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Life is one. Dreams and wakefulness are two aspects of it yet the demands in both are identical. Space exists here and there. The difference lies in awareness. In wakefulness, our awareness of space is dominant, whereas in dreams it recedes. But space remains present in both.
In wakefulness, a person lives within the arithmetic of one, two, three. Everything is perceived as separate. All things are regarded as distinct realities, and judgement is formed by measuring distinctions. In dreams, however, the mind does not pause at one, two, three. It travels at the speed of thought, and the moment a thought arises, it manifests.
Space is existence itself. One aspect of it is limited and the other is without limit. Murshid-e-Kareem, Abdal-e-Haq, Huzoor Qalandar Baba Auliya (RA), explained the nature of limited and unlimited space. Reflect on this explanation and identify within your surroundings and within yourself, where space is limited and where it is boundless. He writes:
“Day is a space. Night is a space. A flower is a space. A thought is a space. Earth is a space. Water is a space. The void is a space. The atmosphere is a space. Fire is a space. Air is space. Silver is a space. Gold is a space. The smallest particle of anything is a space. The greatest sphere of the universe is a space. If an atom were divided into billions upon billion fragments, each fragment would remain a space. If a single second were divided into innumerable parts, each part would be a space. Within a single black dot, eternity without beginning to eternity without end, countless layers of space exist, one within another.”
(From the book Loh-o-Qalam)
The eye perceives each space (thing) as separate. Yet inwardly, the eye observes the interconnectedness of all beings and dwells within unlimited space. Distances contract but even though distances contract, there is no freedom from space. A clear example is the world of sleep. In sleep, just as in wakefulness* (*Wakefulness = In this editorial, wakefulness refers to the time after sunrise, which we call “day”.), all events unfold within space.
1. Sleep is a space.
2. To awaken within sleep is a space.
3. To return from the world of sleep to this world is also a space.
4. Every visible and invisible thing, in whichever world it exists, is space.
In both sleep and wakefulness, a person observes space in motion in two ways. One motion is axial*(Motion in a circular direction around an axis) and the other longitudinal*Movement viewed in a straight or linear direction, away from the point of origin). In wakefulness, the mind accepts longitudinal motion.à. It forgets that movement originates from a point and returns to that same point. This forgetfulness draws one into the perception of distance from the origin, where time and distance feel extended.
In Sleep, however, travel occurs at the speed of “intention”, though without deliberate will. The mind submits to the axial motion of space P, following the law of the realm of dream. In axial motion there is no distance from the origin. As a result, speed increases to such an extent that miles and years contract into a moment.
In the Noble Quran, revealed to the Soul of the Universe – Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) – the account of Prophet Joseph (PBUH) includes the science of dream interpretation.
In the time of Prophet Joseph (PBUH), the King of Egypt saw a dream:
“The king dreamt that seven lean cows were eating seven fat ones and that there were seven green ears of corn and seven dry ones. He asked the nobles to tell him the meaning of his dream if they were able to.” (Quran, 12:43)
None in the court could provide its meaning. The interpretation was given by Prophet Joseph (PBUH), who was imprisoned at the time.
“Cultivate your lands for seven years as usual and preserve the produce with its ears each year except the little amount that you will consume. After this will ensure seven years of famine in which all the grain that you have stored will be consumed except a small quantity. Then, after that, there will come a year with plenty of rain and people will have sufficient milk and other produce.”
(Quran, 12:47-49)
Dear readers – elders, friends, and young ones – within the king’s dream and its interpretation lie two ways of perceiving space. It is worth observing that the part of the dream remembered by the king represented fourteen years of sequential time*(‘Serial time’ the wakeful mode in which actions are performed step by step). He saw seven years of prosperity and seven years of famine symbolically.
According to the law of the realm of dream, when the king’s mind aligned with the axial motion of the earth, fourteen years of wakeful time contracted into mere moments. In other words, the span of time the king witnessed involuntarily in dream was consciously traversed by Prophet Joseph (PBUH) in wakefulness. He did not confine himself to the fragment remembered by the king; he perceived the entire timeline of the dream, even the part the king himself did not recall. He added:
“Then after that, there will come a year with plenty of rain and people will have sufficient milk and other produce .” (Quran, 12:49)
All events of wakefulness and sleep unfold within space because the one who experiences them is themselves space. Space is existence. There are two modes of living within space, and the essential difference between them is speed. In wakefulness, speed is like a step that covers only a few inches. In the world of sleep, a single step covers hundreds or thousands of miles.
One unfamiliar with the faculties or senses of sleep*(Senses of sleep = The infinite speed of hearing, seeing, and feeling, by which the earth folds like a scroll) moves through that realm involuntarily. Upon waking, fragments are remembered, or everything fades into oblivion. But if a person becomes aware of the speed of the realm of dreams, if they overcome longitudinal motion and gain knowledge of axial motion, then the faculties of sleep function even in wakefulness. With intention, they can perceive distances of miles or stretches spanning thousands of years.
May God protect You.
Dear readers, reflect deeply upon the Message of the Day. When you have considered it carefully, write down the conclusions you have reached and share your reflections with the magazine.
(Editorial Desk).
KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DIN AZEEMI
Articles of 'MESSAGE OF THE DAY' from Qalandar Shaoor Monthly
