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The Philosophy of the Upanishads c11.s3: XIII. The States of the Soul

The Philosophy of the Upanishads c11.s3

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XIII. The States of the Soul

1. The Four States

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As the âtman, “becoming incarnate in bodily form,”¹ in space occupies the body as the aggregate of the organs “right up to the finger-tips,”² so also in time it passes in this its individual condition through a series of states, in which its real metaphysical nature becomes gradually more and more plainly visible. These states are:—(1) waking, (2) dream sleep, (3) deep sleep (*sushupti*), *i.e.*

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¹ *sarîratvâya dehin*, Kâṭh. 5. 7.

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² Bṛih. 1. 4. 7.

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deep, dreamless sleep, in which the soul becomes temporarily one with Brahman and enjoys a corresponding unsurpassable bliss, and (4) the “fourth” state (*caturtha, turya, turīya*), usually called *turīya*, in which that disappearance of the manifold universe and the union with Brahman on which the bliss of deep sleep depends takes place not as before unconsciously, but with continued and perfect consciousness.

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The theory of these four states took shape at first by degrees.

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To begin with, it may well have been the loss of consciousness in sleep, and its return on waking which aroused attention and suggested such questions as in Bṛh. 2. 1. 16:¹—“When he fell asleep here, where was that spirit consisting of knowledge (*vijñānamayaḥ puruṣa*), and whence has it now returned (on waking)?” This marvellous phenomenon of sleep was then explained as a transient immersion of the organs (speech, eye, ear and *manas*) in the *prāṇa*. This is the case in Śatap. Br. X. 3. 3. 6, and in the passage Chānd. 4. 3. 3 which agrees with it almost verbally:—“For when a man sleeps, his speech enters into the *prāṇa*, the eye into the *prāṇa*, the ear into the *prāṇa*, the *manas* into the *prāṇa*.” Chānd. 6. 8. 2 is a mere amplification of this explanation of sleep (perhaps with a recollection of Bṛh. 4. 3. 19):—“Just as a bird tied to a string flies to this side and to that, and having found no resting-place elsewhere settles down on the spot to which it is tied, so also, my dear sir, the *manas* flies to this side and to that, and having found no resting-place elsewhere, settles down into the *prāṇa*, for the *prāṇa*, my dear sir, is the spot to which the *manas* is tied.” The immediately preceding words of Chānd. 6. 8. 1 are derived from a somewhat different conception:—“When it is said that the man is asleep, then has he, my dear sir, attained to union with the self-existent (previously described in Chând. 6. 2 f.). He has entered into himself, therefore it is said of him “he sleeps” (*svapiti*), for he has entered into himself (*svam apîta*).”

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¹ cp. Kaush. 4. 19.

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None of these passages make any distinction between the sleep of dreams and deep sleep. Such a distinction is first found in Bṛih. 4. 3. 9–18, 19–33, then in Bṛih. 2. 1. 18–19,¹ and finally Chând. 8. 6. 3, 8. 10, 11–12.² This may well be the historical order. In Bṛih. 4. 3. 9–33 the distinction is not so fully carried out as in Bṛih. 2. 1. 18–19, where the name *sushupta* for the “deep sleeper,” which is still wanting in Bṛih. 4. 3. 9–33, first makes its appearance, and from this are further developed the terms *sushuptam*³ and *sushupti*⁴ for “deep sleep.” The amplifications of Chând. 8 seem to be the latest of all, and dependent already on Bṛih. 4. 3. 9–33; for when in Chând. 8. 3. 4⁵ deep sleep is described (not as in Chând. 6. 8. 3 in connection with Chând. 6. 2. 3, 6. 8. 6 as a union with the *tejas*, but) as an entrance into the purest light, and an emergence therefrom as a necessary consequence in its own true form (*param jyotir upasampadya svena rûpeṇa abhinishpadhyate*), this peculiar conception may of course be referred back to Chând. 3. 13. 7, but it seems more natural to find in it a reminiscence of the “spirit consisting of knowledge, giving light within the heart” of Bṛih. 4. 3. 7, which, as is there further expounded, “by virtue of its own brightness, its own light, serves as a light for itself” in waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. It is surely also a proof of dependence that the word *samprasâda*, which in Bṛih. 4. 3. 15, a passage that had probably already suffered interpolation, still has the meaning of the “perfect rest” of deep sleep, is used in Chând. 8. 3. 4, 8. 12. 3 directly of "the soul in deep sleep."

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¹ cp. Kaush. 4. 20.

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² cp. Chând. 8. 3. 4.

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³ From and after Mâṇḍ. 5.

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⁴ From and after Kaivalya 13. 17.

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⁵ = 8. 12. 3.

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The brief notice of Ait. 1. 3. 12 is drawn from these older passages, and the more detailed discussions on dream sleep and deep sleep of Pras'na 4 are similarly dependent.

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By the side of waking, dreaming and deep sleep, there is found a fourth and higher condition of the âtman, viz.—the c'aturtham, turyam, turîyam (sc. sthânam), or the turîya (sc. âtmâ). It occurs first in Mânḍ. 7, as compared with which the passages Maitr. 6. 19, 7. 11, which belong to the appendix, are probably later. Here also the three first states are denoted by the mystical names Vais'vânara, Taijasa, Prâjña. The waking soul is in this instance called vais'vânara perhaps because all men in their waking hours have a world in common,¹ but in dreams each has his own; the dreaming soul taijasa, probably because then the âtman alone is its own light;² the deep-sleeping soul prâjña, because in deep sleep the âtman, according to Bṛih. 4. 3. 21, is temporarily one with the prâjña âtman, i.e. Brahman.

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¹ As Heracleitus says, on Plut. de Superstit. 3.

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² svena bhâsâ, svena jyotishâ prasvapiti, Bṛih. 4. 3. 9.

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The discussion of the four states severally may be introduced by the definition of them given in Sarvopanishatsâra 5–8:—

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"When using the fourteen organs of which manas is the first (manas, buddhi, c'ittam, ahaṅkâra, and the faculties of knowledge and action), that are developed outwards, and besides are sustained by deities such as âditya, etc., a man regards as real the external objects of sense, as sounds, etc., this is named the waking (jâgaraṇam) of the âtman."

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"When freed from waking impressions, and using only four organs (manas, buddhi, c'ittam, ahaṅkâra), apart from the actual presence of the sounds, etc., a man regards as real sounds dependent on those impressions, this is named the dreaming (*svapnam*, here neuter) of the âtman.”

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“When as a result of the quiescence of all fourteen organs and the cessation of the consciousness of particular objects, a man (is without consciousness), this is named the deep sleep (*sushuptam*) of the âtman.”

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“When the three states named have ceased, and the spiritual subsists alone by itself, contrasted like a spectator with all existing things as a substance undifferentiated, set free from all existing things, this spiritual state is called the *turîyam* (the fourth).”

2. The Waking State

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“The *Vais’vânara*, that exists in a waking condition, recognising external objects, with seven limbs and nineteen mouths, enjoying that which is material, is his first quarter.”¹ The âtman in the first of the four states, that of waking, is said to be “seven-limbed” because, according to Chând. 5. 18. 2, whence the name *vais’vânara* is derived, it consists of sky, sun, wind, ether, water, earth and (sacrificial) fire, and recognises this its cosmical being by means of its “nineteen-mouthed” (ten indriyas, five prâṇas, manas, buddhi, ahaṅkâra, c’ittam) psychical being. Thus it enjoys the world of “material” objects. Kaivalya 12 may be quoted in explanation:—

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¹ Mâṇḍ. 3.

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When his soul is blinded by mâyâ,
It inhabits the body and accomplishes actions;
By women, food, drink, and many enjoyments,
It obtains satisfaction in a waking condition.

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As these passages already indicate, it is his own being alone which in the waking state the *vais’vânara* evolves out of himself and enjoys as the world of material objects. On this the relation of waking and dreaming depends, which is already indicated in Ait. 1. 3. 12 there are ascribed to the âtman “three dream-states” (*trayaḥ svapnāḥ*), by which, according to the commentators, waking, dreaming and deep sleep are to be understood. Even waking is a dream-state, because in it, as Śaṅkara remarks on this passage, “a waking of one’s own real self does not occur, and a false reality is contemplated, just as in a dream.”¹ This connection of waking with the dream-state is discussed in great detail by Gauḍapāda in the Mâṇḍûkya-kârikâ. Waking, like dreaming, is a delusion, since it reflects for us a manifold universe;² the perceptions of waking, just like those of a dream, have their origin solely within us,³ and have no other existence than in the mind of him who is awake.⁴ And as the reality of the dream is dissipated on awakening, so, on the other hand, the waking reality is dissipated by the oblivion of the dream.⁵ The same thought may perhaps be traced as early as Bṛh. 4. 3. 7, where the knowledge and initiative of the âtman are first explained as merely apparent, and then the reason for this is assigned, that the âtman in the dream transcends the unreal phenomena of waking:—“it is as though he meditated, it is as though he moved about; for⁶ in sleep he transcends this world and the forms of death.” Just as a fish swims between two banks without touching them, so the âtman between the states of waking and dreaming;⁷ from waking he hastens to dreaming, and from this again “back to the waking state; but by nothing which he sees therein is he affected; for nothing cleaves to this spirit.”⁸

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¹ On other expressions of Śaṅkara in this sense, cp. *Syst. d. Ved.*, pp. 297, 299, 372.

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² 5, 3. 29.

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³ 4. 37.

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⁴ 66.

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⁵ 2. 7, 4. 32.

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⁶ *sa hi*, for which the Mâdhy. read *sadhīḥ*.

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⁷ Bṛh. 4. 3. 18.

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⁸ Bṛh. 4. 3. 16.

3. Dream-sleep

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The principal passage on which apparently all others depend is Bṛih. 4. 3. 9–14 :—

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“When now he falls asleep, he takes from this all-comprehending universe the timber, cuts it down, and himself builds up of it his own light, by virtue of his own brilliance; when therefore he sleeps this spirit serves as light for itself. There are there no carts, no teams, no roads, but carts, teams and roads he fashions for himself; there is no bliss, joy or desire, but bliss, joy and desire he fashions for himself; there are no wells, pools and streams, but wells, pools and streams he fashions for himself; for he is the creator. To this the following verses refer :—

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Throwing off in sleep what pertains to the body,
Sleepless he contemplates the sleeping organs;
Borrowing their light he returns then back to his place,
The golden spirit, the sole bird of passage.

This lower nest he would have guarded by the life,
And himself rises aloft immortal from the nest;
Immortal he moves whither he will,
The golden spirit, the sole bird of passage.

In the dream-state he moves up and down,
And fashions for himself as god many forms,
At one time gaily sporting as it were with woman,
At another again glowering as it were with terrible mien.

Only his playground is seen here,
He himself is not seen anywhere.

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Therefore it is said,—he should not be wakened suddenly, for it is difficult to find a cure for one to whom he fails to find his way back. Therefore it is said,—it (sleep) is for him only a waking state, for what he sees waking, the very same also he sees in sleep. Thus therefore this spirit serves for a light for itself.”

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In this passage two methods of conceiving the dream are poetically united. According to the one, the spirit remains in its place, and fashions from itself “by virtue of its own brilliance its own light,” a new world of forms, using the materials of its waking hours. According to the other, the spirit in dreaming forsakes the body, and “moves whither it will,” and consequently at times finds difficulty in returning to the body.

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These two conceptions which are derived only from poetical imagination and do not essentially differ are taken up seriously in Bṛih. 2. 1. 18, and are reconciled with one another by limiting the wanderings of the dreamer to his own body:—“Where then he wanders in dreaming, these are his worlds; for he is as it were a great king or a great Brâhman; or he ascends as it were or descends.¹ And just as a great king takes his subordinates with him, and journeys throughout his land at will,² so he takes with him those vital spirits, and journeys about at will in his body.” This extraordinary theory which has no natural foundation of a journeying about in the body during dreams, finds its explanation as an attempt to reconcile the different conceptions of the fundamental passage above quoted. The comparison also with the great king and great Brâhman seems to be based on the succeeding words of Bṛih. 4. 3. 20, which describes as follows the transition from the dreaming consciousness of being this or that to the deep sleep consciousness of being another:—“When now (in a dream) it is as though he were slain, as though he were flayed, as though he were trampled upon by an elephant (vic'châyayati), or plunged into a pit,—everything of which he was afraid in his waking hours, that very thing in his ignorance he regards as real; or, on the other hand, when it is as though he were a god or a king, on becoming conscious I alone am this universe,—this is his highest state.” That is to say, as the paragraph goes on to state, it is the condition of deep sleep, in which a man knows himself to be one with the universe, and is therefore without objects to contemplate, and consequently without individual consciousness.¹ And when in Chând. 8. 10. 2 it is said of the dreamer :—“It is still however as though he were slain, as though he were trampled upon (vic'châyayanti), as though he experienced hardship, as though he lamented,” the connection with the passage quoted from Bṛih. 4. 3. 20 is obvious. The meaningless vic'châdayanti of Chând. 8. 10. 2 was changed by M. Mûller² into vic'châyayanti. An almost inevitable consequence of this change, bearing in mind the great rarity of this expression, is that Chând. 8. 10. 2 is immediately dependent on Bṛih. 4. 3. 20. The converse supposition, or even the idea of an interpolation of Bṛih. 4. 3. 20 from Chând. 8. 10. 2,³ is scarcely probable in view of the general character of the two passages.

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¹ uc'c'âvac'am nigac'c'hati, according to Bṛih. 4. 3. 13 uc'c'âvac'am îyamânaḥ.

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² Recalling Bṛih. 4. 3. 37–38.

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¹ Bṛih. 4. 3. 21 f.

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² Followed by Böhtlingk and myself.

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³ The possibility of which was still in my mind in Upan., pp. 464, 470.

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Pras'na 4. 5 is more certainly dependent on Bṛih. 4. 3. There, after it has been shown how in sleep manas absorbs into itself the ten indriyas, so that only the prâṇa fires keep watch in the city of the body, the dream is described as follows :—“Then that god (viz. manas) enjoys greatness, inasmuch as he sees yet again that which was seen here and there, hears yet again things heard here and there, perceives again and again in detail that which was perceived in detail in its surroundings of place and circumstance; the seen and the unseen, the heard and the unheard, the perceived and the unperceived, the whole he views, as the whole he views it (*sarvam paśyati, sarvaḥ paśyati*).” The last words especially, when compared with Bṛh. 4. 3. 20 (*aham eva idam sarvo ’smi, iti manyate*), place the derivative character of this passage quite beyond doubt.

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Of later passages we cite only Māṇḍ. 4, where after the exposition of the waking state discussed above it is similarly said of dreaming:—“The Taijasa, existing in the dream-state, possessed of inner knowledge, with seven limbs and nineteen mouths, enjoying that which is excellent, is his second quarter.” The expressions “seven-limbed,” “nineteen-mouthed” are explained as above on waking. The dream-soul is said to be “enjoying that which is excellent” (*praviviktabhuj*) undoubtedly with reference to Bṛh. 4. 2. 3, where it is said of the individual soul that it in contrast to the body “has an excellent provision” (*pravivikta-āhāratara.*)

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A discussion of the illusion of dreams with a view to elucidate the illusion of waking is furnished by Gauḍapāda 2. 1 f., 4. 33 f., where the same thoughts already appear, which later on Śaṅkara, a pupil of his pupil, has further expanded.¹

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¹ cp. Syst. d. Ved., p. 371.

4. Deep Sleep

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Dream-sleep passes over into deep sleep, when by virtue of a nearer approach to the other world² the dreaming consciousness of being this or that, a god or king, etc., passes over, as is described in Bṛh. 4. 3. 20, into the consciousness of being the universe; and this, since there are no longer any contrasted objects, is no consciousness in an empirical sense, but a transient union with the *prājña ātman*, the eternal knowing subject, *i.e.* with Brahman. These thoughts are expanded in the most important text that treats of deep sleep, and which is probably also the oldest, Bṛih. 4. 3. 19–33:— "Just as there however in space a hawk or an eagle, after it has circled round, folds its wings wearied, and drops to the ground, so also the spirit hastens to that state in which fallen asleep it no longer experiences any desires nor sees any dream image." Then after a reference to the veins *hitâḥ*, in which according to Bṛih. 2. 1. 19, etc., the soul rests in deep sleep, and after the description of the transition from dreaming to deep sleep it is said:—"That is its real form, in which it is exalted above desire, free from evil and is fearless. For just as a man, embraced by a beloved wife, has no consciousness of outer or inner, so also the spirit embraced by the self consisting of knowledge (*prâjñena ātmanâ*, i.e. by Brahman) has no consciousness of outer or inner. That is his real form, in which desire has been laid to rest, he is himself his own desire, is without desire and free from pain. Then the father is no longer father, the mother no longer mother, the worlds no longer worlds, the gods no longer gods," etc., all contrasts are lost in the eternal One, "then is he unaffected by good and unaffected by evil, then has he overcome all the pangs of his heart. If he then sees not, yet is he seeing, though he sees not; since for the seeing One there is no interruption of seeing, because he is imperishable; there is moreover no second besides him, no other distinct from him for him to see." It is in this prolongation of existence as pure objectless knowing subject that the bliss of this state consists; an existence such as is seen in deep sleep, as is expounded later on in a continuation of the passage already discussed.¹ Bṛih. 2. 1. 19 might perhaps be regarded as a brief summary of the thought of this section:—"When however he is in deep sleep, when he is conscious of nothing, then the veins called *hitâḥ*, seventy-two thousand of which branch out from the heart into the pericardium, come into action; into these he glides, and rests in the pericardium; and just as a youth or a great king or a great Brâhman is at rest enjoying an excess of bliss,¹ so he also is then at rest."

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² Bṛh. 4. 3. 9.

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¹ p. 142 f.

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¹ *atighnîm ânandasya*; this expression combines the ideas of Bṛih. 4. 3. 33, sup. p. 142.

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Union with the *prâṇa* (which is identified with the *prâjñâtman*) is the essential element of deep sleep in Kaush. 3. 3 also:—"When a man has fallen so sound asleep that he sees no dream-image, then he has attained union with this *prâṇa*; then speech enters therein with all names, the eye with all forms, the ear with all sounds, the manas with all thoughts." Kaush. 4. 19-20 is a combination of the two last-quoted passages.

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The passages of the Chând. Up. also which deal with deep sleep give throughout the impression of being of a derivative character. We quote them, referring as far as possible within parentheses to passages that have been employed as models.

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"When a man has fallen so sound asleep, and has so completely and perfectly been lulled to rest, that he knows no dream-image, then he has glided into these veins (Bṛih. 2. 1. 19, 'into these he glides'); therefore no evil troubles him (Bṛih. 4. 3. 22, 'then is he untouched by good and untouched by evil'), for he has then become one with the heat" (Chând. 6. 2. 3, 6. 8. 6).² "When a man has fallen so sound asleep, and has so completely and perfectly been lulled to rest that he knows no dream-image, that is the Self, so he spake, that is the immortal, the fearless, that is Brahman."³ The rejoinder is given:—"He has entered then into nothingness; herein I can discern nothing consolatory,"⁴ and this is met by a reference to wind and cloud, lightning and thunder, which emerge from the latent condition, and thereby reveal their true nature :—" so also this perfect tranquillity (*samprasâda*, in Bṛih. 4. 3. 15 ‘deep sleep,’ here and Chând. 8. 3. 4 ‘the soul in deep sleep,’ cp. Bṛih. 4. 3. 7 *sa hi svapno bhûtvâ*) emerges from this body (Bṛih. 4. 3. 11 :—‘casting away in sleep what pertains to the body’), enters into the purest light, and issues forth through it in its own form (Bṛih. 4. 3. 9 :—‘when he thus sleeps, then this spirit serves for its own light’); that is the supreme spirit, who wanders about there (Bṛih. 4. 3. 12 :—‘Immortal he roves whither he pleases’), while he sports and plays and amuses himself, whether it be with women (Bṛih. 4. 3. 13 :—‘at one time as it were gaily sporting with women’), or with chariots (Bṛih. 4. 3. 10), or with friends, and gives no thought to this appendage of a body, to which the *prâṇa* is yoked, like a team to the waggon (Bṛih. 4. 3. 35 :—‘Just as a cart, when it is heavily laden, goes creaking’).” It seems to be due to a misunderstanding of the verse Bṛih. 4. 3. 11–14 that here, as already in Bṛih. 4. 3. 15, that which belongs solely to dream-sleep is ascribed to deep sleep. In Pras’na 4. 6 also, as in Chând. 8. 6. 3, deep sleep is conceived as a union with the heat (*tejas*):—“When however that god is overcome by the heat, then he sees no dreams, and then that joy rules in this body.”

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² Chând. 8. 6. 3.

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³ Chând. 8. 11. 1.

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⁴ cp. the rejoinder of Maitreyî, Bṛih. 2. 4. 13,—"Therefore, sir, you have led me astray, in that you say that after death there is no consciousness."

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Finally the description of deep sleep in Mâṇḍ. 5 is entirely composed of reminiscences of other passages:—“The state in which he, fallen asleep, no longer experiences any desires, nor sees any dream-image (Bṛih. 4. 3. 19), is deep sleep. The *prâjña* that exists in the state of deep sleep, that has become one (Bṛih. 4. 4. 2), that consists entirely through and through of knowledge (Bṛih. 4. 5. 13), consisting of bliss (Taitt. 2. 5), enjoying bliss, having consciousness as its mouth (Bṛih. 4. 3. 21, 35), is his third quarter. He is the lord of all (Bṛih. 4. 4. 22), he is the all-knowing (Muṇḍ. 1. 1. 9), he is the inner guide (Bṛih. 3. 7), he is the cradle of the universe (Muṇḍ. 1. 1. 6), for he is the creation and dissolution (Kâṭh. 6. 11) of living beings.”

5. The Turîya

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Waking, dream-sleep and deep sleep are the only three states of the âtman which are found in the older Upanishads. According to their view, perfect union with Brahman, and therefore the highest attainable state, is reached in deep sleep. “This is his highest aim, this is his highest good fortune, this is his highest world, this is his highest bliss.”¹ These words, which are used of deep sleep, exclude the thought of a yet higher state.

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¹ Bṛih. 4. 3. 32.

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It was first later on, with the rise of the Yoga system, that in the yoga a state of the soul gained recognition, which was exalted above deep sleep, inasmuch as that union with Brahman and the supreme bliss associated therewith, which manifests itself in deep sleep apart from continued individual consciousness retaining its memory even after waking, is realised in the yoga together with complete maintenance of the waking individual consciousness. This distinction between the yoga and deep sleep is very clearly described by Gauḍapâda :²—

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² Mâṇḍûkya-K. 3. 33 f.

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As eternal changeless knowledge,
Not distinct from that which is known,
Brahman is ever known,—
By the eternal is the eternal known.

This process consists in this,
The irresistible suppression
Of all movements of the spirit,—
It is otherwise in deep sleep.

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The spirit gives light in deep sleep,
But when suppressed it gives no light,
It becomes Brahman, the fearless,
The sole and entire light of knowledge.

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This suppression of consciousness of objects and union with the eternal knowing subject which is brought about by the yoga and is coincident with absolute wakefulness, is designated as the "fourth" state of the âtman by the side of waking dreaming and deep sleep; as *caturtha*,¹ or, adopting the ancient Vedic and therefore more formal word for *caturtha*, as *turîya*;² and in the latter case both "the *turîya*" (sc. *âtmâ*, masc.) and also "the *turîyam*" (sc. *sthânam*, neut.) were employed. Since this state forms in fact a part of the yoga system, we shall learn more of it in detail in our discussion of the latter in a later connection, and here we propose merely to cite the passages in which the doctrine of the *turîya* makes its first appearance. This conception is undoubtedly anticipated by the ancient doctrine of the four feet of Brahman in his character of Gâyatrî;³ but the oldest passages in which the *turîya* is announced as a fourth distinct state of the âtman are Mânḍ. 7 and Maitr. 6. 19, 7. 11. Of these the passages from the Maitr. Up. (appendix) would seem to be the later, since they assume the *turîya* state as already known, which is not the case in Mânḍ. 7. In the latter also the technical term *turîya* is still missing, and in its place *caturtha* is once employed. This passage, of which later writers make much use, runs as follows:—

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¹ Mânḍ. 7.

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² Also *turya*.

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³ Chând. 3. 12, 3. 18, 4. 5-8, Bṛih. 5. 14, where the very expression *turîya* is already found.

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"Knowing neither within nor without nor yet on the two sides, nor again consisting throughout of knowledge, neither known nor unknown,—invisible, intangible, incomprehensible, indescribable, unthinkable, inexpressible, founded solely on the certainty of its own self, effacing the entire expanse of the universe, tranquil, blissful, timeless, —that is the fourth (*caturtha*) quarter, that is the âtman, that we must know.”

c11.s3.t5.12

The best exposition is given by the pertinent strophes of Gauḍapâda :¹—

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¹ 12–16.

c11.s3.t5.14

Neither of truth nor untruth,
Neither of itself nor another
Is *Prâjña* (deep sleep) ever conscious,
The fourth (*turya*) views everything eternally

In the refusal to recognise plurality
The *Prâjña* and the fourth are equal ;
Yet *Prâjña* lies in slumber like a germ,
The fourth knows no slumber.

Dreams and sleep belong to the two first,
A dreamless sleep is the possession of the *Prâjña*,
Neither dreams nor sleep does he who knows it
Ascribe to the fourth.

The dreamer’s knowledge is false,
The sleeper knows nothing at all,
Both go astray, where all this vanishes
There the fourth state is reached.

In the world’s illusion that has no beginning
The soul sleeps ; when it awakes
Then there awakes in it the eternal,
Timeless and free from dreams and sleep.

c11.s3.t5.15

Assuming this doctrine of the *turîya* in its description of the yoga, the passage Maitr. 6. 19 urges the “keeping under of the individual soul called *prâṇa* in that which is called *turyam*”; and in 7. 11 assigns the four states of the âtman to the four feet of *purusha* (one of which is composed of all living beings, while three are immortal in heaven),² in such a way that waking, dreaming and deep sleep form the one foot, the *turîya* the three others :—

c11.s3.t5.16

² Rigv. X. 90. 3.

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He who is in the eye, he who is in the dream,
He who is in deep sleep, and he who is supreme,—
These are his four varieties,
Yet the greatest is the fourth.

c11.s3.t5.18

A quarter of Brahman is in three,
Three-quarters are in the last ;
In order to taste truth and delusion
The great self became twofold.

c11.s3.t5.19

From later passages on the *turîya*¹ we propose to mention only the amplifications of Nṛisiṁhottaratâp. Up. 2. and 8, where the conception is further refined, and four degrees of *turîya* also are distinguished, viz.—*ota, anujñâtri, anujñâ* and *avikalpa* (pervading the universe, enlightening the mind, spirituality, indifference), of which the three first are still constantly affected by “deep sleep, dreaming and sheer illusion,” and only *avikalpa*, the entire obliteration of all distinction, purified from every taint of the world is, as *turîya-turîya*, “the fourth of the fourth” pure, absolute thought.

c11.s3.t5.20

¹ cp. Brahma Up. 2, Sarvopanishats. 8, Haṁsa Up. 8.

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