The Bliss of the Fourth State — Shiva Sutra 1.7

This sutra addresses a crucial question for practitioners: can the transcendental delight of turya, the 'Fourth' state beyond waking, dream, and deep sleep, be tasted even while the ordinary three states continue to operate distinctly? Kshemaraja affirms that turyabhoga, the enjoyment or bliss of the Fourth, can indeed arise (sambhava) and pervade the differentiated experiences of jagrat, svapna, and sushupti without requiring their cessation. Turya is not a fourth state added sequentially after the other three but the ever-present substratum of pure witnessing consciousness underlying all of them; its bliss is not the excitement of pleasurable objects but the steady, unbroken savor of one's own true nature persisting through every change of state. When recognized, this turya-bliss does not destroy or override the distinctions among waking, dreaming, and sleeping but suffuses them from within, so that the yogi tastes the same essential fullness whether perceiving through the senses, dreaming, or resting in dreamless sleep. This teaching sets the stage for the following sutras, which will analyze the three ordinary states individually (jnana, vikalpa, and aviveka respectively) before culminating in the recognition of the one who enjoys all three as a unified experiencer (sutra 11). Practically, this sutra encourages the practitioner not to wait for special extraordinary states to access spiritual fulfillment but to cultivate continuous awareness of the turya-ground beneath all activity, gradually stabilizing this recognition until turyatita, the state beyond even the Fourth, becomes the natural, unbroken condition of life, transforming every mundane moment into an occasion of subtle inner rejoicing.