Criterion for fullness of Being in life Kumbha Mela, 1966 (audio 4/4) MAHARISHI: So the more accurate criterion of full Being will be in the deep sleep state. Because that one experience of inner awareness along with the full sleep - one experiences the ego is sleeping, the mind is sleeping, senses sleeping, body sleeping, environment is all settled, yet inside awareness, inner awareness.
Now we will see whether we can call it full awareness or not. Deep sleep is a state of pure tamas - tamas, means inertia, no faculty of experience is awake, pure tamas. In the waking it is rajas and sattva, in dreaming also like that. But deep sleep is a state of pure tamas, tamo guna. Unless Being is full Being, it won't shine forth through the tamas, because tamas is a state of inertia, complete inertia. Some percentage of Being, maybe 10,20,40, 50 - every percentage of Being infused in the nature of the mind will show its effect in the waking state, because the mind is functioning. But in deep sleep it is pure tamas, it is pure inertia, dead. No faculty of experience is awake. The experience of inner awareness during sleep is the sure criterion of fullness of Being zooming forth in the nature of the mind (laughs). Some (of this experience) makes one feel already so happy and then, when it zooms forth in the inertia of deep sleep, the dead nature of sleep, then it can't be doubted to be less than full. Question: But that can happen temporary and then go off again? MAHARISHI: Yes, temporary and then go off again. And then temporary and go off again, and like that, like that and then comes to go back never. Then it is full. And then it is full CC. Because every theoretical hypothesis should be supplemented by experience to be true - when we say fullness of Being should be lived in life, then what is the experience? Now this is the experience. This separateness of the Self from activity, this is the experience during waking state. Separateness (of the Self) from activity is also during dreaming state. Separateness from non-activity of the deep sleep, just as separateness from activity in the waking and dreaming - so separateness from non-activity, inertia of deep sleep. This is the experience to verify fullness of Being in the nature of the mind. Now see what a great difference? All life as we live we count in terms of waking state. Here, the fullness of integrated state of life is checked during deep sleep (laughs). This is philosophy of life. We don't leave any corner unfathomed. Such considerations and analyses into the nature of life tell us how much we miss when we count our life only to be in the waking state...
