Chapter 6

The Mandukya, Taittiriya

and Chandogya Upanishads

6.1 The Mandukya Upanishad

The Upanishad is named after the sage Mandukya who taught about the four
states of consciousness, namely, waking, dreaming, deep sleep and fourth, known
as turiya, which is the highest. The three states and the fourth are explained
through the mystic syllable Om. Actually, the Upanishad is very careful not to
call turiya a state, for that would be defining it. With this understanding, we
should proceed.

The Upanishad is the shortest comprising of only twelve verses. Apart from
its subtle teaching, it has become famous because of Gaudapada’s commentary
upon it, entitled the Karika. Gaudapada lived in the sixth century A.D. and
is said to be the guru, or teacher of Govindapada who was teacher of the more
famous Shankaracharya. Though the philosophy of advaita, or non-dualism is
the message of the Upanishads, the elaborate exposition and its systematisation
belongs to Shankara’s school, whose philosophy we will discuss in later lectures.

Here is the text in full in free translation. “Om. This syllable is all this.
All that is past, present and future is also Om. And whatever is beyond this
threefold time, that too is Om. All this is verily Brahman. The Self within is
Brahman: ayam atmabrahma. The Self has four aspects. The first is the waking
state (jagrat), outwardly cognitive, having seven limbs, nineteen mouths and
experiencing the gross material objects.”
48 The Mandukya, Taittiriya and Chandogya Upanishads

The seven limbs do not pertain to the human body but to the “cosmic body”
named vaisvanara. They are enumerated in verse V.18.2 of the Chandogya Up-
anishad, an upanishad which we will discuss later in this lecture. A translation
of that verse in Chandogya is, “The heavens are his head, the sun his eyes, the
air his breath, the fire his heart, the water his stomach, the earth his feet, and
space his body.” These are the seven limbs referred to in the opening verse
of the Mandukya Upanishad and clearly encompasses the manifested universe.
The nineteen “mouths” are the five sense organs, the five organs of action (walk-
ing, talking, expelling, procreating, and handling), the five pranas, the mind,
the intellect, the ego sense, and thought (citta).

The Upanishad continues. “The second is the dream state (svapna), inwardly
cognitive, also having seven limbs and nineteen mouths. In this state, one
experiences the subtle impressions of the mind.” The verse informs us that in
the internal dream world, there are counterparts to everything we meet in the
external. Whatever we experience in the waking state, we can also experience
in the dream state, but clearly not with the same apparatus.

“The third state is deep sleep, or dreamless sleep (prajna). As the darkness
of night covers the day and the visible world seems to disappear, so also in
dreamless sleep, the veil of unconsciousness envelops the thought and knowl-
edge, and the subtle impressions of the mind apparently vanish. It is a mass of
cognition, it is blissful, its face is thought. In this state, the person is said to
be blissful since neither anxiety or strife are experienced. Prajna rules over all,
knows all things and is the inner controller. It is the origin and goal of all. The
fourth, turiya, is not inwardly cognitive, nor outwardly cognitive, not both-wise
cognitive. It is not a cognition mass, not cognitive, not noncognitive, unseen,
incapable of being spoken of, ungraspable, without any distinctive marks, un-
thinkable, unnameable, the essence of the knowledge of the one self, that into
which the world is resolved, the peaceful, the benign, the non-dual. That is the
atman. That is to be realised.”

Here we see for the first time, a word to indicate a state beyond deep sleep.
The stages of waking and dream states are bound by cause and effect. Prajna
or deep sleep state is cause alone. The final, turiya, is beyond cause and ef-
fect. In his Karika, Gaudapada writes, “Prajna or the deep sleep state does not
know itself; it does not know anything else either. It does not know the real
or the unreal. It does not know anything. Turiya, the fourth, however, knows
everything and knows it always.” In the prajna state, we are totally uncon-
scious. In the turiya, you are beyond consciousness and unconsciousness. You
are “superconscious”. Prajna and turiya have one thing in common. Neither
have perception of the phenomenal world. However, prajna is asleep because it
suffers from ignorance while turiya is free from ignorance.
6.1 The Mandukya Upanishad 49

After having defined these three states and turiya, the “state” that underlies
them all and also transcends them, the Upanishad continues, “This is the atman
symbolised by omkara, which has four parts. The akara, or the a sound of Om,
represents the waking state and is the root of the words apti meaning ‘obtaining’
and adimatva, meaning ‘being first’. Whoever knows this obtains all desires and
is the best of all. The ukara, or the u sound of Om represents the dream state and
is the root of the words utkarsa, meaning ‘exaltation’ and ubhayatva meaning
‘intermediateness’. He who knows this excels in his power of understanding, in
the continuity of knowledge and becomes equal to that understanding. No one
in his lineage is born ignorant of Brahman.”

This requires some explanation. The waking state includes the manifested
universe. If we understand the nature of this universe in its entirety, there is
no desire we cannot fulfil. One who understands this universe totally becomes
‘best of all’. So the first part of these verses is clear. The second part is
deeper. It involves the knowledge of the dream state. As was pointed out in
the previous verses, the realm of cause and effect is contained in the waking
and dream states. Modern psychoanalysis has made a serious attempt in trying
to understand behaviour by analysing the dream state. The writings of Carl
Gustav Jung in particular point to the “collective unconscious” where archetypal
symbols exert a powerful influence over us, whether we are aware of this or not.
Thus, to understand the waking state, we need to understand the dream state
too, and this is the meaning of ‘continuity of knowledge’. One who understands
both, becomes equal to that understanding. The ‘lineage’ referred to in the
verse means the succession of students who learn from such an individual. This
lineage is aware of a deeper dimension of reality, since neither of these two states
of consciousness can explain the phenomenon of life completely.

“Prajna,” the Upanishad concludes, “is the state of deep sleep and is rep-
resented by makara, or the m sound of Om. It is derived from the root mi,
meaning ‘to measure’ or ‘merging.’ Whoever knows this measures all this and
merges all this into oneself. The fourth, turiya is represented by the silence after
Om, the amatra, which has no elements, which cannot be spoken of, into which
the world is resolved, benign, non-dual. Thus the syllable Om is the atman.
Whoever knows this realises Brahman. ”

As remarked earlier, Gaudapada’s Karika is important for being the first

systematic commentary of the Mandukya Upanishad and at the same time cre-
ating the foundation for advaita as taught by Shankara. The Karika is famous
for its ‘snake and the rope’ example. Gaudapada says that just as we realise
upon awaking that the dream images were simply our imagination, so we will
realise that this world was simply our mental projection when we ‘awake’ to the
awareness of Brahman. “In a dark place,” Gaudapada writes, “you see a rope,
but you are not sure you are seeing a rope. You think you are seeing a snake, a
50 The Mandukya, Taittiriya and Chandogya Upanishads

jet of water, or some such thing. All these are illusions. There is nothing but a
rope and you have the illusion that the rope is a snake.” Because of this illusion,
fear comes and a host of other mirages. The snake has no existence independent
of the rope. Similarly, the world has no existence independent of Brahman.”
Thus, the relation between the world we see and Brahman is precisely the same
relation between the snake and rope. As is the gulf between the waking and
dream states, so is the difference between all the three states and turiya.

6.2 The Taittiriya Upanishad

The Taittiriya Upanishad is often called the “convocation address” since it gives
the departing students a list of ethical principles to follow for life. It is also
famous for its description of five layers, or koshas of the human being, namely,
food, breath, mind, intellect and bliss. There is also delineated a “calculus of
bliss, ” leading up to the ultimate Brahman.

The Upanishad begins with a prayer for protection for both the teacher
and the taught. From the second verse, one can see in those ancient times, an
emphasis on pronunciation. “We will expound pronunciation, letters or sounds,
pitch, quantity, force or stress, articulation and combination. These are the
principles of pronunciation. This world is one of combinations. Here are the
great combinations. The earth is the prior form. The heaven is the latter form.
The ether is their junction and the air is the connection.”

Speech is the means of communication between the teacher and the taught.
Thus, the pronunciation, the intonation and emphasis of words, as well as their
combinations are extremely important to convey an accurate meaning. In fact,
language is the science of combination of words, which are in turn, combinations
of sounds. Thus, the principle of combinations is singled out for further exam-
ination. The sage proceeds to show how this principle manifests in the world
around us. He begins with the earth as not being separate from the heavens,
but rather connected with it in space, and the atmosphere is the connecting
link. As emphasized earlier, the message of the Upanishads is the teaching of
Brahman. Though it is beyond mind, one can enlarge one’s view of oneself and
the world around so as to experience It.

“Now as to knowledge,” the sage continues, “the teacher is the prior form,
the student is the latter form, knowledge is their junction and instruction is
the connection.” In this verse, the sage conveys a cosmic image to the student
with regards to instruction. It is not an isolated event, but part of the cosmic
process. We are to be aware of this dimension of meaning.
6.2 The Taittiriya Upanishad 51

Then come verses which have given this Upanishad its subtitle as being a
‘convocation address’. The sage instructs, “Practice virtue, do not refrain from
study and teaching. Practice truth, do not refrain from study and teaching.
Practice austerity (tapas), do not refrain from study and teaching. Practice
self-control, do not refrain from study and teaching. Practice tranquility, do not
refrain from study and teaching.” The reverberating message of these verses is
Svadhyaya pravacane ca, and it means “do not refrain from study and teaching.”
This is an important message for all of us. A faint echo of this can be heard in the
famous saying of Socrates, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” We must
always examine ourselves, the world around us and never refrain from learning.
At the same time, we must realise that we are part of a connecting, organic link
in the transmission of knowledge, so we must not refrain from passing on that
legacy of learning to future generations.

Having taught the importance of study and teaching, the sage instructs his
students not to be negligent of social duties, “Matr devo bhava, pitr devo bhava,
acarya devo bhava, atithi devo bhava.” “Let your mother be a god to you, let
your father be a god to you, let your teacher be a god to you and let your guest
be a god to you.” Here is an instruction about human relations, the essence
being that we must treat people with respect. We often forget that for at least
the formative years of our life, the mother is our only support, our sole protecter,
our first teacher. Then comes the father, after that, the teacher, after that, the
guest. Here is also the seed of a teaching that comes later in the Bhagavad Gita
in the form of karma yoga, whose fundamental message concerns the science of
action.

Rather humbly, the sage instructs his students, “Behave properly. Do not
imitate our defects. Imitate only what is good in our practices. Whatever you
give, give with faith, with modesty, with sympathy. If any doubt or question
arises concerning any matter, seek out the advice of the learned, the wise and
after reflection, act accordingly. This is the teaching.” Thus, we must not be
rash in our behaviour. If any doubt arises, we may consult the wise, (not the
otherwise, as Plato says) and then act upon reflection. It is often said that a
basic education consists of the four ‘R’s’. In addition to reading, writing and
arithmetic, we must be taught reflection. From this passage, we may suppose
this is what the ancients were taught.

Now the sage begins his elaborate teaching on the five-fold nature of the
universe. “From food (annam) have come all creatures. By food alone, they
live, so food is called the healing herb. Those who worship Brahman as food,
obtain food. The breath (prana) is the life of all beings. Those who worship
Brahman as life, attain life. Beyond the breath is the mind (manas), from
where words return unable to attain Brahman. Beyond mind is understanding
(vijnana). All the gods worship vijnana as Brahman. But beyond vijnana is
52 The Mandukya, Taittiriya and Chandogya Upanishads

Brahman, the source of all things.”

Here are described the five layers of personality. The outer layer is the phys-
ical body (annamaya kosha), the next layer, is the “electric body” (pranamaya
kosha), the third layer is the mental body, (manomaya kosha), beyond that is
the wisdom body, (vijnanamaya kosha) and after that is the “blissful body,”,
(anandamaya kosha). So that we may understand the bliss of Brahman, the
sage gives us the following “calculus of bliss.” He says, “Let there be a hand-
some youth, who is well-read, very strong, very quick and let this entire earth
be his domain. We will call this one unit of bliss. A hundredfold is the bliss
of the gandharvas, the muses of joy and pleasure. A hundredfold times more is
the bliss of the divine gandharvas.” The Upanishad continues its hierarchical
succession of ten levels, until it reaches the bliss experienced by Indra, and then
Brhaspati, and then Prajapati. Finally, it comes to the bliss of Brahman which
is 1010 times more than the bliss experienced by the strong, handsome youth
who has all the worldly wealth. But equal to the bliss of Brahman is the bliss
of a knower of Brahman who is not smitten by desire.”

When we think of ourselves, we tend to think in terms of our bodies or at

best, our minds. But there are other layers of our personality that we should
reflect upon and “feed.” The wisdom “sheath” or layer is very close to the
“blissful sheath” and this is something we are aware of. The Upanishad thus
teaches us that Brahman is not something very distant, but very near.

6.3 The Chandogya Upanishad

The name of the Upanishad is derived from the word chanda which refers to a
poetic meter in which it is written. Poetically expressed, the message of this
Upanishad is the importance of speech and song in life. “Speech yields milk,” it
teaches and so it does, since it determines the course of our life and is the basis
of our nourishment. After having pointed out the “internal singing” that goes
in our breathing system, it emphasises that in all our singing and chanting, we
must be aware of this. Otherwise, it says humourously, “our head will fall off,”
if we do things “heedlessly”.

This is one of the longer Upanishads interspersed with many stories to il-
lustrate its teachings. Just as the Mandukya focussed on the meaning of Om,
so also this Upanishad begins with an instruction that one should meditate on
Om, as a loud chant, the udgitha. “The essence of all beings is the earth, ” it
continues, “the essence of the earth is water, the essence of water is plants, the
essence of plants is a person, the essence of a person is speech, the essence of
speech is the hymn of the Rg Veda, the essence of the hymn is the chant, the
6.3 The Chandogya Upanishad 53

essence of the chant is the udgitha which is Om. Speech and breath are held
together by Om.”

While the Upanishads teach us that Brahman is beyond mind and speech,
they at the same time try to tell us it is very close, nearer than the near, in
the world around us and in every breath of our life. The essence of a person is
speech and how true this is! What a person thinks, what a person knows, what
a person feels, is revealed in their speech. In speaking, breathing plays a vital
role. Speech and breath are held together by the “internal chant” of Om.

“In this body, there is an interplay of both light (deva) and darkness (asura).
The gods thought that udgitha is the sense of smell, but as we can smell things
which are both good and bad, that cannot be It. Then the gods thought udgitha
is speech, but as we can utter both good and bad words, that cannot be It. Then
the gods thought udgitha is the sense of sight, but as we can see both good and
bad, that cannot be It. Then the gods thought udgitha is the sense of hearing,
but as we can hear both good and bad, that cannot be It. Then the gods thought
udgitha is mind, but as we can imagine both good and bad, that cannot be It.
Then the gods thought udgitha as life (prana) and realised that darkness could
not enter prana.”

In this sequence of verses, we see how the student is led to see how everything
is afflicted with duality, by good and bad, but finally, prana is not, and so we
are able to understand an aspect of Brahman in this way.

The Upanishad continues with some specific instructions on how to meditate

on this instruction. “One may meditate on the sun as udgitha. Just as the
udgitha knows no darkness, the sun knows no darkness. One should meditate
on the breathing as udgitha since it is constantly chanting Om. As the vina (a
stringed instrument) sings, so is the song of the udgitha within. The song is all
around us also. The song is in the rain. The song is in the waters. The song is
in the seasons. The song is in the sounds of birds and the animals. As all leaves
are held together by the branch, so also is all speech held together by Om. All
this is verily Om.”

The central thesis of the Upanishad is that “song” is very much a part of life
and that one must commune or become one with the song. The poetic mood is
a means to a higher awareness. This experience transcends knowledge. In his
book, “My Reminiscencs,” the Bengali poet and Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath
Tagore explains, “Does one write poetry to explain something? It is a feeling
within the heart that tries to find outside shape in a poem. ... That words have
meaning is just the difficulty. That is why poets have to turn and twist them in
meter and rhyme, so that meaning may be held somewhat in check and feeling
54 The Mandukya, Taittiriya and Chandogya Upanishads

allowed to express itself.” In a later chapter, he writes, “The main object of

teaching is not to give explanations but to knock at the doors of the mind. ...
I can recollect many things which I did not understand, but which stirred me
deeply. ... I was pacing the terrace of our house late in the afternoon. ... I
could see at once that the evening had entered me; its shades had obliterated
my self. ... Now that the self was in the background, I could see the world in
its true aspect ... full of beauty and joy.”

Reminiscent of the Prasna Upanishad, the sage continues, “The heart has
five openings. The upward breath is prana, the diffused breath is vyana, the
downward breath is apana, the equalised breath is samana and the final one is
udana. One should meditate on this. ... Verily, a person consists of purpose.
According to the purpose, that he becomes.”

Now come some illustrative examples. A young boy desiring knowledge went
to a sage to be taught. The sage asked him, “What is the name of your father?”
The boy replied, “I do not know the name of my father. I was born while my
mother was serving various people. I only know that my name is Satyakama
and my mother is Jabala.” Then the sage replied, “None but a brahmin can
speak such damaging truth about oneself. As you have not deviated from truth,
I shall teach you.” Here we see an important feature of that time period. The
real meaning of the word brahmin is a sincere seeker of truth and not a caste
distinction.

Now comes a peculiar method of instruction of the sage. The sage gives
Satyakama four hundred lean cows to be taken to the forest. When they are a
thousand, bring them back. Thus, Satyakama follows the instructions and after
several years, one of the cows speaks to him, “We are a thousand now so take
us back to your teacher. I will now teach you about Brahman.” Satyakama was
startled and said, “Please teach me.” The cow replied, “The east is Brahman
and so is the west. The north is Brahman and so is the south. Fire will now
continue the teaching.” So Satyakama went to the fire, and said, “Please teach
me.” Fire then said, “The earth is Brahman, so are the sky and ocean. Now the
birds will teach you.” So Satyakama went to the birds and said, “Please teach
me.” The birds then spoke, “The sun and the moon are part of Brahman, as
well as the lightning. Breath is Brahman and so are hearing, sight and mind.
” When Satyakama brought the cows back to the teacher, the sage inquired,
“Your face shines like a knower of Brahman. Who has taught you?” “Beings
other than men, but I wish that you now teach me.” Then the sage taught him
and nothing was left out.

In explaining to us the meaning of this story, Vivekananda writes1 about

1 S. Vivekananda, Complete Works, Vol. 2, p. 311-317.
6.3 The Chandogya Upanishad 55

the voices emanating from the cows, the fire, the birds and so forth. “The great
idea of which we here see the germ is that all these voices are inside ourselves.
As we understand these truths better, we find the voice is in our own heart.
... The second idea that we get is that of making the knowledge of Brahman
practical. ... The truth was shown through everything with which the students
were familiar. ... The earth became transformed, life became transformed,
the sun, the moon, the stars, the lightning, everything became transformed
and deified. ... The principle that underlies all these stories is that invented
symbolism may be good and helpful, but already better symbols exist than any
we can invent. ... This world spoke to the early thinkers. Birds spoke to them,
animals spoke to them, the sun and the moon spoke to them and little by little
they realised things, and got into the heart of nature. Not by cogitation nor by
the force of logic, not by picking the brains of others and making a big book,
as is the fashion in modern times, not even as I do, by taking up one of their
writings and making a long lecture, but by patient investigation and discovery
they found out the truth. Its essential method was practice, and so it must be
always. ... It is practice first, and knowledge afterwards.”

Next is asked the question that is reminscent of the opening question in the
Mundaka Upanishad. The student asks, “Sir, what is that by knowing which
everything becomes known?” The sage replies, “Just as by knowing a clod of
clay, all the clay becomes known, so is this teaching. Of this mighty tree, if
someone should strike at the root, it would bleed, but still live. If someone
should strike at the middle, it would bleed but still live. Being pervaded by the
atman it stands firm, drinking in its moisture and rejoicing. Bring to me the
fruit of the nyagrodha tree.” The student brings it and says, “Here it is, Sir.”
“Break it.” “It is broken, Sir.” “What do you see?” “Extremely fine seeds, Sir.”
“Break one of those seeds.” “It is broken, Sir.” “What do you see?” “Nothing,
Sir.” “My dear, out of that ‘nothing’, this great nyagrodha tree has arisen. The
atman is subtle, imperceptible, out of which this whole universe has arisen.”

Then comes an instruction on progressive meditation. The sage Narada went

to another sage called Sanatkumara and said, “I have studied all branches of
learning, art, science, music, philosophy as well as the sacred scriptures. But
I have gained no peace. I have heard from great teachers like you that only
he who knows his Self finds peace.” The venerable sage Sanatkumara replies,
“What you have studied is name only. Meditate on name as Brahman.”

What a delicious teaching! Observe that the sage does not say all that
Narada knows is useless. He transforms it, deifies it by asking him to meditate
on that as Brahman. Now Narada asks, “Is there anything higher than name?”
The sage replies, “Yes, speech is higher than name. It is through speech that
we come to know the many branches of learning. Meditate therefore on speech
as Brahman. ”
56 The Mandukya, Taittiriya and Chandogya Upanishads

“Is there anything higher than speech?” Narada asks. “Yes,” the sage
replies, “mind is higher than speech. Mind can hold both name and speech.
Meditate on mind as Brahman.”

“Is there anything higher than mind?” asks Narada. “Yes, will is higher
than mind. When one wills, then one reflects, then utters speech, and then
utters the name. Thus, meditate on will as Brahman.”

“Is there anything higher?” asks Narada. “Yes, thinking is greater than
will. Even though one may know many things, but does not know how to think,
people will say he is nobody, whatever he may know. Meditate on thinking as
Brahman. ”

“Is there anything higher sir?” asks Narada. “Yes, contemplation is higher
than thinking. The earth contemplates, as it were. The heavens contemplate as
it were. The mountains contemplate as it were. Whoever has achieved greatness
in this world has done so through contemplation. Meditate on contemplation
as Brahman” Contemplation involves a detached observation of a sequence of
thoughts.

“Is there anything higher sir?” “Yes, insight and understanding are higher.
Meditate on insight and understanding as Brahman.” From detached observa-
tion, patterns emerge and this is called understanding, namely, the perception
of a pattern or a “law.”

“Is there anything higher sir?” “Yes, strength is higher than insight and
understanding. A man of both physical and mental strength can make a hun-
dred men of understanding tremble. By strength, verily, the earth stands. By
strength, verily, the mountains stand. By strength, verily, the world stands.
Meditate on strength as Brahman. ” Here, ‘strength’ should be thought of as
sustained endeavour.

“Is there anything higher sir?” “Food is greater than strength. For without
food, neither physical strength or mental strength is possible. Thus meditate
on food as Brahman.”

“Is there anything higher sir?” “Water is greater than food. Water is in the
earth, the atmosphere, the sky, the mountains, the plants and all living things.
Water is indeed all these forms. Thus meditate on water as Brahman. ”

“Is there anything higher sir?” “Heat is greater than water. Without the
6.3 The Chandogya Upanishad 57

convection of heat, it will not rain, and there is no water. Meditate on heat as
Brahman.”

“Is there anything higher sir?” “Space (akasa) is higher than heat. For
nothing can exist without space. In space reside the sun, moon and the stars.
Meditate on space as Brahman.”

“Is there anything higher sir?” “Memory is higher than space. Meditate on
memory as Brahman.”

“Is there anything higher sir?” “Yes, desire is greater than memory. Without
desire, memory does not proceed. When kindled by desire, memory learns.
Meditate on desire as Brahman.”

“Is there anything higher sir?” “Yes, life prana is higher than desire. Prana
moves the breath. Prana is all this.”

Some points need clarification here. Here we come to interesting and very
subtle ideas. By memory, one does not mean the individual memory, but rather
the cosmic memory. In Indian cosmology, there is the theory that creation
occurs in cycles (kalpas). There is dissolution (pralaya) of the present universe
and then creation (or more more precisely, projection) of another universe. The
process goes on cyclically according to the theory. Where does the new universe
reside in between dissolution and creation. It resides in memory. We may want
to call it the “collective unconscious” as Jung does, but the idea remains the
same. Where do the archetypes reside before they manifest in the waking or
the dream worlds? They reside in memory.

In his essay on Cosmology, Vivekananda gives some further clarification of

some of these points. “All motion, everything in this universe, can be likened to
waves undergoing successive rise and fall. Some of these philosophers hold that
the whole universe quiets down for a period. Others hold that this quieting
down applies only to systems ... When it quiets down, what becomes of the
universe? It exists, only in finer forms, in the form of cause. ... There is in the
Rg Veda, the oldest human writing in existence, a beautiful passage describing
creation, and it is most poetical - ‘When there was neither aught nor naught,
when darkness was rolling over darkness, what existed?’ and the answer is
given, ‘It then existed without vibration’. This prana existed then, but there
was no motion in it; anidavatam means ‘existed without vibration’. Vibration
had stopped. Then when the kalpa begins, ... the anidavatam (unvibrating
atom) commences to vibrate, and blow after blow is given by prana to akasa.
The atoms become condensed and as they are condensed different elements are
58 The Mandukya, Taittiriya and Chandogya Upanishads

formed. We generally find these things very curiously translated; people do not
go to the philosophers or the commentators for their translation, and have not
the brains to understand them themselves. A silly man reads three letters of
Sanskrit and translates a whole book. They translate the elements as air, fire,
and so on; if they would go to the commentators, they would find they do not
mean air or anything of the sort. The akasa, acted upon by repeated blows
of prana, produces vayu or vibrations. This vayu vibrates, and the vibrations
growing more and more rapid result in friction giving rise to heat, tejas. Then
this heat ends in liquefaction, apah. Then that liquid becomes solid. ... All that
we know in the form of motion, vibration, or thought is a modification of the
prana.”2

2 S. Vivekananda, Complete Works, Vol. 2, pp. 435-436.