THE ROOT IGNORANCE
There cannot be any dream, without entering into sleep. Otherwise, it will be a continuation of the same waking state, extended to the night as well. The total darkness of sleep is the screen on which the dream drama is projected.
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The dream is an intermediate state between waking and deep sleep. Dreams occur to everyone, perhaps every day. In the waking state, the gross world, body and mind, are clearly experienced. In deep sleep, none of these three are cognized. In dreams, all the three are there but like shadows.
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Causation, space and time are also there in the dream. But they have a different texture as compared to the waking state, even though the illusion of similarity-of persons, scenes, objects and occurrences–is positively felt. We have therefore to look deeply into these three experiential states. We need moreover to stay with each state, unmoved, till it reveals its true nature. This is a must for all seekers. Only, before venturing on this inner expedition, we should have the faith that this is truly a spiritual exercise.
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What is the waking state? Look deeply. Find out what is its basis and on what it is projected. As we already saw, the total darkness of sleep is the ground on which dreams are projected. Bhagavan says, “Total ignorance is the screen on which the waking drama is enacted,” and the deepest, strongest and heaviest root-ignorance, is the ‘I am the body’ idea. “Has any one seen the world without having a body?” questions Bhagavan.
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The vital difference between waking and deep sleep is that, whereas consciousness of the subject, objects and the world is present in the former, it is totally absent in the latter. Hence, in deep sleep, the feeling of darkness or nothingness dominates. While it is the feeling of brightness or seeing everything that dominates in the waking state.
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In deep sleep, though consciousness of objects is absent, the truth of our being as Awareness is there. The deep sleep state, thus, goes to prove that there is a satyasya satyam, a supreme Truth, beyond the object-ridden, waking state’s consciousness.
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When we pay attention to deep sleep, where consciousness is fully absent, we experience that we are still alive as Being-Awareness. We thus wake up through our own experience, to the existence of this truth of Being-Awareness. This Being-Awareness is the eternal reality, the real screen, on which the drama of the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep, come and go.
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Not knowing this, that is, not being the Being, is the root ignorance on which the waking dream is projected. Bhagavan teaches us that if we wake up from this dream of root ignorance which we presume to be the waking state, that is mukti, freedom. Once thus awakened, we are forever as ‘I AM’, in the now.
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