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!!
