The term "Avasthathrayam" means three 'avasthas' commonly used in the vedantic texts to indicate three stages viz Jagrat, Swapna and Susuhpthy (waking, dream and deep sleep stages). Each stage is apparently distinct. There is continuity for the experience in the waking stage, and also we can express the experience even while we are in that stage. This is not possible in the other two stages. Only after coming to the waking stage we could express the experience of the dream and also about the deep sleep.
In the waking stage all the indriyas - karmendriyas as well as gnanendriyas, anthakarana and prana, are active. Thoughts arise in the mind, intellect analyse the thoughts, and indriyas act as per command from the mind/intellect. In the dream stage, the intellect and the indriyas sleep and only the mind and the prana are active. In the absence of the intellect, the thoughts arising in the mind in the dream stage, have no cogency. They resemble an echo of the waking experience. Echo cannot be deciphered. The dream-thoughts have no clarity. In the deep sleep stage, neither the intellect, nor the mind, nor the indriyas are active. Only the prana does its function. Thoughts are dormant in the chittam. This is a stage when 'atman' is said to be dormant covered by ignorance (agnanam) and there wont be any vikshepam. In samashty (in the collective sense) this deep sleep stage is connected to Iswara without vikshepam - a stage of Yoga-nidra of Iswara..
We do not recollect all the dream thoughts when we wake up. Mind cannot record any of the thoughts without the help of the intellect. The intellect, as already discussed, sleeps in the dream stage and slowly waking up when we awake from the dream stage to the waking. A lunatic has no control over the thoughts . He expresses them as they come in the mind and act that way without any cogency. In our dreams we are more or less lunatics. Dreams have no meaning, no cogency. Luckily, indriyas sleep in the dream and therefore, no outward action comes as a result of the lunatic thoughts.
In the waking stage also we dream. Further not all thoughts come out as action. Day-dreaming i.e. jagrat-swapna is one of the seven steps in the Agnana-bhoomi. In the dream, sometimes, we dream as if we are awake and we take active part in the dream. This is known as swapna-jagrat, another step in the agnana bhoomi. The seven steps of the agnana bhoomi are : Beeja-jagrat, jagrat, Maha-jagrat, jagrat-swapna, swapna; swapna-jagrat and sushupthy. Correspondingly there are seven gnana-boomi namely 'subecha; vichara, asanga bhavana; vilapini (vasanas submerging), satwapatthy (bhodananda bhava), pathartha bhavna (experiencing ananda;) and turiya (mukthy).
In ancient times, rishies have thought over all these stages and analysed them in detail. They have al;so declared that proper understanding of the different avasthas and the base on which these avasthas appear , would change our perspective and bring us nearer to Truth. The pleasure and pain we have been experiencing during the three stages would be replaced by Bliss which is real nature of that Base - the supreme Truth.
One of the Upanishads namely "Mandukya upanishad" exclusively discuss these stages connecting the same with the Pranava "OM" and the devas for each of the stage Viswan &Vaiswanaran; taijasan,& Hiranyagarbhan; Pragnan,& Iswaran, - these three pairs are connected to waking, dream and deep sleep respectively. The first one in each of the pair s vyashti and the second one represents samashty. For e.g. Iswara is samashty bhavam connected to deep sleep. It would only mean that Consciousness - bhodam is dormant in deep sleep and Iswara without vikshepam is God in yoga-nidra stage. The three sylable of the Pranava 'OM' i.e."A", "U", and "M" and the non-sylable following that respectively represent Jagrat, dream, deep sleep and Consciousness in its total expression. The Consciousness in its total expression is the fourth stage (not actually a stage) known by the name "Tureeyam"While describing this fourth stage Tureeyam, it is declared "That which does not cognise (i.e. confined to) internal or external objects, which is not a mass of cognition (like matter) which is neither cognitive nor non-cognitive, that which cannot be seen, which has no occupation, whichn cannot be grasped, which has no distinctive marks, which cannot be thought of , which cannot be designated by any name, that of which the essence of the knowledge of the Oneness of the Self, that in which the world ceases to exist, the peaceful, benign, the non-dual Atman."
The above described Consciousness is the first expression of that Ultimate, and known by different names as Iswara, bhodam, Consciousness , Witness etc. All the three stages - waking, dream and deep sleep emanate, exist and dissolve in that Consciousness. Any logician would accept that when there are three stages apparently different, repeated everyday and there is continuity for the waking stage, there should necessarily be a connecting link - a base - adharam, for these stages to exist. Rishies have found out that and named it as Tureeyam
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