What are the seven states of consciousness of mind?

Consciousness is the state of staying aware of self and anything around self. There are seven stages of consciousness listed in Rig veda. The first three can be accessed by any living being in this earth. Fourth state can be accessed by those who balance their mind and the remaining three are higher level of consciousness and can be accessed by those who have achieved complete control of their mind.

The seven states of consciousness are

1. Unconscious

2. Subconscious

3. Awakened

4. Transcendental Consciousness

5. Cosmic Consciousness

6. God Consciousness

7. Unity Consciousness

1. Unconscious

This is the first stage of consciousness , which is a passive stage of consciousness. This stage is free from the experience of happiness, sorrow, pain and joy. In this state, there is neither action nor the possibility of action. In death or deep sleep most people are in this state.

2. Subconscious

This state is between awakening and sleep, also known as the dream state. When our mind is partially awake, there is a mixture of ambiguous experience and emotions ; so, when a person dreams there is no confidence. Staying awake in imagination or staying lost in thoughts are subconscious state. The subconscious state is achingly low on the totem pole : it's built on unremembered experiences which are dream form. What occur in dream state is thin and indistinct.

3.Awakened

If you are reading this post and not thinking about any other thing you are in awakened state. Living in the present is an awakened state of consciousness. Your mind will able to make rational decision and not fooled by non existing fear or dream from past and future. The conscious mind comprises the thoughts, feelings and memories that are in awakened at the moment.

4.Transcendental

This is the fourth state of consciousness which is attained through meditation or other ways to balance mind . This state of pure consciousness is described by maharishi as a state of 'least excitation of consciousness', a state in which awareness retires from all objects of perceptions and from all mental fluctuations. In this state knower is said to experience the field of consciousness itself, which is consciousness in its pure state separate from any thought, feeling or perceptions.

Pure consciousness is the experience of consciousness as an unbounded and universal field. To experience pure consciousness individual's mind should settle from a state of activity to a state of silence while remaining alert. It is the complete awakening and staying in the moment without thought and imagination of past and future

5. Cosmic Consciousness

This is the first higher stage of development in the sense that it represents a stable structure of experience. It is the first of the permanent stage of enlightenment. The structure of this stages as well as its process of development is described in terms of the experience of the pure consciousness.

With regular experience of pure consciousness the quality of dreaming, waking and sleeping states of consciousness are predicted to become enriched as result of the physiological effect of practice. That is the quality of "restful alertness" is predicted to carry over into deep sleep, dreaming and waking leading to a more efficient quality of rest during sleep and dreaming and increased physiological stability and effectiveness of activity during waking state. It is also known as "self realisation" , because the field of pure consciousness the "Self" becomes a permanent and unshakeable experience.

6. God Consciousness
This is the sixth state of consciousness is termed as "God Consciousness" is a further stable state which expands upon the stage of cosmic consciousness. In the growth of second stage of enlightenment , pure consciousness remain as a permanent background to the daily cycle of waking, dreaming and deep sleep state of consciousness. In cosmic consciousness "Self" was experienced as separate from thought and perception. As the gap between the self and the object begin to close in this states, the effective experience of the person is dominated by the most refined emotional qualities such as service, reverence and love. This quality of experience is also predicted to be accompanied by a further refinement of neurophysiological functioning.

7. Unity Consciousness
In the third stage of enlightenment termed "unity consciousness" the gap between knower and the object known is said to be completely bridged. In this final stage pure consciousness is said to be directly experienced as a field which is not only the basic constituent of knower but the object of knowledge as well. In this state one is said to fully realise one's own nature and also all physical existence as expression of an underlying unified field, the field of pure consciousness.