.. ... .lucid.. dreams ... .... ...... .....

                                                                                                                                                                    Dr Ajay Jagtap

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              Once Chuang Tzu dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly  fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He was unaware that he was Chuang Tzu. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, the real  Chuang Tzu,in the flesh .But he didn't know if he was Chuang Tzu who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Chuang Tzu. Between Chuang Tzu and a butterfly there must be some distinction, isn’t it ?

              The above incident in Chuang Tzu’s life is nothing but an eternal question by which not only Chuang Tzu but every thinking soul has been puzzled about his own existence and perception of himself and the inner - outer world.How real is the reality  ? or Is this world really an illusion ?Dream  and sleep state play a significant  role in human life .The more we try to delve into its mysteries the more we get lost or rather absorbed into the abyss of Consciousness . And thus, these phenomena had always been an inspiration to our creativity ,be it a poetry ,music ,painting or even a scientific discovery.

              For instance , although the idea of ‘walking through someone’s dream’ as in the hit movie ‘Inception’ is fictional,and likely to remain so, Researchers at Yale University     (YU)have found that lucid dreamers can have a control over their dream thereby using  dreams as a tool to learn new skills .Its already been proven that people who practice task in dreams can be better at them in real life .Also, people who can control their dreams can use this unusual ability to experience a sense of Euphoria ,as if they have accomplished something. Lucid dreaming can improve a person’s social control & decision –making abilities . “We know that by engaging circuits in the brain we change its architecture”, says researcher Dr Peter Morgan (YU).Lucid dreamers can manipulate and can control parts of their brain to open up and learn while they are asleep.

              The above research is definitely a breakthrough  in the field of science,especially dealing with the dreams and sleep - a matter of great mystery .Though Human beings spend one-third of their  life in sleep ,very little is known about till date .Since time immemorial dreams  had been a subject of awe and wonder to poets ,artists , scientists ,spiritualists and mystics. Eastern philosophy and mysticism has unravelled its mysteries profoundly unlike their Western counterpart , until the advent of  Sigmund Freud and his ground-breaking work in the field of psychology .Indeed ,Freud’s revolutionary theories regarding dreams were stepping stone in the world of psychology .

            In contrast ,here’s an interesting pointer  from world of eastern  philosophy and science  on  Lucid dreaming–

svaPna anId```````a &anaalambanaM vaa ÈÈ

³patMjala yaaogasaU~ ¹ samaaiQa pad 1/38´

~ For Manasa-stithi-nibandhanam (tranquilizing of mind) give mind the support of  knowledge obtained in the dream state and sleep state.

          This is one among numerous pointers given by Mahamuni Patanjali in his authoritative treatise on Yoga - ‘ Patanjala Yoga Sutra’.Here ,Mahamuni prescribes  the sadhaka to meditate on the experience  attained in the dream state i.e, dreams as well as the sound (dreamless) sleep in order to sharpen their meditative skills. Patanjali and other Mystics advise sadhakas to meditate upon various blissful and ecstatic experiences encountered during sleep to deepen their level of consciousness .And  also to contemplate upon the ‘unconscious’ - sleep state,which is devoid of dreams .If possible, this deep (dreamless) sleep state can be a gateway to the realm of infinite consciousness . The prime motif of Yoga and Tantra is to get absorbed into Cosmic Consciousness thereby leaving no trace of duality . And for that matter, both these sciences have developed various meditative techniques. Of course ,Lucid dreaming is one such technique which comes by practice but again it’s not the sole trick to tranquil the mischievous mind.   

( A lucid dream, in simplest terms, is a dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. The term was coined by the Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik van Eeden (1860–1932). )  .                                        

                      

                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                       

           

                           

        

  

About Beggars ?

The modus operandi of the beggars is so predictable,they are often seen at specific locations/public places like outside temples or any place of worship,traffic signals,nearby eatery and so on;deployed in encashing the peoples so-called compassion & sentiments,nonetheless this stands out to be yet another established lucrative business. Life is funny or should i say a mysery ???

Day by day...

With every passing day,I am rest assured that there is indeed no need/existence of (Personal) God,nor does this belief plays any key role in our lives; Nature has its own course ,it flows in its characteristic fashion,needlessly docile and obedient to Divine Authority or Almighty up above the sky,within -without or anywhere for that matter.Things just happen -one event leading to another and so on.Anyways Whats so interesting in our petty mundane affairs that needs any Divine intervention or Attention ? Silly!

'स्व ~ सर्व '

'सर्व ' की गरिमा ' स्व ' के अस्तित्व तक ही सीमित है l
जब 'स्व' ही नहीं तोह यह 'सर्व' का भाव भी शेष नहीं रहता l
सारा 'परम' फिर केवल एक कल्पना रह जाती है l
'स्व' का अविष्कार ही 'सर्व' है l
वास्तव कुछ और ही है l
जिसने जाना उसीने पहचाना ll

'चेहरा'

कहते है 'चेहरा' कुछ और नहीं बल्कि एक 'पहचान' है ,
जैसे गीतकार की पहचान उसका गीत है ,
जैसे कवी की पहचान उसका काव्य है ,
नदी की पहचान उसका बहाव है,
मेरा भी एक चेहरा है ,मेरी भी एक पहचान है l
मेरा चेहरा कुछ और नहीं ,
पल - प्रतिपल तुम्हारा ही स्मरण है ,
तुम्हारे ही नाम का नित्य सुमिरण है ,
केवल तुम्हारे ही अस्तित्व का प्रतिबिंब है l

- अजेय ll

Art from the heART

Sri Gajanan Maharaj

Sri Gajanan Maharaj

The Hypothetical Self

        Ultimately Religion or Spirituality doesn't exclusively exist .By and large it is an extrapolation  or an extract  of the physical world may be in a subtler way.
        Like for example the relation between the center and circumference is interdependent.As long as there is center there lies the circumference and vice versa. In similar fashion ,the so-called self/spirit and its fabric - body relatively exists.
       The Self being the center and thereby the body,thus so on and so forth the perceptible world being its circumference.Self exist as long as Body or the physical knowledge exists.In absence of the one the other obviously cease to exist.Thus when the two exist it is the realm of 'Duality' and when one vanishes making other also to vanish- it is 'Nondualism' or 'Monism '.
       So,it is questionable as to whether or not there is any individual Self existing.No,technically there is no such individual self thereby ruling out any possibility of Self-Realization or Self-Knowledge (Atma-Saakshatkaar or Atma Gyan). Say,during sleep neither there is any 'Self' aware of itself being asleep nor aware of the physique and physical world.Here there is no center nor any periphery ,ruling out any existence of inner and outer world.Also,if any possibility of heightened awareness or higher degree of consciousness is considered to be true,where the Self is realized ,that again would be a totally sophistic statement to be consider as valid.
       All the spiritual practice is nothing but an urge and means to satisfy the mundane needs.The Spirit doesn't exists hence essentially it is called as Spirit.Just like the volatile aqueous solution Spirit vaporises on exposure to air , in the same way the Spirit cease to exist without the body . As long as the body is intact,that vital principle can be arbitrarily  termed as an 'Entity', as 'Spirit'.Thats it !
       In the physical world it is possible for one to come face to face with somebody else but as far as oneself is considered it is next to impossible to acknowledge ourselves.At the most we can perceive our image in the mirror but coming face to face with ones own self is impossible.Our eyes can see the whole but can it see itself ?, NO ! Reflections are different from the very thing,the Subject.Like we say 'The map is not the territory',we can map the consciousness at the most but can never understand it in real sense.
      Just like when you go on peeling an onion what you are left with is 'Nothing' ,such is the case of our tryst with gaining knowledge about the non-existent self.Ultimately we are left with 'No-thing' to be acknowledged  as 'Self' ; and that which is labelled as 'Self ' is merely  a superimposition of our 'EGO' , a convenient label ,a despicable tag.

Science

1. Science alike Religion has its own pros and cons,both are available for those who can afford its fruits.
2. Scientific enquiry is essential with respect to its field,but as far as day to day life is concerned it is the 'belief' that makes world go round.
3. Does actions have any fundamental 'cause and effect' value ? No not actually.Our perceptions make us infer so.Life has no blueprint,so at a given time and place what we do is relate and interpret an incident from point 'A' to point 'B' to come to a specific conclusion and thereby establish this theory.What we are dealing with is just a part -a very well selected part-a logical part to claim our theory.
4. It is our linear thinking which is the quintessential ingredient in gathering knowledge of the universe within and without.But in fact there's lot more going in this uni/multiverse.It has a multi -dimensional aspect which is beyond our grasp.