[Advaita-l] Sleep, tamas and brahman

[Kalyan]

 Namaste Sri Venkatraghavan ji
I have no disagreements with you. Just one clarification: I was talking from vyavahara. I am not liberated right now in waking and dream states- is from vyavahara. I am eternally liberated - is paramArtha. 
RegardsKalyan
    On Thursday, May 3, 2018, 2:49:53 PM GMT+5:30, Venkatraghavan S <agnimile at gmail.com> wrote:  
 
 Namaste Kalyan ji,

//Ultimately, I am assuming that we are studying this so that one can be liberated, and from that perspective, if your stand leads you to believe you are already liberated (because you experience that freedom in deep sleep and understand that to be your true nature), that would be a fantastic outcome. There is nothing more to be done.//
(1) I am liberated only in deep sleep currently. The idea is to get liberated in all the other states too. 
(2) //However, if that stand leads you to believe that one ought to permanently experience the freedom of deep sleep in order to be liberated//
This is not possible, so this is not my stand. 

 (1) above is the wrong understanding that stems from this stand. The direct consequence of the stand that "the Atma in deep sleep is free from ignorance" is that one tends to believe one is free only in the deep state - whereas the purpose of the teaching is to say that the nature of Atma is freedom from ignorance. And the nature of something never varies. Thus what is experienced in deep sleep, is  the nature of Atma always. You are always liberated.
The failure to realise this leads one to hanker after the experience of freedom (2), as opposed to owning up to that freedom as one's own nature. Once that is owned up, the idea of 'getting' liberated in other states can be given up, for one understands that one is forever liberated.  Kind regards,Venkatraghavan