The more we meditate, the more our awareness increases, and the closer we move to the consciousness of the fourth or turiya state. Turiya itself means fourth. You cannot give an exact name to this state. It is known by many other names: samadhi, enlightenment, atmagnana, brahmagnana, nirvana, satori, to name some of them. They all denote the same state of consciousness. When this state starts penetrating and overlapping the waking and deep sleep states, we will see good health happening in the body, mind and being. We will start experiencing causeless bliss. Then our very state of being becomes meditative!

The purpose of meditation is to experience this fourth state at least once. Once we experience this fourth state, we can bring the influence of it more and more into our waking and deep sleep states. If our waking and deep sleep states are completely influenced by the fourth state, turiya, that is what we call jeevan mukti or living enlightenment.

The purpose of meditation itself is to bring the fourth state of turiya into our waking state and deep sleep state. Meditation techniques are not there to help you achieve anything. They are there to help you remember that you have not yet found eternal bliss! If I suddenly tell you, ‘Slip into bliss!’ is it possible for you? No! You are not even aware that bliss is your natural state. But when you hear so many masters prescribing meditation again and again, you continuously remember that you are still seeking.

Meditation techniques are the lifebuoys that help you cross the ocean of bliss. When you are just learning to swim, will you directly jump into the ocean on your own? No! You need a lifebuoy to keep you afloat. In the same way, to enter into the ocean of bliss, you will need a method to help you initially. Meditation is the most natural method for you.

Meditation techniques are nothing but lifebuoys. Once meditation becomes your way of life, you will automatically drop all the techniques, because meditation will become the very quality of your life, no longer a routine that you make time for each day. Every moment will be meditative. Meditation will be a continuous happening in you, irrespective of what you may be doing in the outer world.

People ask me why are there so many meditation techniques available today. First, there are so many different techniques because there are lots of different types of people. Each person has a different mental setup. A technique that suits one person may not suit the other. So you can experiment to see which technique works best for you. Second, when you keep trying one meditation after another, the very effort of doing all the different meditations will eventually make your mind drop into restfulness, into the ocean of bliss!

source: Living Enlightenment