Mandukya_Upanishad

or Destroyer, more than a cause of things, more than evenan Overlord, All-knowing and All-powerful. What is thatessential essence which is by its own right, and abides in itsown Greatness, in its own Majesty? What is that Lightwhich cannot be beheld by others, the Light which shines,but shines not upon anything? That is the state of PureConsciousness, which is neither causal, nor subtle, norgross. It is neither outside nor inside. It has no external norinternal. That grand Reality is described in the seventhmantra of the Māndūkya Upanishad.This Absolute is known as the turīya, or the fourth stateof Consciousness, transcending all relational manifestations– causal, subtle and gross. While the waking consciousnessis external and the dream consciousness is internal, thisConsciousness is neither external nor internal, because it isnot either waking or dreaming. It is neither internallyconscious nor externally conscious, nāntah-prajñam, nabahih-prajñām - not internal consciousness like dream, norexternal consciousness like waking. One may think that it isa consciousness simultaneously of both the states. No; It issomething different from a simultaneity of consciousness.It is not external, not internal, not a simultaneity of both,either – no-’bhayatah-prajñām. It is not also a mass ofconsciousness like a homogeneous heap of water in theocean – na prajñāna-ghanam. It is not quantitative in itsessence. Quantity is spatial, mathematical andConsciousness is not such. Hence, it cannot be called amass of consciousness, also, because when you think ofmass, you think of a heap, a body, indistinguishable,though. Not so is Consciousness – na prajñāna-ghanam. It99