sparaig: > There is a reference to turiya in the mandukya > upanishad. > >From what I've read, you are correct; 'turiya' is Sanskrit for 'fourth' The Mandukhya Upanishad is the keystone in the arch of Shankara's Adwaita Vedanta.
The scripture was made famous by Gaudapadacharya, the teacher of the teacher of Shankaracharya. Gaudapada composed a famous Karika or commentary on Mundakhya and Shankaracharya composed a long commentary on both. According to my professor, this famous Upanishad is traditionally assigned to the Atharva Veda, which in turn is traditionally in the keeping of the Jyotirmath, one of the four mathas established by the Adi Shankaracharya in 812 A.D. Since the time of the first Shankaracahraya of Jyotirmath, Trotaka Saraswati, this scripture has been recited there on a daily basis at the Badrika Ashram, U.P. Himalayas. This scripture deals with the sacred syllable, the Pranava, mentioned in Yoga Sutra. It describes the three constituent phonemes which are identified with the three states of consciousness, deep sleep state, dream state, and the waking state. The famous Upanishad proposes a fourth state of consciousness which is termed 'turiya', the fourth, that is, a transcendental state, beyond the three states of wakefulness, sleeping, and dreaming. Excerpt: "Anyone who knows this is sure to construct this whole world and to become also its destruction." Purport: The fourth, on the other hand, is without constituent phonemes; beyond the reach of ordinary transaction; the cessation of the visible world; auspicious; and unique. Accordingly, the very self (atman) is Om. Anyone who knows this enters the self (atman) by himself (atman)" (288-289). Work Cited: 'Upanisads' by Patrick Olivelle (Translator) Oxford: The U. Press, 1996 Dr. Patrick Olivelle, the translator, is the Chair, Department of Asian Studies, and Director, Center for Asian Studies, at the University of Texas at Austin. "The clear introduction gives a comprehensive background of the Vedas. The history of Indian social structure when the Upanishads were written, their authorship, chronology, geography, etc. give the reader a comfortable feel as they go forth with their reading. The reader is also provided with a table dividing the Upanishads into the four Vedas." - review by Jasleen Matharu > > > ...we have experienced death many times. If death > > > is a samadhi, then where has the "samadhi" gone? > > > > > In fact, the word Samadhi seems to have been deliberately > > avoided, except in the case of the later Vedanta work, > > Vedantasara. > > > > There is no reference in the Upanishads to a meditation > > practice leading to the suspension of the faculties such > > as we find in the literature dealing with yoga. > > > > In the Hindu scriptures the word Samadhi first appears > > in the Maitrayni (6.18, 34), a late Upanishad. This text > > apparently recognizes five of the eight limbs of > > Patanjali's classical Ashtanga Yoga. > > > > It should be noted that there are over 200 Upanishads in > > the Vedic literature and all were composed after the > > Gautama Buddha's passing. > > > > It would seem that yogic practice entered into > > Upanishadic and Vedantic literature osmosis-like, a > > blending of Buddhist yogic and Upanishadic milieus. > > > > Samadhi: 1. Sanskrit (Sa�ma�dhi) n. Jap., sanmai or > > zanmai 2. Nirvana, Parinirvana 3. from the root word > > 'Sam', to establish, make firm. 4. A conscious experience > > that lies beyond waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. > > 5. A non-meditative meditative mental equipoise. > > >
