Akademik

   There are four states of consciousness outlined in the MANDUKYA UPANISHAD, one of the classi-cal Vedic UPANISHADS often cited in VEDANTA and other Indian traditions. The four states are jag-arita (jagrat), the waking state; svapna, the dream-ing state; sushupti, the deep sleep state; and turiya, the transcendent state beyond conventional con-sciousness, in which one realizes the BRAHMAN or ultimate reality. Some early Upanishads conflate the last two states.

   Further reading: Swami Krishnananda, The Mandukya Upanishad: An Exposition (Shivanandanagar: Divine Life Society, 1977); Swami Nikhilananda, trans., Self-Knowl-edge (Atmabodha): An English Translation of Sankaracha-rya’s Atmabodha (New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1946); S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanisads (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press, 1992).