सङ्गीतरत्नाकर: प्रथम भाग (शार्ङ्गदेव - स्वरगताध्याय सविस्तार व्याख्या व अनुवाद सहित)

70 Treatment of Svara
Sleep is twofold, dreamful and dreamless : when the
external senses are withdrawn into the heart and the mind
remains awake, it is said to be dreamful; but, if the mind is
withdrawn unto prāṇa³ (the vital breath) then it (the sleep)
the beginningless ignorance with regard to the real nature of one's
being, the individual obtains in the conditions of the waking state, the
dreamful state and the dreamless sleep state under the respective names
of viśva, taijasa and prājña.
This elucidation, enlightening as it is, is technical as well. The
purport is that Life-essence or the absolute Being, in the state of
individuated being lives under the influence of beginningless ignorance
in the three conditions of consciousness technically called viśva, taijasa
and prājña, that correspond to the waking, the dreamful and the dream-
less sleeping states. Ignorance is nothing but the self-imposed limitation
of personality complex, and the three states roughly correspond to the
conscious, the subconscious and the unconscious mind of modern
psychology.
What is the distinction between the dreamful and the dreamless
sleep? Because, apart from the waking state of the consciousness, these
are the two other states. The author explains that in the dreamful
sleep, energy or attention is withdrawn only from the external sense, but
the mind keeps awake, a part of the brain is actively functioning, i.e.,
the thought process keeps on going resulting in dreams. Thus, in the
absence of the sense perception, the thoughts are the only objects of
consciousness, and the distinction between the ideal and the actual form
of objects is lost to it. That is why dreams are as real in the dreamful
state as the physical world is during the waking state, and therefore one
cannot be said to be more real than the other with reference to its
consciousness.
The dreamless sleep is caused by the mind being dissolved, i.e.,
withdrawn, unto prāṇa (vital breath). One can quite understand that
in the deep sleep the mind is withdrawn, but that it is withdrawn unto
prāṇa is a paradox. The Vedānta speaks of five vestures, viz., the physi-
cal (annamayakośa), vital (prāṇamayakośa), mental (manomayakośa), psychic
(vijñānamayakośa) and blissful (ānandamayakośa). In this scheme the
mind which pertains to the mental vesture is subtler than prāṇa (vital
breath). Therefore, it is not intelligible how a subtler entity can be
dissolved in a grosser one, for usually the case is contrary.
3. It is temporarily dissolved in prāṇa which is not the physical
breath only.

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Section 2 : The Genesis of the Human Embodiment 71
7. नव स्रोतांसि
श्रवणे नयने नासे वदनं गुदशेफसी ॥८६॥
becomes dreamless or the deep sleep state of the individuated
being⁴. (84c-85)
That the ātman⁵ sleeps, is so believed for it dissolves
itself⁶ unto Parātman⁷. (86ab)
7. The nine canals (srota-s) : 86c-87
The embodied human beings are provided with nine
canals (srota-s) for the elimination of bodily impurities, viz.,
The statement of the author can possibly be understood in the
sense that even while the mind is not functioning in deep sleep, the
vital breath does function, and therefore the mind can be said to dissolve
in it. Or, alternatively, the dissolution of the mind may be understood
in the restricted sense of self-consciousness only, which is related to
sense perception and body consciousness, which may not be very
satisfactory.
The phenomenon of sleep is elucidated in a few words here on the
basis of semantics. The Sanskrit expression for, 'the principle of intelli-
gence sleeps', is 'svapiti'. The author raises the question as to why the
ātman is said to be sleeping, and he answers—"svamapītaḥ parātmānam",
i. e., because it dissolves itself, discards its self imposed limitations and
thereby merges into the supreme Being; and this he does by explaining
the meaning of the word 'svapiti', semantically.
Apart from the semantics, the idea expressed is very simple.
Ātman freed from the limitations of Jīvatva becomes one with the
Paramātman; in other words, the spirit freed from the limitations of self-
consciousness is united with the supreme Deity; and this process exhi-
bits itself, in the phenomenon of sleep. This however, signifies a
temporary release.
4. Self-conscious living organism, i.e., jīva.
5. The principle of intelligence involved in a self-conscious
being.
6. Actually what is dissolved is the limitation caused by self-
consciousness.
7. The supreme Deity, the absolute Being.