Gaudapada
Gauḍapāda, also referred as Gauḍapādācārya, was an early medieval era Hindu philosopher and scholar of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. While details of his biography are uncertain, his ideas inspired others such as Adi Shankara who called him a Paramaguru.
Gaudapada was the author or compiler of the , also known as Gaudapada Karika. The text consists of four chapters, of which Chapter Four uses Buddhist terminology thereby showing it was influenced by Buddhism. However, doctrinally Gaudapada's work is Vedantic, and not Buddhist. The first three chapters of Gaudapada's text have been influential in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Parts of the first chapter that include the Mandukya Upanishad have been considered a valid scriptural source by the Dvaita and Vishistadvaita schools of Vedanta.
Dates
The century in which Gaudapada lived and his life details are uncertain. Estimates vary from early 6th to 7th century CE. He is generally dated based on estimates for Adi Shankara, whose teacher Govinda Bhagavatpada is presumed to be the direct disciple of Gaudapada. Shankara, in some texts, refers to Gaudapada as the "teacher's teacher" who knows the tradition of the Vedānta. Assuming how long each lived and when, Gaudapada is estimated to have lived sometime in the 7th century CE. Alternatively, states Potter, the phrase "teacher's teacher" should not be taken literally, and more in the sense of another phrase he uses for Gaudapada, namely Paramaguru. According to Michael Comans, Gaudapada may have been the guru of Sankara's teacher but was likely a more distant guru.Another estimate places him around the early 6th century. This estimate is based on Buddhist literature, and particularly the works of scholars Bhavaviveka, Santaraksita and Kamalasila, who cite Gauḍapada kārikās. Bhavaviveka was a contemporary of Dharmapala, states Karl Potter, while Chinese texts and travel accounts place Dharmapala in the mid 6th century CE. Assuming the Buddhist and Chinese records are reliable, and for Bhavaviveka to have quoted Gauḍapada kārikās, Gaudapada must have lived around 500 CE, or sometime in the first half of 6th century CE. But, it is certain that Gaudapada lived after the 4th century because he cites some Buddhist views of Nāgārjuna and Asanga, the latter of whom various accounts place in 4th century.
Mandukya Karika
Authorship
Gaudapada wrote or compiled the ', also known as the ' or the '. Karl Potter notes that some scholars doubt whether the was written by one author, but others note that Shankara's commentary on Chandogya Upanishad clearly indicates it was written by one author.The ' is a concise explanation, in verse form, of the Mandukya Upanishad, one of the shortest but a profound Upanishad, consisting of just 12 sentences. Even before the time of Adi Shankara, Mandukya Upanishad was considered to be a Śruti, but not one particularly important during his era. In later periods, it gained notability as expressing the Upanishadic essence. The Karika, notably, presents rational arguments from dream states, infinitude and finitude, space and time, causality, disintegration, and generation in support of the Advaita doctrine.
According to Sarma, the is the earliest extant systematic treatise on, though it is not the oldest work to present Advaita views, nor the only pre-Sankara work with the same type of teachings. According to Hajime Nakamura, not only was the Gaudapada Karika treasured in the Advaita tradition, the text was also revered and highly respected in Vishistadvaita and Dvaita Vedanta schools of Hinduism. Gaudapada's text, adds Nakamura, was treasured but not considered a Sruti by Advaita scholars, while Ramanuja and Madhvacharya of non-Advaita schools considered its first chapter to be a Sruti.
Contents
The Gaudapadiya Karika has 215 metered verses which are divided into four chapters:- Chapter One — Agama, or Agama Prakarana
- Chapter Two — Vaitathya Prakarana
- Chapter Three — Advaita Prakarana
- Chapter Four — Alatasanti Prakarana
Chapter One: Traditional Doctrine (Agama)
The Self resides in one's body in three forms: waking state, sleeping dreamy state and deep sleep state, according to Potter's translation. In the awake state, the Self experiences the Vishva – the external objects and the visible; in the dream state, it experiences the Taijasa – the internal mind objects and dream appearances; and in deep sleep, it experiences Prajna – the unpolarised, the fruits of the heart and bliss. Arvind Sharma notes that the description of these states of self are similar to those found in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and other ancient Hindu texts.In Karikas 1.6-1.9, Gaudapada presents the competing traditional theories about life in vogue, before and in his times. Some claim that creation is the result of the expansion of the Self, some claim it is a mere magic show, some claim the creation is from God's desire, some claim Kala creates all beings. In Karika 1.10, the text states there is a fourth state of the Self, called Turiya, one of Advaita, all pervading, unchanging and without Dukkha. This fourth state of Self in Gaudapada Karika is found in chapters 8.7 through 8.12 of Chandogya Upanishad, which discusses the "four states of consciousness" as awake, dream-filled sleep, deep sleep, and beyond deep sleep.
According to Gaudapada, the Vishva and Taijasa state of Self can be a source of cause and effect, the Prajna state is only cause, while Turiya state is neither. In the Prajna state, consciousness lies dormant like a seed, whereas in the Turiya it is fully awake and always seeing. It is the waking state and dream state that lead to awareness, errors and unawareness. The perceived duality of the world is Maya, when in reality there is only nonduality. Karikas 1.19-1.29 identify Vishva, Taijasa, and Prajna with the syllables A, U, and M of Om, while Turiya, beyond all measure, transcends every state. Chapter One ends with the discussion of the syllable Om and its symbolism for Brahman and for the Atman within the heart of all living beings.
Chapter Two: Unreality (Vaitathya)
Unreal are the dream objects during sleep, states Gaudapada, because the one who dreams never actually goes to the places he dreams of, and because whatever situation he dreams about is something he leaves upon waking up. This is in the scripture Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.In the same sense, Karikas 4-15 of Chapter Two state that the true reality is covered up for man even in his waking state, because, translates Potter, "any object nonexistent in the beginning and in the end is also nonexistent in the middle". Just as dream objects are found to be unreal upon waking, so too in the waking state, whatever we apprehend as real or unreal is unreal. But this assertion leads to the obvious question, states Gaudapada, that if both internal and external are not true reality, who is it that imagines, who apprehends them and who cognises? Gaudapada submits his answer as the Atman.
Gaudapada Karika states that while we do grasp objects, we perceive, we think, but this does not connote the nature of reality and unreality, just like our fear of "a rope for a serpent in darkness". We construct realities, states Gaudapada, and imagine Jivatman to be various things such as praana, loka, deva, bhoktr, bhojya, sukshma, sthula, murta, amurta and so on.
We imagine things in our mind, we create things in our mind, we destroy things in our mind, says Gaudapada; yet all these things are not different from It, the atman. All such constructions create dualities in our imagination, are maya. The true reality, state Karikas 33–36, is nondual and it is atman. Those who have mastered and grown past all attachments, past all fear and past all anger, they are past all dualities, know their Self, have secured the nonduality within. According to Karikas 36–38, such wise individuals, do not care about praise from anyone, are beyond all rituals, are homeless wanderers, for they have realised the truth inside them and outside; they, translates Potter, "remain steadfastly true to nature".
Chapter Three: Nonduality (Advaita)
Gaudapada begins this chapter by criticising Upasana, which assumes that the Brahman-Atman is unborn in the beginning and in the end, but is presently born. He argues that the nondual Brahman-Atman can give rise to apparent duality, while remaining unaffected, like space within jars. Self is like space and the Jivas are like space in jars. Just as space is enclosed in a jar, so is the Self manifested as Jivas. When the jar is destroyed the space in the jar merges into space so likewise, are the Jivas one with the Self.Gaudapada states that the Upanishads like the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad teach that one's Atman is identical with the Atman in all beings and that all Atman are identical with Brahman. While some Upanishads, acknowledges Gaudapada, imply a difference between individual soul and the Brahman, those texts are discussing the apparent distinction when one believes in apparent creation. In reality, states Gaudapada, there is no creation of souls from Brahman as they are identical. We must not confuse passages meant for spiritual instruction. According to Karikas 3.17-18, Gaudapada admits that dualists disagree with this view, but the ancient texts admit duality in the context of appearances, while "nonduality is indeed the highest reality" as translated by Karmarkar.
According to Karl Potter's translation of Karikas 3.33-36, an awareness without conceptual construction is unborn, real, and is identical with Brahman. This awareness is beyond words and thought, shines forth without fear, calm and unwavering, equanimous, and full of light. It comes from self-reflection, understanding, detachment from dukkha and sukha, where the mind rests in indescribable calmness within.
Karikas 3.39-46 describe Asparsa Yoga, through which this calmness is attained. In this practice of 'non-contact', the mind is controlled and brought to rest, and does not create "things" after which it grasps; it becomes non-dual, free from the grasping subject-object dualism. Knowing that only Atman-Brahman is real, the creations of the mind are seen as illusory, and negated. When the mind is brought to rest, it becomes or is Brahman. According to Gaudapada, Asparsa Yoga is difficult for most, including the yogis, who see fear, namely a loss of atman, in what is fearlessly blissful.