Dreams are images of hopes and fears. Somnambulism, premonitions, and second sight are a disposition, energised by the power of the imagination, to perceive and guess by intuition reflections from the Astral Light. In sense dreams the mind is always asleep. The sensual tendencies of the dreamer are readily impressed by pictures from the Astral Light, and thus the direction of such dreams is always towards the animal plane. We should therefore train ourselves to wake up when a sense dream occurs; and the instantaneous rejection of impure thoughts during the period of waking consciousness will tend to set up a habit of rejection, which will act automatically in sleep. There is no simple answer to the question “what is it that dreams?” for it depends entirely on each individual, what principle will be the chief motor in dreams, and whether they will be remembered or forgotten. When the material man dreams, all he sees with his eyes shut, and in or through his mind, is of course subjective. But the Inner Man, who is the silent spectator of the life of the dreamer, all he sees is as objective as he is himself to himself. The dream state is common not only to all men, but also to all animals, from the highest mammalia to the smallest birds, and even insects. Every being endowed with a physical brain, or organs approximating thereto, must dream. Human dreams do not differ much from those of the animals. But that which is entirely terra incognita for science is the real dreams and experiences of the immortal Ego overshadowing mortal man, which thinks and acts independently of the physical body. What we often regard as dreams or idle fancies may be stray pages torn out from the life and experiences of the Inner Man, the dim recollection of which at the moment of awakening becomes more or less distorted by our physical memory. Every night, when the Inner Man is freed from the trammels of matter, he lives a separate life within his prison of clay. But the outer man cannot be conscious of the Inner Man, for his brain and thinking apparatus are paralyzed more or less completely. Ordinary dreams are caused by sensuously desirous consciousness awakened into chaotic activity by the slumbering reminiscences of the lower mind. The combined action of desires and animal soul is purely mechanical. It is instinct, not reason, which is active in them. But, as a rule, our memory registers only the fugitive and distorted impressions which the brain receives at the moment of awakening. Among the vast number of meaningless dreams there are some in which presages are given of coming events. When such dreams come true, they may be termed prophetic. In the case of individuals who have truly prophetic dreams, it is because their physical brains and memory are in closer relation and sympathy with their Higher Ego than in the generality of men. The Adept, however, does not dream, he just paralyzes his lower self during sleep, and becomes perfectly free. Dreams are illusions and the Adept is beyond illusion. Imagination is the best guide of our blind senses. We see through our imagination, and that is the natural aspect of the miracle. But we also see actual and true things, and it is in this that lies the marvel of the natural phenomenon. Those of a nervous temperament, whose sight is weak and imagination vivid, are the fittest persons for this kind of divination. The stronger the spirituality of the dreamer, the easier it will be for the Higher Ego to impress on the brain a vivid picture of the dream. In the materialistic man, in one whose proclivities and passions have severed his astral soul from her spiritual counterpart and master, in him whose labour has so worn out the body as to render him temporarily insensible to the voice of his soul — such persons rarely, if ever, will have any dreams at all. On the other hand, highly spiritual people will see visions and dreams when asleep, and even in their hours of wakefulness. Messages sent by one soul to another are perceived as premonitions, dreams, and visions. Facts are generally inverted in dreams, and this can be explained by the law of introverted mental vision. The Higher Ego does not think as its evanescent personality does. Its thoughts are vivid pictures and visions of past and future scenes, of wonderful living acts and heroic deeds, which are all present in the eternal now — even as they were when speech expressed in sounds did not exist, when thoughts were things, and men did not need to express them in speeches, for they instantly realised themselves in action by the power of Kriyashakti, that mysterious power which transforms instantaneously ideas into visible forms. In persons of a very materialistic mind, because the Ego is so trammelled by matter, it can hardly give all its attention to one’s actions, even though the latter may commit sins for which that Ego will have to suffer conjointly in future. True dreams, being actions of the Higher Ego, they produce effects which are recorded on their own plane. Ordinary dreams, by and large, are the waking and hazy recollections of such actions. Between the inner man and the physical brain there is a kind of conscious telegraphic communication going on incessantly, day and night. When the brain is asleep, the physical memory and imagination are also asleep, and all cognitive functions are at rest. Our mundane life is a “dream” to the Higher Ego, while the inner life, or what we call the “dream plane,” is the real life for it. The will of the common man is dormant in dreams and therefore inactive. A sick person, especially just before death, is very likely to see in dream, or vision, those whom he loves and is continually thinking of; and so also is a person awake, but intensely thinking of a person who is asleep at the time. In cases of consumption, or other emaciating diseases, dreams become pleasant because the astral soul of the patient has begun detaching from the physical body, and therefore becomes more clairvoyant in proportion. As death approaches, the body wastes away and ceases to be an impediment or barrier between the brain of the ailing man and his Higher Ego. In Black Magic it is no rare thing to evoke the “spirit” of a sleeping person. Thus the sorcerer may learn from the apparition any secret he chooses, while the sleeper remains ignorant of what is going on. A nightmare arises from oppression and difficulty in breathing; and the latter will always create a feeling of oppression and a sensation of impending calamity. By cultivating the power of dreaming, clairvoyance is developed. But only one’s clairvoyant faculty, aided by spiritual intuition, can interpret one’s dreams. The only one who profits from a dream book is its author. If you could remember your dreams in deep sleep, when the spiritual consciousness is active, you would be able to remember all your past incarnations. That exalted state of remembrance is the “Memory of the Heart”; and the capacity to impress itself on the brain, so that it becomes part of its consciousness, marks the opening of the Third Eye.

The awareness, peace of mind and joy that you are yearning for is available to you now. Anything real that has been obtained by religious leaders or spiritual gurus is also obtainable to you. In fact, awareness, peace of mind and joy are not so much obtained as they are realized and remembered. Love, harmony and awareness are natural qualities of your soul. If you simply extend what you truly are, you will create more beauty than anything that could or has ever been built. There are many paths you may choose to take in order to realize awareness, peace of mind and joy in your life. The journey will be as complicated as you choose to make it, or as easy as you allow it to be. This book provides simple strategies to make this process easy. You Have Chosen to Remember: A Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy is an incredibly inspiring book filled with simple, yet very effective, strategies for remembering your true self, and embodying self-awareness, forgiveness, peace of mind and joy - in your day to day life.

1. The human manas is pure and impure: divided on earth, united in heaven. The immortal Manas or Higher Ego is an emanation from the Supreme Spirit. Its reflection on earth, fashioned by the creative and intelligent forces in nature, is but a temporary vehicle of its divine parent on earth. The Higher Ego, at incarnation, shoots out a Ray — the lower ego or manas. That portion of the Lower Manas, which is one with the Higher is termed Antahkarana. On it are impressed all good and noble aspirations, and in it are the upward energies of the Lower Manas. The whole fate of an incarnation depends on whether this pure essence, Antahkarana, can restrain Kama-Manas or not. It is the only salvation. Break this and you become an animal. Ahamkara is the perception of “I,” or the sense of one’s personal individuality, typified by the term Egotism. When Manas or Ahamkara thins out the guna “rope” into a single thread, that of Sattva or Purity, it becomes one with the “unevolved evolver” and wins immortality or eternal conscious existence. Shankaracharya renders Sattva or Understanding as Antahkarana, refined by sacrifices and other sanctifying operations. 2. Esoteric overview of Manas: Its potency, functions, and potential. When the lower manas begins to bring forth the green clusters of the philosophical vine for the Husbandman, the “Father” or Higher Ego, the merging process with its higher counterpart also begins. But the danger is not quite over, for the Antahkarana is not yet destroyed. Let us imagine a bright lamp casting its light upon the wall. Let the lamp represent the divine Ego, and the light thrown on the wall the lower Manas, and let the wall stand for the body. The atmosphere which transmits the ray from the lamp to the wall represents the Antahkarana. In an Eastern parable the divine Ego is likened to the Master who sends out his labourers to till the ground and gather in the harvest, and who is content to keep the field so long as it can yield even the smallest return. But when the ground becomes sterile, not only is it abandoned, but the labourer also (the lower Manas) perishes. When Esoteric Teachings allude to the “second death,” they refer to the terrible possibility of the death of the Astral Soul, that is, its severance from the Higher Ego during a person’s lifetime. Only Occultists of the White Lodge, by explaining the circumstances that can lead a soul to its demise, can protect mankind from falling into such a dreadful pitfall. If the Antahkarana is destroyed before the lower had an opportunity of aligning with the Higher Manas, the selfish man ends up living as a “soulless” creature. Brain is the organ of Consciousness but only on the objective plane of the Lower Manas. The “Seven Harmonies” are the Seven Cavities of the brain. Brain perception is located in the aura of the Pineal Gland, the chief organ of spirituality in the brain, while the Pineal Gland itself, when illuminated, corresponds with Divine Thought. The former is associated with the spiritual fiery emanation that proceeds from the blood. Pure psychic vision is caused by the molecular motion of the Pituitary Body, which is directly connected with the optic nerve, and thus affects the sight and gives rise to hallucinations. Its motion may cause flashes of light seen within the head, similar to those that may be obtained on pressing the eyeballs, and so causing molecular motion in the optic nerve. The seven steps of Antahkarana correspond with the seven Lokas, i.e., are material places or spheres, however, of a spiritual character. 3. Higher Manas is the Voice of Wisdom crying in the wilderness of matter. The Voice urges Antahkarana, his lower counterpart, to purify itself inwardly, and to fear no one and nought, save the tribunal of his own conscience. “Personality,” being the illusion of separateness, is the root cause of all selfishness and evil in the world. It has to be conquered and crushed before the human mind is united with its divine parent. Loss of mind is due to the paralysis of the higher functions of Kama-Manas, the physical mind; and in cases of incurable insanity, to the destruction of Antahkarana itself (i.e., the severance of the lower from the Higher Ego during a person’s lifetime), thus preventing their reunion. When one falls into a love of self and love of the world, with all its pleasures, losing the divine love of God and of the neighbour, he falls from the shadows of life and fear of death to real death. The higher principles, which constituted the essential elements of his humanity being withdrawn, he now lives on the lower plane of his faculties. Manas or Antahkarana, being the organ of self-consciousness or “personality,” is material hence mortal. At death, when the ray from Higher Manas withdraws, the “personality,” no matter how illustrious it was, perishes along with the physical body. Vanitas vanitatum, omnia vanitas! At death, the higher triad, drawn by its affinity to those triads it loved most, with Manas in its highest aspect of self-consciousness, is disconnected from Antahkarana, the path of communication between soul and body. Then, the energies and tendencies of Antahkarana become spiritual experiences in the Devachanic period between incarnations, as they were during life on earth. 4. Manas is the Jewel of the Universe. In order to understand that which follows, note that the upper Indigo Manas is connected with the lower Green Manas by a thin line which binds the two together. This is the Antahkarana, a path or bridge of communication, which serves as a link between the personal being, whose physical brain is under the sway of the animal mind, and the reincarnating Individuality or the Spiritual Ego, the “Divine Man.” Look at the Drawing again. Observe the divine Ego tending with its point upwards towards Buddhi, and the human ego gravitating downwards, immersed in matter and connected with its higher, divine parent, only by that thin line of Antahkarana. Four distinct features of Antahkarana and an all-important difference between exoteric and esoteric teaching: 1. In dreams the personality is only half awake, therefore Antahkarana is said to be drunk or insane during sleep. 2. Let the student view the lower Manas as the personal ego during the waking state, and as Antahkarana only during those moments when it aspires towards its higher counterpart, and thus becomes the medium of communication between the two. 3. As when a limb or physical organ is left in disuse, it becomes weak and finally atrophies, so also is it with any mental faculty — hence the atrophy of Antahkarana permits those shamelessly materialistic and depraved minds to degrade themselves even further. 4. As long as the personal “I” (Ahamkara) or selfishness is not completely crushed out, and the lower mind not as yet merged with the Higher (Buddhi-Manas), it stands to reason that to destroy Antahkarana is like destroying a bridge over an impassable chasm: the traveller can never reach the goal on the other shore. Exoteric Vedanta teaches that so long as the lower manas clings through Antahkarana to Buddhi-Manas, it is impossible for it to acquire true spiritual Wisdom, and that this can only be attained by seeking to resonate with Atman, the Universal Soul and, in fact, it is by circumventing the Higher Manas altogether that one reaches Raja-Yoga. We say that it is not so. No single rung of the ladder leading to Inner Knowledge can be skipped. No personality can ever reach or bring itself into communication with Atman, except through Buddhi-Manas. If we destroy Antahkarana before the personal is absolutely under the control and guidance of the impersonal Ego, we risk to be permanently disconnected from It, unless we hasten to re-establish the communication by a supreme and final effort. It is only when we are indissolubly linked with the essence of the Divine Self within, that we have to destroy Antahkarana. Expelled forever from the Aegis of their Divine Self, those who had hitherto sat alone in haughty seclusion and bare selfishness are immediately reincarnated, only in a lower and still more abject creatures — human beings only in form, doomed to endless karmic torments and punishment before final annihilation. 5. When the mind is finally freed from its finite consciousness, it merges with and becomes one with the Infinite.

Manas-mind, its vehicle, kāma-desire, and their interplay with other minds through karma-action are hard concepts to grasp without an appreciation that they are a single dynamic trinity, and not three ontologically distinct ideas. In his Science of the Emotions, Bhagavān Dās undertakes a bold and incisive study of the continuum of Desire-Thought-Action, where he demonstrates elegantly and convincingly that “emotions” and “feelings,” mostly mixed and lumped together by the ignoramus, are none other than the workings of this occult triplet. Mastership of the mind’s pendular māyāvic movements, swinging back and forth from the Centre of Being, is prerequisite to success in whatever domain it chooses to focus upon. Dr. Dās identifies the essential nature of Desire, elaborates upon the duality of primordial e-motions and their endless permutations, and proceeds unravelling the aetiology of attitudes and their behavioural implications. His Science sheds light on man’s lower propensities which, if left unchecked, will go on demeaning character and disgracing kith and kin. He instructs, amuses, and enlightens the reader through a series of pithy essays. He even lays bare the distinguishing qualities between confusingly similar emotions, from Devotion and Worship, to Smile and Laughter. The Science of the Emotions remains the definitive text for those seeking knowledge of self and Self.