dasasloki of shankarAchArya.

[Vaidya N. Sundaram]

NamaskAram:
 I have a question, and hope list members will address it. If it is silly,
do forgive me, but I have been unable to resolve it.

 Sri Shankara in his dasasloki verse one says:

"I am not the Earth nor Water, neither Fire nor Air, I am not space.
Neither am I any of the Faculties nor am I their aggregrate. [I am not any
of these] as they are all uncertain. I am proved however in the sole
experience of deep sleep. That One, the Residue, the Auspicious, the Only
One, am I."
--
 I wish to draw attention to the reference to "deep sleep" in the above.
BhagavatpAda says that the sole experience of deep sleep alone proves Him.
Now, note below.
--
verse three:

"There is no mother nor father; no gods nor regions of experience; no
scriptures nor sacrifical sites; and no sacred place-so say the Sages.
For, in the state of deep sleep, all these are negatived and that state is
completely devoid(of any object of perception) That One, the Residue, the
Auspicious, the Alone, am I."

--
 The BhagavatpAda now says that the state of deep sleep is devoid of ANY
object of perception. My question is yet to come. Kindly bear with me.
--
verse eight:

"There is no waking state for me nor dream or deep sleep. I am not
Visva[the Self identified with the experiencer of the waking state], nor
Taijasa[identified with dream state], nor Prajna[identified with deep
sleep]. I am really the Fourth(Turiya). That One, the Residue, the
Auspicious, the Alone, am I."

--
 In verse eight above. BhagavatpAda says that there is no waking state nor
dream (state) nor state of deep sleep!

 My question is this. What does He mean when He says "I am proved however
in the sole experience of deep sleep." If He is not identified with the
the "experiencer" of any of the three states(verse eight), and there is no
object of perception (verse three), what is the "experience" ?

 To re phrase my question, for any experience, the process is as follows:
the "experiencer" "experiences (or) perceives" the "other". The
"experiencer" Himself is negated in verse eight. The "other" has been
negated in verse three when He has declared that the state of deep sleep
is "completely devoid(of any object of perception)' Yet He defines His
STATE, or Himself, to be proved by the "experience" of deep sleep. So,
what is this "experience"?

 I seem to be going in circles!  My conundrum may be due to the lack of
the sanskrit original verse to study. I have only the translation. (and
even if I had the sanskrit original, I am not good at it ....so ... :-()

All references and clarifications will be deeply appreciated.
Many thanks and Cheers,

Vaidya.

p.s: for a brief history of the dasasloki and the 10 verses kindly refer
to: http://listserv.tamu.edu/cgi/wa?A2=ind9709B&L=advaita-l&P=R616


                        Vaidya N. Sundaram

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This gross body is produced by one's karma in past life, out of the
elements which have  themselves  transformed, and is the instrument
of the  jiva's  experience.  That is its waking  state in  which it
experiences gross objects.  -- Adi Shankara in VivekacUdAmani.

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