Indian and Western view regarding dreams
Dream has been interpreted in numerous ways. From time immemorial, there has been a difference of opinion between the Indian and Western philosophers regarding the cause and significance of dreams. The Indian concept of dreams harped on the fact that human beings who lead a pure life can surely establish a relationship with the past, present and future world through the medium of dreams. On the contrary, the Western view of dreams strongly related dreams with the human psyche. It cannot be denied that both these views are equally interesting and help us in our journey to discover what lies beneath this mysterious phenomenon called ‘dreams’. Let us look at the myriad Indian and Western theories related to dreams.
The Indian science of dreams
The Indian scientists, dream specialists and saints till date have continuously worked upon and discovered many mysterious and exciting theories regarding dreams. These theories can aid any person who wishes to unravel the cause and the mechanism of dreams. According to the Indian view, a person who leads an honest life and is free of evil thoughts (the Sattvik type of man or woman) is always empowered to dream. This person dreams of incidents which are supposed to happen in future. These dreams sometimes are connected with the life of the dreamer or are revelations regarding the future of his near and dear ones.
In fact, the Indian spiritual masters believe that from the beginning of human life, these kinds of people have existed who had the power to visualize the future through their dreams. They knew about the impending dangers, about mishaps or certain changes that are going to take place in their lives through dreams. And their dreams turned into reality after a few days.
According to Ayurveda, every human being has 72 nerves named ‘heeta’ which run from heart to all parts of the body. There is not a single part present in the body without the existence of these nerves. Blood flows through these nerves. Nerves can be divided into main categories- dream nerves and conscious nerves. The mind connects to the dream nerves and enables a person to dream. When nerves connect with the intellectual part of the human being then a person is in his conscious state.
In the Indian context of dreams, all kinds of dreams have a meaning and purpose. Any object seen in the dream is not just a development of human mind but has a deeper significance too. Even a simple act of cutting hair in a dream can have a highly significant connotation related to life.
Dreams can be divided into four main categories. The first is divine, the second is auspicious, the third is inauspicious and the last or the fourth is the mixed dream. A divine dream lets the dreamer know about a work. An auspicious dream indicates the fulfillment of the work whereas an inauspicious dream indicates failure and disappointment in the work. A mixed dream is one that conveys mixed results.
The Western view regarding dreams
The Western researchers have tried to analyse the process of sleep while interpreting the cause of dreams. This led them to the study of human sleep and the time when a person dreams. The analysis revealed that a person dreams when he drifts away from his conscious self during sleep. According to the researchers, this state happens when the person is in the second stage of sleep. In this phase of sleep, the individual breathes irregularly and experiences the ‘Rapid Eye Movement’ (REM) where his eyeballs move back and forth rapidly. The entire activity happens beneath closed eyelids. In addition to this, the blood pressure and pulse-rate of the individual also increases during this time. The researchers finally established that the phase when REM happens is the exact time when a person dreams.
The ancient people in the West regarded dreams as the direct messages from spirits or deities. In fact, some 2000 years before Christ, people used an Egyptian papyrus dream book to understand about the good and bad dreams. Many famous emperors relied on their dreams before embarking on any kind of campaigns. Interestingly, there were instances when a sick or mentally disturbed individual would visit one of the ‘incubation temples’ to fast, make offerings and seek the guidance of priests. After hearing the instructions from the priests, they would fall asleep to dream about a remedy from God.
However, with the progress of mankind, the attitude and understanding of human beings in relation to dreams also developed. One of the first successful interpretations of dreams was given by the Greek diviner Artemidorus. He studied the personality, background and occupation of the dreamer to analyze a particular dream. Later, during the 19th century, the scientists evolved a theory which stated that dreams were a mental expression of external physical stimuli.
The Freudian theories incorporated human psyche and the realm of the unconscious mind in dream interpretation. Sigmund Freud who is regarded as the father of psycho-analysis concluded that dreams were symbols of desires that are not acceptable in the conscious state of mind. Hence, these desires are fulfilled in the state of dream. Dreams according to him were a disguised form of fulfillment of the thwarted desires arising from sexuality.
However, his theory was not accepted by a lot of people because of his over emphasis on sexuality. Also, he could not successfully analyse the precognitive or telepathetic dreams.
Dr. Montague Ullman, a New York psychiatrist, experimented by sending telepathic messages successfully to the sleeper in the dream state. He concluded that human beings surely possess a latent ESP capacity for dreams. This theory too was argued by some as it could not throw light on the precognitive or prophetic dreams.
A striking difference between the Indian and Western concepts of dreams is that the former is spiritual in nature while the latter is physical or materialistic in nature.
In the modern age, the Western thinkers agree to quite an extent with the Indian thoughts and philosophies regarding dream. In fact, Frued too, in his next book named “Interpretation of Dreams” accepted that sometimes dreams are capable of indicating important happenings of future. Hence, these kinds of dreams cannot be based on the repressed desires of human beings. Dr. Havlark Alaies in his book “The world of dreams” also agrees that the subconscious brain and ‘extra sensory perception’ play a major role in dreams. The researchers of the ‘Buch Society for Psychic Research’ Holand, have proved that some dreams can predict events happening in the furure. According to famous psychiatrist Dr. Hafner Morse, with repeated efforts, the unconscious brain can be alerted and empowered to predict the future through dreams.
