Shiva Says:

Shiva says, “The fourth is what you truly are. You aren’t awake, you aren’t dreamy, you aren’t deep sleeping... in all the three there is a fourth and that’s what you are!”

If you keep remembering this fact in all your states, gradually the fourth will resurrect and you will be out of suffering. Suffering cannot touch the fourth state. It can occur at the level of your body, mind or intellect only. The fourth cannot be subject to suffering for the simple fact that it is different from all of these. It’s the centre of your being and once you are able to establish it as different from the periphery the magic is done.

Right now the centre of your being and periphery of your existence are intermingled. You are almost 100% at your periphery and are totally oblivious of the center. For example, when you perform your day’s work you think you are performing them whereas it’s only your body-mind organism, not you. So also, when you are dreaming while in sleep, your body and conscious mind are at rest and subconscious is at work. This is also not you. 

Your subconscious, a storehouse of memories, experiences and unfulfilled desires, has the unique ability of creating dreams. And in a dream, everything is so real that you intensely get identified with it. It’s only after awakening that you realize it was a dream. But, the core of your being still remains untouched. Shiva says you can remember the fourth in dream state also. By just remembering, the dream breaks instantly and there is a tangential growth in awareness. Then this breaking up of dreams midway becomes a dear habit as it leaves one deeply rested.

Finally, when the subconscious is at rest too and you have a very deep rested sleep, still, there is a light.... a luminous but cool flame that is alive constantly. That’s what the core is. And Shiva says even when your body, mind, intellect, memories etc all the layers are at complete rest, you can remember this core which is a rock like real bliss and rest personified. A reality that is free of time and suffering, a joyful state.

There is no way you can define the fourth state fully. For understanding sake, you can give it a representative term. Mahavir has called it ‘Kaivalya’ whereas Krishna calls it as being ‘Atmavant’. Lau-tsu calls it ‘Tao’ and Kabir says it is ‘Surati’.  Shri Nanak Dev ji calls it as ‘Akaal Purakh’. Whatever way you describe it the essence is difficult to fathom as our world, unfortunately, is a world of definitions. In order to understand a word we need even more words. Hence Shiva has given a unique term – ‘Turiya’, i.e.  “the Fourth”. He indicates a “state” and not a word. This is the beauty of Shiva.

Turiya is our true state of being and we will do well by remembering it constantly.

My thoughts on living and action:

Different people may have different outlook on life as everyone’s conditioning and circumstances have been different. 

But as far as life’s purpose is concerned, by and large "bringing peace and contentment to oneself" is life's purpose. We are all seeking this objective inherently.

To desire is very human like and we need not be ashamed of it. Having a strong desire to achieve anything is a starting point of living. it is connected with our belief in our worthiness and joy of living.  

The first step, then is “Aligning the actions with the thoughts”. This brings us the authenticity and character that is the foundation of peace and contentment in life.

When we have a desire for achieving and take necessary action to meet the desire, the first step is cleared. Action itself is enough. The outcome may or may not be to our liking but we need not be unnecessarily occupied with it while taking action. Actions taken towards reaching a strongly desired goal bring us peace and contentment for sure.

If we desire anything and do not complement it with reasonable action, the result is frustration and confusion. Therefore, choosing realistic goals and complementing them with actions is important as against taking unrealistic goals and avoiding the action.

Next is our ability to remain undeterred and unperturbed in the face of difficulties, once we have taken a task. As a matter of fact the real pleasure comes when we have achieved our desired Goal but we must realize that these are two different states: 

1. Desire for achieving a Goal and acting for it. 

2. Getting the result of actions.

Thus the total process of living includes desiring and setting a target, acting on it, achieving it and getting motivated to grow further. And in the total process there are two separate states as above. 

There are some catalysts and some deterrents as far as action is concerned:

Catalysts:

•          Belief that ‘I deserve happiness and pleasure’ in life.
•          Strong desire for achieving prominence.
•          Hope, Energy, Fire & Motivation. Enthusiasm.
•          Value system: I love doing what i said (or thought) as         it brings me greatest contentment.
•          Loving the feeling that comes after getting any award         or recognition.
•          Feeling of worthiness.
•          Finding it easy to act. (Habit of making correct mental       image and not making a bigger than actual image of         any task.)
•          Feeling driven (what they call to have a Drive) 
•          Loving the activity in general and enjoying it.
•          Clarity of vision

Deterrents:

•         Lack of confidence. Lack of Fire, Energy or                        Motivation. Lack of Enthusiasm.
•         Any kind of Fear. (Fear cripples the action)
•         Absence of a strong desire to achieve. (devoid of               purpose)
•         Temptation to have things & pleasures without           efforts and work
•         Dislike towards working hard (Making the mental              image bigger than the actual.Fearing difficulties).
•         Lacking courage.
•         Impractical or unrealistic approach. Inability to plan          realistically and execute happily.
•         Lack of worthiness or having low self esteem due to          guilt or inferiority. (Such a person thinks internally              that he does not deserve happiness and pleasures of        life so why take action which will bring them. He feels        a particular type of malaise before he starts anything)
•         Fear of responsibility. (Doing timely and excellent               work will bring bigger responsibilities, how will i meet         them? He forgets that bigger responsibilities bring             bigger power and facilities too and in fact it becomes         easier to take action then. This skewed thinking                 prevails in non performers).
•         Wrong beliefs.
•         Lack of vision. They do not have clarity of destination        and want to be in status quo. In short, always looking        for security instead of growth.
•         Lack of initiative (which comes due to lack of clarity           or vision)

Therefore, it is all about improving upon the catalysts and bringing down the deterrents. This two pronged strategy really works.

I suggest you to have realistic and reasonable Goals, have a strong desire to meet them and compliment it with smart action. This is the key to happiness and contentment. This is also the key to success and peace. Amen!