A.U.M. silence & Waking.Dreaming.Deep Sleep. Turiya
A.U.M. silence & Waking.Dreaming.Deep Sleep. Turiya. I have been listening to a podcast Vedanta Talks and trying to decipher this concept of states of consciousness.
The beauty of Vedanta and monotheism is the elegance of reasoning and how it seems to tie up so many loose ends and provide answers to seemingly vexed questions with neat logical solutions. While they seem reasonably easy to understand they are incredibly difficult to actually understand and be aware about. Living life based on the only permanent reality which is one and the only permanent state which truly exists, seems well nigh impossible. While even as the one permanent Self is the only thing which exists the fact is that we in our ignorance mistake everything which we experience as the real thing is the obstacle to Self realisation. When we are in one of the three states that is waking,dreaming and deep sleep we accept that as real to the exclusion of the other two. What are these three states? What do they signify? Why they are impermanent and why we do we constantly believe them to be real and seemingly permanent? Are we living a false life? If yes, then is living a true life really possible without getting to realise the Self which is the ground of existence. The link between these states and the Mantra AUM is something worth discussing and explaining as such explanations can help to set us free from the unending cycle of birth death and the problems of the world as we believe it is today.
Who am I? is a fundamental existential question which man asks at different stages of life and based on a reflective nature we get to different conclusions. Whatever be our religion or belief system I feel this answer seems elegant and logical.
Waking state of consciousness is clearly the easiest to understand and accept as real and conversely the most difficult to negate and realise it as unreal. We can see, hear, smell, taste and feel objects in our daily lives and it seems so obvious that it is real that we can live our whole existence without wanting to know anything more. This is called the gross state of consciousness where we need to actually scientifically see and verify the object and the subject both interacting directly. In fact the very act of writing this blog is a waking state activity. All through this state we are using language to reflect existential problems with varying degrees of success or failure. What is the constant in the experience which we get is the I as in the fact that the same set of scenes, sounds, tastes, smells and feel are perceived differently by each I but the I which pervades all of them is the same permanent I. At the individual level it is called Virat and Universal level it is Visva.
Dream state of consciousness is less clear and all of us get dreams. These are strange, inconsistent and removed from direct perception by the organs of perception and action. However, they feel just as real as in the waking state and are so vivid that when we come out of the dream state we swear by their veracity, knowing fully that the whole experience is false. It is dismissed as a product of the imagination of the mind. This state is subtle as in we are not actually doing anything as we are in a state of sleeping. But since the present blog is being expressed in the waking state we find it easy to negate the dream state and can easily accept the fact that even though the dream consciousness is different from the waking it is an experience in which the same permanent I is present. This I is seeing scenes, hearing sounds, tasting tastes, smelling odours, feeling textures. At the individual level, it is called Taijasa and cosmic level is called Hiranyagarbha.
Deep dream state of consciousness is least clear in terms of understanding as when we state we do not see,hear,smell, taste or feel anything then is it a state of consciousness at all? The answer is yes because it is a state of experience that which makes us aware of the fact of no experience. So often when we are coming out of this state we say we experienced sound undisturbed sleep. This is the healing sleep and we often say that we are rested and refreshed after such sleep. Again it is the same I which perceives the lack of experience and the feeling of rested refreshed waking. This is called a causal state as the embedded tendencies are always present. At the individual level, it is called Pragna and cosmic level is called Ishwara.
Coming back to the fundamental question of Who am I? Vedanta provides the answer in the Mahavakyas which ultimately take this thread to its logical conclusion.
Macrocosm State of experience Microcosm Syllable ‘A’ Material universe Individual physical body Syllable ‘U’ Individual mind Cosmic mind Wakeful state; perception only of the external world through the sense Dream state; perception of mental impressions Syllable ‘M’ Intuitive awareness at individual level Consciousness substratum of universe Deep sleep; experience of bliss and revolutionary knowledge Syllable ‘AUM’ as a Brahman Fourth state; beyond all conceptualization
Macrocosm | Microcosm | State of experience |
Syllable ‘A’ Individual physical body | Material universe Gross | Wakeful state; perception only of the external world through the sense |
Syllable ‘U’ Individual mind | Cosmic mind Subtle | Dream state; perception of mental impressions |
Syllable ‘M’ Intuitive awareness at individual level | Consciousness substratum of universe Causal | Deep sleep; experience of bliss and revolutionary knowledge |
Syllable ‘AUM’ as whole Aatman Self | Brahman | Fourth state; beyond all conceptualization |
Where everything in the table above summarizes the written blog, the crucial game changing difference and radical idea is the negation of all the yellow highlighted as false and the green highlighted as true. This is the toughest part to internalise. So there is no fourth state and there is only one state which is the permanent I which existed in the past, exists now and will exist infinitely. This is one without a second beyond time space and matter. Once we realise the Self as Brahman all the first three states exist nominally as temporary experiences which we have to go through as a means to an end of Self Realisation. Very few of us can transform ourselves from an attached experiencer to a witness experiencer and when that happens we learn to deal with this world as in the sentence Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya. Satyam is permanent unchanging and Mithya is impermanent and ever changing which is the life we live.
Chanting AUM is a secular procedure and is done as follows
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1. Sit in a comfortable meditative posture.
2. Close the eyes.
3. Inhale deeply and while exhalation start chanting with the word AAAAAAAAAA starting from the belly and affecting the chest, sternum and neck
4. Continue the stretch by bringing the lips together to say the next syllable with the word UUUUUUUUUU creates vibrations that stimulate the thyroid glands. –
5. Finally press the lips and front teeth gently together, bringing the vibration of next with the syllable word MMMMMMMMMM creates vibrations that stimulate the efficiency and reaction time of the brain.
6. Try to be aware completely of the sound of “AUM”
7. Slowly stop the practice and synchronize it with the mental sound of “AUM”.
8. Be aware of the internal sound of “AUM” at the eyebrow center, vibrating in harmony with the pulse.
9. Continue in this manner for as long as once time and their capacity.
10. End the practice by chanting “AUM” loudly 3 times.
There are generally four stages of sleep.The first three stages are referred to as “non-REM sleep,” and the third stage is generally when you have the most deep sleep. It can be the most difficult to wake up from that third stage of non-REM sleep. The final stage — REM sleep — typically happens 60 to 90 minutes after you’ve fallen asleep. This is when you tend to have vivid dreams.
The first three stages are accompanied by slowing down of heartbeat, muscle relaxation and the first of these is light sleep almost akin to being awake. Then comes the next stage which is where we spend most time asleep but is still rousable and is followed by deep sleep which is most beneficial for health and repair of body.
The dream state is the REM sleep which comes 60-90 minutes after falling asleep.
Conclusion:
- Vedanta appeals to logic and can be validated by science.
- It is easily understood but difficult to realise.
- Efforts to Self Realisation can help us become better human beings.
- No such effort goes waste even when we fail.
- It helps enhance human relationships and bounce back from adversities.
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