The Dream Analogy

The Dream Analogy and why it can help answer all of your deepest questions about reality instantaneously

According to Advaita, there is no one god or many gods. There is only god. However, God in this context is the supreme reality known as Brahman. This supreme reality is non-dual (advaita) and is none other than pure consciousness. This is the real you. However, given we perceive the empirical world and things appear to be full of diversity with separate identities, we have to speak of two orders of reality:

1) Paramarthika (absolute)

2) Vyavarhika (relative)

Once we bring the second reality into the picture, we use words such as Maya to explain why the absolute appears as the relative. It is Maya, the inexplicable phenomena that causes Brahman to appear as something it’s not. This false appearance is known as the vyavarhika order of reality or subject-object duality. This reality appears as such due to ignorance (avidya) which is also equated to the mind as noted in Shankara’s Vivekachudamani verse 180:

“Hence Sages who have fathomed its secret have designated the mind as Avidya or ignorance, by which alone the universe is moved to and fro, like masses of clouds by the wind.”

As the great sage Ramana Maharishi once said, “Thoughts are content of the mind and they shape the Universe.” This means the universe is a reflection of the mind. It is the imagination of God. For most, it’s very difficult to grasp this since it feels like we live in a physical world full of tangible things. The concepts of Advaita may only bring more confusion to the seeker as words can be very technical. So either the seeker experiences this truth themselves to fully grasp it or we can introduce simple analogies and metaphors to gain an intuitive understanding before knowledge can become more firm through deep reflection.

There are many analogies used in Advaita Vedanta to help us grasp the nature of reality. Concepts in Advaita are usually counterintuitive and these metaphors or analogies serve as a powerful tool to help drive home a difficult idea. Though bear in mind, since reality is non-dual, all metaphors and all explanations are ultimately untrue. They only guide the mind to help in understanding the truth and serve as approximations. Thus, they are not meant to be taken literally.

One of the first analogies ever used to describe the relationship between Brahman and the world comes from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (one of the earliest Upanishads). This Upanishad uses the analogy of a spider and web. God is like a spider which creates the world out of itself, maintains it and again takes whole creation inside of it.

The spider analogy is also expressed in Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.7:

“As a spider projects forth and draws back (its threads), as plants grow on earth, as hairs grow on the body, so does the universe emerge from the Imperishable Being.“

Another famous analogy used by many in most Advaita teachings is that of the rope and snake. This analogy originated from the commentaries of Guadapada on the Mandukya Upanishad.

Seeing a rope in the dark, it is mistaken for a snake (an error or adhyasa). We mistakenly superimpose the image of an illusory snake onto the real rope, just like we superimpose the illusion of objects onto Brahman.

From the point of view of actual reality (paramarthika), only the rope is real and the snake does not exist. For a perceiver who sees a snake, that snake is 'relatively' real (vyavaharika). There only ever was a rope but the ignorance of this due to the mind creates the illusion of a snake and suffering follows as a result due to fear of being bitten by the snake! Once higher knowledge is introduced through samadhi, the mistaken perception is corrected; the unreal snake disappears and the real rope is revealed as it always was.

There are also many more analogies to help explain the relationship between Brahman and the illusory world such as: mud and pots, gold and ornaments, ocean and waves and post and ghost, etc. However, one of the most profound analogies that can ever be used to understand the nature of reality is that of the dreamer and dream. This analogy alone can single handedly answer almost any question a seeker has about the relationship between Brahman and Maya. This can all be addressed without the need of having to provide a thoroughly comprehensive technical answer for each question. Rather, it can be grasped intuitively all-at-once instead of being unraveled slowly with use of logic and reasoning. After all, higher knowledge of Brahman is a direct, unbroken and an instantaneous knowing and not something that can truly be understood indirectly and thus intellectually, i.e. thinking it through.

Try this yourself only while being in a meditative or relaxed state: If you have a deep question about reality and ponder deeply enough using this dream analogy, your question will be answered intuitively and instantly without the need of using words. Since dreaming is something we can all relate to, it can help us grasp the mysterious depth behind all of creation. Simply be extremely silent with a still mind and apply this analogy to your question and see what answer is given to you on your own without the need of anyone’s help.

In this article, I will explain the dream analogy and also provide some of the major terminologies used in Advaita and how they correspond to many of the different functions and qualities of the dream. I will also raise some of the deepest questions one can ask about reality by providing the answer itself indirectly just by using this analogy.

The Dreamer-Dream Analogy

Just like every person has the hidden power and potential to dream every night, so too does Brahman have the power to dream up a world full of many universes, lokas, realms, gods, goddesses, deities, angels, sages, etc. This hidden illusory power of potential is called Maya. And just like us, Brahman too dreams up a world automatically without any volition or intention behind it via its own power of Maya. The dream world mysteriously appears, already fine-tuned and structured with encoded intelligence and with dream characters interacting with each other.

-The dreamer is Brahman

-The potential to dream is Maya

-The dream itself is Ishwara (cosmic mind)

-The dream characters are the Jivas

Each character holds within their own projection of how they view the dream world. Within this dream world, there are also universal laws observed such as the law of karma (cause and effect), the law of dharma (innate function of all dream objects) and the self-governing functions that allows the dream to emerge (Brahma), be sustained (Vishnu) and to be dissolved (Shiva). These laws are the pre-defined codes of creation and are controlled autonomously by the dream itself or what is known as the cosmic mind (Ishwara).

Each and every one of us appear as dream characters within this infinite dream. We all magically appear in the dream without knowing how it all came to be. We somehow find ourselves in this dream with our own sense of identity and agency, performing actions out of what appears to be our own free will. We each have our own subjective experience going from one dream to the next. There is a stream of different dreams all within this single dream (reincarnation). Sometimes we can even dream while we’re in the dream (a dream within a dream).

Inside the dream, there are also many mysteries. What came first? The seed or the tree? The chicken or the egg? There is no evidence of this found in the dream, so the dream is said to be beginningless (anadi). We are on the line of a circle flowing eternally with no beginning nor end in sight. Thus, it is impossible to find any evidence of a start or an end. The starting point of the dream, therefore, can never be known.

Inside the dream, it also feels really real. In fact, most of the time, we never even question the validity of the dream. For most dream characters, they do not even ponder about the nature of the dream nor why or how it all came to be. They take the dream to be completely real and move forward with their dream life being ignorant (avidya) of the truth behind the dream (i.e. the truth of the dreamer).

The dreamer however remains unattached from the dream, completely free from all identifications within it. Yet, it seemingly finds itself entangled in its own dream aware of the dream character it’s limited to. Aware of its own limited dream body roaming through the unlimited boundaries of space and time which it can infinitely project simply because it dreams and wills it to be. If the dreamer is completely unattached, then how can it be said that the dreamer caused this dream? For it is the causeless cause, yet its own power of maya which it was completely unaware of, seemingly caused it to appear and now we find ourselves in the dream talking about this mysterious power and how it all came to be.

In truth, there is only the dreamer, though the dreamer appears to be everything that can possibly be known within a dream. It is the dreamer that allows the dream to exist and allows the dream characters to be aware of the very dream they are in. The contents of the dream cannot survive without the dreamer. If there is only the dreamer, then how can it be said that there is also a dream character? Or that there is such thing as space and time that the dream character can roam through? How can it be said that there is free will for the dream character if they are not really in control of what they do within the dream? Furthermore, how can it be said that the dreamer is controlling anything when the dreamer is completely unattached and unaware of the dream? If that leaves the dream controller (Ishwara) to be the ultimate controller of the dream, how can Ishwara be doing anything if it makes up the entire dream? If Ishwara or the entire dream itself remains unaffected by the impurities of the dream world, then does it imply any desire on the part of Ishwara? Wouldn’t that detract from his self-sufficiency and perfection? Hence, can infinity do anything? Or can infinity just simply be and let the dream run on its own without any agency? Who is it that’s really doing anything? Is everything really doing nothing?

Additionally, how can it be said that there is separation when there is only non-separation from the perspective of the dreamer? The projection (raja guna) of the dream is very convincing indeed. It conceals (tama guna) the very truth of the dreamer, allowing the dreamer to pretend to be something it’s not. Now all dream characters have false agency and are deluded by this very convincing dream.

So how can the dream character awaken from this dream? First, they should become a lucid dreamer (sattva guna). They should learn in the dream world, the truth of the dream world. They should awaken to this truth with the help of other dream characters who have awakened in the dream. Once they become awakened, higher knowledge of the dreamer arises in the dream that slowly begins to dissolve the dream. Holding on to that higher knowledge allows the dream to be completely dissolved at which point the dream becomes fully negated upon waking up from the dream. When one wakes up, the dream world is no longer there. There only remains the dreamer.

There is no longer any dream and no such thing as there ever being a dream.

He is only the dreamer who has never even dreamed.

There was never such thing as the dream character, the dream world, or even the potentiality for the dream to be.

There was never even the story about how the dreamer awakened from the dream.

There was never any dream about time and space or karma and dharma.

Neither was there any story of the vedas and moksha.

There was never such thing as waking up from the dream.

There was only the dreamer.

And this dreamer never even dreamed.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.10:

‘There are no chariots, nor animals to be yoked to them, nor roads there, but he creates the chariots, animals and roads. There are no pleasures, joys, or delights there, but he creates the pleasures, joys and delights. There are no pools, tanks, or rivers there, but he creates the pools, tanks and rivers. For he is the agent’.

The following questions are answered in this article:

What are some analogies used in Advaita Vedanta?
Is life the imagination of god?
Is this universe an imagination?
Is this world a dream?
Are we the dreamer?
Is life a dream?