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UPANISAD
9. Vaišvānara, “The Common-lo-all-men," whose field is the waking state, is the sound A, because this encompasses all, and because it is the first.68 He who knows thus (ya evam veda) encompasses all desirable objects; he becomes the first.
10. Taijasa,"The Shining One," whose field is the dream state, is the second sound, U, because this is an extract, and contains the qualities, of the other two." He who knows thus, extracts from the flow of knowledge and becomes equalized; in his family there will be born no one ignorant of Brahman.
11. Prājña, “The Knower," whose field is deep sleep, is the third sound, M, because this is the measure, and that into which all enters. He who knows thus, can measure all and partakes of all.
12. The Fourth is soundless: unutterable, a quieting down of all the differentiated manifestations, blissful-peaceful, nondual. Thus OM is Ātman, verily. He who knows thus merges his self in the Self-yea, he who knows thus.
A the waking state, U the dream, M deep sleep, and the SILENCE, Turiya, "The Fourth"; all four together comprise the totality of this manifestation of Ātman-Brahman as a syllable. Just as the sound OM manifests itself, grows, becomes transletters and the silence with the four states or portions of the Self is to be taken with the utmost literal scriousness; for all things-sound and silence as well as states of human consciousness-arc Bralunan-Ātman.
68 A is regarded as the primal sound, which is common to all the others. It is produced at the back of the open mouth, and is thcrefore said to include, and to be included in, every other sound produced by the human vocal organs. A is the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet.
64 The open mouth of A moves toward the closure of M. Between is U, formed of the openness of A but shaped by the closing lips. So dream is compounded of the consciousness of waking life shaped by the unconsciousness of sleep.
55 It is from the position of the closed mouth that all begins; the mouth is opened to produce A, and in another way to produce U. The closed mouth is thus the fundament from which all sound of speech takes its measure, as well as the end back to which it devolves.
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