There is no the enjoyment of freshness during the deep sleep

[dattaswami]

There is no the enjoyment of freshness during the deep sleep

 

205. Bhogojnaanam jaagradaadaaveva na praaktadaatmanah.

 

Translation: The enjoyment of freshness itself is a mode of awareness, which starts only in the first moment of the waking state and not in deep sleep at all. The object of this state is the blankness or space or inert energy or self.

 

Explanation: In the waking and dream states the inert energy is in the state of functioning through the nervous system and hence is always associated with its special work called as awareness. Hence in these two states, the awareness cannot be realized as a dependent on the inert energy only. Only from deep sleep, when the awareness disappears and the inert energy alone is realized, all the show of awareness disappears. Only from deep sleep you can realize that the awareness is a dependent of the inert energy and you can realize that the basic and eternal form of awareness is inert energy, which is an entity as the worker or working element. In the very first moment of waking state, there is awareness or perception of blankness or vacuum (space), in which no modification of space (any worldly item) exists. From this state of that first moment, you are inferring the existence of the same state during the deep sleep also. It is a matter of straight self-experience of any human being that it is not aware of even the blankness during the deep sleep. In deep sleep, blankness or space or finite inert energy exists but it is not identified, since awareness or the special mode of work of the same inert energy is absent. Inert energy was not functioning in such special style called as awareness during deep sleep. The enjoyment of freshness due to the perception of blankness (absence of any worldly items or affairs) is also done in the very first moment of the waking state only (yassaakshaat kurute prabodhasamaye—Shankara). Enjoyment is a mode of awareness. When the awareness itself was absent in the deep sleep, how can there be the enjoyment of freshness during the deep sleep? This blankness or vacuum or space or primordial energy or inert energy is nothing but the self of the awareness. The worker or the working element is the self of the work. The conclusion is: In the deep sleep only the inert energy remains which is the subject and it has no object because the inert energy does not function to have the awareness by which it can know some thing different from itself. As soon as the deep sleep ends, the inert energy starts functioning and is associated with the awareness by which itself becomes the object of its own process of awareness. Therefore, after the deep sleep the awareness of self or inert energy exists, in which awareness is the subject (grasper) and the self is object (grasped). But, during the deep sleep, only the self exists, which is not grasped by the awareness since the awareness is absent. Hence, the self only remains in the deep sleep as the subject. In the deep sleep, since awareness is totally absent, enjoyment cannot also exist during the deep sleep because enjoyment is a mode of awareness. It means enjoyment cannot exist without awareness. The enjoyment of freshness or blankness of affairs happens only in the first moment of the waking state. From such enjoyment, you are inferring a possibility of such enjoyment during the deep sleep also. In fact, there is no enjoyment of freshness during deep sleep and your assumption based on the inference is not true at all. During the deep sleep, the blankness of affairs existed but such blankness was not grasped or enjoyed due to absence of awareness.