The Nature of Dreams...

[Gauracandra]

Is there a Vedic view of dreams? Personally I have no problem in believing that dreams reveal something about the current situation of the dreamer. I've personally had dreams, which upon introspection, have revealed personal struggles and feelings etc.... I have also had dreams which have incorporated aspects of experiences I have had that day etc.... So to me, I don't think it unreasonable that in a very fluid, free form sort of way, dreams can reveal some truth to the dreamer, which if he were awake he may be unwilling to confront and accept. I know there are books that claim they can "interpret" your dreams, but I tend to think of these as "new age nonsense" along with "pop astrology" etc... So is there a Vedic view of dreams? Is it considered some sort of heightened sense of reality? Curious dreamers want to know

 

Gauracandra

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

There is a Vedic science focusing on the interpretation of dreams and omens. We find throughout the Puranas, Mahabharata and Ramayana references are made to such things. For example Ravana has a dream that he is riding backwards on a donkey, and this indicates something terrible is going to happen to him. In theMahabharata we have many mentionings of omens, such as the howling of jackals, etc., which indicate various things. These omens are not in dreams, but in the real world. The great saint and father of Vyasadeva, Parashara Muni, has written explaining the science behind these omens and dreams. For example if while leaving to start something, if you see someone carrying an empty pot, it is an inauspicious sign, whereas a full pot of water is auspicious. Or if a funeral procession is walking towards you and past you, it is auspicious. These are just very general examples, but Parashara goes into great detail.

 

There are different types of dreams that one may have, and these ultimately depend on the level of consiousness one has. If one is very ignorant, and if one sleeps too much, his dreams will have no meaning at all. It will just be a combination of thoughts and experiences mixed together. For example, in the day time I may see a goat, and I may see some gold. In the night I will dream of a golden goat. It is just the combination of experiences from the wakeful state. Such dreams have no value. They are produced from the mode of ignorance. Generally in this type of dream one sees things from the angle of a video camera. You can see yourself "down there" walking around and doing whatever you are doing. You are not seeing as though you are within your body - through the eyes, but you are seeing from a distance, and your entire body is within the scene.

 

Another type of dream occurs very early in the morning, around 2 a.m. Dreams that occur during this time have a greater chance of being "real" dreams, or dreams that foretell something. In this type of dream you see as you do in your wakeful state - out through your eyes. You can't see your body, or your face, but if you put your hands in front of your face you will see them. In other words you are "within" your body. In this type of dream it is not just a combination of thoughts, it is the subtle body actually acting and moving on the subtle plane of existence. You will notice that the experiences on this plane are as real as in the wakeful state. Since we have no experience or practice to interact on that realm, we don't get anything done and just end up waking up and forgetting what happened. It is possible to travel to other places, interact with other worlds, or even enter into other peoples bodies. But all of this requires one to possess siddhis, or perfection over such activities. Shankaracharya once used one such siddhi to enter the body of a king. Siddhis can be obtained either through mantra, tapasya or meditation. Basically it comes back to your level of consciousness. If your consciousness is elevated, you will be able to experience the subtle plane of existence as a reality.

 

There is a third type of dream which also occurs around 2 a.m. in which things can be foretold. I have not studied this category of dream very much, so I cannot say what is the connection with it and reality, how the dream foretells events, what the mechanics behind it are, etc. But Parashara explains many different varieties of dreams and general symbols one experiences, such as snakes, elephants, etc. I have not studied this in detail, but I would conclude these dreams are not just a combination of thoughts. Most probably they occur in a subtle realm, in which such informations as future/distant events may flow more freely than in the physical realm. Thus the subconscious may be able to "receive" raw data and convert it into a symbolic dream. One such dream which everyone has is the dream where one has no clothes. Parashara says this is an auspicious dream and it indicates some good event. Another dream which is perhaps more rare is the dream of eating stool (I certainly haven't had that one yet). Parashara says if you dream of eating stool you will be crowned as the king. Like this there are a number of general categories of these dreams which are innumerated.

 

Of course, we need to draw a distinction between this and the new age stuff going around now. Most of what goes on in the name of the "new age" is just a bunch of whackos and money-makers. All we gotta do is tune our dreams into the mothership, if ya know what I mean. Actually I don't have a clue what you mean.

 

If someone is really interested in interpreting his dreams, or controlling them, then he should do a number of things. First you should raise your consciousness to the level of sattva-guna (goodness). Oh is that all! That's a sinch.

 

Only when our consciousness is purified can we actually be conscious. It is something like the Paramatma in the heart, but on a lower material plane. The Paramatma is constantly speakng to all of us, but because our mind is focused externally we can not hear Him. In a similar way, there is a whole world going on around us on the mental plane of existence which we don't know is there. If we turn our senses from the external to the internal we will start to experience that realm. Hear the internal sounds, see the internal visions, experience the internal thoughts. These are the ABC's of meditation on the mechanical level. Anyway, we won't get into that or we will go way off topic, which we already are.

 

Back to dreams. Purify your mind and consiousness. The simple process of:

 

"Purity, humility, freedom from duplicity.

You can't learn this in the university."

(Swami Shivananda of Rishikesh)

 

Second, sleep early, wake early. Early to bed, early to rise. Early to rise means 4 a.m. The "real" dreams occur around 2 a.m. If you sleep late in the morning, those thoughts will be covered too deep to remember.

 

Third, keep a dream diary. Every morning, as soon as you get up (at 4 a.m.) reach for your notebook and start writing the dream you just had with as much detail as possible. Don't wash your face before writing. Once water touches your face the memory of the dream will be broken.

 

[nitai]

Another tip for when you are going to write down your dream, when you wake, do not move immediately, but just lay there for a minute thinking about your dream.

 

Where can one read what Parashara Muni wrote Jndas Prabhu? Is it available in hindi or is in available in sanskrit only. (English would also be nice