TURIYA or the Fourth State

TURIYA or the Fourth State

by Swami Sivananda

TURIYA or the fourth state is that state in which the individual soul rests in his own Sat-Chit-Ananda Svarupa or the highest Brahmic consciousness during Nirvikalpa Samadhi. There are three states, Jagrat, Svapna and Sushupti, for a Jiva who is whirling in the mire of Samsara. Turiya is that state which transcends all these three states. Hence the Turiya or the fourth. Turiya is Atman or Brahman.

Brahman is Sat-Chit-Ananda Vigraha or the embodiment of knowledge and bliss. He has no beginning or end. He is the cause of all causes. He is the shelter, support and the Lord for all.

Languages are many but the language of heart and the mental pictures are one. Cows have many colours but the colour of the milk is one. Prophets are many but he essentials of their teachings are one and the same. Schools of philosophy are many but the goal is one. Opinions and methods of worship are many but the Brahman or God is one.

There are two paths in Yoga to realise the Self viz., the Pipeelika Marga and the Vihanga Marga. Just as the ant slowly marches, so also the aspirant slowly marches on in the spiritual path. He practises Karma Yoga to purify his heart and then takes up Upasana to steady his mind. Finally he treads the path of Jnana Yoga and eventually reaches the goal of life. This is Pipeelika Marga or the ant-path. Just as the bird flies in the sky at once, so also the aspirant of the first class type at once practises Jnana Yoga and attains knowledge of the Self. This is the Vihanga Marga or the bird-path.

Man can be compared to a plant. He grows and flourishes like a plant and dies at the end but not completely. The plant also grows, flourishes and dies at the end. It leaves behind the seed which produces a new plant. Man leaves when dying his Karma behind, the good and bad actions of his life. The physical body may die and disintegrate but the impressions of his actions do not die. He has to take birth again to enjoy the fruits of these actions. No life can be the first for it is the fruit of previous actions, nor the last, for its actions must be expiated in the next following life. Therefore, Samsara or phenomenal existence is without beginning and end. But there is no Samsara for a Jivanmukta or liberated sage who is resting in his own Sat-Chit-Ananda Svarupa. Man destroys the Samskaras which bring him again and again in this earth to reap the fruits of his actions by acquiring knowledge of the Self and becomes free.

Have a deep study of the Upanishads. In the whole world there is no study so inspiring and so beneficial as that of the Upanishads. Every Mantra is pregnant with deep, original, sublime and soul-stirring thoughts. They are the products of the highest wisdom of the ancient Rishis of India. They bring solace, inner strength, peace and courage to the readers. They infuse hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak, joy to the joyless and serenity to the restless. The system of Vedanta takes its origin from the Upanishads which contain the ancient wisdom of the sages of yore. A deep study of these wonderful Upanishads will clearly indicate as to what magnanimous heights those Rishis of yore had climbed in the spiritual ladder. The Western scholars and philosophers pay their homage to the Rishis and appreciate the grandeur and originality of the Upanishads.

Do not argue. Give up lingual warfare, intellectual gymnastics and quibbling. You will be nowhere if you enter into disputations and discussions. Have living faith or unshakable conviction in the existence of the immoral, All-pervading Brahman or the Eternal, the words of your preceptor and the Srutis. Learn from your preceptor the fundamental tenets of Advaita Vedanta. The Advaita Vedantin admits six Pramanas but the final court-of-appeal for him is the Srutis. Srutis contain the inspired revelations and experiences of realised sages. He always opens his Vedantic discourses in the following manner. Sruti Bhagavati says, Ekameva Advitiyam Brahma, Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti, Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma, etc. To understand and know the Truth, much logic and argumentation is not necessary. Truth is very simple. It can be realised by simple meditation. Intellect is a finite instrument only. It is an automatic and routine faculty. It is not self-sustained and self-luminous. It will betray you. Intuition only is infallible or unerring.

Those aspirants who are well qualified and well equipped will be really benefited in the path of renunciation or Nivrittimarga. Many renounce the world and take to Sannyasa in their temporary zeal. They do not make progress in the spiritual path, because they lack the preparation and qualifications without which spiritual life is not possible.

The man who sits by calming the mind, who does nothing at all physically, is the most active man in the whole world; whereas that man who runs hither and thither and who is always very busy, does nothing in substance. This may be paradoxical to you. Very few can comprehend this.

Husk is natural to rice and rust to copper, yet they disappear through efforts! Evan so Ajnana which clings to the Jiva or individual soul can be made to disappear through the ceaseless Atmic enquiry. Destroy the Avidya. May you rest incomparably firm in your own Self!

Do not mistake Tandri for Savikalpa Samadhi and deep-sleep for Nirvikalpa. The glory of the state of Turiya or Bhuma is ineffable. Its splendour is indescribable. If the body is light, if the mind is clear if there is cheerfulness, know that you are meditating. If the body is heavy, if the mind is dull, know that you were sleeping while meditating.

Through ignorance and lust comes death. Through knowledge the deathless state or the immortal Atman is reached. Both life eternal and death abide in the body. Life is a lightning flash or breath. Time is but a thunder-clap of death. Live in Atman. You will attain immortality. Go beyond time. You will attain eternity.

Withdraw the Indriyas. Meditate. Live in the Self. Your whole being will be uplifted into a kind of rapturous delight or mystic ecstasy. You will feel the divine thrill of joy. Wonderful peace will envelop you. You will be drowned in the ocean of bliss. All desires will melt into nothingness all names and forms will vanish. You will behold the Self only everywhere. This wonderful state is indescribable. You will have to feel it yourself. Just as the dumb man cannot express his feeling of joy when he tastes the sugar-candy, so also you cannot express the bliss of Samadhi or Union with the Supreme Self. Words are finite to describe this state. Language is imperfect to express this experience. It is the language of the supreme silence. It is the supreme stillness of the immortal soul. It is the peace that passeth all understanding. This is Turiya or the fourth state.

May Turiya be your centre, ideal and goal!!

TURIYA or the Fourth State – Pure Consciousness Beyond Waking, Dream, and Deep Sleep

TURIYA or the Fourth State is one of the deepest teachings of Vedanta. It points to the pure consciousness that remains beyond the three common states of experience: waking, dream, and deep sleep. The word “Turiya” means the fourth, but it is not a fourth state in the ordinary sense. It is the ever-present awareness that illumines all three states and remains unchanged by them.

In the waking state, a person experiences the external world through the body and senses. They see forms, hear sounds, perform actions, meet people, think, decide, enjoy, suffer, and identify with the physical body. In this state, the person says, “I am awake, I am doing, I am experiencing the world.” Vedanta examines this state carefully and asks whether this changing experience can be the final truth.

In the dream state, the external world is not available, yet a complete inner world appears. The dreamer sees places, people, pleasure, fear, movement, and events created by the mind. While dreaming, the dream feels real. Only after waking does the person say, “It was only a dream.” This shows that the mind has the power to project an entire world of experience.

In deep sleep, there is no clear experience of the waking world or the dream world. The body is not known, thoughts are not active, and the ego does not function. Yet after waking, one says, “I slept well” or “I did not know anything.” This means that some principle was present even in deep sleep to later recognize the absence of particular experiences.

TURIYA or the Fourth State is the witness of these three states. It is present when the body acts in waking, when the mind creates dreams, and when both body and mind are quiet in deep sleep. Waking comes and goes. Dream comes and goes. Deep sleep comes and goes. But the awareness because of which these states are known does not come and go.

Vedanta teaches that the true self is this pure witnessing consciousness. It is not limited to the waking personality, the dream identity, or the blankness of deep sleep. It is the silent light in whose presence all experiences appear and disappear. To know Turiya is to know the real self beyond all changing conditions.

TURIYA or the Fourth State should not be confused with unconsciousness. Deep sleep is peaceful, but it is covered by ignorance. In deep sleep, there is no suffering, but there is also no clear self-knowledge. Turiya is different. It is not dullness or blankness. It is pure awareness, self-luminous and ever present. It is peace with knowledge, not peace covered by ignorance.

The Mandukya Upanishad gives special importance to this teaching. It analyzes waking, dream, deep sleep, and Turiya to reveal the nature of Atman. The waking self experiences gross objects, the dream self experiences subtle objects, and the deep sleep self remains in causal ignorance. Turiya is beyond all these. It is neither inwardly cognitive nor outwardly cognitive in the ordinary way; it is the non-dual self.

The sound Om is also connected with Turiya. The syllable A represents waking, U represents dream, and M represents deep sleep. The silence after Om points to Turiya. This silence is not mere absence of sound; it symbolizes the reality beyond all names, forms, thoughts, and states. Meditating on Om with this understanding can lead the mind toward the fourth state.

TURIYA or the Fourth State is not something newly produced by meditation. It is already present. Meditation only removes distraction and ignorance so that the seeker can recognize it. Just as the sun does not need to be created when clouds move away, the self does not need to be created when the mind becomes calm. It only needs to be known.

Self-inquiry is a direct method for understanding Turiya. The seeker asks, “Am I only the waking body? But the body is not known in dream in the same way. Am I only the dreamer? But the dreamer disappears on waking. Am I the blankness of deep sleep? But even that blankness is later known. Who knows all these states?” This enquiry leads attention toward the witnessing consciousness.

Turiya brings freedom from false identification. If a person identifies only with the waking body, they fear disease, aging, insult, loss, and death. If they identify with the mind, they are disturbed by thoughts and emotions. But when they recognize themselves as the witness of all states, inner freedom begins. Experiences continue, but bondage becomes weak.

This understanding is not meant only for philosophical discussion. It should influence daily life. When pleasure comes, see it as a passing experience in awareness. When sorrow comes, observe it as a movement in the mind. When sleep comes, know that the self is not destroyed. When waking begins, remember that awareness is the background of all activity.

TURIYA or the Fourth State is also the foundation of fearlessness. Fear comes from duality and identification with the limited. When the seeker knows the self as pure consciousness, beyond birth and death, fear begins to dissolve. The self is not wounded by waking experiences, not disturbed by dreams, and not lost in deep sleep. It remains ever free.

The realization of Turiya requires purity and steadiness. A restless mind cannot easily understand this subtle truth. Therefore, ethical living, sense-control, devotion, meditation, discrimination, and detachment are necessary. These practices prepare the mind for the direct recognition of the fourth state.

In the end, TURIYA or the Fourth State is the ever-present reality behind waking, dream, and deep sleep. It is pure consciousness, the witness of all experiences, and the true nature of the self. It is not a blank state, not a passing experience, and not an object of the mind. Through enquiry, meditation, Om contemplation, purity, and Vedantic wisdom, the seeker realizes Turiya as their own real nature. This realization brings peace, fearlessness, freedom, and the bliss of non-dual truth.

Experiences of the Four Stages