“Do you Dream Prabhu?”
“Yes”
“Are the Dreams that you see, real?”
“Of course, NOT”
“Why do you say so?”
“Because they are just my imaginations. During sleep, my mind cooks these up and
presents them back to my mind and awareness.
When I wake up, they are gone.”
“Hmmm, big word - Awareness, we will deal with it
later. For now, let us focus on the dreams.
Are you saying dreams are false then?”
“Obviously, they are not real, they do not really exist.
Ergo, they are false.”
“Let us double click.
If dreams do not exist, what is that you saw during your sleep? The trees, houses, friends and foes that
appeared. How did they appear”
“I see what you are getting at. They did exist in my mind as thought and
dream”
“If you were not there as the foundation, would they have
existed?”
“No. My dreams can’t exist unless I exist. My mind is the
reality gives them the foundation to exists”
“So, what are the dreams made up of?”
“They are my mind-stuff that they are made up of. My thoughts, memories, fears, imaginations,
creativity that are somehow projected into a screen of some sort and appears as
our dream world”
“Essentially – you. Right?”
“Yes”
“So, Prabhu, in summary you are saying – You are real and
the dreams that you see are not real.
But they are not non-existent, because they exist, during your sleep, as
your mind-stuff. Essentially your dreams
are you, and they exist because you do.”
“Hmmm, I suppose.
But still dream is illusory, it is not real. Isn’t this illusory world called
Prätibhäshika?”
“Illusory and unreal, perhaps. But not existent? Surely not. Because they appear
upon foundation of you as the person, who is an empirical reality. What I mean Prabhu, is that if we consider you to be an observed reality, that the dreams
exist on that you. You are the foundation.”
“Perhaps. But that helps, how?”
“Well, this example lends itself to extrapolation into the
relation between our objective or empirical reality, vyävahärika to absolute
reality, the päramärthika.”
“Explain.”
“Our scriptures describe the ultimate Truth in several
different ways, such as – Brahma Satyam, Jagat Mithya; Aham Brahamasmi; Tat
Tvam Asi etc. all of which point to the same concept of Oneness of Reality. The fundamental Reality is just One, the
Nirguna or attribute-less Brahman. The Jagat or the observable/objective creation that we see and feel and are a part of, is a appearance in Brahman. Maya, a power intrinsic to Brahman, is the
screen, upon which Jagat appears and we perceive as our objectivity reality.”
“Deep. And what you are saying is that since Jagat
is an appearance in Brahman, it is not an absolutely reality like Brahman, but nor
is it Non-existence. It is a kind of dream like appearance, that is neither
real nor unreal. Perhaps that is what is
meant by Jagat is Mithya!.”
“Indeed. Let us dig
deeper. What is Jagat ‘made up of’?”
“Well, if my dreams are essentially me, as we had
established earlier. The Jagat, as appearance
within Brahman, must be ‘made up of’ Brahman itself?”
“Right you are. That
is what is meant when Jagat is described as Chin Maatra à Consciousness Alone à Brahman Alone. In the Jagat it is the same Brahman that
appears as the Ishwara. One who we know as our Lord Sri Krishna, our Lord Rama,
our Lord Shiva and in some many other names.”
“Ok, I get what you say.
But how do I realize if it is True or just Words. Am I expected to just take your word for it?”
“No. As Swami Vivekananda had said, Truth must be realized. Bhagavad Gita has given three paths to realize truth. Follow any one of them or follow all of them. They all lead to the same realization- The Oneness of Brahman."
That, however, is a discussion for another day!
Hare Krishna
