RC 1

To discover ‘Reality’ is to identify what is eternal and true, that is, what exists always. This is the most meaningful quest for every human being who is concerned about the purpose of his birth and existence, pointed out Srimati Sunanda in a discourse. If we move away from the truth, we cannot catch the reality. One way to explore reality is by analysing the states of waking, dream and deep sleep that all of us experience in our day to day life. 

Janaka is such a seeker of truth and tries to learn from each and every experience in his life. Once, he dreamt that he was a beggar suffering from starvation. It seemed so real at that time and the vivid experience of this dream pursued him even after he woke up. He then sought clarification about this from his mentor Ashtavakra. The preceptor said that neither the dream nor waking state is real. Then, Janaka wanted to know what is real. The answer was, “There is a state beyond these two. Discover that. It alone is real.” 

 In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna makes it clear that all this cyclic process of creation and dissolution that seems to go on indefinitely is only temporary. His abode above and beyond all Prakriti and the Gunas alone is eternal and once this is attained through single-minded devotion to Him, there is no coming back to this world. This means the soul is liberated from the bondage of birth.

 But most of us are attracted to this world and the general attitude is to shelve the thought of liberation for a later time or birth. We think that all this mysterious and wonderful creation is real. Only when we wake up to the reality of the ephemeral nature of all this can we see like realised souls, the unsubstantial reality behind both the waking and dream states.