अहं ब्रह्मेति यद्भानं तत्तुर्यमिति शंस्यते ।
सामान्यमहमित्यंशो ब्रह्मेत्यत्र विशिष्यते ॥ ७ ॥
What is the vital awareness of 'I am the Absolute' is then praised as the Fourth;
So the 'I' portion is generic, and 'Absolute' here is specific.
Commentary
Here the sage describes the Fourth state of vital awareness, which is so aptly presented in the Mandukya Upanishad in verse seven:
"Not inwardly aware, not outwardly aware, not bothwise aware, not an aggregate of awareness, not aware, not unaware, unseen, without any relativity, ungraspable, without marks, unthinkable, without designation, the essence of the being of the one Self, the calming of the manifested world, peaceful, auspicious, non-dual, so they determine the Fourth."
It might be objected that a state of vital awareness or consciousness which is absolute cannot be absolute if it is part of a whole, the whole being the four feet, whether here in the Darsana Mala or the Mandukya Upanishad. Furthermore it is only one of the four types of vital awareness. The Mandukya Upanishad in verse 12 declares the Fourth to be beyond the syllables A, U and M, and further says the Fourth is without a second.
In the next verse Narayana Guru says that where there is vital awareness there is a shining forth, and when there is no shining there is no vital awareness. This is like describing vital awareness as a canvas on which a painting looms forth; take away the painting and we have a blank. The Narayanapurvatapini Upanishad (2) says about the Self-Absolute, "It is the calming of the world, peace, non-dual, the Fourth," echoing the words of the Mandukya Upanishad. The Jnanarnava Tantra says, "Know the Supreme Absolute which is beyond speech and enumeration." Not only is the Self beyond speech and enumeration, but it is also beyond light and darkness, it is beyond what shines forth and the four states of vital awareness. As the Guhyashodanyasa Upanishad declares, "The Fourth is beyond forms." In this case the Fourth is the Self and is not limited to one particular individualized and limited state of vital awareness.
The sage has here shown the Fourth to be the highest state of vital awareness because of the connection with 'I am the Absolute', which he breaks down to its generic and specific aspects. Nonetheless, there are still conditioning factors which he abolishes in the next three verses. In his Atmopadesasatakam (verse 27) he describes the Self as, "That which remains in darkness aware, indeed that is the Self." And in the Brahmavidyapanchakam (verse 5) the sage declares that "the totality is but a superimposed conditioning of the prime Self."
In the next three verses Narayana Guru shows that vital awareness is non-dual and absolute. He now speaks about the unconditioned which is the Absolute Self described in verse 9. The sage's vision remains in agreement with the Mandukya Upanishad. The unconditioned is beyond the Fourth (Turiyatita) as described in spiritual texts such as the Turiyatita Upanishad, Hamsa Upanishad, Yoga Vasistha, etc.