World-view as dream (fwd)

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jagannath Chatterjee <jagchat01 at yahoo.com>

Dear Vaidyaji,

I do not have sufficient knowledge on the subject as a
whole. But I want to share my knowledge about dreams
that an infant may have.

--- Vaidya Sundaram <vaidya_sundaram at HOTMAIL.COM>
wrote:

> Also, take the case of infants - they dream too, and
> sometime cry or laugh
> depending on what they seem to be perceiving in that
> early stage? While we
> cannot ask the infant and get answers on what they
> are dreaming and hope to
> correlate it to the real world, there should be no
> question that the infant
> has not had sufficient exposure to the real world
> for any dream to happen
> right? What is the source of the dream state
> activity for the infant. Saying
> it is because of "perception" of some sort from the
> womb of the mother is
> rather far fetched I think since one has not
> established what sort of
> perception can occur in the womb.

One vital aspect of dream that infants have is their
acute sense of smell and hearing. Just as a blind man
is well endowed with powers of smell and hearing,
small infants too have the same powers. They dream of
the sense of their mothers smell, the smell of their
mothers milk and the general smell of their immediate
environment. They also dream about sounds, including
what they may have heard when within the womb.

We have got instances in our puranas where mothers
recite the shastras to their babies within the wombs.
Even today expectant mothers are advised to attend
religious discourses.

Modern science of medicine similiarly encourages
pregnant women to listen to music, especially the
classical tunes. There are institutions now in the
west which try to educate the unborn child by
educating the mothers. I have seen a recent episode on
this subject on the TV channel "National Geographic"
and also read an article in the Indian journal, Life
Positive.

I would like to hear more on the subject from medical
practitioners on this list.

Regards
Jagannath