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BRAHMANISM
2. the dreaming state, where the field is that of subtle bodies, self-luminous and magically fluid; and
3. the blissful state of dreamless deep sleep.
The second of these three was understood to be a glimpse into the subtle, supra- and infraterrestrial spheres of the gods and demons, which are within, as well as without; 21 a world no less unsatisfactory, however, than that of waking consciousness, because equally fraught with terror, suffering, delusory forms, and incessant change. There was little teinptation, consequently, to identify this sphere with that of perfect being. The blissful state of dreamless sleep, however, was different; for it was untroubled by the vicissitudes of consciousness and seemed to represent a perfect return of the life-force to its intrinsic state of “aloofness and isolation" (kaivalya), existence in and by itself. This appears to have been the conception of the goal held in the Sārkhya.22 And yet, discussions inevitably arose as to whether this state, which involves an abasement, or even complete annihilation, of consciousness, could really represent the ultimate ideal and condition of spiritual life.28
The sage Yājñavalkya, in a celebrated dialogue with his beloved wife Maitreyi, states that for the released and perfect knower there is no consciousness following death, because all pairs of opposites, all dual states, including that of the differentiation of subject and object, have then disappcared.
“When there is a duality, as it were, then one sees another; one smells another; one tastes another; one speaks to another; one hears another; one thinks of another; one touches another; one understands another. But when everything has become just one's own self, then whereby and whom would one see? whereby and whom would one smell? whereby and whom would one taste?
21 The heavens and hells were regarded as the macrocosmic counterpart of the realm that is entered in dream.
22 Cf. supra, p. 830. 28 Cf. Hume's index, under "sleep" (op. cit., p. 534).
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| SR No. | 007309 |
| Book Title | Philosophies of India |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Heinrich Zimmer, Joseph Campbell |
| Publisher | Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd |
| Publication Year | 1953 |
| Total Pages | 709 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 34 MB |