In this 1967 recording, Mahesh describes how his meditation can establish higher states of consciousness beyond those normally experienced in waking, dreaming, and deep-sleep. The experience and understanding of higher states of consciousness unfolds the full possibilities of human life - life lived in complete fulfillment. Mahesh explains that beyond the familiar states of waking, dreaming, and sleeping are four higher states of consciousness-transcendental consciousness, cosmic consciousness, God consciousness, and unity consciousness-each bringing a new dimension of experience, knowledge, and fulfillment.

The Seven States of Consciousness

"The practice of Transcendental Meditation, which is a simple, natural method, to bring our conscious mind deep within the thinking process, and tap the source of a thought. The source of thought is a reservoir of energy and intelligence. The reason I gave was very rational, very obvious, that a thought flows, due to energy it flows. And always flows in a specific direction. It is the intelligence that gives direction to a thought. So every thought is built up of energy and intelligence. And because thoughts after thoughts are coming from within, so that area which is the source of all thought must be a necessarily be an inexhaustible reservoir of energy and intelligence. Therefore, in order to improve man's energy and intelligence it is only necessary that his conscious mind reaches that area of the source of thought and thereby is filled with great energy and intelligence.

This is how we can improve the ability and the efficiency of any man in a very natural way. And thereby, giving him a chance to be more efficient in life, to be more productive in life, more creative in life, and yet do not accumulate stress and strain. It is vital that we do something so that the people of our age do not gather stress and strain. Otherwise, if a man feels more responsible in society, wants to produce more, the result is, that he undertakes to do more and more and with the result that he gathers stress and strain and eventually dies of heart failure."

I don't know how far it is true, there are companies in the states, that the sales manager doesn't live longer that two, three years. He get lots of hundred of thousand every month but his life is just two, three years. Can't sustain that constant pressure. This shows that it is absolutely necessary for all those who aspire for greater improvement and greater accomplishment in life, to not only engage in increasing activity, but at the same time, improve the efficiency increase your energy. Our enthusiasm to accomplish brings us to entertain more and more activity, but our increasing will not be at the cost of our life, if we remain balanced; if we increase energy and intelligence in the proportion we increase our activity.

Transcendental meditation not only improves the capacity of man on the mental level, on the psychological level, but also improves the ability of nervous system. Because, it is the state of nervous system which has a corresponding state of consciousness. The mind thinks as nervous system behaves. If the nervous system is functioning normally, then the thinking is very clear, aspirations are good, all thoughts are powerful and right and productive. But if the nervous system is strained then it is not functioning normally, it just can't, and when it doesn't function normally then the aspirations are distorted, thoughts are very unclear, productivity is low, and in such a state, tensions naturally will be increasing all the time.

Therefore, what we concluded was that Transcendental Meditation is one simple, natural technique, whereby, the nervous system could be strengthened to function normal, and this normal functioning of nervous system will produce a normal state of consciousness. If the body is functioning normally, normal function means, all the physical structure is pure, at the same time, the structure is evenly functioning, on both levels. On the material level and on the structural level. The ability of nervous system will be normal and such a normal state of nervous system will produce normal state of consciousness. A normal state of consciousness will be full potentiality of the mind for every thought. Psychology shows that we are using only a small portion of the mind. Full expansion of the mental capacity in order that the thought is as powerful as it can possible be. This can happen only to a normally functioning nervous system. Transcendental Meditation is that technique.

All that I have been speaking and all that I will speak, is the result of personal experience of thousands of people in all countries. And people belonging to all classes, all nationalities, all ways of living, all faiths, all religions. This is something which is within the range of the personality of man. Outer personality, inner personality, mind, consciousness. So, today we'll be dealing with the states of consciousness and then we'll see how much we are living, in our daily life, how much we are living and how much great possibility is there for us to live as human beings.

Commonly we live, waking state, dreaming state of consciousness, sleeping state of consciousness; these are three relative states of consciousness. Those who meditate, they retire from the outside, they take our awareness from the outside, and gradually go deep into the thinking process and eventually go beyond the thought. Transcend thought and then the thinking mind, the conscious mind becomes consciousness. When it goes beyond thought then it transcends thought and becomes consciousness. This consciousness is pure consciousness. The nature of this pure consciousness is bliss. It is non-changing sphere of life because we have transcended all the variable section of relative life and gone to the Absolute - this is called Being. Inner Being, absolute bliss consciousness. This absolute bliss consciousness is eternal; eternal it is because it is non-changing.

Everything in the relative field is changing, changing, changing. When I talk of the relative field I mean all the gross and subtle aspects of creation. Finest level of creation, and then the grossest level of creation, the entire cosmos. And deep within everything in creation is that field of Being, which is Transcendental Being. Transcendent, Absolute. Transcendental Meditation is that process which has made the realization of the Absolute a scientific phenomena. Scientific phenomena means it can be explored in a very systematic manner. And it is open to experience by everyone. It only needs taking our attention from the gross field of activity in the relative life, to the subtle fields of activity in the relative life, eventually to the subtlest field of activity in the relative life, and transcending the subtlest of the relative we get to the transcendental absolute.

In this way, bringing our attention in a systematic manner from the gross to the subtle we come to directly experience the Absolute. And this systematic procedure of taking our attention from the outside to the inside has provided a systematic, scientific, process of exploration into the nature of the Absolute. And the nature has been found to be pure consciousness or bliss consciousness.

Absolute; the word absolute so far has been shrouded in the garb of mysticism. Even these days I hear some words "transcendentalism." It is the transcendental field that is free from "isms" (laughing). All "isms" belong to the changing sphere of relative life. Every "ism" has some corresponding branch of learning. This ism or this ism; transcendentalism is a word from the mouth of the ignorant. There is nothing like transcendentalism. Transcendental field of absolute is free from "ism." It is pure intelligence, pure Being, pure existence.

This pure consciousness is the basis of all these waking, dreaming and sleeping states of consciousness. How do we know it? We know it for the simple reason that pure existence is the basis for all that exists; it's very obvious. All that exists, exists in the basis of existence. The entire relative filed of phenomenal existence is based on pure existence. Waking, dreaming, and sleeping - these are the three relative states of consciousness. Belonging to the relative field they are based on the absolute being. Therefore, these three states of consciousness are based on pure consciousness, absolute Being.

We have seen that the state of nervous system is responsible for the state of consciousness. Somehow the nervous system gets so tired and becomes so fatigued and stressed that, instead of reflecting waking state of consciousness, it starts reflecting deep sleep state of consciousness; nothing, no awareness, deep sleep. Or, in between waking and sleeping, some dreaming state of consciousness. It is the resetting of the physical structure of nervous system that produces different states of consciousness.

When, through meditation, pure consciousness begins to be reflected by nervous system, then nervous system has a state which we call restful alertness. The entire metabolic rate becomes nil. The physical nervous system gets completely rested and yet, it is alert. Inside one is awake; mind is not functioning, it's not active. But, the awareness is clear. This clarity of awareness is pure consciousness or pure awareness.

As long as the thinking mind is experiencing a thought, so long the mind is the thinker. And the thought becomes finer and finer and then the thinker becomes more and alert in order to experience the finer thought. And then the thought becomes finer and finer, it becomes finest. And when the thought drops off, thinker remains all by himself. And this is self-realization."

Listen to the complete recordings.

Mahesh World Pacific vinyl recordings:

'Deep Meditation' World Pacific WP-1420
'Maharishi Mahesh Yogi' World Pacific WP-1446
'The Seven States of Consciousness' World Pacific WPS-21455
'Maharishi Mahesh Yogi'; World Pacific WPS-21446