🕉️🌙 Mandukya Upanishad: Three States of Consciousness (and Turiya) Explained
The Mandukya Upanishad describes the nature of consciousness through different states of experience, using the syllable “Om” as a symbolic framework for understanding the self (Atman).
In this teaching, consciousness is generally described through waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and the transcendental state known as Turiya.
**1. Prājña (Deep Sleep State – Causal Awareness)**
In the state of deep sleep (sushupti), there is no active mental projection of thoughts or dreams. Awareness is present in a dormant, unified form, where individual identity and distinctions temporarily dissolve.
This state is associated with causal awareness, where experiences are not differentiated but exist in an unmanifested form. It is a state of rest for the mind, where awareness is not directed outward or inward in active form.
**2. Taijasa (Dream State – Subtle Awareness)**
In the dream state (svapna), consciousness becomes active in the realm of impressions, memories, and mental imagery. The mind creates its own experiential reality independent of the external physical world.
This is associated with subtle perception, where internal experiences feel real while being constructed by the mind.
**3. Turiya (The Fourth State – Pure Consciousness)**
Turiya is described as the transcendental state beyond waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. It is not a state in the conventional sense but the underlying awareness in which all other states arise and dissolve.
It represents pure consciousness—unchanging, witness-like awareness that is not limited by mental activity or absence of it.
From a philosophical standpoint, Turiya is associated with realization of the Self (Atman), where distinctions between subject and object dissolve into unified awareness.
Thus, the Mandukya Upanishad presents consciousness not as separate states alone, but as a continuum grounded in a single underlying reality—pure awareness.
Greetings! Love and Light from Aastha Musings~