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Re: waking/dream/deep-sleep

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Ramanbil • April 10, 2000 


Dear Bhagavatas:
In connection with the discussion on the subject, I invite your attention to 
the following: which partly explains the phenomenon

"Are Dreams real?
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad categorically declares that dreams are real and are 
created by God.
( i ) The question arises how can we conclude that they are created by God? 
And, why not say that the jeevAtma itself could create the dreams?
The answer is, for one thing - The jeevAtma has no power of creation. 
For another, if it had the power, it will not create unpleasant dreams for 
itself. 
We see tigers, fire, flood, etc., in which the dreamer appears as a victim. 
No body would indulge in creating even in a dream such self-threatening, 
self-destructive and unpleasant experiences to one's self.
( ii ) The dreams are real so far as the person who dreams is concerned and 
real so long as the duration of the dream. That the objects in the dream 
vanish when the person wakes up underlines the temporariness of the objects 
and not that the experience itself was unreal. The joy, the fear, the thrill, 
the excitement are all real for the person dreaming who may even be able to 
remember and relate them subsequently.
( iii ) Why should God create dreams at all is the next question. 
The answer is-The jeevAtma does some small good deeds and some small bad 
ones. They are not big enough or significant enough to attract a palpable 
reward or a palpable punishment. God gives the jeevAtma a little pleasure 
through pleasant experiences in the dreams so that he is happy for the 
duration of the dream enjoying pleasant things; Similarly, for the small bad 
ones that are not significant enough, a mild punishment is imposed by the 
Lord by making the jeevAtma feel the pain by dreaming unpleasant things and 
unpleasant experiences for the duration of the dreams"
(Excerpts from my writing on "Intra - Religious - Distinctions")
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy

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