Symbols of the world's religions

               

DREAMS

Part One

Meher Baba

 
As you know, dreams prove to us (when we awake) that we were asleep, and the dreams in the awake state are remembered (i.e. seen). So the Realized Mind, when becoming limited mind, remembers, i.e. sees, the planes and their manifestations; when we are awake, whenever we wish to remember our dreams, we have [to] think over it and the dream is there. So for a Realized Mind in Its limited state, It has to think of the planes and there1 they are, exact and actual before Its eyes.

Footnote 1: "There" emends "their" in the original text.

The Infinite Mind's returning (from the Unlimited to the limited) to Its finite state passes through this dream (the seven planes and its1 manifestations), and this dream state is termed "the Divine Dream state" or the Turiyaa Avasthaa!2

And now we will explain in short the sleep, dream, and awake states3, by which this will be clear; because the mind's ordinary working state, its passing through the planes (through concentration), and its extraordinary Stopped State all correspond to the sleep, dream and awake states4.

Footnote 1: "Its" refers to the phrase "seven planes" which are conceived as a single entity. Cf. p. 25 note 2. See also p. 24, where the manifestations of the planes are mentioned (pp. 24-25 not included in this listserv post).

Footnote 2: (Gujarati word) Turiyaa Avasthaa means, literally, the "fourth state."

Footnote 3: "States" emends "state" in the original text.

Footnote 4: "States" again emends "state" in the original text.


                    DIAGRAM

         Real        (5)    Divine Awakening,
                      |      i.e. Sound Sleep
         Real        (4)    Divine Dream,
                      |      Turiyaa1, i.e.
                      |      the seven planes 
                      |      and their manifestations
                     (3)    ordinary sound sleep
                      |                                 
        False        (2)    ordinary dream
                      |
        False        (1)    ordinary awake state

Footnote 1 to Diagram: (Gujarati word) Turiyaa, the "fourth" state.

When mind from the awakening state (no. 11) enters the sleep state (no. 3), he2 has to pass through the dream state (no. 2), which is in the middle state. In this dream state (the middle of (1) and (3)), some of the 1 (awake) [state] and some of the 3 (sleep) [state] is experienced. And when the pulling of the awake state is more (i.e. when the mind is in the awake state, [when] without rest [it] is entangled much in worldly affairs), and [when the pulling] of sleep (i.e. mind to stop, rest, and forget worldly affairs) [is] less, it remains in dream more accordingly, and so the dream is remembered. But when the pulling of the awake state is less and of sleep more, it remains less in the dream state accordingly, and so one does not remember the dream; and sometimes [it] does not even know that it has been in the dream state (although before acquiring the sound sleep state it must pass through the dream state).

Footnote 1: This and other state numbers refers to the diagram on p. 29 [of Meher Baba's original manuscript — reproduced here].

Footnote 2: "He" refers to the "mind."

And if the pulling of the awake state (no. 1) is continual, it remains in the dream state only and does not reach the state of sound sleep, but returns to the awake state without going to the sound sleep state at all.

(Remark: [this case is similar to that of] yogis stuck1 in the planes and not reaching the Spirit to realize Self, i.e. Sound Sleep.)

Footnote 1: (Gujarati word) atkaylaa connotes being obstructed or thwarted and thus blocked.

On entering the sound sleep state and whilst remaining there, it [mind] experiences nothing, and whilst returning from the sound sleep state to the awakening state, if the pulling of sound sleep is more (and this generally does happen, it having just returned from sound sleep), it [mind] remains in the dream state longer and so remembers it [the dream]. And if the pulling of sound sleep is less (this happens in the case of those who remain longer in the dream state1 and less whilst in the sound sleep state2) and [if] that [i.e. the pulling] of the awakening [is] more, it remains not long in the dream state. This [is] all about the ordinary mind.

Footnote 1: Baba seems to be referring here to those persons who remained longer in the dream state when they were moving from the awake to the sound sleep state; since they remained in the dream state longer then, now, as they progress back from sound sleep to wakefulness, they remain in the dream state less. Rewritten to express this interpretation, the clause in parentheses would read: "this happens in the case of those who, whilst [moving from the awake state to the sound sleep state,] remained longer in the dream state and less in the sound sleep state..."

Footnote 2: This emendation "whilst in the sound sleep state" normalizes the word order, which in the original text reads: "in the sound sleep state whilst..."

Continued tomorrow...

 

IN GOD'S HAND, pp. 81-89, ed. Ward Parks
[Referring to pages 27-32 of Meher Baba's Manuscript]
2000 © Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust

               

 Dreams | Anthology | Eternal Beloved | Avatar Meher Baba | HeartMind | Search