Evolution of Consciusness(Post 10)-4 States of Consciusness

 Four states of Consciusness according to Gurdjieff.

1. Sleep – Normal sleeping state.
2. Waking State - Consciousness of day to day life
3. Self Consciousness
4. Objective Reason

Sleep –

 Normal sleep with dreams or dreamless deepsleep.

One is conscious even in sleep, not only in dreaming state but also in dreamless sleep.

It is evident because people normally say ‘I slept well’, and the statement refers to the ‘I’

that was sleeping not the ‘I’ that is making the statement.

In deep sleep Ego is said to merge with the unconscious.

The absence of ego-self makes the sleep peaceful and tranquiller and the real-self is the 

witness. Because the Real-Self is always present and awake.

In fact Real-Self is the witness of all the three states. (Dream-sleep, deep-sleep 

and wakeful-state).

When the person wakes up along with ego-self, being not conscious of the Real-Self, 

one is only able to recollect the peaceful experience but could not know who was in deep 

sleep.

‘Deep Sleep’ though peaceful and blissful belongs to the unconscious and can not be

 equated to ‘Blissful’ nature of fully aware and conscious ‘Enlightenment.’

Waking-State –

It is the normal state of consciousness when one is awake and does day to day activities.

Though one can claim being awake and aware, according to Gurdjieff it is still sleep, 

called as  wakeful-sleep or hypnotic-sleep.

Because one goes through daily life as a routine in a mechanical fashion like a machine or 

robot, reacting passively to the events, and hardly remembering ‘oneself’ while in action.

As long as one considers one’s personality or ego-self as the real-self, he/she will remain

 in Hypnotic-Sleep obeying all the promptings of the Ego-Self like a machine.

Self-Consciousness – 

It is also referred as constant "self-remembering”, and acting in a non-mechanical 

manner.

Self-Remembering is being aware of oneself while in action.

Normally, whatever one does, thoughts are everywhere, no reflection, things are

carried out in a robotic manner what Gurjieff called as ‘Hypnotic-Sleep’.

So, one has to deliberately remember one-self to be aware or attentive to the present.

Take for instance,

Am I aware while reading this ‘TEXT’ that ‘NOW I am reading’?

If I am aware or totally attentive to the act, suddenly ‘interference of thought

vanishes’  and I also become aware of  the things(light, sound, objects, people etc) that

is around me more clearly.

Gurdjieff considers ‘Self Remembering’ as a method to be practiced at every

opportunity and as long as possible to cultivate  Self-Consciousness.

According to him.

This Self-Remembering will bring about Self-Consciousness if  practiced in a

sustained manner.

Objective Reason -

Objective Reason is man's highest state of consciousness.

It has different names like Samadhi, Enlightenment, and Union with God and so on

under different traditions.

As it is categorized as a non-dualistic WHOLE, dualistic explanations may not be

adequate to covey the exact meaning.

It is described as Objective Reason because it is not any ‘Individual Truth’ discovered

by an individual and does not belong to a subject.

On the contrary, an individual comes upon this timeless Absolute Truth.

According to Gurdjieff, Objective Reason is the proceed of one’s constant work on

his/her consciousness.

Later  the absolute truth gains relative expressions depending upon the individual’s

Essence.

In simpler terms, it is conscious transformation from

Ego-Self (Wakeful-Sleep) to Real-Self (Self-Consciousness)

And from Real-Self (Self-Consciousness) to Uni-Being (Objective Reason).