What is samadhi? What is Turiya?

Question: We hear that there are 4 states of existence in every living being. Such as: waking, dreaming, deep-sleep and super-conscious (Turya). If Turya is just a separate state, how can it be the goal of samadhi? A finite state of mind cannot be the goal of yoga. Then it would become just another transient, time bound and worldly experience! So, is Turiya or, super-conscious a separate state?

Answer: This question is very important and subtle.
The 3 states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep are inside Turya.
Turya is all encompassing, all-embracing, all inclusive.
Turya is the natural state of liberated Atman. Its always there. It never disappears. Like the Atman, Whether we live or, die; sleep, eat, run or, become unconscious, the Atman is ever-present inside us. And so is Turya. Its always present.

So its not a separate state.
Only we have forgotten our original blissful state.
We are unaware that we are always in Turya and imagining to be in the 3 lower states. This illusion is the birth and death cycle. We laugh, cry, eat, sleep, take birth, die in a dreamlike state. Yet unknowingly we are in the ever peaceful Turya.

When we are able to control our ever turbulent mind and stop it, we attain samadhi and find ourselves in Turya. Why? Thats because, in samadhi the illusions of the mind, the 3 lower states disappear, leaving the reality behind.
The reality is nothing but the Atman or, Turya.

~Amitabha Chatterjee.