Day 298 - Explanation of the Sage's Discourse on Consciousness, Dreams, and Reality

Day 298 - Explanation of the Sage's Discourse on Consciousness, Dreams, and Reality

The Experience of the Jiva

The sage explains that the jiva (individual self) experiences the external world through the outward senses and the internal dream world with the inward senses. When focused externally, the internal world appears vague. When the senses turn inward, the jiva perceives the dream world with clarity. The jiva, being the aggregate of the senses and life-force, exists in everything and experiences everything, both internally and externally.

The Influence of the Humours (Vata, Pitta, Slesma)

The jiva's experiences are influenced by the balance or imbalance of the three doshas (humours)—vata (wind), pitta (bile), and slesma (phlegm). When these elements are disturbed:

• Kapha (phlegm): The jiva experiences cool and pleasant visions, such as gardens and rivers.
• Pitta (bile): The world appears heated, with visions of fire and dryness.
• Vata (wind): The jiva experiences movement, flying sensations, or calamities.

When all three humours are imbalanced, the jiva may experience distress, perceiving chaotic visions like the collision of mountains or floods. In states of deep sleep, the jiva rests within itself, undisturbed by the movements of the life-force.

The Nature of Dreams and Waking States

The sage elucidates that dreams are created by the movement of the life-force within the body's channels. The experiences of burning, drowning, or hallucinations arise when the three humours are disturbed. When the humours are in balance, the jiva perceives the world as it truly is, without distortion, and sees it as non-different from Brahman.

The Illusory Nature of the World

The sage recounts how, upon emerging from deep sleep, he experienced the world arising like a wave from an ocean. The world is compared to a reflection in a mirror, a trick of the mind, or a castle in the air. Though it appears real, it is ultimately an illusion with no independent existence. This illusion persists due to latent tendencies (vasana), which create the appearance of relationships and activities.

The Concept of "Reality" and "Unreality" in Dreams

When asked if dream objects can be considered both real and unreal, the sage clarifies that in a dream, time, space, and materiality appear real because the notion of their existence arises in consciousness. The materialization of dreams is due to the power of consciousness to manifest thoughts and notions. If doubt arises, the dream becomes uncertain and appears unreal. Similarly, the waking world is an appearance arising from consciousness, lacking fixed causation or order.

Waking and Dream as Non-Different

The sage posits that waking and dream states are essentially the same; both are experiences within the inert "object" of consciousness. In this long dream of life, the notions of order and causation are irrelevant. Reality as perceived in dreams or magic is merely a coincidence, and what arises is what is experienced.