Interpreting Dreams

Last night I dreamnt that I was a Prince of a prosperous kingdom. Apart from great wealth and power at my disposition, I was endowed with good looks and a strong body. I was good in royal sports like horse riding, sword fighting and archery. When I was 18 years old, I read the story of Prince Siddartha (Later Buddha) and although, I was not denied meeting the common man, I realized that I did not have much idea about the daily struggles of life. So along with my aides and some royal guards, I set out on a journey to explore and find out some answers. I wanted to learn how it was to live like a common man. 

On the 3rd day of my tour, we started climbing a small mountain range and had estimated that by sunset we should reach the village on the other side  of the mountain. But an overflowing river delayed us and we were forced to halt mid-way and spend the night in open. On this night, I dreamnt that I was a poor farmer and life had always been very difficult for me. By my princely standards, this life felt like a nightmare and as a result of the fight between my conscious and sub-conscious mind, I woke up with a jolt. And was so relieved to discover that I was still a prince. After many days I returned to the palace and on one particular day while practicing sword fighting, I got hurt badly. The pain actually woke me up and I realized that I am yours truly, an ordinary blogger.

I am not Sigmund Freud who has written elaborately on interpreting dreams. But in my own capacity, I decided to analyze this dream phenomenon and relate it to our real world.

But what is 'real' is the question. I felt as lively and as emotional as a Prince or as a farmer. So could it be that this life is a dream too? If I could dream within a dream; could it be possible that someone (may be God) is dreaming this life which I consider real? Scientifically, we cannot rule that out. 

Which life is real, the first dream, when I am a prince, the second dream when I am a farmer or the third dream that I am living each day and consider it as reality. In reality this could be a dream of God. 

After doing some reading, introspection, analysis and applying my faith, I believe that dreams are reflections of disordered purposeless thinking. All dreams signify the state of one's consciousness. Do not try and decipher the meaning of every dream. It probably symbolizes your mental state and hence we must adjust our waking thoughts and actions to improve our dreams. Dreams are at most a feedback mechanism and therefore can be effectively used to improve our conscious(waking) state.

If we conclude that this earthly experience is a cosmic dream, then does it allow us to be complacent in our life? Does it call for inaction? A BIG NO. In this cosmic drama we have a role to play and we must do our job to the best of our ability. Like the smallest part in a mammoth machinery has its importance, so is our part important in this big cosmic machinery. We have a role to play and we must play it well.

This is a place where we are supposed to have fun while learning & growing - I remember reading this in "Illusions" by Richard Bach. 

We are here for entertainment. But not serious entertainment (sounds oxymoron). We must not take our earthly experiences too seriously. 

As per Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, "Life is a joyous battle of duty but at the same time a passing dream". I wish I could practice this !!

I am still learning and your views are welcome.