In
HinduA Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
,
turiya (or
chaturtha) is a state of pure
consciousnessConsciousness is subjective experience or awareness or wakefulness or the executive control system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena...
. It is a fourth state of consciousness that underlies and transcends the three common states of consciousness: the state of waking consciousness (jagrata), the state of
dreamingDreaming and similar may refer to:* Dream, the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep* Dreaming , Indigenous Australian cosmology and spirituality-In music:...
(svapna), and dreamless
sleepSleep is a naturally recurring state of relatively suspended sensory and motor activity, characterized by total or partial unconsciousness and the inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and it is more easily...
(
susupti).
The first two states are not true experiences of reality and truth because of their dualistic natures of subject and object, self and not-self, ego and non-ego.
In
HinduA Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
,
turiya (or
chaturtha) is a state of pure
consciousnessConsciousness is subjective experience or awareness or wakefulness or the executive control system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena...
. It is a fourth state of consciousness that underlies and transcends the three common states of consciousness: the state of waking consciousness (jagrata), the state of
dreamingDreaming and similar may refer to:* Dream, the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep* Dreaming , Indigenous Australian cosmology and spirituality-In music:...
(svapna), and dreamless
sleepSleep is a naturally recurring state of relatively suspended sensory and motor activity, characterized by total or partial unconsciousness and the inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and it is more easily...
(
susupti).
Advaita concept
The first two states are not true experiences of reality and truth because of their dualistic natures of subject and object, self and not-self, ego and non-ego. In the third state, dreamless sleep, one is not conscious of external or internal objects; however, that does not mean consciousness is not present there. It is like saying 'I don't see anything in darkness'. The recognition that I don't see anything is what I 'see'. So also in dreamless sleep, one is not conscious of anything and the very fact that this statement is true proves the existence of consciousness during deep sleep.
In the waking consciousness there is a sense of 'I' (self identity) and awareness of thoughts. In the sleep/dream state there is no or little sense of 'I' but there are thoughts and awareness of thoughts. In the deep sleep state there is no awareness of thoughts or 'I'. In Turiya there is awareness of the 'I' but there are no thoughts. This is what makes it unique from the other 3 states.
The
Mandukya UpanishadMāndūkya Upanishad is the shortest of the Upanishads - the scriptures of Hindu Vedanta. It is in prose, consisting of twelve verses expounding the mystic syllable Aum, the three psychological states of waking, dreaming and sleeping, and the transcendent fourth state of illumination.This Upanishad...
defines turiya as:
"The fourth state is not that which is conscious of the subjective, nor that which is conscious of the objective, nor that which is conscious of both, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which is all-sentient mass, nor that which is all darkness. It is unseen, transcendent, the sole essence of the consciousness of self, the completion of the world."
Shiva Sutras of VasuguptaShiva Sutras are a collection of seventy seven aphorisms that form the foundation of the tradition of spiritual mysticism known as Kashmir Shaivism. They are attributed to the sage Vasugupta of the 8th century C.E....
concept
Turiya or Turya: The fourth state of consciousness beyond the states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep and stringing together all the states; the Metaphysical Consciousness distinct from the psychological or empirical self; the Saksi or witnessing consciousness; the transcendental Self.
"There is, however, a fourth state of consciousness, known as turiya. This is the consciousness of the central Self or Siva in each individual. This is a witnessing consciousness of which the individual is normally not aware. The turiya is pure cidananda-consciousness and bliss. The individual's mind is conditioned by habit energy (Vasana) of previous lives. When by yogic practices, his mind becomes deconditioned, then he attains the turiya consciousness, and becomes a jivan-mukta i.e. liberated while still alive."
Visishtadvaita (VaishnavaVaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or his associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God. This worship in different perspectives or historical traditions addresses God under the names of Narayana,...
) concept
Turiya represents consciousness free from material influence. The idea is that consciousness, of which the atman is constituted, exists in our wakeful state of material experience, as it continues during sleep. In sleep we dream and experience the mental realm, whereas during our waking state the physical plane has more bearing on our lives.
Upon awakening from deep dreamless sleep, one remembers existing in that condition. This is evidenced by the common expression, 'I slept well!' One cannot remember something one has no experience of.
Thus, in deep sleep when intelligence is transformed by tamo
guna' means 'string' or 'a single thread or strand of a cord or twine'. In more abstract uses, it may mean 'a subdivision, species, kind, quality', or an operational principle or tendency....
, the self continues to exist, as it does when intelligence is transformed by rajo guna during the dream condition and during the wakeful condition when intellect is transformed by sattva guna. The self is independent of the body and mind. If the physical and mental realms were to shut down, the self would continue to exist. This we know from our experience in deep sleep. Realizing this involves entering the turiya.
The
Bhagavata PuranaThe Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna. The Sanskrit text comprises twelve skandas and 13,216 verses by one count...
, verse 11.15.16 describes
BhagavanBhagavan, also written Bhagwan or Bhagawan, from the Sanskrit nt-stem literally means "possessing fortune, blessed, prosperous" , and hence "illustrious, divine, venerable, holy", etc.In some traditions of Hinduism it is used to indicate the Supreme Being or...
as
turiyakhye (the fourth), defined in the
Bhagavad GitaThe Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important Hindu scriptures. It is revered as a sacred scripture of Hinduism, and considered as one of the most important philosophical classics of the world. The Bhagavad Gita comprises 700 verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata...
, verse 7.3 as:
"Within the material world the Lord appears as the three Visnus (gunas). The original form of the Lord is another form still. He is beyond material nature and thus known as the fourth."
The Gaudiya Vedantins are interested in
turyatitah gopala (Lord Gopala beyond fourth dimension,
Gopala Tapani Upanishad Upanishad is an Upanishad, associated with the Atharvaveda. It figures in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads .-Origins:As with most of the late Upanishads, the Gopāla-tāpanī is said to be attached to the Atharva-veda....
2.96). This is the fifth dimension in which one comes face to face with Gopala Krishna in
BrajBraj is a region in Uttar Pradesh of India, around Mathura-Vrindavan. Braj, though never a clearly defined political region in India but is very well demarcated culturally, is considered to be the land of Krishna and is derived from the Sanskrit word vraja...
(Vraja Dhama), from adhoksaja to aprakrta, or from God consciousness to Krishna consciousness. Turyatitah (also spelled turyatita, turya-titah, turiyatita, or turiya-titah) is the experience of the ultimate reality.
"The fourth dimension, turiya, is the ground of our existence and the goal of all transcendentalists. For the Vedanta philosophers it is perceived variously, either as undifferentiated consciousness or a relationship with the divine. Regarding the latter, Gaudiya Vedanta concludes that love is greater than ourselves, and it is the greatest aspect of
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
, one that he himself is motivated by. For them, the nondual consciousness of Vedanta philosophy is realized when we know that we do not belong to ourselves, what to speak of anything belonging to us. If there is any time at which we can accurately say that something belongs to us, it is when, having given ourselves in love to God, we can say that 'he is ours'."
"This is the Krsna (Krishna) conception of Godhead, one in which God appears not as God, nor finite souls as finite souls. Both interrelate intimately as lover and beloved, Krsna and his gopis, beyond any sense of each others' ontological reality, yet beyond the material illusion as well. This dimension of love of Godhead is thus justifiably termed by the Gaudiya Vaisnavas as the fifth dimension, turiya-titah, the dimension of the soul's Soul."
The turyatita state of consciousness is reflected in the Sanskrit poem, the
Gita GovindaThe Gita Govinda is a work composed by the 12th-century poet, Jayadeva, who was born in Kenduli Sasan near Puri in Orissa. It describes the relationship between Krishna and the gopis of Vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named Radha...
by
JayadevaJayadeva was a Sanskrit poet, who lived in what is now Orissa, circa 1200 AD. He is most known for his composition, the epic poem Gita Govinda, which depicts the divine love of the Hindu deity Krishna and his consort, Radha, and is considered an important text in the Bhakti movement of Hinduism...
, and Jiva Gosvami elaborated on this state in the Sandarbhas.
See also
- Samādhi
Samadhi is a Hindu and Buddhist technical term that usually denotes higher levels of concentrated meditation, or dhyana, in Yogic schools.In Hinduism, it is the eighth and final limb of the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali...
- Rasa lila
The Rasa lila or Rasa dance is part of the traditional story of Krishna described in Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavata Purana and literature such as the Gita Govinda, where he dances with Radha and her sakhis....
- Rasa (theology)
Rasa is a Sanskrit theological concept specific to Krishna-centered bhakti traditions, such as Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The theological use of the word can be found early, about two thousand years before the Nimbarka or Caitanya schools of bhakti, in a phrase that Chaitanya traditions frequently...
- Brahma Samhita
The Brahma Samhita is a Sanskrit Pancaratra text, composed of verses of prayer spoken by Brahma to Govinda or Krishna at the beginning of creation...
- Bhagavata Purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna. The Sanskrit text comprises twelve skandas and 13,216 verses by one count...
- Shuddhadvaita
Shuddadvaita , also known as the ' or ' , is a Hindu Vaishnava tradition, established by Vallabhacharya in the fifteenth century. The tradition is focused on the worship of Krishna and preaches a pure form philosophy different from Advaita...
- Achintya Bheda Abheda
Achintya-Bheda-Abheda सचेत तत् त्वम् असि is a school of Vedanta representing the philosophy of inconceivable one-ness and difference, in relation to the power creation and creator, , svayam bhagavan. and also between God and his energies within the Gaudiya Vaishnava religious tradition...