Vedanta

shrImadAnandatIrthArya mukhanissR^itaM

yatkAmaH svApamApnoti tadevotthApitaH punaH

avasho.api vyAharati kutaH suptAvakAmatA ..3.4.4

Some may ask - we can agree that the desires are present latently only if it is proved, in the first place, that desires do exist even in the deep sleep state. But how can we know that desires exist even in the deep sleep state? – thus.

To this we reply. We know this by inference. It is evident in some persons especially children. They sleep desiring to eat something. After sometime they wake up crying for the same thing.  By this we can infer that they had that desire latent even in the sleep state. Otherwise, how can they express the same desire even after waking up?

It is not correct to say that the desires which have ceased during the sleep state are born again after waking up. This is not possible for a person who just woke up from sleep. Two things are necessary for a desire to arise 

1. Perception of the object

2. Knowledge that the object is useful (iShTasAdhanatA j~nAnaM)

Without these two no desire can arise. For a person who just woke up, these two are not possible as there is no time to perceive the object and then infer its usability. Our observance reveals that their desire occurs spontaneously. Thus we can infer that the desire was latent even during the sleep state. In fact, doShAs such as kAma, dveSha etc are also present in all beings at all times. As pata~njali says –

avidyAxetratvamuttareShAM prasuptatanuvicChinnodArANAM

The doShAs such as kAma, dveSha etc caused due to avidyA are always present in a person in their prasupta, tanu, vicChinna and udAra forms.

The meanings of the terms prasupta, tanu, vicChinna and udAra are given in one of our previous postings http://uttaradimath.org/vedanta/2007/03/20/acharya-vaani-25/

Though the above sutra of pata~njali does not explicitly say that desires do exist during the deep sleep state. But by saying that these doShAs exist right from the time when the child is in the mother’s womb and even until young age, it is implied that the desires continue to exist even in the deep sleep state.

Thus we infer that desires exist even in deep sleep state. As they are not in manifested state, we come to know that they are present latently.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2007 at 4:22 pm and is filed under Acharya Vaani. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.