I learned a new word today, thanks again to Eckhart Tolle who once again serenidiptously ( and unknowingly lol) reached into my life with a bit of wisdom when I needed it . That word is Turiya (missing an accent over the i). I have been studying yoga for a while and I have been fascinated by the symbol of AUM but I somehow missed that word "Turiya" which represents the forth level of pure and whole consciousness, true awakening.
So I decided to look a little more into it through translations of the Mandukya Upanishads which is arguably a combination of both Hindu and Buddhist teachings.
In Turiya we have transcended the other three levels of consciousness or what verse 3 to 7 of this Upanishad refers to as Atman/Self/soul. which are:
- Jagrt (accent over a): "waking state", outward knowing and deals with the gross body/form; external existence
- Svapna: dreaming mind, inward knowing, subtle body; consciousness
- and Susupti: the "state of deep sleep" where the underlying space of consciousness-"the knower of all", the Creator and dissolver of all things is undistracted, unmoved by the going ons of the physical world. This is known as the causal body; bliss
How this looks with the AUM symbol....(sorry ...I am no artist)
So what does all this new conceptual learning have to do with this idea of me?
Well besides fascinating me- I am so intrigued by this type of learning and yoga in general...it reminded me that what I am seeking...whether I get close to it or not in this life time...is Turiya.
This idea of "me" I am becoming more and more aware...is not who I am. I still get lost in this stream of thinking, in conceptual mind and this idea of "my life". ...when I meet up with challenging external situations. At the same time I know I am evolving and going beyond that towards Self. That... I find is amazing and exciting.
I am beginning to see, observe, and recognize my thoughts as thoughts, rather than as me, as Tolle describes in the linked video below.
We often say "I think" as if thinking is something we can control but we never say "I beat my heart"...do we? Thoughts are like heart beats...they are involuntary. We don't have to put all that energy, then, into trying to stop them or control them. We just have to observe and recognize them as thoughts...therefore something on the surface of who we really are. Just as I see, observe, recognize my breath as breath and my heart beat as my heart beat, I can onserve my thoughts. (I can, because of my little issue, hear and feel almost every heart beat if I close my eyes and focus.)
Anyway...I see that thought and circumstance are just happening. I do not have to try to stop them or control them...I can simply watch them and see that they are not me. Who I am...who we all are at the purest level ...is deeper than that all that.
So what that means is that I can continue with my pray, "Please take me to peace" rather than ask "please give me some peace."
My situation does not have to change. I do not have to try to stop teh thinking or make it more "positive"...I just have to keep reminding myself there is a whole level of "being" underneath all this where, regardless if the mortgage gets paid or not...I will find what is really important.. Hmmm!
All is well.
B.K.S. Iyengar (2013?) Light on Pranayama. Thorsons: London, England
Manorama (2020) The Mandukya Upanishad.Sanskrit Studies https://sanskritstudies.org/mandukya-upanishad
Eckhart Tolle (June, 2020 ) Discovering Freedom Through Challenge.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgXhEImYvb4
Wikipedia The Mandukya Upanishad. Retrieved Sept 25, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandukya_Upanishad#:~:text=Aum%20as%20all%20states%20of%20consciousness,%22without%20an%20element%22%20respectively.
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