[Advaita-l] The Foundations of Adhyāsa - 8 (The Three States)

[S Jayanarayanan]

H S Chandramouli hschandramouli at gmail.com wrote:
 
> Namaste.
> 
> Reg  << Therefore, Adhyāsa in the Waking and Dream states, takes on the
> form of Mūlāvidyā in Deep Sleep. Sankara's exhortation is to
> renounce all Three States and rest in the Fourth State called Turīya, the
> true nature of the Self. >>,
> 
> A doubt. Who or what is to “renounce all Three States and rest in the “
> Fourth State “ ??  Is it not something  which is part of one or more of
> “Three States “ ??. If all the three states are renounced, does not that
> entity also stand renounced.  Or Adhyasa itself should “ rest “ in the “
> Fourth State “ ??.
> 
 
Not necessarily so. In the waking state, the dream state has already been renounced!
Similarly, in the deep sleep state, both the waking and dream states have been renounced.
The "problem", if you will, is that the same state that was once renounced is being
accepted again (or re-entered into), soon thereafter!
 
The thesis of Vedanta is that there is a state where ALL the three states of waking, dream
and deep sleep have been fully renounced - this is called the Turiya or the Fourth state.
Thus in the Turiya state, ONLY THE INFINITE SELF EXISTS - there is literally nothing else.
There is no "entering in and out of" any of the Three States. In fact, the Three States
cease to exist when one realizes the Turiya state.
 
The numbering of the Turiya state as the "Fourth" is only in this conventional reality,
certainly not after the state has been realized, when there is only ONE, not three or four!
Ramana Bhagavan has talked about this in "Day by Day with Bhagavan" (5-1-46):
 
  "...as a matter of fact, our real state is what is sometimes called
  turiya or the fourth state which is always as it is and knows nothing
  of the three avasthas, viz., waking, dream or sleep. Because we call
  these three avasthas we call the fourth state also turiya avastha.
  BUT IT IS NOT AN AVASTHA, BUT THE REAL AND NATURAL STATE OF THE SELF.
  When this is realised, we know it is not a turiya or fourth state,
  for a fourth state is only relative, but turiyatita, the transcendent
  state called the fourth state."
 
In other words, Turiya is said to be the "Fourth" state, but is actually the state that
TRANSCENDS the Three States.
 
> Regards
 
Regards,
Kartik