A student approached the teacher and requested that he may be taught to know the truths of this world. The teacher merely replied if you know all about yourself? He in turn replied whether there is anyone who does not know about oneself? The teacher further clarified that if you know what is this body and who is in the body, then you need know nothing. The student was surprised to hear it and said, “Can there by anyone else in the body?” The teacher began to explain the fact.
It is a fact that we all dream. We come across different types of dreams. Many would like to know the effect of the dreams but they do not try to find out how the dreams but they do not try to find out how the dreams occur and what effects it has on one’s mind and body. We may not be in a position to explain all about dreams here. We will do so in another book of ours.
Anyone who is in a state of dream is not in a state of full awareness. This fact is not known to the dreamer. He fully believes in whatever he sees, feels reacts in impulses through his senses in the state of his full awareness. Though in the dream the sequences are not logical and orderly he will not know it while dreaming. Only when he wakes up, he knows that he has been dreaming.
Many fair to the understand the fact that whatever is seen, heard, are all recorded in the sub-conscious mind in the same manner as they are in walking state. While a man develops fear while seeing a tiger in dream, the body at the same time undergoes all chemical and physical changes while seeing a tiger actually and he will be gripped with fear. When the dream is over he realises that it was only a dream and he does not fear. When narrating the dream he can narrate only from his memory.
This clearly shows that whatever a man sees in his dream gets deeply recorded in his sub-conscious mind, if he is an position to recall the dream. If a man daily gets in his dream the same dreadful acts, the fear complex in him will stay permanently. Based on this theory the spiritualists have been successfully causing good dreams to patients suffering from mental illness and have succeeded in curing them. The psychologists also follow the same principle in treating their patients.
As far as the dreamer is concerned what he has dreamt is true. He will enjoy the taste of thing or smell of a flower in dream as in the waking state. If he dreamt that he fought with a man he will demonstrate in waking state how he punched the other. Now let us see through which he saw the tiger in the dream-heard-punched through which hand. Unless he has seen a tiger, or smelt or fought with someone he will not be in a position to narrate the events. Once again these experiences occurring in the dream state, deeply get embedded in the sub-conscious mind what has happened.
Life itself is a lengthy dream according to our ancient seers. After one’s death, whatever has happened while he was alive appears like a dream. But the fact remains that whatever experiences that get recorded in the sub-conscious mind while alive will go with the subtler vehicles of man after death. The difference between dream and actual events is that, unwareness and fully conscious & aware. Sometime the similarity of the dream he was wonder struck! It is imperative that we study how the illusory aspects work in shaping major part of man’s life. We must try to channelise it towards the divine path and lead a divine life.
We can safely conclude that our first action is see through the mind’s eye, what we hear is through the mind’s car, what we fight is through mental organs. The real instrument that controls the five sensory organs is the mind. If the transformation of seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling and smelling does not take place in the mind, it cannot take place in the physical body. Therefore, it is the mind that acts through the medium of physical organs and sensory organs in a man and enables him to do what his mind desires.
One should know that like the physical body in humans they have a subtler body in the same shape. All the five sensory organs called the “Karma” Indriyas” function because of this subtler body. In the physical body the centre from which all energies radiate is the brain and the nerve centres and in the subtler body it is the mind. Man is, made up of physical body it is the mind. Man is, made up of physical body plus subtler body. To function or carryout his actions in this physical world, man has to have a physical body which is a covering of nerves and muscles. Just like the dummy horse appear to be functioning when the man donning it makes it move, the man’s physical body is made to function from the subtler body. If one cannot make the subtler body function, the physical body will not function. For e.g. if the subtler body’s hand does not move. This is applicable to each and every organ of man. All qualities, character and differentiation in man are not in the physical body, but they are in the sub-conscious mind of the subtler body of man. The names by which each human being is called is addressed to the subtler body only. The subtler body is the basic mould of a man on which the physical body materialises.
A man who moves and acts inside a dummy horse has to bear its weight and act according to the limitations of that dummy horse. He can carryout his normal movements and function freely only when he gets out of the dummy horse. Thus the dummy horse limits the function of a man. Similarly, as long as the subtler body remains in the physical body, its function are limited to the physical body. The man is however, unable to function separately from the subtler body. He sees through his physical eye and not through his subtler eye or mind’s eye. His hearing is limited to the hearing of the physical ear. He is unable to hear through his subtler ear. Although the subtler body is encased in the physical body, both are different. This is amply demonstrated when death occurs, the subtler body comes out of the physical body. The connection between the physical body and subtler body is not permanent. Knowing this fact and also how to leave the physical body, our seers slipped out of the physical body and were able to activite and use their subtler senses in them. They saw those realms that could not be seen by the physical eye, they heard sounds that could not be heard through the physical ear and similarly in respect of other physical sensory organs like smell, taste and touch. The power which enables one to see the physical and subtler thing is called “clairvoyance” (similarly Clair audience etc.) The art of leaving the physical body is called “Astral Travel”. Through Astral Travel one can visit the subtler worlds.
If one can see through the subtler eye by using the physical eye one can not only see physical or scientific aspect of a thing but also the subtler aspects. When we see only through the subtler eye we can see scientific aspects of subtler forces working and one can easily know the physical functioning of the object with little effort.
Take an object. First look at it through the physical eye. Close your eyes and direct the mind power in the forehead (eyebrow centre) where the “Agna chakra” is there. Activate it. If we see through the mind that object, we will see in the form of light the shape of the objects. Gradually if you stabilise your mind and try to see through the objects. You will se the subtler form of the objects. Similarly you can develop subtler senses of hearing, touching, smell etc., Meditation is the main requirement for this, but in addition to this one has to practice “Thrataka” and ability to concentrate on “Agnachakra.” To those who practice success is assured.
