Awareness to Consciousness?: Wisdom of the Mandukya Upanishad

This book, Awareness to Consciousness, explores the Mandukya Upanishad, one of the most profound and possibly the shortest of all Upanishads. Its central theme is the exploration of consciousness. It divides human consciousness into four states: mindful waking, subconscious dreaming, unconscious deep sleep, and the ultimate witnessing fourth state-mind-free Turiya. Turiya is the state of pure, non-dual awareness, the ultimate reality underlying all other states. Unlike the first three-conscious, subconscious, and unconscious -Turiya is unknown to Western psychology. The Mandukya Upanishad uses the sacred syllable Aum as a symbol to represent these four states, guiding us on a journey from the outer world of realised experience to the inner world of the infinite potential Self. It is an invitation to transcend the limitations of the mind and discover the boundless self within.

RAM S. RAMANATHAN describes himself as a transmitter of ancient wisdom from various spiritual and cultural traditions, aligned with scientific research. Ram has experienced gamma-level meditation using chakra and Buddhist techniques, even before gamma brain waves were scientifically recognized and measured. Cautious and discerning, Ram only shares practices he has personally found safe.

In addition to his spiritual pursuits, Ram has been a corporate leader, business builder, former sanyasi (in training), coach, author, and, most importantly, a person who cherishes his wife, children, friends, and pets. His favorite quote is, "Learning from someone else's wisdom is futile unless you reflect, practice, and distill it into your own wisdom."