There is abundant scientific evidence that something unusual and significant is taking place during transcendence, not merely in the mind—it’s not just a subjective, “psychological state”—but in the body as well. As we have seen, any state of consciousness has a corresponding constellation of physiological parameters. Just as in sleep, dreaming, and wakefulness, the fourth or transcendental state also has its own unique pattern of mind-body functioning.

Metabolic and biochemical changes indicate an extremely deep state of relaxation and rest, actually more profound than sleep, as measured, for example, by very shallow natural breathing and periods of unforced breath cessation, with no compensatory over-breathing afterwards. Naturally, such a deep state of restfulness has a wide range of health-giving consequences, which have been extensively documented.

Yet—and this is of particular interest to me as a neuroscientist—simultaneous with the deep state of physical restfulness, awareness is lively, and a unique pattern of neurological activity appears, marked by a high degree of brain wave coherence or integration that signals an unusually balanced activation of the total brain.

This state of transcendence, known as Samadhi in the Vedic tradition, could well be considered a kind of “ground state” or foundation for higher states of Consciousness. The goal of spiritual practice is not merely to have periods of time (or, as it is subjectively felt, timelessness), when inner silence and unbounded awareness are enjoyed, but to carry that expanded and blissful state of being into all activities and relationships, to enable a true state of enlightened living. This begins as soon as transcendence is added to a person’s repertoire of experiences, and grows steadily as higher states of consciousness unfold, reaching its peak in what we’ll be calling Unity Consciousness.

As with many new scientific findings that upset the established apple cart of accepted principles, the early reactions to the announcement in 1970 of a discovery of “a fourth major state of consciousness” (in articles in Science, American Journal of Physiology, and Scientific American),¹were mixed. Those who had actually experienced the transcendent state were delighted to read science was recognizing its validity. Previous anecdotal reports of this experience had been dismissed by skeptics, who insisted, quite rightly, that if these reported subjective experiences of “transcendence” were to be credible, more than just “anecdotal,” they’d have to have objectively measurable physical counterparts.As it turned out, they do.

Each person’s experiences will be unique, depending on the ever-changing condition of their individual nervous system. Maharishi emphasizes the importance of remaining innocent. Practitioners never look for or try to produce any specific experience in the TM practice.

Here is how one TM practitioner describes the experience of Transcendental Consciousness:

“During the Transcendental Meditation technique, my mind settles down, thoughts become less and then suddenly all thought activity ceases and I slip into an unbounded ocean of awareness which is pure, quiet, unexcited, and infinitely extended beyond space and time. In this state, I am not aware of any thought or any thing; I am just aware of awareness, you could say, wide awake inside but not thinking. Simultaneously my body settles down, breathing becomes less, and I feel relaxed.”

Another meditator describes the expanded, infinite aspect of the fourth state of consciousness:

“During the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique, I sometimes reach a state of complete silence, which has come about very innocently. The experience is one of evenness and expansion, of infinity, and I am that infinity.”

In Transcendental Consciousness, which we experience during our TM practice, attention has settled inward, beyond perceptions, thoughts, and feelings. What remains is the experience of consciousness in its pure form, awake to itself alone—unbounded pure awareness, our innermost Self. Simultaneously the body becomes deeply restful while brain functioning becomes integrated, suggesting the total brain is awake.

What are you experiencing in this state? Your consciousness is free of content, awake but without perceptions, thoughts, and feelings. The sea of consciousness is aware only of itself, unmixed with anything else. Maharishi calls this a state ofpure consciousness, pure awareness, pure wakefulness.

Experiences during TM practice, Maharishi explains, will vary from person to person and from day to day, depending on the condition of the nervous system, whether fresh or fatigued, relaxed or stressed.

When one first learns to meditate, one may experience Transcendental Consciousness only for brief moments, at the deepest points of meditation. The experience is so natural that one may hardly be aware of it. In time, with regular TM practice, the experience lasts for longer periods, first during meditation, then outside as well.

Waking State:

The waking state is the familiar, ever-changing world of concrete sensory experience, of people and places, things and events. From the outer world we perceive through our senses to the inner world of thoughts and feelings, our waking state experience is in constant flux, while physiological functioning is more active.

Our perception of reality may vary enormously through the day, depending on whether we are rested or tired, calm or agitated, attentive or bored, happy or depressed, healthy or ill.

Dreaming State:

At various periods during sleep, we enter the dream state, the illusory, unpredictable world where familiar laws of nature release their hold and anything can happen—improbable shifts in time and place, unfamiliar combinations of people and events.

Most dreaming takes place in REM sleep, comprising about 25 percent of our sleep time. Brainwave activity during REM sleep resembles that of the waking state except that the brain inhibits signals to the muscles so we cannot act out our dreams.

Sleeping and dreaming are critical for our physical and emotional health. Each stage of sleep furnishes important benefits, whether regenerating neurons, generating new synaptic connections in the cerebral cortex, processing memories, or integrating what we learned during the day. The brain’s activity during sleep may also support creativity and assist problem-solving.

Deep Sleep State:

Sleep is a physical and mental state of rest during which we become inactive and unaware of our surroundings. We spend 75–80 percent of our sleeping time in non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

Most physiological functions slow down. Body temperature, blood pressure, and breathing rate all drop. Sensory and motor activity become suspended, voluntary muscles become inactive, and we become totally or partially unconscious.

The brain, however, remains active throughout sleep—as active, according to some studies, as during waking.

Maharishi’s great work was to bring the Transcendental Meditation technique and the practical reality of enlightenment into the mainstream, as well as into the arena of scientific research, vastly expanding the scope of scientific inquiry and the scientific understanding of human potential.

Human beings are born not to suffer but to enjoy, Maharishi said—they need only develop their unbounded potential. The experience of transcending is the missing catalyst.

Transcendental Consciousness is a natural state. Everyone has the ability to experience it—every human brain is hard-wired with the potential to function coherently. And the Transcendental Meditation technique gives that experience effortlessly.

Maharishi’s model of seven states of consciousness represents a unique contribution to our understanding of human potential and how it develops. He has put forward a systematic, comprehensive, detailed understanding of human development and placed it in the arena of empirical science. He has described the transformations in knowledge, experience, and physiological functioning that come with each higher state. And he has provided simple, natural techniques for cultivating higher states of consciousness.

Human beings are designed for enlightenment; it is everyone’s birthright. With the simple technique for transcending that Maharishi has revived, anyone and everyone can grow to enlightenment.

Maharishi put forward two basic principles of states of consciousness:

Knowledge is different in different states of consciousness. As we shift from one state of consciousness to another, we move from one world to another. Each state involves a unique mode of knowledge and experience, of ourselves and the surrounding world.

The world of the waking state, for example, differs radically from the illusory dream world. Both differ radically from the world of deep sleep. Similarly, each higher state of consciousness is a world in itself.

Each state of consciousness has a unique mode of physiological functioning. A physiologist can tell whether you are awake, dreaming, or asleep by measuring your breath rate, brainwaves, and so on. When you shift from one state to another, your physiology switches to a different style of functioning.

Accordingly, higher states of consciousness develop when the physiology reaches specific thresholds of purification and integration. Growth of higher states thus has nothing to do with adopting new ideas, attitudes, or moods. Rather it depends on cultivating coherent brain functioning and refining and purifying the nervous system, culminating in optimal integration and balance. Without these refinements, higher states cannot develop.

With regular TM practice, Transcendental Consciousness becomes permanent, forming an underlying continuum that coexists with waking, dreaming, and sleeping. These three states continue to come and go as before. But the underlying continuum of pure consciousness is never broken. The experience of inner silence is never lost—the inner light of the Self is never extinguished.

This is a fifth state of consciousness, altogether different from waking, dreaming, sleeping, and Transcendental Consciousness

This fifth state Maharishi terms Cosmic Consciousness. Cosmic means all­ inclusive, all­ encompassing. In Cosmic Consciousness, the mind is fully expanded. The ocean of consciousness is awake to its depth.