InHindu philosophy,turiya (Sanskrit: तुरीय, meaning "the fourth"), also referred to aschaturiya orchaturtha, is the true self (atman) beyond the three common states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, and dreamless deep sleep). It is postulated in several Upanishads and explicated in Gaudapada'sMandukya Karika.
Turiya as 'the fourth' is referred to in a number of principal Upanishads.[1] One of the earliest mentions of the phraseturiya, "fourth", is in verse 5.14.3 of theBrihadaranyaka Upanishad, referring to a 'fourth foot' of theGayatri Mantra, the first, second and third foot being the 24 syllables of this mantra:
Then there is that fourth (turiya) vivid foot of the Gayatri, which is none other than the sun blazing beyond the sky. The termturiya means the same thing as 'fourth'(caturtha). 'Vivid foot' for the sunblazes beyond the entire expanse of the sky. A man who knows this foot of the Gayatri in this way will likewise blaze with splendour and fame.[2][note 1]
According to Raju, chapter 8.7 through 8.12 of theChandogya Upanishad, though not mentioningturiya, 'anticipate' the Mandukya Upanishad and it's treatment ofturiya.[note 2] These verses of the Chandogya Upanishad set out a dialogue between Indra and Virocana, in search ofatman, the immortal perceiver, and Prajapati, their teacher. After rejecting the physical body, the dream self, and the dreamless sleep (in which there is no perception of "I am") asatman, Prajapati declares in verse 12 to Indra that the mortal body is the abode of the "immortal and non-bodily self", which is the perceiver, the one who perceives due to the faculties of the senses.[3]
The phrase "turiya" also appears inMaitri Upanishad in sections 6.19 (in the context of yoga) and 7.11:
Now, it has elsewhere been said: 'Verily, when a knower has restrained his mind from the external, and the breathing spirit (prāṇa) has put to rest objects of sense, there-upon let him continue void of conceptions. Since the living individual (jīva) who is named "breathing spirit" has arisen here from what is not breathing spirit, therefore, verily, let the breathing spirit restrain his breathing spirit in what is called the fourth condition (tiwya)' For thus has it been said:-
That which is non-thought, [yet] which stands in the midst of thought,
The unthinkable, supreme mystery! —
Thereon let one concentrate his thoughtAnd the subtle body (linga), too, without support.
— Maitri Upanishad, Section 6.19[4]
7.11: He who sees with the eye, and he who moves in dreams,
He who is deep asleep, and he who is beyond the deep sleeper —
These are a person's four distinct conditions.Of these the fourth (turya) is greater [than the rest].
— Maitri Upanishad, Section 7.11[5]
Verse 7 of theMandukya Upanishad refers to "the fourth" (caturtha),[6] or "the fourth quarter",[7] the first, second and third quarter being situated in the waking, dreaming and dreamless state:
They consider the fourth quarter as perceiving neither what is inside nor what is outside, nor even both together; not as a mass of perception, neither as perceiving nor as not perceiving; as unseen; as beyond the reach of ordinary transaction; as ungraspable; as without distinguishing marks; as unthinkable; as indescribable; as one whose essence is the perception of itself alone; as the cessation of the visible world; as tranquil; as auspicious; as without a second. That is the self (atman), and is that which should be perceived.[7]
Michael Comans disagrees with Nakamura's suggestion that "the concept of the fourth realm (caturtha) was perhaps influenced by theSunyata of Mahayana Buddhism",[8][note 3] stating that "[T]here can be no suggestion that the teaching about the underlying Self as contained in theMandukya contains shows any trace of Buddhist thought, as this teaching can be traced to the pre-BuddhistBrhadaranyaka Upanishad."[8]
According to Ellen Goldberg, this fourth quarter describes a state of meditation; the insight during meditation of Turiya is known asamātra, the 'immeasurable' or 'measureless' in the Mandukya Upanishad, being synonymous withsamādhi in Yoga terminology.[9]
In the Mandukya Upanishad, AUM symbolizes the four states of conciousness. The three parts in A-U-M corresponds to waking, dreaming, and sleep states.[10] The fourth state, (turīya avasthā), corresponds to silence, just as the other three correspond to AUM. It is the substratum of the other three states. It is, states Nakamura,atyanta-shunyata (absolute emptiness).[11] According to Sharma,Turiya is "the common ground of all these states. It manifests itself in these three states and yet in its own nature it transcends them all".[10]
Gaudapada, an earlyguru inAdvaita Vedanta, was the author or compiler[12][note 4] of theMāṇḍukya Kārikā, a commentary on the Māṇḍukya Upanishad, also known as theGauḍapāda Kārikā and as theĀgama Śāstra. Gaudapada was influenced by Buddhism,[13] though he was a Vedantin and not a Buddhist.[13] In theMāṇḍukya Kārikā, Gaudapada deals withperception,idealism,causality,truth, andreality.[11] In his commentary on verse 7 of the Mandukya Upanishad, Gaudapada explainsTuriya, the fourth state of consciousness, as the ultimate reality that transcends the waking, dreaming, and the deep sleep states. According to Gaudapada,Turiya is beyond cause and effect and is the pure, self-luminous consciousness in which all dualistic distinctions between subject and object cease to exist. The phenomenal world is an appearance produced bymaya (illusion), whileTuriya is the non-dual reality.[14] For Gaudapada, turiya is the "true 'state' of experience," in which the infinite (ananta) and non-different (advaita/abheda) are apprehended.[15]
Isaeva notes that the Mandukya Upanishad asserts that "the world of individual souls and external objects is just a projection of one indivisible consciousness (citta)," which is "identical with the eternal and immutable atman of the Upanisads [..] in contrast to momentary vijnana taught by the Buddhist schools."[16][note 5]
Adi Shankara described, on the basis of the ideas propounded in theMandukya Upanishad, the three states of consciousness, namelywaking (jågrata), dreaming (svapna), and deep sleep (susupti):[web 1][web 2]
Turiya is liberation, the autonomous realization of the non-causal Brahman beyond and underlying these three states.[17][18][19][20][21]
Kashmir Shaivism holds the state calledturya – the fourth state. It is neither wakefulness, dreaming, nor deep sleep. In reality, it exists in the junction between any of these three states, i.e. between waking and dreaming, between dreaming and deep sleep, and between deep sleep and waking.[citation needed] In Kashmir Shaivism there exists a fifth state of consciousness called Turiyatita - the state beyond Turiya. Turiyatita, also called the void orshunya is the state where one attains liberation otherwise known asjivanmukti ormoksha.[citation needed]
Based on theTantraloka an extended model of seven consecutive stages of turiya is presented bySwami Lakshman Joo.[citation needed] These stages are called:
While turiya stages 1 - 6 are attributed to the "internal subjectivesamādhi" (nimīlanā samādhi), oncesamādhi becomes permanently established in the seventh turiya stage it is described to span not only the internal subjective world anymore but beyond that also the whole external objective world (unimīlanā samādhi).