[Advaita-l] Dream is not real, so is the waking - Say the Veda and Vedavyasa

[Sudhanshu Shekhar]

Namaste V Subramanian ji.

How exactly is deep sleep termed as dream?

Regards

On Tue, 12 Sept 2023, 15:36 V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Even if the object, person and events seen in a dream seem real at the
> time, on waking up it is known that they are not real. Vedanta takes this
> experience as an example and concludes that the samsara/bandha experienced
> in the waking is not real.
>
> In the Bhagavatam and Brahmasutras, Veda Vyasa has called dream as Mayika,
> illusory. The meaning of 'maayaa' as God's will, Ishwarecchaa, does not
> hold good here.
>
> Dream creation is by the jiva - Srimad Bhagavatam
>
> In this chapter of the Bhagavata, as an analogy for the Supreme Lord
> creating the world and entering into it, is said to be akin to the creation
> of the Jiva creating the dream by his mind out of his Avidya shakti:
>
> श्रीमद्भागवतपुराणम्/स्कन्धः १०/उत्तरार्धः/अध्यायः ८६
> https://sa.wikisource.org/s/v4e
>
> श्रुतदेव उवाच -
> नाद्य नो दर्शनं प्राप्तः परं परमपूरुषः ।
> यर्हीदं शक्तिभिः सृष्ट्वा प्रविष्टो ह्यात्मसत्तया ॥ ४४ ॥
> यथा शयानः पुरुषो मनसैवात्ममायया ।
> सृष्ट्वा लोकं परं स्वाप्नं अनुविश्यावभासते ॥ ४५ ॥
>
> Just as a sleeping man appears to have created the world with his own
> illusion (ignorance) and entered it, so the Supreme Lord dwells as if he
> has created this world with his magical power and entered it. From this
> illustration, the Srimad Bhagavatam reveals that the creation of the world
> and the entry of the Supreme Being into it is also illusory and not real.
>
> This premise is accepted only in Advaita alone.
>
> The Brahmasutra also says the same:
>
> मायामात्रं तु कार्त्स्न्येनानभिव्यक्तस्वरूपत्वात् ॥ ३ ॥ 3.2.3
>
> Shankara's commentary for the fact that the creation in a dream is
> illusory; not real:
>
> तुशब्दः पक्षं व्यावर्तयति । नैतदस्ति — यदुक्तम् , सन्ध्ये सृष्टिः
> पारमार्थिकीति ; मायैव सन्ध्ये सृष्टिः, न परमार्थगन्धोऽप्यस्ति ।
>
> सूचकश्च हि श्रुतेराचक्षते च तद्विदः ॥ ४ ॥ 3.2.4
>
> Upanishad and Shankara Bhasya passages on the creation of dream is by the
> jiva himself:
>
> श्रुत्यन्तरे ‘स्वयं विहत्य स्वयं निर्माय स्वेन भासा स्वेन ज्योतिषा
> प्रस्वपिति’ (बृ. उ. ४ । ३ । ९) इति जीवव्यापारश्रवणात् । इहापि ‘य एष
> सुप्तेषु जागर्ति’ (क. उ. २ । २ । ८) इति प्रसिद्धानुवादाज्जीव एवायं कामानां
> निर्माता सङ्कीर्त्यते । तस्य तु वाक्यशेषेण ‘तदेव शुक्रं तद्ब्रह्म’ इति
> जीवभावं व्यावर्त्य ब्रह्मभाव उपदिश्यते — ‘तत्त्वमसि’ (छा. उ. ६ । ९ । ४)
> इत्यादिवत् — इति न ब्रह्मप्रकरणं विरुध्यते ।
> Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: 4.3.9:
>
> स्वयं विहत्य स्वयं निर्माय स्वेन भासा स्वेन ज्योतिषा प्रस्वपित्यत्रायं
> पुरुषः स्वयं ज्योतिर्भवति ॥ ९ ॥
> Dhruva says:
>
> श्रीमद्भागवतपुराणम्/स्कन्धः ४/अध्यायः १२
> https://sa.wikisource.org/s/aw4
>
> मन्यमान इदं विश्वं मायारचितमात्मनि ।
> अविद्यारचितस्वप्नगन्धर्वनगरोपमम् ॥ १५ ॥
>
> Dhruva realizes that this world is imagined in him by the Maya power of
> Ishwara. He gives an illustration for this: Just as a dream, Gandharva
> nagara (a phantom city) is created by ignorance, so the world is created by
> the maya power of Ishwara.
> From this statement we know incidentally: The dream-creation is by the
> jiva, endowed with avidya.
>
> Even in the Garuda Purana, Veda Vyasa elaborately says that dream is
> illusory and unreal, the waking world is also the same. For this the
> Brihadaranyaka Upanishad gives the well-known illustration 'Chariot, horse,
> road - all imagined in a dream':
>
> यथा रथादयः स्वप्ने सन्तो नैव च सत्यतः ॥ १,२३६.३६ ॥
> तथा जाग्रदवस्थायां भूतानि न तु सन्निधौ ।
>
> Chariots, etc. seen in dreams are not real. Thus the objects of
> consciousness are not real ones. (Bru. Upa. न तत्र रथा, न रथयोगा, न पन्थानो
> भवन्त्यथ रथानरथयोगानप्तः सृजते ..the Advaita meaning of this famous mantra
> can be seen here in this Puranic verse.)
>
> द्वैरूप्यं मायया याति जाग्रत्स्वप्नपदज्ञ (क्ष) योः ॥ १,२३६.३७ ॥
>
> Objects take different forms in waking and dream (vasanamaya).
>
> एवमेतत्परं ब्रह्म स्वप्नजाग्रत्पदद्वये ।
> सुषुप्तमचलं रूपमद्वयं पदमुच्यते ॥ १,२३६.३८ ॥
>
> Similarly, Para Brahman takes different forms in the waking state.
>
> मायाविचारसिद्धैव विचारेण विलीयते ।
> आपातरहिता सापि कल्पनाकालवर्तिनी ॥ १,२३६.३९ ॥
>
> We believe things to be real without questioning that they are made of
> maya. By reflection it is evident that they are false: vicharena viparyeti.
> They exist only in our imagination.
>
> In the Srimad Bhagavatam, Yashoda marvels at the sight of the entire
> universe in the child Krishna's mouth and muses:
>
> ŚB 10.8.40
> किं स्वप्न एतदुत देवमाया
> किं वा मदीयो बत बुद्धिमोह: ।
> अथो अमुष्यैव ममार्भकस्य
> य: कश्चनौत्पत्तिक आत्मयोग: ॥ ४० ॥
>
> 'Is it a dream, God's Maayaa or my own imagination?' From this too we know
> that dreams are not real. Because as an analogy for impossible happenings
> in the world we say 'What, are you dreaming ?' There is very popular.
>
> The Upanishads themselves call the three states including sleep as the
> 'three dreams':
> Aitareya Upanishad:
>
> 1.3.12 त्रय आवसथाः त्रयः स्वप्नाः
>
> Thus in many places the Upanishads and the Puranas say that dreams are not
> real and by that example, the waking world is also not real.
>
> A short video in Kannada by the Puthige Mutt (Madhwa) Seer on dreams:
>
>
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kVxgL_63KUuGMpMHJrWaEpM5d88hCNVS/view?usp=sharing
>
> Om
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