And Now, And Here-第21章
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if someone were to bee fully aware; even in his sleep; he would have the same experience as in meditation。
for example; if we were to put a person under anesthetic; and in his unconscious state bring him on a stretcher to a garden where flowers are in full bloom; where fragrance is in the air; where the sun is shining and the birds are singing; the man would be pletely unaware of all this。
after we brought him back and he was out of the anesthesia; if we asked him how he liked the garden; he would not be able to tell us anything。
then; if you were to take him to the same garden when he was fully conscious; he would experience everything present there when he had been brought in before。
in both cases; although the man was brought to the same place; he was unaware of the beautiful surroundings in the first instance; while in the second instance he would be fully aware of the flowers; the fragrance; the song of the birds; the rising sun。
so although you will undoubtedly reach as far in an unconscious state as you will reach in a conscious state; to reach some place in an unconscious state is as good as not reaching there at all。
in sleep we reach the same paradise we reach in meditation; but we are unaware of it。
each night we travel to this paradise; and then we e back …… unaware。
although the fresh breeze and the lovely fragrance of the place touch us; and the songs of the birds ring in our ears; we are never aware of it。
and yet; in spite of returning from this paradise totally unaware of it; one might say; 〃i feel very good this morning。
i feel very peaceful。
i slept well last night。
〃
what do you feel so good about? having slept well; what good happened? it cannot be only because you slept …… surely you must have been somewhere; something must have happened to you。
but in the morning you have no knowledge of it; except for a vague idea of feeling good。
one who has had a deep sleep at night gets up refreshed in the morning。
this shows the person has reached a rejuvenating source in sleep …… but in an unconscious state。
one who is unable to sleep well at night finds himself more tired in the morning than he was the previous evening。
and if a person does not sleep well for a few days it bees difficult for him to survive; because his connection with the source of life is broken。
he is unable to reach the place it is essential he should。
the worst punishment in the world is not death …… as a punishment death is easy; it occurs in a few moments。
the worst punishment ever devised on earth is not letting a person go to sleep。
even to this day; there are countries like china and russia where prisoners are made to go without sleep。
the torture a prisoner goes through; if he is not allowed to sleep for fifteen days; is beyond our imagination …… he almost goes mad。
he begins to divulge all the information he otherwise would not have let the enemy know。
he begins to blabber; totally unaware of its implications。
in china; systematic methods have been devised。
for six months prisoners are not allowed to sleep。
consequently; they bee totally insane。
they pletely forget who they are; what their names are; what their religion is; which town or city they e from; what their country is …… they forget everything。
lack of sleep throws their consciousness into plete disorder; into chaos。
in that condition they can be made to learn anything。
when the american soldiers captured in korea returned from the prison camps of russia and china; denial of sleep had left them in such terrible shape that when they came out they were openly antagonistic to america and in favor of munism。
first these soldiers were not allowed to sleep; and when their consciousnesses became disordered; they were indoctrinated into munism。
once their identities were thrown into chaos; through repeated suggestions they were told they were munists。
so before their release they were pletely brainwashed。
looking at these soldiers; american psychologists were dumbfounded。
if a person is denied sleep; he bees cut off from the very source of life。
atheism will continue to grow in the world in the same ratio as sleep continues to get lighter。
in countries where people have lighter sleep; atheism will be more on the increase there。
and in countries where people have deeper sleep; the more theism will be on the increase。
but this theism and atheism are a totally strange thing for man; because they grow out of an unconscious state。
a person who has a deep sleep spends the next day in peace; while the one who does not have a deep sleep remains restless and troubled the following day。
how in the world can a restless and troubled mind be receptive to god? a mind which is disturbed; dissatisfied; tense and angry; refuses to accept god; denies his existence。
science is not at the bottom of the increasing atheism in the west; the disorderly; chaotic condition of sleep is at the root of it。
in new york; at least thirty percent of the people cannot sleep without tranquilizers。
psychologists believe that if this condition prevails for the next hundred years; not a single person will be able to sleep without medication。
people have pletely lost sleep。
if a man who has lost sleep were to ask you how you go to sleep; and your answer were; 〃all i do is put my head on the pillow and fall asleep;〃 he will not believe you。
he will find this impossible and suspect there must be some trick he doesnt know to it …… because he lays his head on the pillow too; and nothing happens。
god forbid; but a time may e; after a thousand or two thousand years; when everyone will have lost natural sleep; and people will refuse to believe that a thousand or two thousand years before their time; people simply rested their heads on their pillows and fell asleep。
they will take this as fiction; a mythical story from the puranas。
they will not believe it to be true。
they will say; 〃this is not possible; because if that isnt true about us; how can it be true about anyone else?〃
i am drawing your attention to all of this because three or four thousand years ago people would close their eyes and go into meditation as easily as you go to sleep today。
two thousand years from now it will be difficult to sleep in new york …… it is difficult even today。
it is being difficult to sleep in bombay; and soon it will bee difficult in dwarka as well …… it is just a matter of time。
today it is hard to believe there was a time when a man could close his eyes and go into meditation …… because now; when you sit with your eyes closed; you reach nowhere; inside; thoughts keep hovering around and you remain where you are。
in the past; meditation was as easy for those who were close to nature as sleep is for those who live close to nature。
first meditation disappeared; now sleep is on its way out。
those things are first lost which are conscious; after that; those things are lost which are unconscious。
with the disappearance of meditation the world has almost bee irreligious; and when sleep disappears the world will bee totally irreligious。
there is no hope for religion in a sleepless world。
you will not believe how closely; how deeply; we are connected to sleep。
how a person will live his life depends totally on how he sleeps。
if he does not sleep well; his entire life will be a chaos: all his relationships will bee entangled; everything will bee poisonous; filled with rage。
if; on the contrary; a person sleeps deeply; there will be freshness in his life …… peace and joy will continuously flow in his life。
underlying his relationships; his love; everything else; there will be serenity。
but if he loses sleep; all his relationships will go haywire。
he will have a messed…up life with his family; his wife; his son; his mother; his father; his teacher; his students …… all of them。
sleep brings us to a point in our unconscious where we are immersed in god …… although not for too long。
even the healthiest person only reaches to his deeper level for ten minutes of his nightly eight hours sleep。
for these ten minutes he is so pletely lost; drowned in sleep; that not even a dream exists。
sleep is not total as long as one is dreaming …… one keeps moving between the states of sleep and wakefulness。
dreaming is a state in which one is half…asleep and half…awake。
to be in a dream means that even though your eyes are closed; you are not asleep; external influences are still affecting you。
the people you met during the day; you are still with them at night in your dreams。
dreams occupy the middle state between sleep and wakefulness。
and there are many people who have lost sleep …… they merely remain in the dreaming state; without ever reaching the state of sleep。
and that you dont remember in the morning that you dreamt all night is beside the point。
much research on sleep is being carried out in america。
some ten big laboratories have been experimenting on thousands of people for about eight to ten years。
americans are showing interest in meditation because they have lost sleep。
they think that perhaps meditation may bring their s