The nature of the world

Shloka 33

Meaning: A person who is enjoying a kingdom in the dream does not get upset after waking up and does not cry saying,  ‘Oh! I have been dethroned and I have lost my kingdom.’ Also, a person who had committed an immoral act in the dream including an illicit relationship does not feel guilty after waking up. Similarly, a person who had realized that his/her true identity is Atman (Pure Consciousness) which is the Witness Consciousness, remains unattached to the joys and sorrows of one’s body and mind. Remaining merged into Pure Consciousness, he/she does not do anything wrong and realizes that the joys and sorrows of the waking state are not different from those of the dream state.

Reflection:

The central message of the examples:

By giving examples, this shloka tries to describe the state of the mind of a realized person or a free soul (Jivanmukta). Examples can be looked at from various angles. Whenever examples are given, we have to be careful not to misinterpret them and take the wrong meanings. Rather, we must make efforts to understand the essential message lying behind the examples. 

First, we have to be clear about one thing: this shloka is NOT teaching that a realized person can do anything immoral in the waking state and does not feel guilty about it. A realized person gets established first in ‘sattva’ and then goes beyond the three gunas. A sattvika person is pure, follows the moral commands of the scriptures, has total self-control, and does not let his/her mind go down to do anything immoral or unethical, or harmful thing. Sri Ramakrishna said that a realized person is like an expert dancer who never makes a false step or an expert tabla player who never goes out of rhythm. 

A spiritual seeker who has not yet realized Atman may make mistakes because of past habits and lack of self-control. But, such a seeker accepts one’s mistakes, asks God for forgiveness, and makes all efforts not to repeat these mistakes.  Such a seeker knows very well that until he/she is established in sattva or purity and has total self-control he/she is not going to realize Atman.

The combination of the divine and the human:

A realized person understands that everything is in the mind. There are no joys and sorrows in worldly objects. According to one’s attachment and hatred, one projects joys and sorrows in the objects and situations of the world.

We also find that the realized beings have love and feel like other human beings. We don’t have authentic details of most realized people’s lives. From Ramayana, we know how Sri Rama cried for Sitaji and missed her. Thanks to the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda for keeping authentic information about their lives. From that, we know how the realized people’s minds on the one hand remained absorbed in God-consciousness, and on the other hand, they live a normal human life. Sri Ramakrishna cried when his nephew Akshay passed away at a young age. In the ecstasy, Sri Ramakrishna found that death is nothing more than going from one state to another, but in the normal plane, he missed him. Holy other cried profusely when Sri Ramakrishna passed away. Swami Vivekananda had cried for his brother disciple. Thus, we know that the realized beings do not see any difference between the reality of the waking state and the reality of the dream state, but still, they are sensitive about the joys and sorrows of the world just like normal human beings.

Realized person and his/her actions:

The scriptures say that the Jivanmukta’s (or the realized person’s) all actions get destroyed.

For example, Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (4.37) says,

“As the blazing fire burns all the woods to ashes, the fire of Knowledge destroys all the actions of the knowledgeable person.”

Brahma Sutras says the same thing based on the scriptures. 

“The scriptures have declared that on the attainment of Brahman, all the sins of the past life get destroyed and the future sins do not cling to the person.”

Shri Ramakrishna said that if there is the slightest worldly desire or ego, one cannot realize Brahman. When there is no ego, there is no doer-ship of any action, and no desire to attain any worldly thing. The Pure Atman or Brahman works through the body and mind of a realized person.  A realized person’s all desires have been fulfilled and have attained the highest state that one can attain in one’s life. Such a person works only to maintain one’s body and to serve humanity.  He/she continues to work in society to set up an example and for the purpose of guiding others.   

In the Bhagavad Gita (3.22 and 23), Shri Krishna says,

“O Partha! I have no duty in the world. There is nothing in the three worlds that I have not gained and nothing that I have to gain. Yet, I continue to work.  People are following my example. If I don’t work constantly and carefully, I will be misguiding them.”

Shloka 34

Meaning: All that is experienced in the dream, either good or bad, is false when a person wakes up. On the other hand, whatever has been done by the gross body of a person in the waking state does not help the person in his/her dream state.  Thus, the experiences and actions we perform in the waking state are false or useless in the dream state and vice versa. This shows that the Atman, the Witness Consciousness, which illumines everything in the waking as well as in the dream state, is the only Reality.  It is amazing that ignorant people do not understand this fact and cling to the objects of the world thinking them as real.    

Reflection:

The dream and waking states:

First, we note that the dream state and the waking state are disconnected.

It is very clear that the money we have earned in the dream cannot pay the bills of the waking state. On the other hand, no amount of money lying in the bank can help us if we dream that we are penniless beggars.

If we are sick in the dream, then we have to call a dream ambulance by dialing 911 on a dream phone. On the other hand, if we are sick in the waking state, then a dream doctor will not be helpful. We need a waking state doctor.

The question is: “Which state is real: the dream state or the waking state?” 

Is the dream state real?

It is very easy to understand that the dream state is not real because of the following reasons:

(i) When we wake up all the things of the dream vanish.

(ii) Nothing of the dream state is helpful to us in the waking state.

(iii) There is no connection and continuity in the dream states. The two dream states are totally unrelated and the second dream does not start where the first dream ended.

(iv) We hardly see the same people of one dream in the next dream. Suppose we see them in the next dream, their responses are not aligned with theirs of the previous dream. For example, in the waking state, if a friend borrows a book from me today and says, ‘I will return it to you tomorrow’, then on the next day the same friend returns the book to me. Such a thing does not happen in the dream state.   

Is the waking state real?

Now, the question is: “Why the waking state is not real?” It is a little difficult to understand this.

First, let us think about ‘What we mean by ‘Real’?’   

(i) Real does not change. The thing that is not real undergoes changes. For example: if we buy a gold-plated ornament thinking that it is a golden one, then after some time when the coating of the gold fades out or wears out, then the real metal shines forth.

(ii) Real is always present. Past becomes a dream and the future is an imagination.

(iii) Real destroys all the doubts.

(iv) Real is not a combination of things. A thing made of two substances will be destroyed when these two substances separate from each other. Real is just one entity that is eternal and unchanging.

We will examine these four points for the waking state.

(i) Is our waking state changeless?  The answer is ‘no’. First, everything around us keeps constantly changing. Our bodies and mind are constantly changing. The world is constantly changing. This is the nature of the universe. For a young person, childhood looks like a dream, and for an elderly person, the youth state looks like a dream. For the new generation, the older generation looks like a dream. Thus, nothing is permanent in the waking state.

Second, what we perceive through our senses is not real either. We perceive that the sky is blue, but we go up in space and realize that it has no color. Similarly, ocean water looks blue or green, but when we take the water in our hands, we find that it has no color. We all know that the mirage is not real water, but we perceive it as real.

The wise people say that what we perceive through our minds is also not real.  We project joys and sorrows or various qualities in the objects and people of the world and then we perceive the same as real. Sri Ramakrishna said that a camel chews thorny bushes, blood comes out of its mouth and the camel thinks that the juice is from the bushes. Therefore, when our perception of our mind changes, the joys and sorrows, and the qualities in the objects and the people of the world also changes.  This shows that nothing is permanent in the world. People die and they disappear. The objects of the world get destroyed and they no longer exist.

(ii, iii, and iv): We will think about these three points together. The Rishis or the realized souls told us through the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita that there is only One Existence or One Reality, called Ataman or Brahman, which is permanent behind all the changes of the body and mind and the universe. Brahman is the only Reality, and It appears as various names and forms filled with qualities. There are various golden ornaments having different shapes, names, and forms, but gold is the only Reality behind all of them. Thus, everywhere Brahman was in the past, Brahman is at present, and Brahman will be in the future. Realized souls experience that Brahman is the only Reality that ever exists and there is nothing else.

Mundakopanishad (2.2.8) says, “When Brahman, which is both high and low, is realized, then the bondages of the hearts get destroyed, all doubts are resolved, and all actions cease to bear fruits.”

Thus, we must wake up from the waking state. When we spiritually rise within, we recognize and experience Brahman as the Ultimate Reality behind this ever-changing world consisting of names, forms, and qualities. Finally, when the ignorance of being a separate entity from Brahman gets destroyed, one gets merged into Brahman. That is the stage of Samadhi that Sri Ramakrishna experienced often and has been witnessed by many. Rishis and many saints had the same experience. At that time, one realizes that the waking state was also a dream state of a different kind.

The Shloka 34 of the Shatashloki says, ‘It is amazing that ignorant people do not understand this fact and cling to the objects of the world thinking them as real.’ Kathopanishad explains why that is the case. It says:

Kathopanishad (1.3.12): “The Self hidden in all beings does not shine forth, but It is seen by people endowed with keen introspection and they see It through their one-pointed and subtle intellect.”

To develop this one-pointed subtle intellect one needs to do spiritual practices and receive the grace of Brahman. It is difficult, but not impossible. May we all realize Brahman and make our life blessed.