Mandukya Upanishad

With an Advaita Commentary from our Understanding

by Kenneth Jaques | 31,733 words

The Mandukya Upanishad is a short, just twelve verses, description of the material manifestation and the eventual return to unmanifest form of the Universe....

Verse 1

1.  The wise speak of the unreality of all entities in dream,  verily,   on account of the entities having their location within,  owing to their being enclosed.
"The wise speak of the unreality of all entities in dream"

  All entities experienced in a dream are unreal.  This statement is uncomplicated and logical.  In fact ordinary common sense tempts one to protest that this is only obvious.
But,  Gaudapada wishes us to be aware of our process of reason for deciding the reality of our worldly experiences.
In particular Gaudapada is highlighting the fact that the error of dream entities appearing real is only obvious after leaving the delusional state of dream for the higher  (albeit delusional also)  waking state.

"on account of the entities having their location within,  owing to their being enclosed".

Gaudapada goes on to offer a practical reason why entities experienced within dreams are unreal.  This reason being that things like mountains,  cars and seas or even other persons would not fit inside the person dreaming of such entities.
But, it should be seen that the original error of perception was due to being enclosed within the dream state itself.  That is,  being "within a state",  as it were,  is being within unreality,  as it were,  (Turiya or the "fourth" represents the only reality).
The reasoning that proved the entities to be unreal due to their physical size in comparison to the dreaming person took place only after leaving that "state".

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