Neither awake nor asleep, neither foolish nor luminous

The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad establishes the four states of consciousness: jāgrat (waking), svapna (dream), suṣupti (deep dreamless sleep), and turīya (the fourth, ineffable). Vasiṣṭha situates himself beyond even this classification. Turīya may be conceptualized as a superior state—the goal of meditation—yet every goal remains a residue of the desire-satisfaction structure.