Letters on Yoga - III

Chapter VII

The Human World

Child

The child is usually the symbol of the psychic being.

A dream like this of a child—especially a newborn child—usually signifies the birth (i.e. the awakening) of the soul or psychic being in the outward nature.

The child usually signifies the psychic being—newborn in the sense that it at last comes to the surface. The colour of the cloth [bright yellow] would mean that it comes with health (internal or external or both) and the spiritual riches.

The infant in the Mother's arms is the symbol of the psychic being.

It is not a fact that the psychic being always appears as a baby—it is sometimes seen symbolically as a newborn baby; many see it as a child of varying ages—it is a very common and usual experience; it is not peculiar to emotional natures. It has several significances such as the new birth of the consciousness into the true psychic nature, the still young growth of this new being, the trust, reliance, dependence of the child on the Mother.

The child (when it does not mean the psychic being) is usually the symbol of something newborn in some part of the consciousness.

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I suppose the golden child is the Truth-Soul which follows after the silver light of the spiritual. When it plunges into the black waters of the subconscient, it releases from it the spiritual light and the sevenfold streams of the Divine Energy and, clearing itself of the stains of the subconscient, it prepares its flight towards the supreme Divine (the Mother).

Parents and Relatives

In these dreams the parents or relatives mean the ordinary forces of the physical consciousness (the old nature).

A relative is generally a symbol of some element of the hereditary nature (the external being so far as it is created by heredity).

Mother, sister or other relatives are usually in such dreams symbols of forces of ordinary nature. The exact meaning depends on the context. But all such dreams are not symbolical—a sex dream for instance may bring up the form of any woman known or unknown.

These vital dreams are not interpretable unless there is an evident clue. Aunt or mother usually indicates the ordinary physical nature, a closed room would be some part of the physical nature that was not open to the light, bats would mean forces of the night, i.e. ignorant movements finding a lodging in the obscurity of the unenlightened nature.

It [seeing relatives in dreams] is the impression left by the past life and its sanskaras that come up in these dreams from the subconscient. They have to be rejected till the impressions are rooted out.

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Robbers

The robbers are, as in the Veda, vital beings who come to steal away the good condition or else to steal the gains of the sadhana.

Journeying

The image of journeying always signifies a movement in life or a progress in sadhana.

Journeying on a horse or in a conveyance, if symbolic, means a progress or a movement in life, work or sadhana.

A journey in a boat or other conveyance means always a movement in the Yoga—often an advance or progress.

A journey in a carriage, train, motor car, steamer, boat, aeroplane etc. indicates a movement in the sadhana. The white horse may be the sattwic mind and the red horse the vital rajas giving energy and both combining to make a progress.

Aeroplane, steamer and train are always symbols of a rapid progress or forward movement.

The railway train at full speed means rapid progress.

The railway line is a symbol of rapid progress and the three stars are a symbol of Divine Grace in the mind, life and body.

The moving on the sands—it frequently happens in these

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dreams—is usually a sign of an easier movement in the sadhana.

Running Away

The running away [in dream] is a symbol of the inertia in part of the being which allows the forces to invade, drawing back from them and losing ground instead of facing and destroying them.

Flying

When you find yourself flying it is always the vital being in the subtle body in the vital world that is doing it.

Flying during sleep over houses, streets, etc. simply means that the consciousness in the vital sheaths has gone out and is moving over places in the vital or subtle physical world (even sometimes the material); it is always in the vital sheath that one flies like that.

The ascending movement is different—in that it is the consciousness that goes high up to other planes or levels and comes down again to the body.

Ears

The ears signify usually the place of inspired knowledge or else of inspired expression—red and gold mean truth and power joined together.

Teeth

Symbolically, if the dream is symbolic, the falling of teeth means the disappearance of old fixed mental habits belonging to the physical mind.

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The breaking or falling of teeth [in dream] is symbolic usually of the breaking or falling off of habitual formations or sanskaras in the physical mind.

Flesh

The piece of flesh indicates something restless in the physical being which stands by its restlessness and excessive materiality in the way of the full flow of the Ananda. In the dream this became active and was eliminated by the pressure of the psychic.

Being Dead

The feeling of being dead in a vision or dream experience comes when something in the being is to be silenced into entire inactivity and ceases to exist as a part of the nature. It may be a very small part, but as during the process the consciousness is concentrated in it and identified with it for the purpose of the working, the feeling is that "I am dead". When you said, "I am dead, now let me get up and go", it simply meant, "The thing is done and the process is over. There is no need to identify myself with this part any longer." There is no indication in the experience as to what the thing was that passed through this experience.

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