The Meaning of Dreaming The Deeper Teachings of Yoga on

Why We Dream as Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda, 1st

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 The Meaning of
DREAMING

THE DEEPER TEACHINGS OF YOGA ON

WHY WE DREAM
 The Meaning of
DREAMING

THE DEEPER TEACHINGS OF YOGA ON

WHY WE DREAM

As Explained By Paramhansa Yogananda

NAYASWAMI SAVITRI SIMPSON
crystal clarity publishers
Crystal Clarity Publishers, Nevada City, CA 95959
© 2016 Savitri Simpson
All rights reserved.

Printed in U.S.A.
ISBN: 978-1-56589-306-1
eISBN: 978-1-56589-562-1

Cover and interior designed by David C. Jensen

Cover painting by Ashleigh Dyan Bayer

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Simpson, Savitri, 1950- author.

Title: The meaning of dreaming : the deeper teachings of yoga
on why we dream
as explained by Paramhansa
Yogananda / Nayaswami Savitri Simpson.
Description: Nevada City, California : Crystal Clarity
Publishers, [2016]
Identifiers: LCCN
2016006112| ISBN 9781565893061 (quality pbk. : alk. paper)
| ISBN 9781565895621
(ePub)
Subjects: LCSH: Self-Realization
Fellowship. | Yogananda, Paramahansa,
1893-1952--Teachings. |
Dreams.
Classification: LCC BP605.S4 S56
2016 | DDC 135/.3--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016006112
crystal clarity publishers
800.424.1055 • www.crystalclarity.com
 CONTENTS

Introduction

What Science knows About Dreaming

More Information About Dreaming

Dreaming Through the Ages

Where Do Our Dreams Come From?

Why Do We Dream?

How Do We Dream?

Ordinary Dreams vs. Superconscious Visions

Taking Charge of Our Dreams

Using Dreams to Contact Departed Loved Ones

Dream Interpretation and Symbols in Dreams

Conclusion
 INTRODUCTION

In the first stage of my research for this book, I was astonished by the
sheer number of books and articles that have been written about dreams and
dreaming—thousands, or more probably, tens of thousands! There are
several websites on the topic, plus chat rooms, scientific journals,
magazines, and conferences, even a whole library devoted to this subject.*
At the time of my research, I found 6871 book titles on Amazon.com with
the words dream or dreaming in the title.
The proliferation of available information on the subject suggests two
things: first, dreams seem to be an endlessly fascinating topic for people of
every culture, place, and time; and second, why should I attempt to write
yet another book on the subject, when so much has already been written? In
answer to this question, my research also helped me to see that, at least as
well as I could determine, no one has addressed this topic in the same way
that the great exponents of yoga have done. And, to my knowledge, no one
has spoken or written on this subject with such fresh insights, clarity, and
absolute authority as one of the greatest yoga masters of recent times,
Paramhansa Yogananda.
Paramhansa Yogananda was the first yogi from India to make his
permanent residence in America. Born in 1893, Yogananda came to the
United States in 1920, where he lived until his passing in 1952. In addition
to lecturing and teaching extensively in the West, he also wrote books and
lessons on yoga teachings, meditation, and philosophy. In some of his
earliest lessons he wrote about dreams, why we dream, and what our
dreams mean. He did not write as someone presenting a theory about what
dreaming is, but as a master of himself—one who had experienced every
level of consciousness consciously, and who had achieved superconscious
union with God, as well as power over life and death. In 1948 Yogananda
published his masterpiece and his most important written work,
Autobiography of a Yogi, which remains, to this day, one of the most
sought-after and influential books in the annals of metaphysics.
Much of the material in this book is taken from a series of lessons
Yognananda wrote in the 1920s and 1930s. Occasionally sentences,
redundant in the present context, have been deleted. Sometimes words or
punctuation have been changed to clarify the meaning.
In this book I also quote extensively from the books, lessons, and lectures
of Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters; 1926– 2013), a direct disciple of
Paramhansa Yogananda and my spiritual teacher for thirty-eight years. He
was the founder of Ananda Sangha and its communities and centers
worldwide. For nearly six decades he served Yogananda’s worldwide
mission through writing, lecturing, and teaching.
He is renowned also as a gifted author and composer. His published
books number over a hundred, the best known of which are: The New Path:
My Life with Paramhansa Yogananda; Rays of the One Light; The Essence
of Self-Realization: The Wisdom of Paramhansa Yogananda; Paramhansa
Yogananda: A Biography; The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyaam Explained; The
Hindu Way of Awakening; Hope for a Better World; God is for Everyone;
Conversations with Yogananda; The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita; and
Revelations of Christ.

What Is a Dream?
The word “dream” has several meanings. At night we fall asleep and
dream. But we also use the words “dreaming” or “dreams” to describe
things we are wishing to have happen, imaginations, or visualizations of
desires. Another meaning suggests something in-substantial or not quite
real. Paramhansa Yogananda often referred to “the dream nature of the
universe,” explaining that the reality of the material universe is not as real
or solid as we think. Most people have had the experience, even if only for
a few moments, of their life and what is going on around them having a
dreamlike or insubstantial quality. People who are not grounded or are
vague in their approach to life are often called “dreamy” or “dreamers.”
 In whatever ways we use the word, there are probably few people who
have not wondered about their dreams, what they mean, or why we dream
in the first place. Scientists who study sleep patterns and dream states agree
that everyone dreams, even if some people say they are unable to remember
their dreams. Even animals seem to dream, as evidenced by their twitching
limbs, other movements, or vocalizations made while asleep. And yet this
universal activity is still, in many ways, an unexplained phenomenon. This
book, based on the teachings of yoga and especially those of Paramhansa
Yogananda, is an attempt to demystify dreaming and what dreams mean,
and to throw a new light on this ever-fascinating subject.
Footnote
*
A fine website for learning more about current dream research is
www.asdreams.org, which is run by the International Association for the
Study of Dreams.
 CHAPTER ONE

What Science Knows About Dreaming

The little centuries of human years are but days, nay, but a few hours
in God’s consciousness. Awaken! Arise from dreams of littleness to
the realization of the vastness within you.
—Paramhansa Yogananda, Praecepta Lessons, Vol. 4 (1938) Praeceptum #103, 2005

What is a dream? Common definitions say that dreams are a series of

images, ideas, and emotions occurring in certain stages of sleep. Dreams
may take the form of a reverie, a state of abstraction, a trance, or a fantasy.
Also, to dream is to hope for or imagine something, to pass time idly in
reverie, to invent something, or to concoct a fantasy.
It is interesting that the root of the word “dream” is thought to be from
the Germanic word “dhreugh,” meaning a vision or illusion based in joy,
gladness, and music.

Science and Dreams

What does the scientific community know about dreaming? Most
scientists will candidly answer this question with a simple statement: “Very
little!” The reason for this lack of knowledge is easy to understand. As