________________
BRAHMANISM
evil works, he has crossed to the other shore, beyond the sorrows of the heart." 48
Turiya: “The Fourth”-and the Meaning of the Syllable OM
The very short Māndūkya Upanişad, which consists of but twelve verses, has come to be regarded as the concentrated extract and epitome of the teaching of the entire corpus of the one hundred and eight Upanişads. Its theme is the syllable OM, which is written 31 or me, and through which the niystery of Brahman is gathered to a point. The text first treats of OM in terms of the Upanişādic doctrine of the three states of waking, dream, and sleep, but then passes on to the “Fourth" (turīya), thus transporting us beyond the typical Upanişādic sphere into that of the later, classic, Advaita Vedānta.
We may well conclude the present chapter, and at the same time prepare ourselves for the next development of the orthodox tradition, by reviewing this extraordinary text in its entirety.
1. OM!—This imperishable sound is the whole of this visible universe. Its explanation is as follows. IVhat has become, what is becoming, what will become-verily, all of this is the sound OM. And what is beyond these three states of the world of time --that too,
sound OM. There are two spheres, that is to say, which are identical: 1. the phenomenal, visiblc sphere (that of change [jagat), the Heraclitean flux), wherein the manifestations of time appcar and perish, and 2. the transcendent, timeless sphere, which is beyond yet one with it (that of imperishable Bcing). Both of these are symbolized and present in the holy syllable OM.
2. All of this (with a sweeping gesture, pointing to the universe round about) is Brahman. This Self (placing the hand on the heart) also is Brahman.
Here again is the nondual doctrine. The essence of the numer18 Brhadāranyaka Upanisad 4. 3. 21-22. (cf. Hume, op. cit., pp. 186-187).
372
