Drop The Dream

Hari OM

'Text-days' are for delving into the words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.

We are now studying Aatmabodha. As always, with each week, you are encouraged to review the previous teachings and spend some time in contemplation of the meanings as the affect your life. Please do consider purchasing the text. Remember, also, to recite the mangala charana before each study and review the lessons before each new one.

Having made clear to the student that one must purify oneself wholly in order to reside in the Self, the Guru now transitions towards explaining how it is that our 'waters' are muddied at all. We now see the introduction of the concept of the triaavasthaa - the three states of consciousness.

संसारः स्वप्नातुल्यो हि रागद्वेषादिसंकुलः
स्वकाले सात्यवद्भाति प्रबोधे सत्यसद्भवेत ||6||
samsaaraH svapnatulyo hi raagadveshaadisamkulaH
svakaale saatyavadbhaati prabodhe satyasadbhavet ||6||
The world which is full of attachments, aversions and so on is like a dream. It appears to be real, as long as the dream continues, but becomes unreal when one wakes up - when True Wisdom dawns.

One of the great analogies of Vedanta is now given. It is not so difficult to follow, for everyone can relate to the experience of the dream state and how real it feels. Only when we waken do we realise it was a dream at all.

It might be thought that the shloka speaks for itself and there is no need to ponder in depth upon it. This would be naive, even a little arrogant, and certainly a mistake.

Each and every verse handed down by such great Masters is a mine of learning for the eager student. Yes, there is the clear-cut example, we dream, we awaken, we know the dream for what it was. However, now we must fully deal with this understanding in relation to what we call our waking state and gradually accept that we are yet within a dream. A shared dream, with billions of others. Vivid and seemingly endless. What could be the waking which negates this dream for us?

Unfulfilled desires, passions and emotions which infect our days are the things which often manifest in our dreams. That is why the one who has a balanced and controlled mind, who is not tossed about by life and its pettiness, its likes and dislikes (raaga-dvesha), sleeps a sound sleep without the vivid and tumultuous dreams of others.

In dreams we can experience all sorts of wild and wonderful wanderings; things that when we awaken amaze and entertain - or frighten - us. In life such things happen also yet we are not prepared to accept that it too is a prolonged dream and we can escape such things.

The reason for this, we are told, is the avidya, the core ignorance created by our egos attaching to the things of the world. The dream is quite real to us so long as we are not awake. When we go deep into the layers of matter with which we are attached, we gradually see them drop away and begin to experience the all-pervading Consciousness. That is when we start to see the ephemeral, numinous quality of that which we call 'hard matter', the objects of and indeed the world itself. We start to glimpse the unity of everything and that plurality is but a deception. Thus this shloka is put in as an alarm bell to begin the awakening!

Some Kind of Bliss

Hari OM

'Text-days' are for delving into the words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.

TATTVABODHAH.

[You are reminded that reviewing the previous week's posts will become essential as the meanings of the Sanskrit terms may not be repeated. There may come additional or alternative meanings, but all should be noted. As study progresses, the technical terms must necessarily become 'second nature' to the student. When the Sanskrit is used, the translation will fall easily into place - or likewise, if the English is used, the Sanskrit term must easily come forwards.]

Please revisit THIS post and chant the mangala-charana. Please use the TattvabodaH label to access all posts relevant to this text.

Remember that all analysis undertaken in Vedanta, such as currently on the waker, dreamer, sleeper, is for the purpose of rediscovering our True Nature, The Self. In establishing that these states are 'adoptions' of the Self with which it has become identified, that there is a part of us which is watching the process as we go, then we must find that we can begin to negate; '"I" am not this waker, "I" am not this dreamer…' The entirety of Vedantic exploration is to peel back all the illusions and delusions of our current state, seeking the core our existence.  The "I" which is doing the negating is unattached to all that is being explored. In the same way that the one who observes an accident is independent of events and yet still an observer to it all is said to be 'the witness', so it is that the "I" who is questioning and seeking is the witness Self, called as साक्षि  /saakshi. Our first major shift from our current state is to become fully the witness. By virtue of still being connected to happenings in 'the world', it can be said that saakshi is still not the Ultimate Truth, that which is called Brahman, but it is certainly the closest level that the individualised Self (jiva) comes to Brahman. Really speaking, when it is said in these stanzas that the Self is known as vishva or taijasa etc, it is the sakshii which is being addressed.

तरी-अवस्थाः /tri-avasthaaH - THE THREE STATES

सुषुप्त्यवस्था /sushuptyavasthaa - the deep sleep state.

Having established, then, that the Self can identify with the gross body as vishva, also with the subtle body as taijasa, can it be said that the sakshii Self can also be identified in the deep sleep state? After all, in that state, we are not actually conscious of being conscious!  Let us see what the Guru provides us at this point in learning. The shishya again picks up questioning;

अथ सुषुप्त्यवस्था का
अहं किमपि न् जानामि सुख़ेन

मया निद्राऽनुभूयते इति सुषुप्त्यवस्था।

कारणशरीरभिमानी आत्मा प्राज्ञ इत्युच्यते।

atha suSuptyavasthaa kaa

ahaM kimapi n jaanaami suKena

mayaa nidraa.anubhuuyate iti suSuptyavasthaa.

kaaraNashariirabhimaanii aatmaa praaGYa ityucyate.

"Then what is the deep sleep state   ?

That state about which one says that, 'I did not know anything, I enjoyed good sleep', is the deep sleep state. The slef identified with the causal body is called praajna."

When one gives up identification with the gross and subtle bodies and identifies only with the causal body, one is said to be in the deep sleep state. In that state, one experiences the absence of all objects, emotions and thoughts. When one wakes from it one says, 'I did not know anything...I slept well.'  This is important to note. In deep sleep itself, we know nothing. It is only in rousing from the deep sleep that we know we were there. The memory of having slept well or otherwise proves the presence of "I" the experiencer, even in the absence of the world. This "I" is actually reflecting on the past experience of the deep sleep. Whilst there, nothing is known, but that "I" (which is saakshi) is able to assess the condition by returning to vishva state. The happiness, or 'bliss' (anubhuuyate) of that state can only be remembered due to there not being an active consciousness actually in the state. That condition of happiness is the closest we can come to our True Nature in regular life, but it is lost when we arise. The memory of the experience of nothing, though, which we consider as a joyous thing, is something that every one desires; nothing beats a sound sleep!

In the waking state we identify with the gross body and become the 'doer' and the 'enjoyer'. In the dream state we identify with the subtle body and become the enjoyer of the dream world. In the deep sleep state there is neither 'doer' of actions, nor the 'enjoyer' of the world. In the absence of thoughts, there is no concept of time, space or duality. Hence, we cannot say how long we slept or where "I" was in that state. How to say that the "I" is present when no awareness is there? It is important to recall that the "I" spoken of here is the little ego-self, the individualised aatmaa called jiiva. Think about a time when you were so very engrossed and concentrated on a task that when it is finished you come to realise that in the execution and engrossment, any sense of yourself as the individual was absent - you hear of artists and musicians 'becoming one' with their work. The temporary absence of the ego permits a level of beauty, excellence and absolute joy in the execution. This same engrossment is what is present in deep sleep. The "I" has managed to drop off the world and the dreams for a while and become single-pointed in absence.

In the waking and dream states we know we exist, but do not know our True Nature. We take ourselves to be the gross and the subtle bodies in the waking and dream states. In sushupti, though we are closest to that Nature, we still are ignorant of it at the same time we are ignorant of the world for its duration. It is because consciousness (thought) itself is absent in deep sleep, that in ingnorance we rise from it back into the world. This ignorance of the ultimate "I" beyond a sense of existence, is referred to here as 'praajna' (a conjunct word from praayena ajnaH - one who is more or less ignorant).

The waking and dream state of each of us may differ, but the deep sleep state is the same for all. The king, the beggar, the ignorant, the wise... In all, the experience of deep sleep equates to bliss. There are no degrees to this bliss. It is homogeneous, partless and complete. Therefore, one does not want to come out of it. It is refreshing and rejuvenating for the "I" which will again wake. The deep sleep state is such a desirable thing, that there are whole clinics and multiple pills and potions offered to help induce this state. Lack of 'good' sleep can result in stress and disorder of the individual. The state is so desirable because that sense of "I" knew nothing gives a break from trials and tribulations. Even if life is generally good, this state is still sought.

The prajna, though, cannot remain in 'nothingness'; it is after all, the causative self. Thus the causes, the unmanifest impressions (vaasanas) from the waking experience exert a pull and the "I" is drawn back through the dream state and out into the world once more. The 'nothingness' has not exerted sufficient influence - there has been also an absence of awareness of the condition - in order for the "I" to wish to remain there continually. Yet that saakshi "I" was present even in the absent state, for the memory is retained.

The three states come and go. Each negates the experience and 'reality' of the other two. The "I" remains only as the witness of all and cannot be negated by the states. "I" may act like a beggar in a play, but "I" do not become the beggar. Similarly, "I" am not the roles "I" take up in the tri avasthaaH.

A Different Land

Hari OM

'Text-days' are for delving into the words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.

TATTVABODHAH.

[You are reminded that reviewing the previous week's posts will become essential as the meanings of the Sanskrit terms may not be repeated. There may come additional or alternative meanings, but all should be noted. As study progresses, the technical terms must necessarily become 'second nature' to the student. When the Sanskrit is used, the translation will fall easily into place - or likewise, if the English is used, the Sanskrit term must easily come forwards.]

Please revisit THIS post and chant the mangala-charana. Please use the TattvabodaH label to access all posts relevant to this text.

त्रि -अवस्ताः /tri-avasthaaH - THE THREE STATES

स्वप्नावस्था /svapnaavasthaa - the dream state.

Having taken some understanding of the waking state (vishva), given the flow of the text, we might expect that the sishya would again ask 'what then is…?' However, to keep an element of interest and surprise, the Guru gets in first, 'ah now, in case you should ask me what is…'! In this way, the Guru is at once acknowledging the logical questioning of his eager apprentice and encouraging further questioning of this kind.

स्वप्नावस्था केति चेत् जाग्रदवस्तायां यद्

दृष्टं यत् श्रुतं तज्जनित वासनया निद्रासमये यः

प्रपञ्चः प्रतीयते सा स्वफावस्ता।

सूक्ष्मशरीराभिमानी आत्मा तैजस इत्युच्यते।

svapnaavasthaa keti chet jaagradavastaayaaM yad

dR^iSTaM yat shrutaM tajjanita vaasanayaa nidraasamaye yaH

prapa~ncaH pratiiyate saa svaphaavastaa.

suuxmashariiraabhimaanii aatmaa taijasa ityucyate.

"For the question, 'what is the dream state', the explanation is; the world that is projected while in sleep from the impressions born of what was seen and heard in the waking state is called the dream state. The Self identified with the subtle body is called 'taijasa'."

There must be a basis for the dream experience; how can you compare what you 'see' in the dream if it were not against some baseline. That baseline is obtained from the daily transactional existence which we have been told is called the waking state - jaagradavasthaa. It doesn't have to have been a visual experience for the waker, or from hearing, but it could be from our response to such stimuli. Fear, or anger, or hatred, for example. These are strong emotions which can leave an impression at a level which is retained and reviewed through the dream state. Whilst the Guru's statement itself simply says 'yat drishtam, yat shrutam', it is a convention of Sanskrit that by these mechanisms, the seeing and the hearing, we must understand that there is use of further senses and reactions as a result of them. This teaching technique is referred to as उपलक्षण /upalakshana (implication). 'Upa-' means 'being close to', or 'associated with'; 'lakshana' has several meanings but in this case 'indication' or 'expressing indirectly' would be the most appropriate. Thus, the shishya implies from the Guru's response that not just the eyes and ears alone leave impressions on the mind which it resurrects in the dream state.

It is in the dream state that we can 'see' what disturbs our mind. It is our safety processor, permitting us to run through various scenarios to clear out the debris of the previous experience. Whilst in vishva, we can control a lot of what happens in our mind, through morality checks, time and place checks etc, in svapna, we have no conscious restraints. The intellect which has played monitor in vishva has no role to play in svapna.

The mind creates, sustains and ends the dream world. Not only the dream world, but also the 'enjoyer' of that world (the dreamer) is created by that mind. The dreamer can have an entirely different identity to that of the waker. During dream we see our vaasanas playing out. Impressions from previous lives, from our current history, or those freshly made in the previous day; all these can be allowed to play out and exhaust themselves during the dream state. This relieves the intellect of having to deal with them. If an impression (vaasana) is particularly deep, we may find that we are having a recurring dream to burn it out. It is a safe place for this to happen. Equally, all action and enjoyment (karma-bhoga) encountered within the dream state cannot add to our karma debt. As the opportunity of choice (an intellectual function) is not available to us in svapna, we cannot be 'charged'. There is argument that svapna can lead to formation of new vaasana but actually it is not within the dream itself that this occurs. If something with the dream is recalled upon waking and considered to be something that the waker wishes then to experience in full waking state (for example, a non-drinker decides that drinking alcohol was attractive when dreaming), then subsequently carries that out, then potentially vaasana is developed… and the dream can be blamed as the source. This is a rare occurrence however and is an extension of the process.

Dreams may also contain unfulfilled wishes of the vishva, or certainly appear to have no bearing on the daily state. One may dream of winning lottery or of a horse flying. As strange or illogical as this seems to the waking mind, the dreamer does not question it. The Self, at this point, is identifying only with the subtle body - the thoughts created - and in this condition the Self is referred to as 'taijasa'. In Sanskrit, 'तेजोमय अन्तःकरणवृत्ति रूपत्वात् तैजसः इति उच्यते/tejomaya antaHkaranavRtti ruupatvaat taijasaH iti uchyate.' - the animated mindstuff takes thought forms and is called 'of the light'.

State of Play

Hari OM

'Text-days' are for delving into the words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.

TATTVABODHAH.

[You are reminded that reviewing the previous week's posts will become essential as the meanings of the Sanskrit terms may not be repeated. There may come additional or alternative meanings, but all should be noted. As study progresses, the technical terms must necessarily become 'second nature' to the student. When the Sanskrit is used, the translation will fall easily into place - or likewise, if the English is used, the Sanskrit term must easily come forwards.]

Please revisit THIS post and chant the mangala-charana. Please use the TattvabodaH label to access all posts relevant to this text.

Have you reflected on the beginninglessness of ignorance, and its impermanence by virtue of its removal by knowledge? Let not the words slip by your eyes, or the impression be shallow. Take the teachings in deep, work them over as given by the example of the questioner within the text.

Indian readers may have pondered on the kaarana shariira and wondered about the role of vaasanas, those debts of karma which are often said to be the cause of who we are. These of course will be dealt with in other contexts, but know that they are implied within the text studied last week, as vaasanas are a part of ajnaana. This lack of knowledge is given as it is common to all, however vaasanas, one of the components within ignorance, are responsible for the differences in personalities and life path. The ignorance itself is the cause of life as a whole. Vaasanas are not mentioned specifically under the kaarana shariira question simply because, at this stage, we are not looking at individual purpose and condition, but at life as a unit. They are part of the cause of our existence for sure, but are dealt with separately, for ultimately each of us is interested only in what it is that brought "me the sorry individual" to this pass!

त्रि -अवस्थाः /tri-avasthaaH - THE THREE STATES

Remember that we had learned earlier that the sishya (student) posing the questions within this text is considered as an adhikaari - one who is 'fit', in that there has been preparatory learning and therefore the absolute basics has been learned. Thus, having enquired as to the nature of enquiry itself, and how it is that the body and the individual fit into this research, the next question is about conditions in which the individual can find his or herself with regard to the gaining of experience. One might have expected Adi Shankaraacharya to have gone to an explanation of the panchmahaabhoti or the pancha-koshas, or other such material, but as he has been expounding on the subtle influences of existence and how it manifests, this is the logical place to introduce the states of consciousness.

अवस्थात्रयं किम्

जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्त्यवस्थाः।

avasthaatrayaM kim

jaagratsvapnasuSuptyavasthaaH.

"What are the three states  ?

They are the waking, dream and deep sleep states."

The range of human experience is wide indeed. We experience the physical world as sound, touch, for, taste and smell via the sthuula shariira; the emotional world as desire, anger, love, compassion and so forth; the intellectual world as ideals, concepts, imagination et cetera, both those two via the suukshmaa shariira. It is possible, also, to experience the absence of all these, if we can move ourselves into the kaarana shariira.. We have learned about the three bodies by which experience can be had. Now the question is asked as to the different levels of consciousness by which we can vary or alter the experiences. Each of us undergo these states each and every day.

जाग्रदवस्था का

श्रोत्रादिज्ञानेन्द्रियैः शब्दादिविषयैश्च

ज्ञायते इति या सा जाग्रदवस्था।

स्थूलशरीराभिमानी आत्मा विश्व इत्युच्यते।

jaagradavasthaa kaa

shrotraadiGYaanendriyaiH shabdaadiviSayaishca

GYaayate iti yaa saa jaagradavasthaa.

sthuulashariiraabhimaanii aatmaa vishva ityuchyate.

"What is the waking state  ?

That state of experience in which the sense objects like sound are perceived through the sense organs like the ears, is the waking state. The Self, identifying with the gross body is then called 'vishva' (waking state ego)."

As we read this, we consider ourselves to be awake. As we make our meals, we consider ourselves to be awake. Well, perhaps our eyes are open, but how available is our mind?! Joking aside, waking is the state through which we act and interact with the world, albeit at various levels of alertness. The definition given by the Guru here is that waking is the state in which we come to perceive by the use of all our senses. In other states, knowledge of different forms may come to us, but what defines the waking state is the activity and direct perception via the indriyas. We also express ourselves fully in our waking state. As this is the case the waker is said to be 'vishva' - completely functioning.

It is only in the waking state that we are totally identified with our shtuula shariira. In dream and deep sleep, all sense of the physical becomes blurred or absent. Also, in waking state, we are in full contact with our suukshma and kaarana shariiras also - your physical body is sitting reading this - the reading itself is happening via the subtle body and, if fully awake, the concept of your higher Self watching you as you do this is also present.

All transactions happen via the gross body. The objects in the waking world are experienced through the sense organs. The notions of doership, expectation of results and enjoyment arise within this state; thus we find a presence of ego ("I"-ness). The waking world appears to be solid and real. Objects and events seem to have a cause and effect relationship, with uses and functions according to their own 'laws'. We consider that we rise each day to the same familiar world and therefore give the waking state a greater reality and importance; for within it we form attachments to objects, beings and happening and thus are affected by what happens to them. We easily dismiss our dreams as unreal, but find it excessively difficult to dismiss the world.

Keep in mind that each state is a conditioning of the Self; the "Greater I'' becomes deluded and identifies with the waking state ego, believing itself to be separate from all other objects. Within that though, if we are functioning correctly, there is the witness Self wondering at all that goes on and we are at least vaguely aware of that part of ourselves; it is the part which takes the truly alert into the path of philosophy and spiritual research.