Like a dream, but not false
Śrila Prabhupāda often explains that life in this material world is like a dream. This, however, should not be misunderstood.
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Śrila Prabhupāda often explains that life in this material world is like a dream. We dream that we are a man or a woman, that we have this or that position, and so on, but because none of it is true in the ultimate sense, we need to leave these positions in due time, just like someone awakening from a dream. This, however, should not be misunderstood.
Like all analogies, the comparison of material life to a dream offers many similarities with reality, but, like all analogies, it doesn’t capture all the intricacies of the subject being discussed. We should thus take the main meaning, which is the temporary and illusory nature of our current situation, and not start believing that we are literally living inside a dream and that everything around us doesn’t exist.
A dream is illusory in essence, but it is not false. It is real in the sense that someone is experiencing it, but at the same time, it is illusory in nature, since in the dream we forget our real identity and become absorbed in imaginary situations. A dream is thus not false, but it is illusory and based on the forgetfulness of our real identity.
Similarly, this whole material manifestation is not false. We are here experiencing it, as are all the people around us. Things are really happening. It is compared to a dream because we become forgetful of our real nature and become absorbed in the different temporary roles we play here.
Because they are not connected with our eternal nature, all the roles we play in this material world are temporary in nature. We play for some time, but eventually, we are forced to leave, and this is called death. After it, if one is still not ready to accept his real nature, a new temporary role is accepted, which we call birth.
In the teaching of Lord Kapila (3.26.34), it’s mentioned that “The activities and characteristics of the ethereal element can be observed as the accommodation of room for the external and internal existences of all living entities, namely the field of activities of the vital air, the senses and the mind.”
In his purport to this verse, Śrila Prabhupāda mentions that this verse could become the basis for great scientific research because it deals with the creation of reality from the ether.
According to the Vedas, there are five material elements: earth, water, air, fire, and ether. The “ether” mentioned in the Vedas is not connected with the disproven theory of the luminiferous ether from past centuries, nor is it just a vacuum, like in space. The Vedic conception of ether is as a subtle element that serves as a fabric for all the other gross manifestations through the interaction with the mind, intelligence, and false ego. In other words, the reality in which every conditioned soul lives is created from his own consciousness.
The subtle elements (the mind, intelligence, and false ego, as well as all desires, ideas, and so on) are created from the ether, and from the further interaction of these subtle elements with the ether, gross elements (earth, water, air, and fire), as well as all physical manifestations, are created. This concept is further explained in the description of the primary and secondary creations offered in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.
The primary creation is done by Lord Mahā-Viṣnu, who creates everything that will exist in the numerous universes in a subtle form (like an idea). Then Brahma is inspired from the heart to give physical forms to these ideas, performing the secondary creation. This happens much like most contemporary constructions and products, which exist first in a subtle form (a project) and later are manifested in a gross form when finally built. Similarly, the ideas and desires stored in our minds are the basis for the gross forms and experiences that will be experienced in our future lives.
We should remember that when Lord Mahā-Viṣnu performs the primary creation, he creates all possible forms and experiences that exist in the material universes. During the secondary creation, Brahma creates several different levels of existence that correspond to the different levels of consciousness of the different living entities. There are thus 14 levels of planetary systems, subdivided into millions of planets and stars, each one containing an enormous volume of forms and experiences. By our consciousness, we take birth into one of these places, according to the level of consciousness, and there we perform our small role in the creation, manipulating the different material objects and interacting with other living entities.
This corroborates what Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gītā when He explains that one’s mental situation at death is the basis for his next birth. Śrila Prabhupāda explains that mental existence transforms into tangible form as soon as there is an opportunity. In other words, all the desires stored in the mind serve as the basis for the development of a new body, which will lead to a new birth in a situation that will allow the soul to act upon such desires.
By carefully studying these teachings, we can understand the ephemeral (although not false) nature of this world and how our reality is created from our consciousness through the interactions of the subtle elements with the ether. Just as a material consciousness creates a material body and numerous material objects and experiences, a spiritual consciousness fixed in service to Krsna leads us to the spiritual, eternal reality.
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