ABSTRACT
The Mandukya Upanisad is closely connected with the Agama Sastra, also known as the Karika of Gaudapada. The very first syllable of this brief Upanisad is also its main theme: Om. This syllable in the whole world. The syllable om is further identified with both atman and brahman. The four states of the atman are referred to as padas in the Mandukya Upanisad. Gaudapada's commentary on the Mandukya Upanisad is one of the most fundamental texts of Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Gaudapada claims that the notion that the world has a beginning is nothing but an illusion: "There is no destruction and no creation". The first three stages of the self described in the Mandukya Upanisad are well known to modern science; all mammals experience cycles of wakefulness, sleep, and dreamless sleep. The Mandukya Upanisad has often been considered the most recent among the oldest Upanisads.
