What is the fourth state of consciousness (or Turiya as it is referred to in the Vedantic texts)? How does that fit in with the waking state, dream state, and the state of deep sleep?

Rupert Spira is an English teacher of the “direct path”, a method of spiritual self-inquiry through talks and writing, and a notable English studio potter with work in public and private collections. From an early age, Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen, he learned to meditate and began studying and practicing the teachings of the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India, which he continued for the next twenty years. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmanada Krishna Menon and to Jean Klein and the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience.

A questioner asks about a surge of ecstatic inspiration he felt after a healing experience — why did the feeling fade away so fast? What can he do to get back to feeling inspired again, without relying on external experiences, substances or relationships?

Rupert Spira is an English teacher of the “direct path”, a method of spiritual self-inquiry through talks and writing, and a notable English studio potter with work in public and private collections. From an early age, Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen, he learned to meditate and began studying and practicing the teachings of the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India, which he continued for the next twenty years. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmanada Krishna Menon and to Jean Klein and the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience.

In this video, Rupert Spira introduces and reads excerpts from his new book, The Heart of Prayer, which he considers to be one of his best books.

“This book, of all the books I have written, is probably my favorite. It comes directly from my heart. In fact, all my books originate from my heart, but most of them are then filtered through my mind. However, this book comes unfiltered, directly from my heart. In some ways, I feel it is the clearest and most accurate expression of my understanding, such as it is.”

Rupert Spira is an English teacher of the “direct path”, a method of spiritual self-inquiry through talks and writing, and a notable English studio potter with work in public and private collections. From an early age, Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen, he learned to meditate and began studying and practicing the teachings of the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India, which he continued for the next twenty years. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmanada Krishna Menon and to Jean Klein and the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience.

A questioner asks Rupert about his own experience of the world — what does it feel like when you are experiencing the world as oneness? Do you experience the aliveness of it all without a sense of being disconnected? Do you ever get provoked or irritated? And are you completely free from need?

Rupert Spira is an English teacher of the “direct path”, a method of spiritual self-inquiry through talks and writing, and a notable English studio potter with work in public and private collections. From an early age, Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen, he learned to meditate and began studying and practicing the teachings of the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India, which he continued for the next twenty years. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmanada Krishna Menon and to Jean Klein and the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience.

Rupert reads from a translation of the Ashtavakra Gita by Thomas Byron called The Heart of Awareness. As we sink deeply into our being, it gradually loses the qualities that it derives from the content of experience and, at some point, stands revealed as unlimited or infinite being — God’s being.

Rupert Spira is an English teacher of the “direct path”, a method of spiritual self-inquiry through talks and writing, and a notable English studio potter with work in public and private collections. From an early age, Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen, he learned to meditate and began studying and practicing the teachings of the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India, which he continued for the next twenty years. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmanada Krishna Menon and to Jean Klein and the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience.

A questioner relates an experience on a Vipassana retreat where he started feeling very tired after every meditation to the point of being completely exhausted, falling ill and getting to a state where he couldn’t do anything. Why did his body react that way to Vipassana meditation?

Rupert Spira is an English teacher of the “direct path”, a method of spiritual self-inquiry through talks and writing, and a notable English studio potter with work in public and private collections. From an early age, Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen, he learned to meditate and began studying and practicing the teachings of the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India, which he continued for the next twenty years. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmanada Krishna Menon and to Jean Klein and the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience.