There are 3 states of consciousness: Waking, dreaming & deep sleep. Each is real, but each has a higher order of reality. Beyond these three states is the combined or UNITIVE state, called the FOURTH or “Turiya”. Entering this state is like waking up out of dream sleep: the individual passes from a lower level of reality into a higher one. We go through all these three states all our life, but at any point of time, assume only one of these three states.
Waking State (Vishva):
In “Waking” state, everything around us looks Real and we experience it accordingly. The Waker’s world consists of objects & beings, emotions & thoughts and this state disappears as we exit the waking state. To a Waker, the dream state is an illusion and unreal. The consciousness functions through the Gross Body as “Waker”.
Dreaming State (Taijasa):
When we are “Dreaming” whatever we see & experience seems Real. Now what was “Real” in the waking state has shifted to the Dreaming state. Everything in the Dream state seems Real. To a dreamer, whatever he experiences in the Waking state does not exist. The consciousness functions thorough the Subtle body as “Dreamer”. (We are not talking about Lucid dream here as in this dream state there is “awareness” that we are dreaming)
Deep Sleep State (Prajna):
When we go into the “Deep Sleep” state, there is nothing is Real. There is no thought, desire or action in this state. The situation is as though we died in the night and got up in the morning. It looks as if this state is just emptiness or nothingness. The sense of “I” is temporarily suspended, and the consciousness is said to rest in the self. In a dreamless sleep, the Upanishads say, a King is not a King, a pauper is not a pauper, no one is young or old, male or female, educated or ignorant. While the western world looks outward into the physical realm (everything that we can perceive through our 5 senses), Vedanta focuses on this state of nothingness very closely.
Nothingness is our seed! Out of this seed emerges the Dreamer & Waker and their respective worlds. Therefore, nothingness is the cause of a something emerging out of it. A scientist goes into deep sleep and wakes up as a scientist. A musician sleeps and wakes up as a musician. While they are asleep they are not aware who they are or what is their expertise. This means that each individual’s personality exists in un-manifest form in his sleep (seed form). That is why Vedanta says that the entire world springs forth from Void or Nothingness! The consciousness functions through the Causal body as the “deep sleeper”.
Consciousness exists in all 3 states:
The Consciousness which is unknown to us, assumes three known forms: Waking, Dreaming & Deep sleep. It functions through the Gross, Subtle & Causal bodies to create the Waker, Dreamer & Deep sleeper. So which state is Real? Reality is that which exists eternally ie.in the Past , Present & Future – ie. it lasts forever. So none of the Waking, Dreaming & Deep Sleep states are Real, since each state exists only for a particular period of time. It is because of this our sages called the dream of waking life (the dream of separate, merely physical existence) – MAYA (Ma means “Not” and Ya means “That” – ie. “Not that”)
Finally, it is the Consciousness that exists in the waking, dreaming & deep sleep states and beyond. It remains in its perfect state. When we had a very good sleep, “something” tells us in the morning that “I had a good sleep”. This “I” is the pure Consciousness also known as the FOURTH STATE or “TURIYA”. Turiya means fourth and this is the REAL state. The state of peace & infinite bliss! This is our pure natural state – the Supreme Self or Pure Consciousness. For a realized human it is like a river merging with the ocean. Only a few evolved human beings have managed to achieve this state: Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa & Sri Ramana Maharishi, to name two of these few!
What do physicists say about something emerging out of nothing?
Some excerpts taken from an article in SCIENCE ALERT (<click here to view complete article) are given below:
“Quantum field theory tells us that even a vacuum, supposedly corresponding to empty space-time, is full of physical activity in the form of energy fluctuations. These fluctuations can give rise to particles popping out, only to be disappear shortly after. This may sound like a mathematical quirk rather than real physics, but such particles have been spotted in countless experiments.
The space-time vacuum state is seething with particles constantly being created and destroyed, apparently “out of nothing”. But perhaps all this really tells us is that the quantum vacuum is (despite its name) a something rather than a nothing!
What we experience as space and time are the product of quantum processes operating at a deeper, microscopic level – processes that don’t make much sense to us as creatures rooted in the macroscopic world”
Conclusion & Summary:
Thus, in Sanatana Dharma a human being is associated with three bodies (gross, subtle & causal), five Koshas or sheaths (Food, Vital Air, Mental, Intellectual & Bliss) and three states of Consciousness (waking, dreaming & deep sleep).
Bodies | Causal Body (Karana Sharira) – “The Seed” | Subtle Body (Sukshma/LInga Sharira) | Gross Body (Sthula Sharira) |
States | Deep Sleep (Prajna) | Dreamer (Taijasa) | Waker (Vishva) |
Sheaths (Koshas) | Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss Sheath) | *Subtle part of Pranamaya Kosha (Vital Air sheath) + Manomaya Kosha (Mental Sheath) + Vignanamaya Kosha (Intellectual Sheath) | *Gross part of Pranamaya Kosha (Vital Air sheath) + Annamaya Kosha (Food sheath) |
Prana is the link between the Subtle (Sukshma or Linga Sharira) and Gross (Sthula Sharira) body. When the slender thread-link Prana is cut off, the Subtle body separates from the Gross or physical body. Death takes place. The Prana that was working in the Gross or physical body is withdrawn into the Subtle or astral body.
*Breath is the external manifestation of Prana, the vital force. Breath is gross or sthula. Prana is subtle or Sukshma. By exercising control over the gross breath, you can control the subtle Prana inside.” – Swami Sivananda
References: Few Snippets from 1) Vedanta Treatise by Swami Parthasarathy. 2) Bhagawad Gita by Eknath Easwaran
A short You Tube video on “Reality is different in different states of consciousness” by Deepak Chopra (<click here)