Turiya literally means “the fourth.” It is described in the Mandukya Upanishad as the underlying state of pure consciousness beyond the three ordinary states of experience.
The Four States of Consciousness
According to Vedanta:
- Jagrat – waking state
- Awareness of the external world through the senses.
- Svapna – dream state
- Awareness of the inner mental world.
- Sushupti – deep sleep
- No dreams, no objects, no mental activity.
- Turiya – the fourth
- Not waking
- Not dreaming
- Not deep sleep
- The pure awareness that underlies all three
How the Mandukya Upanishad describes it
The Mandukya Upanishad says Turiya is:
- Silent
- Non-dual
- Beyond thought
- Peaceful
- The Self (Atman)
It is not another “state” like sleep or waking. Instead, it is the constant background consciousness present in all states.
Simple analogy 🪞
Think of a movie screen:
- Waking, dream, and deep sleep are different movies.
- Turiya is the screen itself — always present, unchanged.
In Advaita philosophy
Teachers like Adi Shankaracharya explain that realizing Turiya is realizing Atman = Brahman, the ultimate non-dual reality.
Key insight
- Waking → mind active
- Dream → mind creating images
- Deep sleep → mind absent
- Turiya → pure awareness itself
If you want, I can also explain a very interesting link between Turiya and the syllable Om in the Mandukya Upanishad. It’s one of the most elegant philosophical mappings in Indian thought.
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