Turiyatita: Chidakasa in Cosmic Consciousness
Under the Natural Law there are three qualities inherent in every human being. These three qualities are Purity, Activity and Inertia (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas).
Every individual is prompted to act when he is under the influence of one of these qualities predominant in him. In this way evolution of every human being takes place under an impartial Law which guarantees just and proper reward for an individual’s actions under the Law of Nature. Thus good actions lead to good results and bad actions to bad results to the doer concerned. When one undertakes a Spiritual Venture that is intuitional in character, one has to pass through five different states of the mind:
The first state is the awake or conscious state.
The second state is the dream or sub-conscious state. When we are awake we see everything around us limited by the power of our sense organs, while as we dream, we gravitate between the awakened and the dream states.
The third state is the ‘deep-sleep state’ when the mind passes through a state in which we are not normally aware of anything that happens around us. In order to pass beyond this state one has to have complete control over one’s ‘deep sleep state’ like ‘Gudakesa’.
The fourth state is the ‘Turiya’ or the ‘state transcendental’ or the ‘Serene and Blessed state’ that the Mystic Poets and Saints are reported to experience. It is the Natural Law that controls the entry into the ‘Turiya State’. This entry is possible only to one who has completely purified the mind. ‘Turiya is absolutely intuitional’ and can be experienced only in meditation or sequestered contemplation. See the Fourth Rank of the Five Ranks of Tozan.
The fifth state is ‘Turiyatita’. The great Saints and Sages such as Hui-neng, the Sixth Patriarch of C'han, and the Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi and possibly in today's world, if not in the fifth state, most certainly the fourth state, Aziz Kristof, remained in ‘Turiyatita’ when they attained a mindless-space (Chidakasa) in Cosmic Consciousness. Here the Self or the one ceases to function since the ‘mind-space’ transforms itself into mindless-space in unmitigated Spirituality, that never manifests itself. In this state, there is no question of return to the oneself, since it becomes one with the source by the Grace of Unmanifested spirituality.
TURIYATITA (Chidakasa): Zen master Tai-yung, passing by the retreat of another Zen master named Chih-huang, stopped and during his visit respectfully asked, "I am told that you frequently enter into Samadhi. At the time of such entrances, does your consciousness continue or are you in a state of unconsciousness? If your consciousness continues, all sentient beings are endowed with consciousness and can enter into Samadhi like yourself. If, on the other hand, you are in a state of unconsciousness, plants and rocks can enter into Samadhi." Huang replied, "When I enter into a Samadhi, I am not conscious of either condition." Yung said, "If you are not conscious of either condition, this is abiding in eternal Samadhi, and there can be neither entering into a Samadhi nor rising out of it." (source)
According to Vedanta, man is a combination of Bhutakasa, Chitthakasa and Chidakasa. Bhutakasa corresponds to the body and all that is seen by the naked eye. All that is seen is bound to disappear, which means Bhutakasa is transient and ephemeral. The sun, the stars and the milky way which are miles away from earth also come under Bhutakasa. The rivers, seas, forests and mountains, all form part of Bhutakasa. It constitutes all Bhutas (elements) and living beings. Such a vast Bhutakasa is engulfed by Chitthakasa. You can very well imagine the vastness of Chitthakasa. Bhutakasa consisting of sun, stars, rivers, oceans, etc., forms a tiny part of Chitthakasa. You may wonder how it is possible. Whatever you see, for example, the sun, the stars, the oceans, the mountains, etc., get imprinted in your Chittha. Likewise, the apparent world is contained in you as a small entity. Bhutaka= sa and Chitthakasa relate to the body and mind, respectively. There is a fundamental basis for these two which is referred to as Chidakasa by the Vedanta. This corresponds to the Atma. Human being is a combination of these three - Bhutakasa (body), Chitthakasa (mind) and Chidakasa (Atma). The first refers to the one you think you are, the second, the one others think you are and the third, the one you really are.
Man's nature is infinite and immortal. Such a human life is looked down upon as low and mean. People deny the existence of the Atma as it cannot be perceived. Chidakasa symbolises the Atma. It has no form. It is changeless and Transcends Time and Space. The Vedanta describes this as Nirgunam, Niranj= anam, Sanathana Niketanam, Nitya, Suddha, Buddha, Mukta, Nirmala Swarupinam (attributeless, pure, final abode, eternal, unsullied, enlightened, free and embodiment of sacredness). Bhutakasa corresponds to Jagrat (waking state), Chitthakasa to Swapna (dream state) and Chidakasa to Sushupti (deep sleep). In Chidakasa, one experiences only bliss.
