Who Am I?

by Sarvapriyananda

Turiya is the reality - the one consciousness - underlying the three states.

The idea is that there is no fourth separate reality called the Turiya. It is the same reality which is being called the waker in the waking state; it is the same reality, the same consciousness which will be called a dreamer in the dream state, and it is the same reality which will be called the sleeper in the sleep state.

So according to the Mandukya Upanishad, the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep are not the reality. The reality is the consciousness underlying all of them, just like gold is apart from all the ornaments and yet it is in and through all of them.

the waker is apart from the dreamer, and the dreamer is apart from the waker. But there is something that continues in both of them and that is what is called the Turiya, or the fourth.

Do we not say - it was my dream and it was my deep sleep and it is my waking now? But who is that one who is saying it is my waking, my deep sleep and my dream? That one is the consciousness which is apart from the waking self, apart from the dreamer self, and apart from the sleeper self and yet it is in and through all of them. That is the Turiya - the fourth - the real Self.

So, the mind is a series of changes, but consciousness is not changing. Every night when we go from waking to dream to deep sleep, consciousness remains the same.

So consciousness is apart from the waking world and the waking body, consciousness is apart from the dream world and the dream body, and consciousness is apart from the deep sleep blankness. It is in and through all of them. States are coming and going and the ego associated with each state is coming and going, but the consciousness is illumining all of them. You are that consciousness.

Turiya, pure consciousness, is the only reality, and this is the answer to ‘Who am I?’ The question is, ‘Who am I apart from the physical world of the waking state, apart from the mental imagination of the dream state and apart from the blankness of the deep sleep state? Turiya illumines the waker, illumines the dreamer, illumines the sleeper and also appears as the respective physical world, dream world and deep sleep blankness.

Not only are you apart from all of them, you are untouched by all the suffering or enjoyment of the waking state, of the dream state and blankness of the sleep state. None of them touch the pure consciousness which is apart from all of them, but it sustains all of them. In its light all three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep, are illumined.

The Self is not the dreamer, not the waker, not an in-between state, not the deep sleeper, not the all-knower and not unconscious. The Self is invisible, not transactable, not graspable, cannot be inferred, beyond thought and beyond language. It is the essence of the “I-sense”, the quiescence of the universe, peace itself, bliss itself, nondual and thought to be the fourth. That is the Self to be realized.

You are the consciousness which is watching all this panorama - this game of waking, dreaming and deep sleep.

But for the Higgs Boson, you cannot say because I can’t see it, so it’s not there. Even if that particle were right here, we would not be able to see it. Not seeing is not a proof of non-existence for such a tiny particle. Similarly, here it says consciousness is not something that you can see or smell or touch, it is adrishyam.

Ekaatmapratyayasaaram - eka or one, atma or Self, pratya or recognition, saaram or the essence. If you follow this Self - the ‘I’ feeling, you will come to Turiya.

That is the ekaatmapratyayasaaram, the presence of the ‘I’ feeling. The consciousness which is illuminating even the blankness of deep sleep, that consciousness is in and through all these three states, just like gold is in and through all the ornaments, and that consciousness is the Turiya. Ekaatmapratyayasaaram is a very extraordinary word. When you follow that ‘I’ feeling, you intuitively realize that you are Turiya. This is the famous ‘Who am I?’ inquiry taught by Ramana Maharshi.

Shivam - This means aananda or full of joy (more precisely, Turiya is bliss itself).

Advaitam declares you alone appear as the world and everything in it.

The enlightened one feels, ‘I am everything. I feel oneness with everything.’

aatmaa - that is what you are. Aatmaa literally means the self - the real ‘I’. This is the answer to this question which we started with - ‘who am I?’ I am the one Turiya, which appears as waker and waking world, dreamer and dream world, sleeper and deep sleep potential world.

Sa vigyeyah - it is to be realised.

we should realize ourselves as pure consciousness - Turiya - and everyone and everything as none other than the same Turiya, and live life in peace and fullness and joy. Realize the divinity within yourself and the spiritual oneness of the whole universe. Manifest that divinity in daily life through peace, love and service to all beings. That is the spiritualization of everyday life.