#266 I am the witness consciousness of the 3 states of experience
We love and thrive on our experiences be it tasting the local cuisine of a new culture, seeing the azure blue waters of the ocean, feeling the cool breeze wash over our body, listening to our carefully curated playlist, smelling the wafting aroma of our favourite food and so on. We thrive on spending time with loved ones and reminiscing about the times gone by and the times to come.
In the process of living, we have come to believe that whatever we experience is reality. But that is only one part of the human existence.
What is it that lends reality to experiences?
Who is the one that is present in all the experiences?
Bhagavan Krishna lumps all our changing experiences into 3 stages of life – childhood, youth and old age. He says that
देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा।
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति।।2.13।।
Just, as for the jiva, the indweller of the body, there is childhood, youth and old age, similar is the gaining of another body. With reference to that, a wise person does not come to grief.
Through all these stages there was only one I, the jiva, the indweller of the body.
Irrespective of how sharp my memory is, I am absolutely certain that I went through all my experiences. It is not like the jiva, the person died in childhood and then another person with a different body emerged for youth.
The seasons change, the body changes, the mind changes (all the time), people around me change.
However reality bites! We want the body to forever be young, the relationships to always be great, the money to always pour in and the mind to always be stable.
We want what is changing to not change and that is why we experience suffering.
If I accept that what is changing is changing and do not resist it then there is no grief.
Change is the only constant in experiences.
Then what is constant in the changing experiences – the changeless.
Who is that? The Atma, I.
Might the experiencer, present in all experiences, good, bad and ugly be more constant than the changing experiences?
Might there be a changeless reality which is not an object, not a process, not a person but is just pure being?
The answer is a resounding YES
Vedanta begins with where we are and our experiences.
Whatever we experience in the world, Vedanta enquires and categorises all our experiences into the waking state, dream state and sleep state.
Why? To enquire into which of these states is real.
Why? We want to define who we really are! Because reality always IS. It does not change with time.
Why do we want to know reality? Because reality gives us certainty and cannot be negated.
How will that help? By knowing that I am Avastha-traya Sakshi, the witness consciousness of the three states of experience, I will not be affected by changes.
I as Consciousness am present in all these states but I am untouched by them. Let us unpack this.
The three states of experience are-
Jagrat Avastha (Waking State),
Swapna Avastha (Dreaming State) and
Sushupti Avastha (Deep Sleep State).
Waking State (Jagrat Avastha)
We interact with the world through our senses. We see, smell, taste, listen and touch. We interact by using our organs of knowledge and organs of action. In this state our mind is available and thus, we experience time, cause-effect, logic and perceive the world to be real.
The waking state ego identified with the gross body is called Vishva. It is the Atma/self, as though conditioned by the gross body.
For more clarification on Atma is other than the 3 bodies please do listen to episode 164 Who dies? The Atma or the body.
Since I am aware of all that happens in the waking state, I am the witness/sakshi of Vishva, the waker. I am the experiencer of the waking state and hence the waking state is different from me.
I as consciousness is like a lamp that illumines or reveals everything in the field. And so, the light of awareness shines within, revealing all of one’s thoughts, emotions, and everything perceived with the five senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
Are we awake our whole life? Thankfully we have been given the gift of sleep and so we have a different kind of an experience which includes the dream state.
Dream State (Svapna Avastha)
Dream state or svapna avastha is that which is based on the impressions of the waking state – the sights and sounds, people met, the tastes and fragrances, the memories of the past, related thoughts and emotions.
Based on these impressions of the waking state, these samskaaras go in to effect and create a world of experience for us as a dream.
Whether you dream of a vacation in Hawaii or deep sea diving in the Andaman islands or your performance appraisal, a totally new world is experienced in the dream. As the dreamer, you have a dream body and dream senses to experience the dream world.
The senses of your body used in the waking state are not required in the dream world at all. The intellect used in the waking state is not available to monitor the thoughts and emotions.
In the dream state the prana of the gross body is functioning as your incoming and outgoing breath and the mind is throwing up all these impressions. Your bodily processes are going on, unknown to you while you have a totally different functioning body in your dream.
The experience of dream world is the Dream state. The ‘I’ness or the ego of the dream state, identified with the subtle body primarily is the sukshma sharira and is called Taijasa (meaning light/life).
How do you know about your dream? Where does that light of awareness come from? What is its source? Since you are a sentient, conscious being, the source can only be you. Because of that light of consciousness, you become aware of all the activities of your mind not only when you are awake but also when you re dreaming. The very same light of consciousness makes you aware of your dreams.
Since I am aware of what happens in the dream state, I am the witness/sakshi of Taijasa, the dreamer. I am the experiencer of the dream state and hence the dream state is different from me.
And then there is an experience that we universally long for.
Deep Sleep State
That state which is characterised by “I know nothing” a total state of nothingness but “ I enjoyed a good sleep” a happy experience is called deep sleep state.
When we go to sleep, our senses become unavailable to external stimuli, the mind is no longer active and becomes dormant. Since even I, the ego is dormant, it does not rear its head from the blanket to say – I am sleeping peacefully and soundly. You may snore of course and others may experience your sound sleep.
Still the deep sleep state is such that we experience happiness and nothingness together.
The experience of deep sleep is the Deep sleep state or sushupti.
The ego of the deep sleep is identified with the causal body, and is called Prajna.
What are you conscious of then? You are conscious of the complete absence of any thoughts, emotions, or perceptions in your mind. During deep sleep, the light of consciousness continues to shine brightly.
Your mind is asleep but you remain fully aware, but there’s nothing to be aware of, nothing to be illumined by the light of consciousness, like a lamp shining brightly in a completely empty room with black walls, a black ceiling, and a black floor.
It is much like standing inside a perfectly dark room with your eyes wide open. You can see, but there’s nothing to be seen. You don’t temporarily become blind in a dark room, and in the same way, you don’t temporarily become unconscious in deep sleep.
The light of consciousness doesn’t blink on and off like a light bulb. As a sentient being, you are the source of that light, and you continue to exist in deep sleep.
Atma is the witness/sakshi of the deep sleep state ego and its experience.
So, these are the three states of experience – the waking state, jagrat avastha, the dream state, svapna avastha, and dreamless deep sleep state, sushupti avastha.
These states alternate every day and night.
During the waking and dream states, you are aware of the activities of your mind, and in deep sleep, you are aware of the absence of any mental activity.
The fascinating thing about these three states is –
Waking, dream and deep sleep states are mutually exclusive.
You are either awake or you are dreaming or you are in deep sleep. Hence the world of the waking world and all your acquisitions are of use to you only in the waking world and of no use whatsoever in the dream state. Likewise the 7 course meal that you ate in a fine dining restaurant in Paris made you feel stuffed in the dream but cannot satisfy your hunger in the waking state.
Which begs the question – Is the waking state more real or is our dream state more real? And the answer is each appears real, in its own time. Svakaale bhaati. More about this in another episode. (in the waking state).
Waking, dream and deep sleep states are temporary and not permanent.
Anything that is temporary and changing cannot be the limitless unchanging reality.
Some of you argue – what about daydreaming or samadhi? Daydreaming is also in your waking state and so is samadhi, where you are awake but the mind is fully resolved and you will know about this, only after you come out of samadhi.
Okay. But what about the so-called fourth state of consciousness, turiya?
The Sanskrit word ‘turiya’ simply means fourth, not fourth state of consciousness. It is referred to as the fourth to imply that it is distinct from the three states of experience and hence the fourth, chaturtham.
The Mandukya Upanishad features this word – Turiya, to reveal the unchanging, consciousness that illumines or reveals the three changing states of experience that alternate in the mind.
For argument’s sake, let’s say it was a fourth state of experience. As any experience starts and ends in time, this so called fourth state will also start and end in time making it temporary. Enlightenment then would become 10 seconds or 2 hours or even two years. This does not make sense.
Turiya is not a particular state of consciousness, nor is it an extraordinary spiritual experience.
Turiya is pure consciousness that is you, consciousness that’s unborn, uncreated, limitless, vast, and totally unaffected by the world and its suffering.
Some people believe that turiya is a state of super-consciousness, a higher or elevated state in which one can undertake astral travel to different dimensions. All of this sounds enticing but an experience is an experience is an experience. It is changing all the time.
What is changing cannot define you.
Vedanta is pointing to the Consciousness that you are, which is not a form but the very reality underlying all forms.
Turiya is not a transient state or a temporary experience, but rather, it is the limitless, transcendent, unchanging consciousness that is your true, inner nature.
The Mandukya Upanishad declares, ayam atma, this self, the conscious being, your true, inner nature, is chatushpaat, it has four quarters.
The waking state is defined here as bahish-prajna, the state in which your consciousness is turned outwards towards the world.
Then the dream state is defined as antah-prajna, the state in which your consciousness is withdrawn from worldly experiences.
Then the state of deep sleep is defined as prajnana-ghana, literally, thick or dense consciousness, a state of darkness, like the darkness of the movie screen.
After describing these three states, the Upanishad reveals the nature of Turiya. It says, naantah-prajnam, turiya is not like the inward consciousness of the dream state,
na bahish-prajnam, nor is it like the externally directed consciousness of the waking state.
Na ubhayatah prajnam, nor is it an intermediate state, in between the waking and dream states.
Na prajnana-ghanam, turyia is not like the dark, dense consciousness of deep sleep.
Na prajnam, nor is it mere consciousness.
Naaprajnam, nor is it unconsciousness, the absence of consciousness.
All these expressions negate different kinds of conditioned consciousness, consciousness that is associated with the conditions of your mind and experiences, conditions like waking, dream, and deep sleep.
Turiya that is you is pure, unconditioned consciousness, free from limits, totally independent of your mind and completely unaffected by its activities.
Unconditioned consciousness can be compared to a clear crystal. When I hold this crystal near my orange robes, it appears orange. It seems to be affected but is not affected at all.
If held up to a blue sky, the crystal appears blue but still remains unaffected. In the same way, different conditions of your mind can make consciousness seem like it is awake, dreaming, or immersed in deep sleep. But, just like the crystal remains perfectly clear in spite of its appearance, in the same way, the unconditioned consciousness known as turiya is not affected in any way by the states of your mind.
What about lucid dreaming?
Lucid dreaming is a state of experience where the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming and may gain some level of control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment.
It is a state in which the dreamer is not completely passive but actively participates in and often manipulates the dream experience.
Lucid dreaming has become popular in some circles as it can help in creativity, problem solving and confronting one’s fears. However, since it involves keeping a journal by your bed, being alert to the possibility of going into a lucid dream and so, it takes years of practice to relax. In any case, being relaxed in the waking state and inviting Ishvara’s grace into your life is more than enough for any kind of creativity or problem solving.
Vedanta looks upon lucid dreaming as another experiential state which is temporary, changing and is illumined by the unchanging Atma that is you.
What about dream analysis?
Dream analysis is a therapeutic technique that involves exploring the content of dreams to gain insight into a person’s emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Often used in therapy, dream analysis can help gain insight into the unconscious, aspects of the person not readily available in the conscious state.
Dream analysis can serve as a way for the mind to work through unresolved issues or conflicts. With a trained therapist it can be a valuable tool for self-discovery and addressing unresolved issues and even for creative inspiration.
The limitations of dream analysis is that it is often very subjective and depends greatly on dream recall. Sometimes therapists may place too much emphasis on symbolic interpretation, potentially overlooking the straightforward aspects of a dream or the dreamer’s current life circumstances.
Vedanta looks upon dream analysis as similar to analysis of your waking state. Whatever you may analyse and interpret of a dream, the dream is still temporary and changing.
People are welcome to try lucid dreaming, dream analysis and even astral travel.
The question is – By having an exalted experience has your sense of inadequacy and identification with your limited form gone?
Or does your sense of self now get tied up and conditioned by the exalted experience such that you feel incomplete without the exalted experience?.
Any experience is possible only with a form, be it the form in the waking state or the subtle form in your dream state.
The emphasis in Vedanta is that anything changing like the dream is still illumined by the unchanging Atma that is you.
Turiya, unconditioned consciousness that is You,
is adrishtam, unseen, imperceptible,
avyavaharyam, not available for transactions,
agrahyam, ungraspable, impossible to objectify with your mind or senses,
alakshanam, indefinable (as an object),
achintyam, inconceivable (as it does not have a form), and
avyapadeshyam, indescribable (as it does not have dimensions).
Oh my goodness! If turiya is imperceptible, ungraspable, and inconceivable, then how can it possibly be experienced?
Turiya is ekatma-prayaya-saram, it is the one true self, eka atma, the unconditioned consciousness that’s invariably present in every experience.
Turiya is present right here, right now at this very moment irrespective of what you are doing.
It sustains all activities as no activity is opposed to it.
Turiya is not a temporary state or a special experience.
Turiya is the unchanging, boundless you !
