The three states of the mind can be analyzed to point one towards the Reality. Essentially, we assume that the waking state is real as we are able to perceive various objects through the senses of sight, touch, taste, hearing and smell. We also experience various thoughts, feelings and emotions. The mind is fully active in the waking state and so also are the sensory organs. With the fully active mind and sensory organs, one has the feeling that the world of objects, emotions and thoughts is real. However, with the onset of deep sleep, the mind is inactive and so also the sensory organs. In this state, there are no perceptions, feelings or thoughts. There are therefore no objective experiences as such. If one asks oneself to describe the state of deep dreamless sleep, there is no way one can really answer, since there was no sensory or mindful experience. Meaning, there is a state of forgetfulness or unknown-ness. However, if one analyzes the feeling that one had in deep sleep, there is no doubt that one felt peaceful and happy. This peace and happiness that one feels is not an objective experience that can be described in the usual way we describe objects. Yet, one is certain of the feeling of peace and happiness in deep dreamless sleep. Since there are no objects in deep sleep, but you are still there in deep sleep, it becomes clear that you are the peace and happiness. You, as the subject, are the only one present in deep sleep (and objects are absent or not perceived) and the only way to describe your own self in deep dreamless sleep is peace. Therefore, peace is your true nature and is undeniable (by every entity).
In the next state of dream sleep, the mind is partly active but the senses are not fully activated. Dream sleep is therefore a state of internal experience, whereas the wakeful state is a state of external experience. In the dream state, a mental construct of a different type of world (than what is experienced in wakeful state) or sometimes a similar world may be experienced. The dream appears real until the next state i.e. the state of wakefulness arises. The dream world and all the objects of the dream world disappear immediately. Similarly, when one enters the deep sleep state after the wakeful state, the world as experienced in the wakeful state ceases to be.
We already know that what comes and goes, or what appears and disappears is not real( real = unchanged). The world of objects appears and disappears in both the wakeful state and the dream state. Therefore, both the wakeful state and the dream state are not real. The state of deep sleep can also be described as unreal since it is not constant (meaning it is not a permanent state). But the fact is that the experience in the deep sleep state is unchanged through all your life. The absence of experience of objects and thereby the feeling of peacefulness, is constant in deep sleep state. The peace that is "experienced" in deep sleep state is constant and unchanged. The sleep dream state and the wakeful state experiences are constantly changing. The only difference between the sleep dream state and the wakeful dream state(as this writer would like to call it) is that the wakeful (dream) state is just a longer and more contiguous state and therefore appears more real.
This does not mean that the deep sleep state is the Reality. It however is an experience of the causal body. The deep sleep state is also called a state of ignorance or forgetfulness. Meaning, in that state, there is no knowledge or absence of knowledge. It is from this ignorance that the other states arise and create a dream-world or the wakeful-world. In this state of ignorance, there is no way one can analyze the status of one's experience. One can only analyze the deep sleep state in the wakeful state and come to a conclusion that one experienced deep peace in that state. There are two types of knowledge: (1) a knowledge of objects and (2) knowledge without objects. Knowledge without objects is pure consciousness. Pure consciousness is what is known in deep sleep state and since there are no objects in that state, there is only pure consciousness and nothing else. There is just knowing present in deep sleep state. This knowing is all there IS irrespective of what state the body-mind complex is in, but in the wakeful state and dream state this knowing is not appreciated due to false identity with the body-mind and the distractions from the world of objects.
Now there is another state, which is not experienced by everyone. In deep meditation, a fourth state called the Turiya state is experienced by the seeker. The turiya state is similar to the deep sleep state but the mind is just stilled into a state of no-thought. Meaning, there is forgetfulness in this state despite the fact that one is actually awake. The turiya state provides the seeker with a sense of knowing the absence of objective experience as is noted during deep sleep state. But like any other state, it also is transient. Even if one goes into deep meditation and is unaware of the world of objects, when he comes out of the meditative trance (turiya) he is immediately immersed in the world of objects, perceptions, feelings and emotions (that he had temporarily left behind). All the problems that were left behind temporarily resurface with a vengeance! So, it becomes clear that one cannot hope and desire for any one particular state (even if one feels most at peace in one state!). All states come and go, like everything else in the universe. It becomes clear that the direct way to Reality is through knowledge gained from inquiry. One has to therefore leave behind all the states to know the Reality, which is the unchanging background against which all these states appear.
The fact that you can remember your experiences in all the above three states indicates that you were aware in all the three states. The one who is aware in all three states is who you really are. The unchanging you, as awareness, is your true nature. Please note that even in the wakeful state, you are aware of what you call "my" body and "my" mind just like you are aware of the world of objects, emotions, thoughts and feelings.
All states come and go and cannot be descriptive of the Truth (which is unborn and unchanging). As discussed previously by this writer, you cannot be the object of awareness since you are the awareness itself!
The above method of analysis is just another way of discovering one's own true nature. One must explore and investigate all avenues of finding out one's own True Self.
