[Advaita-l] waking, dreaming, sleeping, as mutually supportive

[Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian]

On Mon, Oct 12, 2009 at 6:22 PM, Michael Shepherd
<michael at shepherd87.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
> Ramesh, thanks, Most of the sages say the same -- the first taste of samadhi
> can throw you off track.. but its honey becomes irresistible, and from then
> on it's up to the individual to increase the dosage !
>
> Ramana says that the first experience of pure atman is that between
> thoughts; hence his vichara system.
>
> Would you agree that turiya/atman is closer to us than we pretend ?

It is actually the other way around. Turiya is "further away" than
many of us like to pretend!

As Swami Vivekananda observed "99% of those who think they are saatvik
are steeped in the deepest of tamas". Thus we have people picking up
books and declaring themselves sampradayavits. Turiya is indeed
"close" for the pure-minded - those who have the four-fold
requirements and who have humbly approached an actual guru. And that
is not as easy or as common as people may like it to be.

Rama