Saturday 24 January 2015

50. Listen to Heart – Reel the Un-Real and Un-Reel the Real ….

Hari Bol...

50. Listen to Heart – Reel the Un-Real and Un-Reel the Real ….

I remember we all (my sisters and myself) had come on a summer vacation from school (Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya and Scindia School, Gwalior) to our village ‘Muraura’, which is located (approx. 3 kms from the Bihar Sharif Railway Station) close to Bihar Sharif in the district of Nalanda in Bihar. You must have started thinking about Nalanda which we all have studied in history. Yes, it is the same ancient Nalanda which was famous as Nalanda University once upon a time, which was the biggest university in the world. It is approx. 90 kms from Patna.

Scindia School, Gwalior

We all planned to go for a movie. We took permission from our parents. We were glad and excited. We went to watch the movie and came back. We were in happy mood. We were enjoying our vacation. In the evening when we came back we were called by ‘Bhikhari Baba’ who is to serve my Grandfather. In fact my father played in his lap during his childhood and obviously we all brother and sisters also. He used to love us a lot like his own grandchildren. He even used to scold us when we made mischief. By writing this article I would like to take this opportunity to pay my regards to him wherever he is and ask him for his blessings once again. He questioned us, “Where did you all go?” We informed him that we had gone for a movie. He asked us if we took permission and we again inform him that we were permitted by Ma. He again asked, “Why did you go to watch a movie?” We answered, “For recreation purpose”. “Why movie?” he questioned again. We were puzzled but not much scared because he loved us from core of his heart. He was intelligent. He understood that we were confused. He made all of us sit and made us relax first. He said if you want to go for recreation then go for Circus. We all laughed and said a big “No”. He made us understand that in circus the artist play their role in front of the audience where as in a movie artist paly their role in absence of the audience. In movie everything is recorded and then played in the cinema hall. Before the final is shown there are many corrections made. It is the recorded and reels are prepared which are played in the cinema hall. So the mistakes are hidden. It is role of technology (camera and cameraman). In circus everything is in front of our eyes. The stuntman jumps with all the risks. The ring-man plays with tiger, lion, elephant and other animals in front of the audience. So in circus all the acts are performed in front of our eyes and in cinema all the acts are performed at the back of our eye. “Should we not praise the artist of the circus more than artist of cinema?” he asked and we all were convinced and said a big “Yes”. We immediately request him to take us to show a circus one day. It was so kind of him that he took all of us. He even used to ask people to go and watch Kushati. The reason was almost the same that it was in front of our eyes and one works very hard to maintain himself.  I still remember those incidences of my childhood. We need to decide which is ‘Real’? Which is ‘Un-Real’? For that moment obviously the movie was ‘Un-Real’ as it was in ‘Reel’ and Circus was ‘Real’.

Radhe-Krishna Mandir at Muraura, Bihar Sharif, Nalanda, Bihar
We all dream during our sleep. We sometimes observe that a person suddenly wakes then he realizes that it was a dream. We even observe that a child laughs or cries during his sleep. People say that he is dreaming. Some people even say that he is remembering some incidences of his past life which is giving him joy or sorrow. The dream is supposed to be not real rather it is treated as un-real. Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood. The scientific study of dreams is called ‘Oneirology’. Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep - when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, these dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable. The length of a dream can vary; they may last for a few seconds, or approximately 20–30 minutes. People are more likely to remember the dream if they are awakened during the REM phase. The average person has three to five dreams per night, but some may have up to seven dreams in one night. The dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses. During a full eight hour night sleep, most dreams occur in the typical two hours of REM. In modern times, dreams have been seen as a connection to the unconscious mind. Dreams can have varying natures, such as frightening, exciting, magical, melancholic, adventurous, or sexual. The events in dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer, with the exception of lucid dreaming, where the dreamer is self-aware. Dreams can at times make a creative thought occur to the person or give a sense of inspiration. Some people also believe that dreams are direct messages from one and / or multiple deities, from deceased persons, and that they predicted the future. A world in the dream state (svapam) is experienced with as much reality as the one seen in the waking state (jagrat). Upon waking we realize that world never existed as a reality, but was simply imagined within our consciousness. Before a dream, the subject (dreamer) exists. During a dream, the subject exists. After a dream, the subject alone exists. The dream is full of movement, and hence is unreal (only imagined). The dreamer never moves, and hence is real (genuinely exists).


A day-dream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake. There are many different types of daydreams. While day-dreaming has long been derided as a lazy, non-productive pastime, it is now commonly acknowledged that day-dreaming can be constructive in some contexts. There are numerous examples of people in creative or artistic careers, such as composers, novelists and filmmakers, developing new ideas through day-dreaming. Similarly, research scientists, mathematicians and physicists have developed new ideas by day-dreaming about their subject areas.  In fact it is said that a person should dream but his dream should not be for dreaming only. We should do our karma with right intention to on the path of achieving the dream. Dreaming is not bad; it is the attitude of ours, towards the dream makes it good or bad.

We agree that movie is unreal as it is recorded and edited in reel. Once we come out of the hall everything has changed. The thoughts and the scenes of the movie have been replaced by worldly life activities. We have learnt that dream is also unreal and not real. The dream phases out and is replaced once we are awake. So this phase is also in continuously changing. Now if movie is unreal and dream is also unreal then we need to understand the word ‘Real’. A question comes to my mind if this life which we are living for and living in is real? This life in which we are living is also replaced when we were watching moving and when we’re dreaming. It is difficult or impossible to be in both states at the same time. If this life is also replaceable then I would say that this life is also changing continuously and if we agree to it then how can the changing be real then I would put is this life is also ‘Un-real’. As we grow there are changes in our body then this body is also unreal. We are tagged with different names and designation so this also changes; so our name which is supposed to be our identity is also unreal. Then what is ‘Real’?

When we have always been in darkness, we cannot know the meaning of light. Due to some reason if we move towards light then we become enlightened by our own experiences. We live in unreal so we will never come to know real until we experience Reality. In unreal we take everything at face value. We have no awareness beyond our physical senses. We need to control the emotions and be calm as a calm and even mind is like a line drawn on water.
Krishna made Arjuna realize regarding Real and Unreal. Krishna said to Arjuna, “The unreal has no existence, the real never ceases to be, the truth about both these indeed has been seen by seers of truth”.

We can say that ‘Sat’ means ‘Real’ and ‘Asat’ means ‘Un-real’. Real exist forever and un-real has no existence. That which never changes is real. That which changes is unreal. Appearance is unreal as it is in constant change. Consciousness is considered real, since it never changes. That which has a birth (beginning), must have a death (end), and being impermanent is unreal. That which has no birth (beginning) can have no death (end), and being permanent is real. A wave arises and falls (has a beginning and an end), and hence is unreal. The ocean (unaffected by the rise and fall of waves) remains the same, and hence is real. Consciousness (which alone exists) being immaterial never creates anything, for there is no material to create anything. And consciousness being non-spatial never goes anywhere, for there is no space to enable any movement. Since consciousness never creates nor moves, all experiences can only be imagined within it (and hence are unreal). Perception is not reality.  Just because something is perceived (through the senses and mind), does not mean it is real (genuinely exists). Maya (the world illusion) believes the real (consciousness) to be unreal, and the unreal (world appearance) to be real. In mystical circles the definition of what is ‘real’ is based only upon the concept of ‘change’. The body, mind and world appearance are subject to change, and hence cannot be real. The consciousness within which they appear never changes, and hence alone is real. Hence from the absolute viewpoint, anything that moves (whether a thought, emotion or object) cannot be real. So for balance in what never changes and freedom to play with what is imagined for play, be aware of the absolute truth. If it moves (changes), it is not real (being imagined for play). If it does not move (change), it is real (genuinely exists). We have discussed that change is the only constant in the article ‘Listen to Heart – Change is the only Constant….’ If we all agree to this then nothing is ‘Real’ in this world.



Reality is said to be that which existed in past, is existing in present i.e. now and will exist in future. It is present at all times and remains eternal unchanging. On the other had unreal is which never exist. With the understanding of a movie – dream – world, we learnt that while dreaming the dream world replaces the waking world. So this world is not real but as this world exists so it cannot be called unreal. The waking world exists till the time we are awake. We can conclude that the world that we experience in neither real nor unreal. It is basically ‘Maya, Mithya i.e. an Illusion’. Arjuna was confused and started living in illusion. He lost his ignorance. He could not differentiate between real and unreal. He was in grief. The wise who have gained the ultimate experience recognize the truth beyond this world. They do not identify with this illusory world. They are balanced in joy and sorrow, in pleasure and pain as they are very steady on their path of Karma.

All Glories to Lord Krishna & All His Loving Devotees….. Hari Bol……
Courtesy: Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ) , Srimad Bhagavad-Gita ( by A. Parthasarathy  & www.gitadaily.com ) Chapter 2 : Text 16, www.google.com, Wikipedia. www.krishna.com, www.krishna.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.glossary.com, www.vocabulary.com, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream, http://www.theself.com/realvsunreal.cfm

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