Madhye'varaprasava मध्येऽवरप्रसवः॥ (sūtra III.23)

madhye – in the intervening state; avara - inferior; prasavaḥ - set in motion, generating.

As the aspirant now stays connected with turya stage, henceforth, the aspirant shall be referred as yogi. When the yogi, unable to transcend turya state and continues to dwell in turyarasa (the nectar of turya) due to lack of further refinement in his consciousness, he will experience inferior thought processes during the intervening stages. Liberation has to take place only in the arena of mind. If the mind is not thoroughly purified, there are bound to be obstacles in the process of liberation. Even though the yogi is able to reach the penultimate stage of the highest level of consciousness (turyātīta and then kaivalya), he may retreat if he is not eternally alert. At the current stage, he is connected to God consciousness only at the beginning and at the end of three normal stages of consciousness, as he continues to experience normal consciousness in the middle stage like any other ordinary person. It is only in the middle stage there exists a possibility of his fall from the turya state.

This sūtra cautions the yogi about the possible retreat due to the generation of inferior thought processes.

{Further reading: Till complete absorption, the yogi has to be extremely careful about his thought processes, as there could be temptations that are difficult to resist. This is because his mind is not totally purified with impressions remaining in bits and pieces. When the impressions continue to remain in the mind, it may produce one thought after another; one thought fades away another thought unfolds. But, when the mind is totally purified, entire impressions are eradicated.

Spiritual progression has to be on a gradual and steady note. Normally, the initial spiritual knowledge is attained by reading scriptures, participating in lectures, etc. The next stage is the commencement of internal exploration or self exploration. There has to be a definite direction in the spiritual path. Sporadic commencement of spiritual journey never yields desired results. Understanding one’s own conscience is very important while commencing spiritual journey. Conscience becomes an effective tool in directing spiritual aspirations.

Surface layer of self-consciousness is another deterrent factor while pursing spiritual path. The usage of I, Me and Mine should be avoided. Everything is given by God, and the spiritual path is nothing but to understand this inherent quality of the Nature. Ego continues to destroy a person’s spiritual aspirations. The central theme of spirituality revolves around the saying mahāprajñāpāramitā, the term that refers to profound insight which frees one from all suffering caused by selfish, egocentric concerns. This lays the strong foundation for the right kind of spiritual aspiration, as spiritual aspirations of many are only sporadic.}