Are dreams real? Or is the universe false? - Part 1/2

If we go to the very core of Hinduism, we come across the concept that the world we see around us when we are awake is exactly the same as anything we see in a dream.  There is no difference between the two.

This will sound scandalous to some and philosophical to others. But the arguments given in Vedanta to support this are both logical and practical.

In this 2-part post, I will take you through ten common objections you can have against this when you think of the physical world as real and dreams as a figment of your imagination. Everything below is from the book "The Upanishads Volume 2" by Swami Nikhilananda, first published in 1952. 

1. Objection: Objects perceived in the waking state are real, while those in dreams are not real.

Clarification: Dream objects are felt, while the dream lasts, to be as real as those of the waking state. In dreams there exists a sense of distinction between real and unreal just as in waking state. While dreaming, the sleeping person regards the dream state as the waking state and distinguishes it from other states, otherwise he wouldn't regard the dream experiences as real even for the time being.   

2. Objection: Dreams are subjective - they are creations of sleeper's mind while waking objects are outside, independent of the perceiver and are perceived by sense organs. 

Clarification: What makes this difference is that the sense organs are instruments which are active in the waking state and inactive in sleep. After waking, a man realises that he was dreaming, because he knows that he saw objects in the dream when his sense organs were not functioning. But the sense organs and physical bodies of the dream are as active as those in the waking world. In dreams too, one not only thinks but touches, smells, sees and hears objects though they are only creations of the dream. For example: A man sees a mountain, climbs it and gets satisfaction on reaching the top. Thus there exists not only an ego but also external objects and inner feelings in the dream state as in waking. But the sense organs which appear to be real in one state are found to be unreal in another.

3. Objection: Dream experience is said to be private, its objects and actions being known to the dreamer and no one else while what is seen in the waking experience is shared by others. 

Clarification: The application of private and public to distinguish objects between one state and another is not valid because just like the waking world, the dream world also has other living beings who share with the dreamer the experience of the dream. Dream experience has exactly the same public character while the dream lasts, as waking experience. For example: In a dream, a man can see that he became the king and his wife the queen. In that dream, his wife would be aware of him becoming the king and her the queen and be as happy as him. 

4. Objection: Objects in the waking state last for a significant period of time while those in the dream state last only for minutes.

Clarification: The sense of time is present in both states, each has its independent standard of measurement and the standard of one state, appearing real in that state is proved false in the other. A dream and its dream objects can also be observed to last for months and years, though the dream may not last for more than a few minutes as measured by the standard of time of the waking mind.

5. Objection: Money obtained in dream state can not purchase bread and butter if a person is hungry in the waking state.

Clarification: The opposite is true as well. The money obtained in the waking state can not buy him food in the dream state. If the test of reality is pragmatic, it can be said that dream objects are means to dream ends and waking objects are means to waking ends. Cause effect relationships are present in the dream state and dream mind just as in the waking state and waking mind. But what is considered a logical sequence in the waking state, may not always work in the dream state. Each has its own notion of propriety which is falsified by the other in spite of the belief that each is dealing with reality.

Now, this should give us enough food for thought to chew on for a while. Once you have spent some time thinking this through, please do head over to the second part of the post with the remaining 5 objections.