Turya and Turiyatita — Beyond the Fourth State
Kashmir Shaivism describes four ordinary states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, sleep, the fourth) and a fifth — Turiyatita — the state beyond the fourth, where non-dual awareness permeates all states simultaneously.
While Indian philosophical traditions generally recognize three ordinary states (Jagrat — waking, Svapna — dream, Sushupti — deep sleep) and a fourth (Turya — pure witnessing awareness), Kashmir Shaivism adds a fifth: Turiyatita (beyond the fourth). In Turya, the witness is present but still separate from the other three states. In Turiyatita, non-dual awareness so completely pervades all states that the distinction between the witness and the witnessed dissolves — waking life is experienced as luminous as meditation, deep sleep is infused with awareness, and the apparent separation between states disappears. This is the highest level of recognition in Kashmir Shaivism — Jagrat-Svapna-Sushupti-Turya all become aspects of one continuous Spanda (divine vibration).
The fourth pervades the three states. Beyond the fourth, all states are known as one luminous reality.
The 'fourth' state, Turya, is named in the Mandukya Upanishad; Kashmir Shaiva works such as the Tantraloka add Turiyatita, in which that witnessing awareness pervades waking, dream, and deep sleep alike.
Tantraloka