The three states

[Gummuluru Murthy]

On Tue, 9 Dec 1997, Chandran, Nanda (NBC) wrote:

> [...]
> But it's only in the state of susupti, though we don't have any recollection
> of it (atleast I don't!),  and upon waking up we feel relaxed and say we've
> had a peaceful sleep etc. So the fact that there exists a state, though we
> weren't aware of it, when we were at total peace and that warrants
> investigation. And that there was no awareness in that state, only proves
> the subtlety of the state.
>

I have read similar statements about the deep sleep state that when we
wake up (from deep sleep) we say we had a peaceful or happy sleep etc.
I would like to ask in this context: How could we say that we slept
happily ? Deep sleep, by its very definition, is beyond happiness and
sadness. Can a jeeva in a wake-up state gauge how happy (or sad) the deep
sleep is (unless the reference is to sat-chit-ananda, the bliss without
opposite) ? Further, it is significant that the statement "I slept happily
... " is made only in the wake-up state.

Regards
Gummuluru Murthy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
... aham bhAvodayAbhAvo bodhasya paramAvadhih ...
                        Shri Shankara in Viveka ChuDAmaNi (verse 424)

The end of the rise of the sense of "I" of the ego is the culmination
of knowledge.
------------------------------------------------------------------------