The four states of consciousness: Prājña and the unconscious state
After the jīva enjoys the realm of dreams, the Lord, as Prājña, blocks the consciousness of the soul, pulling us into a state of unconscious bliss, where we completely forget our material identities.
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Prājña and the unconscious state
After the jīva enjoys the realm of dreams, the Lord, as Prājña, blocks the consciousness of the soul, pulling us into a state of unconscious bliss, where we completely forget our material identities and are merged into the Lord, just as in the dark things become indistinguishable from each other. Without a separate material identity and material consciousness, there is no separation from Him, just like at the dissolution of the universe. Because we remain forgetful of our eternal relationship with the Lord, however, we come back into material activity after enjoying this state of deep sleep for a short time.
Text 1.5
yatra supto na kancana kāmam kāmayate na kancana svapnam paśyati tat sushuptam
sushupta-sthāna ekībhūtaḥ prajñānaghana evānandamayo hy
ānandabhuk cetomukhaḥ prajñaḥ tritīyaḥ pādaḥ
The third is the state of deep sleep, called prājña, where one does not desire anything nor see any dreams. In this state, the soul experiences a blissful state of union with the Prajñānaghana (the Lord, the undivided source of consciousness and enjoyer of bliss) through the gateway of pure consciousness.
Commentary: The third state of consciousness is deep sleep (suṣupti). This state is described as na kañcana kāmam kāmayate (one does not desire any object) and na kañcana svapnam paśyati (one does not see any dream). The words suṣupta-sthānaḥ indicate that in this state, one’s consciousness retreats into the cave of the heart. Then, ekībhūtaḥ: the two previous aspects of consciousness, the viśva and taijasa, merge into the third state, prājña. "Merge" in this case means that they become indistinguishable, just like when we say "in darkness everything becomes one", not in the literal sense, but because we can't distinguish one object from the other. In the prājña state, there is no external consciousness, therefore no way to distinguish one thing from another.
In this state, the jīva meets with the Lord as Prajñānaghanaḥ (or Prajña), who reveals to the jīva the state of undifferentiated awareness, where the jīva becomes immersed in forgetfulness of his material self and all objects of the senses. In dreaming sleep, we still have some concept of passage of time, because we are still partially conscious, but in deep sleep, there is no consciousness whatsoever, and any kind of awareness completely disappears.
In the waking state, our consciousness is immersed in the external world, experiencing it through the senses, while in the dreaming state, our consciousness becomes absorbed in the subtle realm of dreams, experienced through the mind. When we enter into deep sleep, however, our consciousness returns to the cave of the heart, where we stay in the company of the Lord. Just like the souls merge into the body of Lord Maha-Vishnu at the end of each day of Brahma, and also after the final dissolution of the universe, the soul meets the Lord at the end of each day, during deep sleep.
The Lord is described in this verse as ānandamaya, full of unlimited bliss, and the jīva in deep sleep is called ānandabhuk, one who experiences bliss. This bliss, however, is not the same bliss a soul experiences in the spiritual platform. Srila Madhvācārya describes the state of deep sleep as a state where the soul remains enveloped in tamas, or, in other words, forgetful of his original identity as a servant of the Lord.
Originally, the soul has spiritual senses, a spiritual mind, spiritual intelligence, spiritual desires, etc., which are centered around his eternal identity as a servant of the Lord. When the soul somehow or other falls into conditioned life, this eternal identity of service to the Lord is forgotten, and the spiritual senses become inactive.
This process is explained by Srila Prabhupada in his purport to SB 3.26.23-24 and many other passages:
"In the beginning, from clear consciousness, or the pure state of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the first contamination sprang up. This is called false ego, or identification of the body as self. The living entity exists in the natural state of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but he has marginal independence, and this allows him to forget Kṛṣṇa. Originally, pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness exists, but because of misuse of marginal independence there is a chance of forgetting Kṛṣṇa."
"Not only must one come to the stage of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but one must also be very careful. Any inattentiveness or carelessness may cause falldown. This falldown is due to false ego. From the status of pure consciousness, the false ego is born because of misuse of independence. We cannot argue about why false ego arises from pure consciousness. Factually, there is always the chance that this will happen, and therefore one has to be very careful. False ego is the basic principle for all material activities, which are executed in the modes of material nature. As soon as one deviates from pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he increases his entanglement in material reaction. The entanglement of materialism is the material mind, and from this material mind, the senses and material organs become manifest."
Lord Caitanya prays that "O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krishna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet." It is very difficult to explain how the soul can come in contact with matter, but Prabhupada explains that the central factor is free will. This free will that is inherent to the soul creates the possibility of making choices, which implies the possibility of making the wrong choices. As explained by Lord Kapila, during the process of creation, the original consciousness of the soul is reflected in matter, and from this pure consciousness, the false ego is created, followed by the other material coverings. In this context, Prabhupada mentions that "From the status of pure consciousness, the false ego is born because of misuse of independence."
We then become connected with the internal material senses (material consciousness, mind, and intelligence) through the false ego, and these material senses are useful only to experience matter, either in the waking or dream state. In deep sleep, however, the material senses, together with the material mind and material consciousness itself, become inactive, and even though we are with the Lord, we don't have the tools to experience it. We feel some degree of spiritual bliss in an unconscious state, but we can't directly experience the association of the Lord. This makes these daily encounters different from liberation and also explains how we can repeatedly return to our material activities after meeting the Lord.
When the soul wakes up at the beginning of the next cycle, the soul remembers his material desires and thus becomes again busy performing different material activities to try to satisfy them. The conditioned soul is thus compared with a foolish person who fails to find a hidden treasure even though regularly passing by it.
In reality, as long as our original propensity of service is not awakened, we don't become completely free from false ego, and consequently, any position we may achieve will be temporary. Not only will one fall back to Earth even after reaching the celestial planets, but one can fall even from the impersonal Brahmajyoti. In his purport to SB 3.27.15, Prabhupada makes the point that claiming to be one with God (and thus to become God) is also done under the influence of the false ego. Māyāvādis thus don't become free from false ego even after reaching impersonal liberation, and this explains how they can fall back. They reach the very frontier of the spiritual world, but they can't enter, and thus have to eventually come back:
"Only in ignorance does a living entity think that he is lost. If by attainment of knowledge he comes to the real position of his eternal existence, he knows that he is not lost. An appropriate example is mentioned herein: naṣṭa-vitta ivāturaḥ. A person who has lost a great sum of money may think that he is lost, but actually he is not lost — only his money is lost. But due to his absorption in the money or identification with the money, he thinks that he is lost. Similarly, when we falsely identify with matter as our field of activities, we think that we are lost, although actually we are not. As soon as a person is awakened to the pure knowledge of understanding that he is an eternal servitor of the Lord, his own real position is revived. A living entity can never be lost. When one forgets his identity in deep sleep, he becomes absorbed in dreams, and he may think himself a different person or may think himself lost. But actually his identity is intact. This concept of being lost is due to false ego, and it continues as long as one is not awakened to the sense of his existence as an eternal servitor of the Lord. The Māyāvādī philosophers’ concept of becoming one with the Supreme Lord is another symptom of being lost in false ego. One may falsely claim that he is the Supreme Lord, but actually he is not. This is the last snare of māyā’s influence upon the living entity. To think oneself equal with the Supreme Lord or to think oneself to be the Supreme Lord Himself is also due to false ego." (SB 3.27.15)
If, however, one practices devotional service, developing an attitude of service to the Lord in any of the five relationships, one awakens his original identity of service to the Lord, and enters into the spiritual planets to associate with the Lord, a position from which one has never to return. Even in śānta-rasa, there is an attitude of service, although not manifested in practical action, while in impersonal liberation, this attitude is completely absent. As long as the attitude of service to the Lord is not revived, one can fall back into the material nature:
"The material forms of the conditioned souls are all foreign dresses, and when the conditioned soul becomes liberated from the clutches of material energy, he attains his original form. The impersonalist wants to attain the impersonal Brahman effulgence of the Lord, but that is not at all congenial to the living sparks, parts and parcels of the Lord. Therefore, the impersonalists again fall down and get material forms, which are all false to the spirit soul. A spiritual form like the Lord’s, either two-handed or four-handed, is attained by the devotees of the Lord either in the Vaikuṇṭhas or in the Goloka planet, according to the original nature of the soul. This form, which is cent-percent spiritual, is the svarūpa of the living being" (SB 1.9.39)
In his purport to this verse, Srila Madhvācārya elaborates on these points:
"The dreamless sleep called suṣupti should be understood to be a state of tamas or ignorance. The jiva in that state has reached Hari, called Prajña, but remains enveloped in tamas. It, therefore, desires nothing and perceives no objects. Hari Himself under the name of Prajña is the Lord of this state of sleep or suṣupti. Hari is called Taijasa because He illumines (tejas) the impressions of external objects in the mental body, or chitta and shows them to the jiva. Hari, the sifter of Men, is called Prajña, because He does not cause the perception of any external object to the jiva. He prevents external objects or their impressions to reach the consciousness of the jīva . The word prajña is compounded of two words (pra) highest + ajña (ignorance). That which causes highest ignorance or unconsciousness is prajña. In this state, Hari causes the jīva to be enveloped in darkness. In suṣupti, therefore, Prajña is said to be ekibhūta, unified or one, because Viṣva and Taijasa have entered the condition of oneness there."
Text 1.6
eṣa sarveśvaraḥ, eṣa sarvajñaḥ, eṣa antaryāmī, eṣa yoniḥ sarvasya
prabhavāpyayau hi bhūtānām
This Supreme Self, the Lord of all, the Supreme Lord, is omniscient and all-knowing (sarvajñaḥ), the inner controller (antaryāmī), the source of everything. Indeed, He is the origin and dissolution of all beings.
Commentary: Up to here, the first three states of consciousness and the corresponding three forms of the Lord were explained. The first aspect is Vaiśvānara, the Lord of the waking state, where the jīva is externally conscious and experiences the physical world using the senses. The second aspect is Taijasa, who presides over the dream state, where we experience the subtle world of dreams using the subtle senses. The third is Prājña, the Lord of the state of deep sleep, where we forget the false ego and material reality and meet the Lord inside the cave of the heart, enjoying bliss in an unconscious state.
The last stage is Turīya (the fourth dimension), the true spiritual platform of pure consciousness, where we become fully aware of our eternal relationship with the Lord. This last stage will be described in verse seven of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. For now, the glories of all four stages and the four forms of the Lord connected with them are presented.
The word eṣaḥ (him, that) means the object being described, ātma, the Lord with four aspects. It is similar to the word enam, used in many verses of the Gītā to refer to the soul. This Supreme Lord is described as sarva-īśvaraḥ (the Lord of all, the controller of everything), sarva-jñaḥ (all-knowing), antaryāmī (being present in the interior of all beings), yoniḥ sarvasya (the source of all beings), and prabhava-apyayau (the origin and dissolution).