How to Perform Self-Inquiry to Produce Wakeful Samadhi

How to Perform Self-Inquiry to Cultivate Wakeful Samadhi [Turiya] & The Process of Liberation [With Form] Explained 

 

PART 1: What is Self-Inquiry?

 

Self-Inquiry is a Meditative Process of Negating all forms of Mithya until Brahman is Exposed

 

The practice of self-inquiry is not intellectual but intuitive. At first, you will need to intellectually understand that there is only Brahman who is changeless, timeless, spaceless, etc. so you know exactly what you’re inquiring about. This is done through Sravana and Manana, i.e. learning and reflecting on the truths transpired by the Rishis. This is where many of you are right now on your journey. It is through these phases, we understand that Brahman appears as many forms when seen through ignorance (i.e. the mind). And so we need to bring in concepts like Jiva or Iswara to explain why Brahman appears this way. While all of this is necessary to understand conceptually, the actual inquiry itself (nididhyasana) is not intellectual at all. It is a meditative process. This is because to KNOW Brahman is to BE Brahman. And to BE Brahman, you must be void of thoughts that obstruct this fundamental truth from being known clearly in its full glory. 

 

So if thoughts are not perceived during the unbroken experience of Brahman, then the inquiry itself cannot be intellectual since any intellectual process involves a broken experience of thoughts from an externalized mind which is the sole cause of bondage. This means when you are actually performing the inquiry, you cannot speak to yourself silently in the mind. You cannot think about what Brahman is or what it feels like or expecting anything to happen (even though something will happen if you do it correctly). Doing so will only break the precious momentum needed to expose the current of Jnana (knowledge of the self). The inquiry must persist in motion without thoughts until the screen of awareness becomes exposed. Faith and perseverance is therefore needed before the inquiry so that you trust it will lead to realisation. 

 

Note: Realisation will not bear fruit for the impure mind. Those who are still firmly identified with their ego — who haven’t mastered their senses, desires, emotions, trauma and other impurities should continue to resolve these before embarking on this path. Self-knowledge will only be fully fructified for Sages who incarnate here from higher realms to fully exhaust their prarabdha. It comes to those who are full of equanimity and who are running on extremely low levels of egoism. One should carry on with their sadhanas until concentration levels are stable enough to go into the inquiry. This comes after lifetimes of practice. 

 

 

PART 2: How to Perform Self-Inquiry Correctly

 

In order to perform self-inquiry correctly, your attention needs to be shifted in the complete opposite direction. In other words, it needs to turn AWAY from objects and thoughts. Normally, when we perceive objects, we have our attention placed on them as if they are something ‘out there’ and ‘separate from us’. When we attach attention to objects and thoughts, it gives rise to meaning, emotions, feelings, memories, and a plethora of sensations we experience. This is engrained habitually in Jivas and is a normal functioning of how attention operates within samsara.  So how can you realize Brahman if the mind is externalized and attention is placed outwards? Is Brahman separate from you? Is it something out there? Is there such thing as time and space with objects contained within it? How then can the inquiry be done correctly if you continue to believe and leverage this illusion firmly while you perform it? This is why Sravana and Manana are extremely important. You must understand the knowledge given and use it correctly in the way that it’s intended. Absorbing the teachings of Vedanta is not meant to entertain the ego. It is meant to help the inquiry. Only after you collectively understand the Vedantic truths and truly reflect on it with a purified mind, will you really know the task at hand. This is when you will you be able to correctly turn attention inward and negate all forms of Mithya intuitively. The final result is that all distinguishable objects will be experienced as one and the same (your true self). 

 

To perform self-inquiry correctly, attention needs to be channeled in the opposite direction (within). This means you need to reverse the way attention normally functions. This is done by using the subtle mind and moving inward to reveal its source. 

 

Here are the very descriptive steps as to how the inquiry should be performed.  Note:  I have voluntary forced myself out of wakeful samadhi for over a month to re-perform the inquiry daily in order to document these steps in extreme detail. I will explain the physical/subtle symptoms leading to the culmination of self-knowledge so that advanced seekers can understand exactly where they are during the inquiry.

 

1. Introductory Step: Remain silent for a few minutes while keeping your eyes open. Observe whatever is in front of you and move your eyes around to observe other objects. Do not let your attention stick onto a particular object and perceive it to be different than something else. Try to look at everything indifferently. Observe and let go of all objective knowledge and thoughts that arise from these objects. Stay silent and keep your mind calm for a few minutes. 

2. Start turning your attention inward. The introductory step explained above is meant to help induce this subtle transition. At first, it will be difficult or near impossible to figure out HOW to turn inward. But those who do it correctly, can make the shift easily and on command. It is a sudden flick of shifting your attention in the opposite direction (within the mind). This shift can be felt when you stay silent for a while and ask yourself deep within: "Who Am I?" If done correctly, your attention will shift behind the thinker.  However, you're not supposed to remain in that space.  It is to show you the direction in which attention needs to travel. You will come to find out, that attention can keep traveling inward beyond this space. Attention traveling inward almost feels like you’re zoning out (away from objects) but while being completely present and alert during the inward process (without shifting attention elsewhere). If you’ve driven a car for a long time, you may sometimes drive your car without needing to think. You can also see the entire view of the road in front of you and sidewalks on both sides without zooming in or localizing attention onto a particular region for you to see it. Only when you focus attention on something or think about driving, do thoughts come rushing in and are then held on to. This similar attitude of not-thinking and delocalizing attention needs to be cultivated when you practice turning inward. Do not stick onto objects by laser focusing your attention firmly on them as you normally do. This will cause thoughts to arise from intimately perceiving what the object is along with its qualities (eg. size, color, shape, etc). This only affirms the existence of an object. When you turn inward, your attention is no longer on an object even while looking at it. The inquiry has nothing to do with your vision of the object. Your vision of the object can continue along with any other activities performed by the body, but your attention is placed elsewhere — this is the inquiry. Turning inward is concentration within the mind and AWAY from objects. The goal is to keep attention flowing into the deeper parts of the mind until there’s nowhere left to go. Therefore, you are not concentrating ON an object; you are concentrating AWAY from it. When you concentrate AWAY from something, it naturally becomes a meditative process and you will be assessing deeper parts of the mind when this is in motion. You will naturally let go of thoughts if you ignore everything while attention remains firm on its inward journey. The more you keep this flow of attention unbroken (without shifting attention somewhere else), thoughts will begin to subside. If you perceive any, gently dismiss them and keep turning inward. You will soon begin to view all objects as if they are made up of the same dream substance. You will not be able to discriminate between them nor give them a particular value, but only witness them as an illusory phenomena. Attention is no longer latching on to the objective world. The mind is becoming internalized.  Indifference and equanimity begins to heighten to levels you’ve never experienced before. 

3. As you begin to turn inward more deeply, you will feel almost as if you’re light and identifying more with the space around you instead of being completely localized inside the body-mind. This is because your identification with the upadhis (i.e. limiting adjuncts such as the subtle body) is losing its grip. This is the result of witness principle: Turiya (which underlies the different bodies/koshas), becoming more isolated from your false personality. When you are completely entangled in the world with attention placed outward, this witness principle feels like it’s INSIDE the body. This is the delusion you experience as a Jiva which makes objects appear to be separate from you. But if you start turning attention inward and away from the world, this underlying principle starts to become delocalized from the body-mind personality and is known to be the source of what appears within itself. This is the real you right now as we speak. Objects will no longer appear to be outside of you but rather appearing within you — since you are that which makes up the very appearance. You will begin to lose identification with the body as you slowly become more identified with this witness principle. Life around you will become insignificant as the world turns from real to unreal (now seen as a happening or a mechanical animation instead of being perceived as something completely and substantially real).  All stress, anxiety, pain, thoughts, etc. will float away and will no longer be an obstacle for you since you begin to become detached from the qualities and attributes that can only be experienced by the body-mind. 

4. Before all of this can happen, you need to keep turning inward. While you do, start to walk around while maintaining unbroken concentration away from objects and thoughts. This is how you get familiar with keeping concentration in motion while being exposed to different objects. At first, you will immediately break the motion of concentration when exposed to alluring objects that cause you to attach to intriguing thoughts associated with them. This is why you must practice consistently so that you come to a point where you no longer diverge attention somewhere else (no matter what object is in front of you — this includes interacting with human beings). This is why it’s also important to develop non-attachment, dispassion and equanimity before going into the inquiry or else concentration will not be stable. For beginners, you should first practice the inquiry sitting down while remaining still. But eventually, those who are qualified will need to perform this while they are out in the world to expose the deep-rooted vrittis (thoughts about this world and body) to higher knowledge of the self.  This is how the ‘doer’ will eventually be removed as we strive for the extinction of all thoughts (broken experiences), so the unbroken experience of Brahman can shine alone AS IS without any disruptions. This can only be a realistic goal if you’re able to keep the inquiry in motion for a long period of time (something that will naturally come to those spiritually evolved with a highly purified mind). 

5. The more you keep attention turned within, the less thoughts come to you. In fact, you may try to force yourself to think a thought, and it will be extremely difficult for it to manifest.  If it does arise, it will get dissolved instantaneously.  It’s like a steel block is inside your head preventing them from being perceived. However, you will still have the subtle understanding that there is a you performing the inquiry.

6. When attention continues to flow inward, you will start to lose sensation of the body and the perception of thoughts. There comes a deep inner sound of silence that will radiate in your head/ears. This is the anahata sound.  It is unstruck sound that is not produced by anything. It is primordial, spontaneous and self-abiding. You only become conscious of this sound when the mind is withdrawn and extremely still. {Note: Wherever the mind goes, prana will naturally follow. If prana enters the Brahmarandhra, this sound is amplified. It is also heard when the Kundalini is raised and clashes with the Ajna and Sahasrara chakras.}  However, do not entertain the ego when you hear this sound — although it is a pointer to the absolute and a sign of incoming pulsations. Instead, get lost in the sound as it is solely there to pull you in further away from mental disturbances. Start to lose the understanding that there is a you performing the meditation. This is not something you should tell yourself while it is underway because it will break the momentum built during unbroken concentration. Though, if it does get broken, you will still be able to get back easily to that same inner space you left depending on how deep you were with the meditation. This is because your meditative state will continue to unfold for some time even when the inquiry stops. It eventually fades away if effort doesn’t persist to hold on to the respective state. Important Note: When the inquiry is underway, concentration should be held in motion. You need to forget everything except the subtle effort needed to pull attention inward. If you break it by entertaining a thought or by drifting attention somewhere else, get back to that inner space quickly and continue. It is only the most difficult to keep stable at the very beginning of the inquiry when you first try to get it in motion (after attention is shifted in the opposite direction). But as it flows for a while, the easier it is held with  minimal effort needed. 

7. The more you go inward, the less chances of drifting attention elsewhere. This is because there is a strong current that begins to pull your attention in even more as you fully self-surrender. It brings you to unchartered territories which you’ve never been conscious of before. To get here, you need to use every last ounce of willpower and discrimination to fully sink in. If you come to this threshold or breaking point, you will plunge into advaitic samadhi. This samadhi however is wakeful samadhi which is different from yogic samadhi. "Yogic samadhi" is generally cultivated from concentrating ON a single object/thought in an attempt to remove all other objects and thoughts until the single object/thought being focused on vanishes.  It persists only in the absence of objects/thoughts (i.e. suppressing the vrittis). Wakeful samadhi however, is cultivated when concentration is turned AWAY from objects/thoughts (i.e. exposing the vrittis).  So it can persist even in the presence of them. Though, from the perspective of one who is in this type of samadhi, there is NO perception of thoughts NOR are objects perceived to be separate from itself. It is this samadhi that is conducive for producing liberation while retaining a physical form and is not dependent upon discarding that form for liberation (willful death). It is cultivated from practicing meditation in the presence of objects —which can only happen while you have a form! This is the very goal of Advaita Vedanta, which says there is only the non-dual self. If there is only the non-dual self, then this non-dual self is not only assessable with death of the physical, subtle and causal bodies after journeying through the higher and subtler worlds to arrive at Turiya (via status of Kramamukti); it can also be accessed through negation and maintained right now while embodying the physical body in this very world itself (via status of Jivanmukti).  Objective meditation is aligned with the underlying belief that the mind is separate from Brahman. And so one will transition from active mind to inactive mind).  This will feel like you're teleporting into samadhi.  Subjective meditation (self-inquiry) however is aligned with the underlying belief that the mind IS Brahman and the two are not separate (as per Vedantic truth). This method will allow one to experience Brahman during the waking state without the need of making the mind dormant or by suspending it temporarily. This will feel like you're abiding in samadhi without going anywhere.  The final result of persistent practice of wakeful samadhi is firm and continuous realization of Brahman while the mind is awake and still. 

8. Both samadhis however, will first come with pulsations beating in the upper chakras. Note: Chakras are energy portals within the subtle body.  The intense pulsations felt is the inner vibration of prana and is a sign that Turiya is on the verge of becoming dissociated from body-mind personality. At first, there will be intermittent pulsations.  It will feel like intense energetic pulses tapping inside your being. The intervals between each will shorten as you plunge deeper into self-absorption, meaning the pulsations will begin to unravel faster and faster. As you look around, you will feel as if everything is moving in snapshots or flickering. The snapshots proves the illusion of the world appearance as a thought superimposed on awareness as you're able to see what you're aware of in a particular moment flicker, while the presence between each flickering snapshot moment is your true self (the space between linear thoughts).  It would be very easy for one at this point to shift their awareness to a higher realm if they choose to (depending on which chakra portal they self-absorb through using Kundalini or solely with intention). However, we are not concerned about any realms (no matter how blissful these realms are). We are only concerned about realizing the self. When the pulsations beat faster, the last step is to completely give up the sense of being the doer (ego) who is feeling the pulsations or performing the inquiry. This will shorten the intervals even more until the pulsations beat so fast, they turn into a single continuous stream. All chakras will pulsate at once prior to this stream unfolding which makes the pulsations disappear immediately as they are no longer felt by the body or mind. This results in Turiya (witnessing function of consciousness) being completely isolated / delocalized from body-mind personality. You are no longer localized in the body-mind apparatus. Note: While kundalini is often looked at as an energy to help seeker go into temporary nirvikalpa samadhi or brahmaloka (the highest heaven), i.e. different forms of laya, it can also be leveraged and harnessed to enhance viveka to allow one to plunge into turiya.  In other words, you can leverage kundalini while you maintain full conscious attention of turning inward without slipping into laya through subjective meditation.  Kundalini is therefore a power you can compliment with your viveka as attention is turned away from the false appearance of thoughts and objects. It will help you pierce deeper into the veils of maya to expose turiya if you possess the power of viveka during the waking state.​​

 

Important Note: All steps mentioned above aim at cultivating wakeful samadhi (i.e. abidance in Turiya). Prior to this culmination, you should refrain yourself from any type of action that may break the inquiry. However, when inquiry is continuously practiced, you will be able to start it or keep it in motion no matter what action is taking place. This means it can persist while performing your day to day responsibilities or even while having conversations with people.

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Another Important Note: The further you progress with the inquiry, the easier it will be to succumb to deep sleep or temporary nirvikalpa samadhi because of the mind being extremely still.  However, this is not our objective. The Vedantic goal is to abide in Turiya while the body and mind is completely alert. This is why you must stay ALERT and SLOWLY MERGE in Turiya without bypassing it.  You will get there by maintaining the inquiry while gently dismissing any type of experience you want to succumb to due to its intoxicating nature. THEREFORE, YOU SHOULD NOT STOP PREMATURELY AND MAINTAIN ALERT AWARENESS UNTIL YOU ARE AWARE OF HAVING NO VOLITION. So long as you have the ability to keep withdrawing attention, the ego is still alive and therefore you must keep going!  When there is no longer the will available to do anything during the inquiry (while the mind is still completely awake, i.e. not inactive),  Jnana is revealed!  Self-inquiry is meant to be a highly conscious process from beginning to end (without any diversions). The premature bypassing of Turiya is known as slipping into Laya —which many confuse for the final goal. Advanced seekers should arouse the mind from falling into this Laya (inactivity/bliss) and also make the necessary effort to keep the mind still when distracted by thoughts/objects. If these two things are controlled at the extreme depths of the inquiry, the mind will rest at equilibrium and attain sameness (Brahman). It will remain unshaken as the pure silent observer. How can bliss be felt at this point when the doer is gone? What is there left to feel? Who is there to feel it? You simply witness the body-mind operate on its own, while you watch it silently and objectively as the secret underlying witness.

 

 

PART 3: The Secret Underlying Witness

 

When abiding as witness principle, you are FREE from ALL thoughts, sensations, pain, suffering, anxiety, stress and any form of objective knowledge that the body-mind is attached to and is capable of knowing and/or understanding linearly. You watch the unfoldment of the body-mind operate on its own accord, without willing it to operate since you are just the pure observer of such material activities. This is the function of Turiya (The Underlying Witness). Instead of being the character INSIDE the movie (being shown on the cinema screen) who perceives time, space and separation from objects (as you are now); you now become the VERY SCREEN OF THE MOVIE that witnesses the movement of its own animation while being completely non-separate from it (since you are the screen itself).  While abiding as Turiya, you are the very basis of the entire body-mind appearance unfolding. In other words, you WITNESS the appearance of separation HOWEVER, you are non-separate from the appearance of separation. You hold a distinct personality (knowing you are the true self), while at the same time, solely witnessing the movement of your own appearance objectively from an individual purview of body-mind observation. When you abide as Turiya, it is not something you know conceptually or intellectually through broken linear thoughts since you are no longer experiencing through the body-mind. It is known instinctively ALL-AT-ONCE while you abide pervasively in an UNBROKEN experience.  When you rest here, you will know exactly why this abidance is necessary to escape the forces of transmigration.

 

Eventually, this witnessing function of consciousness (Turiya) will become localized again and entangled with the body-mind as you slowly transition identity from witness principle to body-mind, thus regaining full body-mind consciousness and the senses. The body-mind will again feel intense pulsations as the underlying witness merges back inside the false personality. This means extreme pulsations are felt in the body-mind whenever Turiya associates to or dissociates from body-mind personality.  How long you abide as Turiya is dependent on the amount of vasanas which causes Turiya to merge back inside thus reviving the ego’s life. Although Vasanas are known to be causal tendencies of the doer, it is just a way to explain the imaginary hidden force that keeps awareness entangled in its own false projection. This means abiding in Turiya will not be completely locked in unless you go back to abiding there.  This is why samadhi needs to be practiced over and over again until all vasanas are destroyed (vasana-kshaya). If practice is persistent and abiding as Turiya is held on its own naturally without effort, the mind will remain transfixed on its point of origin, thus fully dissolving the habitual tendencies of itself *projecting outward* — *this is the normal functioning of the mind for those who remain in their own dream of samsara*. When you practice consistently, you will even plunge into Turiya during sleep unwillingly. The more you practice, the more deep rooted vasanas are burned which allows you to hold on to Turiya longer.  You will start losing interest in duality as you lose all remaining desires (even the very last desire to experience existence as a separate self). 

 

 

PART 4: You Are Not The Doer

 

When you abide in Turiya, there is not a single ounce of doership or the hidden notion about being the owner and controller of the body-mind. This is because your true personality is isolated and becomes completely distinct from the false one, yet instinctively knows itself to be the source of what is appearing within its own screen of awareness. The mind here is purely sattvic (rendered quiescent and free from modifications). This means there is zero activity from Rajas and Tamas. Although Turiya is said to be beyond all three gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas), it is actually synonymous with pure Sattva because it is one with the pure sattvic mind during the Jivanmukti experience. This means there is only the pure reflection of Brahman. Even while this stillness is unshaken, the body (now seen as an empty apperance and not something physical) continues to move but without the volition of the doer behind it. How can there be any will or motivated actions at this point when you are the non-doer? There is only inaction because you (the self) is no longer under the delusion of acting with agency. How then can you perceive meaning behind objects witnessed in duality since objective knowledge about anything no longer sticks to you? The only way it can stick, is if there is attachment or a doer to latch on to in order to perceive its meaning through a linear stream of thoughts. Note: This means when you witness the appearance of any object while abiding as Turiya, you will not be able to understand what the object is linearly since you have given up thinking. This doesn’t mean you don’t know what the object is. YOU KNOW but nothing can be said of it. It’s like being in a park and seeing the trees without giving them meaning. You don’t consciously need to know it is a tree while looking at it because you innately know what it is from past memory/impressions. When Turiya is stable, it will feel like your body is running only on memory. This is why the Jnani can operate without thinking. He knows what to do at once without the need of grasping or holding onto information.  And although all objects are witnessed as separate objects, there is an underlying unity behind them that assigns them all equal values. So in this sense, there can never be  differences among them — just like the screen can never assign differences to objects in its own reflection as they are all fundamentally the same. This is the pinnacle of Viveka. 

 

PART 5: The Words of Vedanta Needs To Be Thrown Away

 

The screen of awareness becomes exposed to those with a purified mind and who perform inquiry/meditation persistently; not for those who entertain Vedanta intellectually or who succumb to Neo-Advaita while rejecting their relative existence (yes —the same ones who are firmly attached to their bodies which only perpetuates samsara). The words of Vedanta is only meant for analytical exposition but is not meant to be used during deep inquiry. These words eventually needs to be thrown away when meditation is in motion and sharp intuition starts to unravel.  All thoughts need to be given up completely. If thoughts are given up, the thinker (ego) is no longer needed. If the thinker is not needed, it disappears. And so awareness becomes exposed as the remaining substratum. You’re now frozen as the pure screen of awareness without the illusion of being inside the “I” that acts. Effort is needed to keep plunging into this natural phenomena until it becomes habitual and permanently exposed without effort required. This is conducive for liberation. 

 

PART 6: Self-Inquiry Summarized: 

 

In Summary — When the mind is purified enough through lifetimes of growth, it becomes qualified to turn attention inward in its present incarnation. When you’re able to shift attention in the complete opposite direction (even while in the presence of empirical phenomena), thoughts will begin to subside. Normally, one has attention placed outward which is what sustains the existence of objects and is why they are perceived to be separate from you and are given different values (due to judgement and discrimination driven by the impure intellect). This is why thoughts are entertained and continue to multiply, further enhancing the delusion of ignorance/Maya. Going in the opposite direction, is the inquiry itself (subjective meditation). When you go inward without thoughts, while remaining completely alert (for an indefinite period of time), you will begin to feel the current of Jnana. Jnana here refers to the self (Brahman). It is also referred to as knowledge of the self since it is a complete unbroken knowing without any dependency for its knowingness. 

 

When you get exposed to Jnana, the mind begins to turn into Brahman which is also known in Vedanta as the Brahmakara-Vritti. Note:  The expression: “The mind turning into Brahman” is said figuratively in ancient texts.  What actually happens is the mind eventually disappears as vasanas deplete and is known to have been Brahman all along. In other words, there was never such thing as a mind! It only existed as a such because of Brahman erroneously experiencing itself as something different that what it actually is. When the mind begins to disappear intermittently; this is known as savikalpa samadhi (i.e. clinging on to the unbroken experience of the self with effort). In order to get sucked in by the overflowing current of Jnana which is the under-current of all three states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, deep sleep), you need to keep attention turned inward and in motion without breaking it through the perception of thoughts. This is because the very nature of the self is unbroken attention. So as long as you perceive thoughts or view the objective universe experientially as something outside of you, you are not liberated. Therefore, the inquiry must remain unbroken for a while. If it is broken, thoughts become exposed and then entertained - hence the inquiry is lost. Although, it will be easier to backtrack to your prior meditative state quickly if the inquiry was deep enough before attention was shifted away. 

 

A purified mind is absolutely necessary before one can begin the inquiry and is why the teachings of traditional Advaita advocate for mind purification (spiritual practices). Otherwise, entertaining the words of Vedanta and the wisdom from Sages becomes an intellectual pursuit without revealing the actual experience (which many people including Neo-Advaitins, self-proclaimed Gurus, Acharyas and Swamis love to indulge in).

 

When you get to a point where there are little to no thoughts perceived during the inquiry, a deep inner sound of silence over-floods and chakras will begin to pulsate. Pulsation is a sign of the coming glory. There is no experiencing the self AS the self without first experiencing the pulsations. This is what leads to the penultimate experience, which should be distinguished from any type of experience that may seem profound, but nowhere near as climactic as when Turiya is fully detached from the uphadis. It means your true personality is on the verge of becoming completely isolated from its false counterpart. This is also known as Aham-Sphurana. Here is when you know you are deep in the inquiry because of attention being placed in the deepest parts of the mind where it gets exposed to the bliss from Jnana. Again, attention needs to be turned away from all objects and kept towards the self (inward motion) for a while in order for this to occur. Mostly the Sahasrara, Ajna and Vishuddha chakras will pulsate HARD since deep inner subtle mental effort is underway. At this point, it would be very easy for one to raise their Kundalini all the way and plunge into nirvikalpa samadhi if they choose to take it there. However, this is not our goal as we do not want to bypass the light of Turiya (atma-jnanam) which aims at destroying all deep rooted vasanas that sustains the functioning of the aham-vritti (potentiality for the mind to project outward). {Note: For those who are leveraging the Kundalini energy in their practice, they must bring it down to the Ajna chakra and switch their meditation technique from objective to subjective meditation (self-inquiry/nididhyasana) to abide in Turiya. This is because it needs to be done in the waking state and not when the mind has become temporarily suspended after crashing into the depths of the Sahasrara chakra. The highly divine and attractive energy/force will allow you to abide in Turiya quicker if you have enough concentrated energy pulsating in the third eye. Bear in mind — to produce liberation while having a form, abiding in Turiya must be done continuously until it is effortless. So it would not be feasible at all to depend on breath-work or Kundalini for this unless you can maintain the energy in the upper chakras naturally. Using the mind to turn attention away from thoughts/objects is all that is required for the inquiry. And for those who have the Kundalini awakened and have already been in samadhi, self-inquiry will be an easy process once they get it in motion}.

 

When the upper chakras begin to pulsate fast, at this stage, you need to completely give up the ego or the notion that there is a you performing the inquiry. If this is done successfully, all chakras will pulsate together at once until it becomes continuous with zero intervals in between each. The pulsations will then disappear which means awareness is now fully isolated or delocalized from body-mind appearance. There is now abidance in Turiya as the witness principle (i.e. wakeful samadhi). 

 

Nothing can be felt now since there is no longer entanglement with the body-mind that perceives thoughts, feelings, sensations, emotions and pain. There is only the knowledge of being the self because the mind no longer projects outward.  You are now pure reflected consciousness or the screen of awareness reflecting the body-mind, and the illusions of time, space and causation have collapsed and dissappeared. Yet, you witness them only as an appearance (not experienced spatially) in your own screen of awareness and have the fundamental knowing that you are the source of it all.  The illuminator and the illumination are not separate, yet your true personality is distinct and is instinctively known as the self. You can only remain here when the ego is completely given up. So if attention is turned away from it with any slight volition or ounce of effort due to vasanas, IT IS LOST. This is because any effort requires the instrument of action (ego). To put in effort is to sustain the ego’s survival; ALTHOUGH EFFORT IS REQUIRED AT FIRST IN ORDER TO REACH THIS INNER SUBSTRATUM.  This is why the strong current of Jnana is there. It is meant to PULL YOU IN, to completely renounce the ego/doer, so the unbroken experience of Brahman can take over. So effort is absolutely necessary to reach this current and only then should you give up doership and fully self-surrender to the fundamental knowledge that unfolds. You must plunge into this screen of awareness over and over again until all vasanas are burned or else attention will be pulled away from its point of origin. This is how you remain in constant identification with the supreme self. This constant effort of abiding in the self is termed Bhakti.  If effort in plunging in is no longer needed and the screen of awareness (Turiya) is continuous and becomes permanently exposed, this means the potentiality for the mind to attend outwards (the functioning of the aham-vritti) and the possibility of Turiya being entangled in its own projection, CEASES. The status of one who remains here effortlessly is a Jivanmukti (the enlightened Sage). 

 

 

PART 7: Becoming Infinity

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When the status of Jivanmukti remains effortlessly, the enlightened soul will eventually get lost in its own knowledge and the witnessing function of consciousness (Turiya) will eventually vanish when there is complete and total self-absorption. Anything slightly less than full absorption will result in witnessing a trace of duality. Total self-absorption however, results in death of the sattvic mind (manonasa). Manonasa can only happen after there is permanent abidance in Turiya. And permanent abidance in Turiya is only possible once all vasanas have been destroyed.

 

Turiya can be held naturally while witnessing the physical body in the physical world (while still alive), or it can be held while witnessing the causal body in the highest world, i.e. Brahmaloka (after death). The Sage will be called upon intuitively by divine intelligence to reap either option (there is no option that is higher than the other). However, if vasanas are not fully destroyed, Turiya can only be held intermittently; and so any samadhi experienced will always be temporary, no matter what type or where it is experienced.

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The process of manonasa can only happen automatically on its own as it cannot be done by any doer since there is no longer volition or a trace of sankalpa when Turiya is held permanently. It is done through Grace (the ownerless controller, i.e Iswara). This means Nirvikalpa samadhi will always be temporary if you try to induce it yourself. The transition to liberation is not something that can be controlled by the Jiva. The Jiva is only in control up until the moment when Turiya is held permanently (which is why the Jiva is the entity responsible for resolving all vasanas). When Turiya is held permanently, it is Grace that blesses the enlightened soul with full self-knowledge which elegantly unfolds autonomously before gradually coming to an end with complete and total self-absorption. This marks the transition to permanent nirvikalpa samadhi. From the perspective of the Jnani, he is eventually absorbed in infinity as he is no longer identified with any of his existing bodies still running on prarabdha (e.g. similar to a fan being powered off, yet the blades of the fan continue to spin on its own until it eventually stops). Yet for the ignorant, we give them words like Videhmukti, i.e. disembodied liberation, which they believe only happens with death of the Jnani’s body since it cannot be fathomed as to why the Jnani’s body still operates. Nonetheless, it is the highest and final state, i.e. Turiyatita. One gets self-absorbed and identified with INFINITY as their personality gets expanded and extended, as it appears to be present everywhere at all times. 

 

To witness INFINITY, is to NOT WITNESS AT ALL. You can only witness if there is an appearance to compare your true self with. This is why Turiya is equated to fourth. Not because it is a fourth state but because it is consciousness in relation to the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep. But when Turiya is held on its own long enough without being entangled in its own projection, it will no longer underlie any of the three states, and so all three states will eventually disappear. At this point, Turiya cannot be called Turiya anymore because consciousness is no longer in relation to anything. We now have to give consciousness a new name: Turiyatita. This is when Turiya gets dissolved in its own source from not attending to any other state, causing the witnessing function of consciousness to cease its operation. When the Jivanmukti is self-absorbed in infinity (or dissolved into absolute non-dual source), the appearance of duality is no longer witnessed within the screen of awareness. The consciousness of self-personality is lost as the pure sattvic mind (Jivanmukti) also loses its formal existence in formlessness.  There is no longer comprehension of the self, yet you remain as the self permanently in its FULL GLORY never again to experience Maya and the delusion of your own false imagination. This is Nirguna Brahman. It is pure and utter freedom —even the freedom from knowing your true nature. THIS IS SUPREME LIBERATION. 

 

PART 8: How do you know if you’ve experienced abiding as Turiya?

 

There would be zero doubts and zero uncertainties. How can there be if you’re resting as complete truth? The knower of Brahman is established in Brahman without the delusion of body-mind upadhis that prevents this truth from being fully known in its complete splendor. The experience itself is the most profound and glorious beyond ALL possible and conceptually known events that can occur in all three worlds (physical, subtle, causal). This is because it transcends them all. When the experience flashes forth, YOU WILL KNOW IT ALRIGHT. It is not based on intellectual corroboration or mere intellectual discernment of the real from the unreal. It is DIRECT experience of the Self and can only be experienced when the flow of consciousness is reversed and thoughts/ego are traced back to its source. Abiding in Turiya or the perpetual experience of Aham-Sphurana is inferior only to the Sahajastithi of the Jnani which comes with death of the sattvic mind. Words cannot describe the actual experience of Turiya, yet, we must somehow transcribe it to the best of our abilities to approximate what it’s like so that seekers can catch a glimpse of what is possible if they do the necessary work to uncover this fundamental truth hidden within.

 

 

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