Publisher's Synopsis
To know oneself is the central purpose of life. Being a method of perception, the state of mind resulting from the meditative act is a means of knowing oneself. It is not the only one. There are four main states of consciousness: ordinary waking consciousness, dreaming sleep, deep sleep and the meditative state. The first is characterised by the self focused outward, the second by the self focused on inner thoughts, the third by the self free of all perception and the last by the self focused on the self. Only in this fourth state is direct knowledge of the self possible, and the cessation of the division between subject and object seen. Only meditation, or the fourth state of Consciousness, permits perception and direct knowledge of the Self. The Subject observes the Subject. In the other three states, the Subject can only observe objects. The fourth state of consciousness, which occurs during meditation, is scientifically confirmed, since it has its own particular physiology, which differentiates it from the other three states.
