Mandukya Upanishad & Gaudapada Karika: OM and the Four States
Adi Shankara held that the twelve verses of the Mandukyopanishad alone are enough for liberation. Over eight days, this series takes you through that text and its foundational commentary, the Karika (commentary) of Gaudapada – Shankaracharya's own lineage teacher.
You'll investigate the three states you inhabit every day – waking, dreaming and deep sleep – and discover the fourth, Turiya: the non-dual consciousness that you truly are. You'll see how this teaching is encoded in the very sounds of OM.
Gaudapada then presses further, questioning whether waking is any more real than dream, and building step by step toward Ajativada – the astonishing conclusion that nothing was ever truly born, and no bondage was ever real. Rigorous, systematic and profound, this series is for the serious seeker ready to inquire deeply.
Resources:
- Location: Conducted in Germany, 5-12 July 2026
- Mandukya Upanishad with Gaudapada Karika – PDF
- Group Discussion Questions
