46. Three kinds of Sleep
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Abhāva pratyaya ālambanā vṛttihi nidrā The subtle state where thoughts are not visualized is sleep or nidra
In this sutra, Patanjali is not talking only about the sleep which you experience at night - you lie down, there is no dream, there is no thought, and you wake up in the morning. You know only that sleep. You remember only that sleep. That is also one kind of sleep you go through. But you go through two other sleeps also. You go through three kinds of sleep: the sleep which you experience during the waking state, the sleep which you experience during the dream state and the sleep which you experience during deep sleep state. You go through three kinds of sleep - waking-sleep, dream-sleep, sleep-sleep.
Understand, we experience sleep during the waking state also! You would have experienced this many times in your life - you would have started the car and driven to office for half an hour, but only when you park your car at the office and get out, you will suddenly remember that you have driven for half an hour! You drove for half an hour, turned right, turned left, stopped at a signal, stopped for a cop - you did so many things. You did so many things! But you don't remember. Means, you were sleeping even when you were awake.
I am not talking only about the people who have disorders, like sleepwalkers. I am saying, the whole of humanity is sleepwalking! Except a man who is awakened, enlightened, the whole of humanity is sleepwalking. Sometimes, my disciples and the people who live around me can find that clear difference
- they are not able to keep pace with my clarity, with my awareness. I tell them so many things - ‘This this this this this’ – and they can’t grasp everything together! Sometimes I struggle with them. Then suddenly I remember this sutra! Till you are enlightened, there is really no other way - you will go through part of your waking state, sleeping!
What we call ‘absentmindedness’ is one side-effect or by-product of this sleep – which Patanjali calls nidra. Please understand: not being alive in the state in which you are, is what I call sleep. Not being available in the state which you are, is what I call sleep. If you can just be available in the state in which you are, you will have solutions for all the problems you face. I really mean this: there is no problem which can’t be solved! Only one thing – you need to be available there. All problems are created when you are not available. When you are not available, you mess up the whole thing.
Many times you can see - especially when you are watching TV, or when you are reading a book - suddenly, for a few minutes - a gap. Suddenly there is a few minutes’ gap; it is as if a ‘pause’ has happened! At least, with a book, you can wake up and go back! That is why, still, no other medium is able to outdate books. So many modern media have come, where you need lesser effort than reading a book – like TV. But you can’t outdate a book, because people know that in between, they will have a pause! If it is a book, they can go back. That is why people rely on books more than any other source.
I can say even ‘absentmindedness’ is a very superficial word. Even that can’t be the right description. You are there, but you are not there; you are there, but you are not there. Your body is moving, you are walking, you are talking, you are doing things... you are showing all the clinical symptoms of being awake – but you are asleep! You are not there! The reflection of Consciousness is not there!
> You go through three
> kinds of sleep: waking-sleep,
> dream-sleep and sleep-sleep.
CONTEMPLATION
If I can just be available in the state in which I am, I will have solutions for all the problems I face.