Sleep!

                      POEMS AND POETS

                        17. SLEEP
     

        " I rose up at the dawn of day"- William Blake

One of the first verses we learned in school, outside the class room, was this age-old wisdom:

Early to bed, early to rise,

Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!

In India this was taught , like most other things, as a religious discipline. Getting up before the sun rise- the time is called usha kala, and oh, it is measured so precisely- is highly extolled in the scriptures, with appropriate stories. It was obligatory for the brahmins, who had to do their morning Sandhya before the sun rose. One popular dictum in Tamil was:

"Make your offering without seeing, without slant, and seeing well." ( Kaanaamal, konaamal, kandu kodu)

It means that you have to offer your  oblations of water to Sun- without sighting the sun in the morning, when the sun is directly on your head, (noon), and before sun set. 

Philosophers may dispute whether the sun actually rises! This is an important illustration given in our religious teaching. Truth is taught as perceived at two levels- Truth as it is ( Paramarthika) and Truth as it appears (Vyavaharika). The absolute truth is that sun never rises or sets; it is the earth's rotation that causes the appearance of sun rise and sunset; but in practical affairs, you have to be guided by the apparent phenomenon. In our villages, people indicate places by the direction; even now in our revenue records or property documents, a piece of land or building will be identified by what lies in the four directions of the property. So you have to take sun rise as the fact as a guide to practical action.This is the standard example given. ( Philosophers have invented one more category too) In  religious parlance, the two stages are called Satyam and Rtam. Upanishad says: Satyancha Swadhyaya pravachanesha; Rtancha Swadhya pravachanecha: don't neglect absolute truth; don't neglect  its practical manifestation.

The standard teaching is that a wise man or man of worldly wisdom should follow both. In course of developing society, Rta becomes the order commonly followed. So the great Tamil Philosopher and moralist Tiruvalluvar lays down: However learned one may be, if one does not know how to follow the world order, he lacks learning.  He also says that those who deny the wisdom of the great will be counted for a ghost in the world. But, oh, our old poets are so precise and strict: "world" does not mean the majority as it does today, but the elite of conduct."What is called the world is really its great people" , says our authoritative old Tamil lexicon. ( Ulagam enbadu vuyarndor maatte). They set the standard.

But we have strayed away from sleep, or waking up.Is it so easy, or pleasant to get up so early in the morning? Here is an American Poet on this subject.

John Godfrey Saxe: 1816-1887

EARLY RISING

"God bless the man who first invented sleep!"
    So Sancho Panza said, and so say I:
And bless him, also, that he didn't keep
    His great discovery to himself; nor try
To make it- as the lucky fellow might-
A close monopoly by patent-right!

Yes; bless the man who first invented sleep
    ( I really can't avoid the iteration);
But blast the man, with curses loud and deep,
    Whate'er the rascal's name,, or age, or station,
Who first invented, and went round advising,
That artificial cut-off,-Early Rising!

"Rise with the lark, and with the lark to bed,"
     Observes some solemn,sentimental owl;
Maxims like these are very cheaply said;
    But ere you make yourself a fool or fowl,
Pray just inquire about his rise and fall,
And whether larks have any beds at all!

The time for honest folks to be abed
    Is in the morning, if I reason right;
And he who cannot keep his precious head
    Upon his pillow till it is fairly light,
And so enjoy his forty morning winks,
Is up to knavery: or else- he drinks.

The hours that leave  the slight cause to weep
Are those we passed in childhood or asleep!

'T is beautiful to leave the world a while
     For the soft visions of the gentle night;
And free, at last ,from mortal care or guile
    To live as only in the angels' sight,
In sleep's sweet realm so cosily shut in,
Where ,at the worst, we only dream of sin!

So, let us sleep , and give the Maker praise.
    I like the lad who, when his father thought
To clip his morning nap by hackneyed phrase
    Of vagrant worm by early songster caught,
Cried," Served him right!-it's not at all surprising;
The worm was punished, sir, for early rising!

Well sir, who has not enjoyed that extra time on bed- especially on a Sunday morning- when there is no hurly-burly to be done! For me it was not easy- in my college days! I was in a Catholic college hostel-though not a Catholic- and the rules were strict! We were to be up and about not before 5.45  and not later than 6 in the morning , on all days. Silence and study hour began at 6.15 and lasted up to breakfast at 8. Father Murphy who was both principal and warden would make his daily rounds, personally attending to each boy; he knew our tricks- some would pretend to get up, but go back to bed ( it was no bed in the conventional sense, but usually a grass mat spread on the floor: life was so simple then) after he moved to the next room.. So, Father would be back on another round. None could escape. In loco parentis,he said when we had joined the hostel and like a parent did he bestow loving care and enforce regular discipline. "Moderation is what you need, but be regular in whatever you do' was what he advised us .( His exact words)

But I had a Catholic buddy who wanted to sleep a little longer on Sunday mornings so that he could attend a  Mass. But he would not approach Father. The job fell on me. I knew Father's psychology. You could approach him directly for anything, but alone! He did not like boys forming a group and raising an issue! ( Most of us boys had this mob feeling). So one Saturday night, after the Catholic boys said their prayers at 10.30 - no one could be awake long after that , I approached him and told him that the fact that the next day was Sunday and therefore holiday  somehow made us relax that little bit more ( I carefully avoided any suggestion of laziness) and unconsciously linger on in bed a little longer.He gave me a steady look, and at last said: You, fool- you are spoiling every one!. But he rang the bell again, so all the Catholic boys reassembled and  he announced that from the next day, they could all sleep 15 minutes longer on Sunday mornings! So we gained those extra winks on Sunday mornings. So I vote with Saxe!

But science people say we must follow circadian rhythms, which reinforce the traditional wisdom.

Why is sleep so sweet?

It is a psychological phenomenon, but given a philosophical colour in India. I will state it very briefly. 

Our consciousness is spread out in three states- waking, dream, and sleep. There is a fourth-dreamless sleep. This is called Turiyam. There is one more- totally bypassing all levels  or stages of normal consciousness: it is called Turiyateetam, transcending even turiyam.

People understand (so they feel) the waking state.But when they sleep? When we sleep, we are not aware that we are sleeping but on waking up we Know how well we slept.Who informs us? When we do not know we are sleeping, as we sleep, how do we know we dreamt and how do we recollect the dreams? So there is some faculty in us which is awake and aware, no matter what is the state of the body or conscious mind- whether waking, sleeping or dreaming! It is the contact with this faculty that makes us feel so at peace, value sleep and miss it so. See the millions of dollars spent on sleeping pills in the US!

This contact takes place unconsciously in sleep; nevertheless, it is real and we feel sweet. It is the transcendence of the three normal states of consciousness that leads to this state. There is an absence of body consciousness. Human genius has invented lot of methods to achieve this, including meditation, drugs, drinks. But they are all defective, and many are positively dangerous. This deeper contact has to come about by genuine spiritual effort. There is simply no trick or short-cut which will take us there.This is hard work.

The fifth state is rare, possible  only for genuine spiritual masters.

This in short is a general outline of our theory. More than this cannot be attempted here. But this sufficiently explains why sleep is important. Shakespeare has got it right, once again!

Shakespeare  On Sleep

Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies
Which busy care draws in the brains of men;
Therefore thou sleepest so sound.

                                 Julius Caesar 2.1

Care keeps his lodge in every old man's eye
And where care lodges,sleep will never lie.

                                  Romeo and Juliet 2.3 

......Sleep no more!
Macbeth doth murder sleep, the innocent sleep,
Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care,
The death of each day's life,sore labour's bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast.

                                 Macbeth 2.2


How many thousands of my poorest subjects
Are at this hour asleep!O sleep! O gentle sleep!
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?
Why rather, sleep,lest thou in smoky cribs,
Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee,
And hushed with buzzing night flies to thy slumber,
Than in the perfect chambers of the great,
Under the canopies of costly state,
And lull'd with sounds of sweetest melody?
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

                                 2 Henry IV 3.1


To die, to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, it is a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleeep,
To sleep, perchance to dream: ay, there is the rub;
For in that sleep of death  what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, 
Must give us pause.

                                          Hamlet 3.1

It is not necessary to add comments. Let us reflect on what Shakespeare says.

It is only a clear conscience and care-free mind that could give sleep. Old age brings its cares ( vriddastavat chinta sakta: said Sankara); responsibility, its concerns. These take their toll on sleep. Those physically active sleep well, while those engaged in mental-work find it difficult to get sleep. it is difficult to quieten the mind.

There is some resemblance between death and sleep. It is noted by religious teachers too. Tiruvalluvar says death is like sleep, and birth (rebirth) is like waking up. Shakespeare too  alludes to it- but he warns us: what kind of dream we will get after death , we do not know! We in India would say, death solves no problems; one has to solve the spiritual problem while alive. No one knows what will be the next birth like. Gita makes it clear that the next birth will depend on the nature of thoughts at death.

Some would ask Ramana Maharshi: why not jump in front of a running locomotive and commit suicide, thinking of God? It would get us liberation! But Ramana would reply that no matter what we may argue now, what the mind thinks at death would depend upon what it thinks habitually. It is not easy to get good or Godly thoughts suddenly at the last moment; so, one should make  a practice of thinking of God at all times. We realise how great indeed is Gandhi who,when shot at point-blank range when he was going to participate in a meeting, called out the name of God (Rama) and died! And he was in the thick of public life for over 30 years! It is such lives which lend credence to spiritual advice.

Dream is an essential part of sleep, though dreamless sleep is valued. But we can't dream without sleep! It is such a mystery. Modern science tries to analyse it, c and put it into straight compartments.This is where it goes wrong. Dreams are of different types. I have never had a dream; but my wife dreams. How true is the old adage: two people may sleep on the same bed, but may have different dreams! Her dreams have turned literally true. I relate just three:

• Once she dreamt that she and all of us along with her were wading through waist-deep waters stretching up to the horizon. She was carrying a small child in her arms. This was January 1980. Soon after, my father passed away and we had to go to Rameswaram to perform the religious rites. Those who have been to Rameswaram know that the sea there is like a lake, and you can go deep into it, but the water is still waist deep or chest deep! There are no waves at all! And our third child was just 6 weeks old!
• This dream occurred in September, 2001. Our son had gone to US for his MS studies. She dreamt she was sitting on the steps at the entrance of our old house,which we had left years before, with this boy ( child) on her lap. Then the row of multi-storied flats in front of the house just collapsed and fell in a heap! But she was safe with the child! That day we got news of the Twin Towers of 9/11! Our son was in Washington, safe!
• This too occurred more or less at the same time. I was working in a different place, 1500 miles away. I had not been well. One day she dreamt that a coffin covered in white cloth had arrived in our housing complex. She was naturally upset. That evening, they got news that a neighbour in our complex had died. His dead body arrived in a coffin draped in white in exactly the same manner that evening!

We don't pretend to understand these things. But we do not deny them.

The mystery of sleep is due to its transcending time, space and imposing its own order of reality! Dream illness requires dream doctor, dream medicine. We go to sleep on a full stomach and dream of starving! There is this story. A poor farmer was working his field; at mid day, came to the shelter of a tree, took his food and went napping. He was a king, with seven nice children and spending time merrily. His wife came running shortly after, and shook him awoke. He was angry. The wife told him their child was bitten by a snake and had died. He started laughing, annoying his wife.She scolded him: Had he no heart? laughing when the child was dead? He explained: Whom to cry for? I just dreamt I was a king with 7 children, but you woke me up and those children are dead! Do I cry for this one child or those 7 children? Our philosophers are fond of using dream to explain the quality of the world-its reality.

Scientists warn us about sleep deprivation.Sages caution us about excess sleep. They say even our waking life is like sleep-walking. We are hardly aware of ourselves. They say we should retain awareness at all times, even at death.Many stories are related about saints and their sleep experience.

Sadasiva Brahmendra is a much venerated  17th century saint of the South. At the very mention of his name, people would stand up. He was given to wandering, moving all over the country side. Once he saw a rice filed after harvest and lay down. Those fields had small mud borders  raised to enclose small areas to hold water. He found one such and used it as pillow. Two country girls were passing by, noticed this holy man lying down like this. One remarked to the other: 'See, holy man indeed! He is supposed to have renounced the world, but he has not renounced the pillow yet!' The words stung the saint, and he got up! How true- why did he need a pillow, when his hand could do! Such was the standard followed by our great sages. Using hand for a pillow, the earth as the bed, sky for the roof, the open hands as the plate to eat from- why did they need anything at all! It also shows what common people expected of holy men!

Sleep comes when the mind is clear, free from worries. I would say, free from knowledge too! Knowledge imposes its own burden. See the doctors. Always reading , thinking about  sickness and seeing sick people! Murphy's Law says if anything can go wrong, it will! And our own bodies are the best example! I wonder how these medical fellows are able to sleep at all, with so many things going wrong!(Let us also say with spiritual people: What can go wrong, can go right,too!)

Next come the astrologers! My God! What impossible combinations of planets and their effects! And life is only a catalogue of things gone wrong! These people know all this and still sleep! Nothing short of a marvel!

I think scientists- if they are for real- are not far behind. I would have liked to ask Einstein how he managed to catch sleep, with all that happening to the Universe!

We should heed Shakespeare's word: What kind of dream would come after that sleep called death should make us pause. But if we follow Browning, there is no doubt!

Robert Browning

La Saisiaz: Fancy

I concede the thing refused: henceforth

                       no certainty more plain

Than this mere surmise that after body dies

                       soul lives again.

Two, the only facts acknowledged late,

                       are now increased to three-

God is, and the soul is, and, as certain,

                       after death shall be.

Put this third to use in life,

                       the time for using fact!

Browning's optimism is unbeatable!

                    

                       

                       

                        

                            

                      

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