Just as in sleep there are no sufferings or fears whatsoever, so in the waking state difficulty arises from confusion.

The comparison between svapna and jāgrat—dream and waking—is a cornerstone of māyāvāda. In dreamless deep sleep (suṣupti), there is no duḥkha or bhaya; in the dreaming state (svapna), they do exist, but they are māyā. The waking state (jāgrat) is a third condition where suffering (kaṣṭa) appears more solid, yet the doctrine maintains that all these states share the same moha-prasūti—the same birth from confusion. The difference lies not in the reality of their content, but in the persistence of the state: waking lasts longer, accumulates more saṃskāra, and generates stronger vāsanā. The suffering of the waking state is denser not because it is more real, but because it carries more history, more adhered karma. Awakening from jāgrat to turīya—the fourth state—is not like waking from a dream; it is like recognizing that you were never asleep, that the dreamer and the awake person are roles played by the same cit.

The comparison between svapna and jāgrat—dream and waking—is a cornerstone of māyāvāda. In dreamless deep sleep (suṣupti), there is no duḥkha or bhaya; in the dreaming state (svapna), they exist, but they are māyā. Waking consciousness (jāgrat) is a third state where suffering (kaṣṭa) appears more solid, yet the doctrine maintains that all states share the same moha-prasūti—the birth of confusion. The difference lies not in the reality of the content, but in the persistence of the state: waking lasts longer, accumulates more saṃskāra, and generates more vāsanā. The suffering of the waking state is denser not because it is more real, but because it has more history, more karma attached to it. Awakening from jāgrat to turīya—the fourth state—is not like waking from a dream; it is like recognizing that you were never asleep, that the dreamer and the awake one are roles played by the same cit.