Dream & Waking States

[M Suresh]

Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian <rbalasub at ECN.PURDUE.EDU> wrote :

> Also there is another difference, viz, atleast the dR^ishTi shR^ishTi vaada
> school maintains that the "dreams" are no different from "waking" as far as
> the respective realities in the two states goes. This is the position adopted
> in the kaarikaa, yoga vaasishTa and the upadeshasaahasrii. For this one need
> not have experienced brahman. However, I guess vidyaaraNya et al have a
> different view in their books.

  I  have would like to make a  few  observations  here.  As far  as
  Vyavahaarika  level  is concerned a  dream is an  experience different
  from the waking  state in both degree and kind.

  Firstly dream is a secondary experience derived from the reality of the
  waking state, whereas the waking state is a primary experience derived
  directly from Brahman.

  Secondly there  is an equality  aspect in the  waking state which  is not
  there in  the dream  state.  In the waking  state if  I see  someone else
  happy or sad or in pain the experience is there to the full degree on the
  person actually experiencing  it.  It is not just present as a reflection
  of the other persons experience on my own mind ( i.e the effect the other
  person being happy or sad has on me ).  In a dream on the other hand if I
  see delight or pain  around me,  its reality is only to the extent it has
  effect on the dream body ( i.e myself ).  There is no one who is actually
  experiencing the delight or pain to the  full degree in a dream as in the
  waking state.  Thus in  the dream  state the  body of  the dreamer  is of
  greater importance than  the other bodies in the dream world,  whereas in
  the waking state all bodies are equally important.  It is explaining this
  equality  among all  the  bodies in  the waking  state  that Sri.  Ramana
  Maharishi describes the world as follows :

  If a number  of water filled pots  are kept under the open sky,  each pot
  equally reflects the  sky according to the shape of  the reflecting water
  surface  ( water surface is the equivalent   of  mind ).   However  the
  sky  ( Equivalent  of Brahman )  is pure  and independent  of the
  reflection.  However he says that at the Paramaarthika level, even the
  reflecting water surface is not there and Brahman alone exists.

  Again comparing the  waking and dream state we find  that the dream state
  is not continous and consistent as the waking state.


> Ramakrishnan.
> --

Suresh.