manifested by the Lord as a reflection of the original consciousness of the soul. This reflected consciousness (Vāsudeva) is originally almost pure, with just a small tinge of the mode of passion (SB 3.5.27), which allows the existence of the material creation and the start of material activity. This Vāsudeva consciousness is then covered by false-ego, intelligence and mind, manifested, respectively, from Sankarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, resulting in the conditioned consciousnesses that allow us to perceive the material world.
This process is explained by Lord Kapila in the Srimad Bhagavatam, in verses 3.26.19 to 3.26.29:
"After the Supreme Personality of Godhead impregnates material nature with His internal potency, material nature delivers the sum total of the cosmic intelligence, which is known as Hiraṇmaya. This takes place in material nature when she is agitated by the destinations of the conditioned souls. Thus, after manifesting variegatedness, the effulgent mahat-tattva, which contains all the universes within itself, which is the root of all cosmic manifestations and which is not destroyed at the time of annihilation, swallows the darkness that covered the effulgence at the time of dissolution.
The mode of goodness, which is the clear, sober status of understanding the Personality of Godhead and which is generally called vāsudeva, or consciousness, becomes manifest in the mahat-tattva. After the manifestation of the mahat-tattva, these features appear simultaneously. As water in its natural state, before coming in contact with earth, is clear, sweet and unruffled, so the characteristic traits of pure consciousness are complete serenity, clarity, and freedom from distraction.
The material ego springs up from the mahat-tattva, which evolved from the Lord’s own energy. The material ego is endowed predominantly with active power of three kinds: good, passionate and ignorant. It is from these three types of material ego that the mind, the senses of perception, the organs of action, and the gross elements evolve.
The threefold ahankāra, the source of the gross elements, the senses and the mind, is identical with them because it is their cause. It is known by the name of Sankarṣaṇa, who is directly Lord Ananta with a thousand heads. This false ego is characterized as the doer, as an instrument and as an effect. It is further characterized as serene, active or dull according to how it is influenced by the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. From the false ego of goodness, another transformation takes place. From this evolves the mind, whose thoughts and reflections give rise to desire. The mind of the living entity is known by the name of Lord Aniruddha, the supreme ruler of the senses. He possesses a bluish-black form resembling a lotus flower growing in the autumn. He is found slowly by the yogīs. By transformation of the false ego in passion, intelligence takes birth, O virtuous lady. The functions of intelligence are to help in ascertaining the nature of objects when they come into view, and to help the senses."
The Vāsudeva consciousness springs from the mode of goodness and is pure, similar to our original spiritual consciousness. It is described as being clear, free from all distractions, and serene, just as water is pure in its original state. This Vāsudeva consciousness is then covered by false-ego, manifested from Lord Sankarṣaṇa. The false ego is the covering that allows the soul to take part in the material creation, identifying with different illusory material identities, expressed through different material bodies. False-ego is the basic principle of material activity, which is, in turn, executed under the three modes of material nature.
Material actions start from material desires, which are stored in the mind. The mind appears from the combination of the false ego and the mode of goodness. It springs from Lord Aniruddha. The mind is the reservoir of all desires and operates based on the principle of acceptance and rejection. It desires what is favorable for the satisfaction of one's goals and rejects what is perceived as unfavorable. Next, from the combination of the false ego and the mode of passion, intelligence appears, which is a manifestation of Lord Pradyumna. Intelligence gives us the power to understand material objects and discriminate between them. By using intelligence, we can determine what is appropriate or not, make choices, create plans, and so on. Most of the time, the intelligence works to satisfy the desires of the mind (indriyāṇi mano buddhir, asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate), but when we come in contact with spiritual knowledge, intelligence can be used to curb the mind and attain freedom.
This material consciousness, composed of these different layers, is thus a manifestation of the Lord, and it is manifested in the states of wakefulness, sleep, and deep sleep (viśva, taijasa, and prājña). To these three is added the transcendental state, the original consciousness of the soul, turīya. These four stages are simultaneously states of consciousness enjoyed by the jīva and manifestations of the Lord, as will be explained in the following verses.
In his commentary, Srila Madhvācārya reveals yet another meaning for the words ayam-ātmā brahma. Brahman is the controller of the conditioned jīvas, who are more or less forced to act, propelled by the three modes of material nature, which are in turn potencies of the Lord. This concept is also explained in the Bhagavad-Gītā (3.27): "The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature."
Material actions are executed more or less automatically according to the nature one acquires from the three modes of material nature (as explained in Bg. 3.5: "Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore, no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.") We, in turn, acquire a certain material nature due to our past activities, which in turn are the result of an unlimited sequence of actions and reactions that trace back to time immemorial.
No one can find the exit from this entanglement alone. However, by coming in contact with transcendental knowledge through the association of devotees, one can learn to dedicate their activities to Krsna, and thus become purified by following the processes of karma-yoga, going through the process of sakāma-karma-yoga, then niṣkāma-yoga, buddhi-yoga, and eventually pure bhakti-yoga.
Yet another meaning of ayam-ātmā brahma is that Brahman is trikālātīta, beyond the three phases of time, the measurement of length, breadth, and height, and the three Puruṣas (Virāṭ, Hiraṇyagarbha, and Kāraṇa). Naturally, the spiritual world and everything that exists there are also beyond material time and space, but the Lord is the chief. Ayam-ātmā brahma thus also indicates the Lord as existing in the fourth-dimensional stage, as Prabhupada mentions on CC Adi 2.53.