Athato Brahma jignyasaa ! ..
Tatva Bhodha 6 !
Avastha Trayam !! ....
With Sanskrit text in Devanagari , Telugu and Kannada
Tatvabhodha 6
Avstha trayam
अवस्थात्रयं किं ?
जाग्रत् स्वप्न सुषुप्तिः अवस्थाः।
" What are the three states ?
The waking , dream and deep sleep".
In explaining Atma or self , Self was said to be the witness of the three states - "avsthaa trayam". So in the true guru sishya dialog style the question that is to be answered is about the three states of the body. So the question is asked and the answer is that three states are the "waking" , "dream" and "deep sleep" .
The next question is further explanation of these three states.
जाग्रदवस्था का ?
श्रोत्रादि ज्ञानेंद्रियैः शब्दादि विषयैश्च
ज्ञायते इति सा जाग्रदवस्था ।
स्थूलशरीराभिमानि आत्मा विश्व इति उच्यते ।
What is the waking state.
Waking state is the state of experience in which the sense objects like sound are perceived through the sense organs like ears.The self identifying itself with gross body is then called " viswaa"
The waking state is that state in which all the sense organs are experiencing the corresponding senses. The self identifying with the gross body ( Sthula Sariraabhimani ) experiences the full world through the sense organs. In this state it is called " viswa ".
Here we may recollect the definition of the three bodies from the earlier notes.
The gross body is that which is perceived by the senses. The subtle body is that which is not perceived but yet known to us. For example " I am hungry" is recognized by us but not perceived by any senses. The third type is the causal, which carries the rajas tamo satvik gunas.
Thus in the waking state the body functions through all the three bodies
So while we identify with the gross body in our waking state , it is not possible to function through the gross body without linking with subtle and casual body.
स्वप्नावस्था केति चेत् जाग्रदवस्थायां यद्
दृष्ठं श्रुतं तज्जनित वासनया निद्रासमये यः
प्रपंचः प्रतीयते सा स्वप्नावस्था ।
सूक्ष्मशरीराभिमानि अत्मा तेजस इति उच्यते ।
For the question" what is the dream state" : the world that is projected while in sleep from the impressions born of what is heard or seen in the waking state is called "dream". The self is identified with subtle body and is called " Taijasa"
In the wakeful state all the senses are in operation. They form impressions of the real world which are retained. In the dream state the dreamer ( mind) creates a world out of these impressions. In effect mind creates the dream and also the dreamer as the enjoyer of that dream. There may be no actions required of the subtle and casual body ( Sukshma and karana Sarira) because there are no physical actions in the dream state.
In the dream state the self does not identify with the gross body . Self is identified with the subtle body.
अथ सुषुप्ति अवस्था का?
अहं किमपि नजानामि ।
सुखेन मया निद्र अनुभूयत इति सुषुप्ति अवस्था ।
कारण शरीराभिमानि अत्मा प्राज्ञ इति उच्यते
Then what is called Deep sleep?
That state about which one says that " I did not know anything , I enjoyed good sleep " , is called the deep sleep. The self identified with the casual body is called "prajna"
In the deep sleep we are not aware of the body in its gross from or the subtle form. Infact when we wake up from a deep sleep we ( self ) are not even aware of the time or space. In the deep sleep there is neither a doer ( he is sleeping) nor an enjoyer ( he is sleeping too !)
Thus the deep sleep is entirely different from the waking state where the self is aware of all actions. It is also different from the dream state where the self is identified with the subtle body and the dreamer.
We may recollect for tatvabhodha 4 that Atma or Self is clearly stated as a witness of these three states !
om tat sat !!