What is Turiya? The Fourth State of Consciousness Explained

Introduction: Beyond Waking, Dreaming, and Sleep

You know three states of consciousness. You wake. You dream. You sleep deeply. These three cycle endlessly. But is there something beyond them? Is there a consciousness that witnesses all three without being limited by any? The Mandukya Upanishad, one of the most profound texts in Vedanta, answers with a resounding yes. It describes not three but four states of consciousness. The fourth is called Turiya — a Sanskrit word meaning simply “the fourth.”

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Turiya is not a state like waking, dreaming, or deep sleep. It is the eternal, unchanging, non-dual consciousness that is the ground of all three states. It is the witness of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. It is never absent. It is what you are when you are not identifying with your body, mind, or ego. And it is the direct goal of Vedantic self-inquiry.

This article explains what Turiya is, how it differs from the other three states, and how to recognize it in your own experience.

The Three Ordinary States: A Quick Review

Before understanding Turiya, we must understand the three states it witnesses.

State	Sanskrit	Description
Waking	Jagrat	Aware of external objects through the senses. Identifies with the physical body. Experiences time, space, and causality.
Dreaming	Swapna	Aware of internal objects (mental images). Creates a dream world with a dream body. The dream feels real while it lasts.
Deep Sleep	Sushupti	No objects — neither external nor internal. The mind is still. A state of blissful peace, but also of ignorance.

These three states come and go. You wake, dream, sleep, and repeat. But something remains constant throughout all three. That constant is Turiya.

Turiya: The Fourth

The Mandukya Upanishad describes Turiya in a series of negations (Neti Neti — “not this, not this”) because Turiya cannot be described positively. It is not an object. It is the subject, the witness.

“They consider Turiya to be that which is not conscious of the internal world, nor conscious of the external world, nor conscious of both, nor a mass of consciousness, nor consciousness, nor unconsciousness. It is unseen, beyond transaction, ungraspable, without distinguishing marks, unthinkable, indescribable. The essence of the knowledge of the one Self, the cessation of all phenomena, peaceful, blissful, non-dual. This is the Atman. This is to be realized.”

Let us break this down.

What Turiya is NOT

Negation	Meaning
Not conscious of the internal world	Not the dreaming state (Swapna)
Not conscious of the external world	Not the waking state (Jagrat)
Not conscious of both	Not a mixture of waking and dreaming
Not a mass of consciousness	Not the deep sleep state (Sushupti), which is a “mass” of undifferentiated consciousness
Not consciousness (as an object)	Not something that can be known as an object
Not unconsciousness	Not the absence of awareness

What Turiya IS (in positive terms, though still pointers)

Affirmation	Meaning
Unseen	Cannot be perceived as an object
Beyond transaction	Not involved in worldly dealings
Ungraspable	Cannot be held by the mind
Without distinguishing marks	No features to identify it
Unthinkable	Cannot be conceptualized
Indescribable	Cannot be captured in words
Essence of the knowledge of the one Self	What remains when all objects are removed
Cessation of all phenomena	The end of all appearances
Peaceful	Free from all agitation
Blissful	Not neutral; full, complete joy
Non-dual	One without a second

Turiya vs. The Three States: Key Differences

Aspect	Waking (Jagrat)	Dreaming (Swapna)	Deep Sleep (Sushupti)	Fourth (Turiya)
Objects	External	Internal	None	None (witness of all)
Awareness	Of objects	Of mental images	No objects	Of itself (self-luminous)
Identification	With body	With dream body	No identification	Witness of identification
Time	Linear	Present only	None	Beyond time
Suffering	Yes	Yes	No	No (blissful)
Ignorance	Yes	Yes	Yes (seed)	No
Reality level	Empirical	Apparent	Causal	Absolute

The Analogy of the Screen and the Movie

The most helpful analogy for Turiya is the screen and the movie.

Element	Analogy	State
The screen	Pure, unchanging consciousness	Turiya
The movie	The content of experience	Waking, dreaming, deep sleep

The screen is always present. It never changes. It is never affected by anything projected onto it. The movie comes and goes. The movie may be a drama (waking), a fantasy (dreaming), or a blank screen (deep sleep). But the screen remains.

You are not the movie. You are the screen. You are not the waking state, the dreaming state, or the deep sleep state. You are the Turiya that witnesses all three.

Turiya and the Syllable OM

The Mandukya Upanishad correlates the four states with the four parts of the sacred syllable OM:

OM Part	State
A (ah)	Waking (Jagrat)
U (oo)	Dreaming (Swapna)
M (mmm)	Deep Sleep (Sushupti)
Silence after M	Fourth (Turiya)

When you chant OM, you are not just making a sound. You are invoking the entire spectrum of consciousness. The “A” wakes you to the external world. The “U” turns you inward to the dream world. The “M” dissolves all objects into deep sleep. The silence reveals your true nature as Turiya.

How to Recognize Turiya in Your Own Experience

You do not need to believe in Turiya. You can verify it directly. Here is a simple practice:

Step 1: Sit quietly. Close your eyes.

Step 2: Become aware of the waking state. Notice external sounds, sensations, and perceptions. Say: “This is waking. I am the witness of waking.”

Step 3: Close your eyes and become aware of the dreaming state. Notice thoughts, images, and mental activity. Say: “This is dreaming. I am the witness of dreaming.”

Step 4: Rest in the quiet between thoughts. Notice the deep sleep-like peace. Say: “This is deep sleep. I am the witness of deep sleep.”

Step 5: Now ask: “Who is the witness of all three? Who is aware of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep?”

Step 6: Do not answer with words. Feel the aware presence that is aware of all three states. That presence is not the waking state, not the dreaming state, not the deep sleep state. It is the fourth — Turiya.

Step 7: Rest as that presence. Do not try to “do” anything. Simply be.

Step 8: Recognize: This Turiya is not different from you. It is what you truly are. It is the Self (Atman). It is Brahman.

Turiya in the Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita does not use the word “Turiya,” but it describes the same state. Krishna teaches Arjuna to be the witness of all actions, to be established in the Self beyond the three gunas.

Chapter 2, Verse 20:

“The Self (Atman) is never born nor does it ever die. It is not slain when the body is slain.”

This is the nature of Turiya — eternal, birthless, deathless.

Chapter 13, Verse 31:

“When one sees the same Self dwelling in all beings, and all beings in the Self, then one is a true knower. Such a person never grieves.”

This is the vision of Turiya — non-dual, peaceful, blissful.

Chapter 5, Verse 8-9:

“I do nothing at all,” thinks the steady knower of truth, even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing… The realized one knows that the senses are operating on their sense objects, while the Self remains as the non-doing witness.

This is the practical life of one who abides as Turiya. They act, but they know they are not the doer. They are the witness.

Common Misunderstandings About Turiya

Misunderstanding 1: Turiya is a state you enter in deep meditation.
Correction: Turiya is not a state. It is the ground of all states. You do not “enter” Turiya. You recognize that you have always been Turiya. Even in waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, Turiya is present as the witness.

Misunderstanding 2: Turiya is the same as deep sleep.
Correction: Deep sleep (Sushupti) is a state of ignorance. You are not aware of your true nature. Turiya is the witness of deep sleep. It is consciousness itself, aware even of the absence of objects.

Misunderstanding 3: You need to destroy the three states to realize Turiya.
Correction: The three states continue. You continue to wake, dream, and sleep. But you no longer mistake them for the final reality. You know yourself as the witness.

Misunderstanding 4: Turiya is only for advanced meditators.
Correction: Turiya is your true nature right now. You do not need to meditate for twenty years to be Turiya. You already are. You only need to recognize it.

The Promise of the Mandukya Upanishad

The Mandukya Upanishad ends with a promise:

“OM is this whole universe. This is the Atman. This is Brahman. One who knows this enters the Self, attains the Self, becomes the Self.”

To know Turiya is to know the Self. To know the Self is to be free.

Conclusion: You Are the Fourth

You have spent your entire life identifying with the movie — the drama of waking, the fantasy of dreaming, the blankness of deep sleep. You have believed you are the character on the screen, suffering the character’s suffering, celebrating the character’s triumphs. The Mandukya Upanishad invites you to turn around. Look at the screen. You are not the character. You are the screen. You are not the movie. You are the cinema itself. You are not the waking state, the dreaming state, or the deep sleep state. You are the fourth — Turiya — the eternal, unchanging, blissful, non-dual witness of all three.

As the Mandukya Upanishad declares:

“This is the Atman. This is to be realized.”

Realize it now. Not as a concept. As your direct, living experience. Rest as the witness of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Rest as Turiya. Rest as your Self. Be free.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.