If the dream is untrue,
And the world is real,
Cannot the dream be true?
As the world is verily a myth.
In one’s thoughts,
Even so in wakefulness,
A wakefulness that is hazy,
Verily tends to be dreamy;
In my stubborn day’s slumber,
The moving Brahman
Is but AMMA in this
Vista of the obscure world..
And if the dream is unreal,
In my beautiful sleep,
The azure impressions,
Surrounding YOU,
That emanate from my,
Cherished personal experiences,
Are but dreams actualized,
In the transient world.
Verily the dreamy world
Is it a thought but an illusion?
In the day to day world, for the person who wakes up from sleep, the dream is distant and unreal. But for the very same person during his deep slumber, the very dream is a true experience, in that state of sleep.
Also as is often experienced, in such of those dreams prompted by divine visitation, when the choice god, which is AMMA appears and wherein indications are given to the individual, they tend to be true and by such fact, such rare dreams of divine direction to the devotee are but true.
Otherwise, for the ordinary uninitiated person, the world is real and all its lures and experiences are enticing, absorbing and so very true. If so, for a person who is so obsessed with worldly experiences and attractions, the so-called dream that he passes through in his sleep appears but true. Sounds very inconsistent, but it is a paradox of philosophical truth.
The existence in this world passes through three states that are choiceless; that being wakefulness, sleep and dream (conventionally termed as jagrat, sushupti, and swapna ). All the time, every one passes through these processes. Besides, the transition from one state to the other also does not appear to be within one’s control or awareness. Obviously, every living being undergoes these states with little exception.
In terms of our scriptures and orthodox wisdom, all physical phenomena of the world are but transient and passing (the vyakta), whereas the (avyaktha) Brahman, paramathma, the universal life force or satchidananda, the infinite bliss consciousness is permanent, eternal; and sources or causes all these phenomena of the world, that are entrapping the living beings always. Strangely the being does not realize that all these objects of the world are passing, temporal, transient and gets lost in their chase.
For the realized person, who attained the knowledge of Brahman, paramathma, or satchidananda (infinite bliss consciousness), the material objects of the world and related trappings are but passing with time and tend to give way no sooner and are not worth getting attached to. For such a person, the world and other earthly trappings are not to be obsessed with and are very much like an illusion; to the point that the world is considered an illusory dream by the knowing and many a seer. as cited by the ancients.
As a corollary to this premise, if the world is but an illusion and dream, the individual’s dreams too are but an illusion. The entire cyclical process of life is but an illusory dream. Again, this is a rare exception in the case of evolved and realized beings that emerged out of ignorance (avidya), who form a negligible minority in the world.
But for ordinary people, the world is real. Its excitement, enticement and appeal are all so engrossing and are consumed by the same. If so, for them the world is real, and very much a tangible, physical reality that cannot be ignored. Also bypassing the same is beyond one’s control. The lesser mortal is tossed in the world’s cares, concerns, attachments, attractions and goes through the agony, and probably the rare ecstasy. He is irretrievably caught in the turmoil of the senses and the stimuli of the instincts.
For such a person, pronouncing the word is unreal, illusory but a dream makes no meaning and is hardly acceptable. receptive or perceptible. Simply such countless beings who subsist in the world go about their mundane cares, concerns and attachments regardless of all higher values or awareness. The rare exception of the knowing or realized cannot be their precept that shall be heeded. If so, it is but compulsive that their concerns are heeded and their needs are fulfilled to enable them to move further towards truth and timeless values or eternal consciousness that is ever-lastingly true and permeates the whole world and the entire creation.
Viewed in this context of larger need, AMMA declared, “The world is real, the so-called myth is only a metamorphosis” meaning simply change that is not ordinarily appreciated. For the sake of the larger masses, SHE propounded the acceptance of the world as a reality and committed to address its anxieties and agony, faced by the general public; as this is the mass, gross day to day reality that cannot be brushed aside. In a way, this is the soothing motherly solace offered by AMMA to the larger masses.
Granting the gross reality of the world, the physical reality is verily true that cannot be denied: if so the dreams and aspirations of the individual are but true. But for persons who have come in close proximity to AMMA, the distant reality of Brahman is evident and accessible in AMMA
This is not all, the person’s dreams, aspirations and needs are also to be fulfilled only by AMMA. SHE summons the unknown, distant timeless truth too into the knowledge of the being by HER grace after fulfilling the temporal needs and easing out the worldly woes.
In such a situation, the world and the dreams of the beings are but true though thought of as temporal or transient in a higher philosophical sense; yet such lesser mortals preoccupied with the world too are within reach of the timeless truth by the benign grace of AMMA.
Blessed indeed are such a lot.
(Adapted from the book ‘ANUBHAVA SARAM’ by brother Mannava Butchiraju Sarma -song “Kala Kalaiyathe”)