{"id":6536,"date":"2026-03-20T08:59:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/?p=6536"},"modified":"2026-03-20T09:04:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T13:04:25","slug":"what-remains-through-waking-dream-and-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/culture\/what-remains-through-waking-dream-and-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"What Remains Through Waking, Dream, and Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ashutosh Agarwal<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Lately, I\u2019ve <\/span>been <\/span>trying <\/span>to <\/span>deepen <\/span>my <\/span>understanding <\/span>as <\/span>I <\/span>study <\/span>texts <\/span>from <\/span>Kashmiri <\/span>Shaivism.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Spanda <\/span>K\u0101rik\u0101<\/span><\/em> says:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u091c\u093e\u0917\u094d\u0930\u0926\u093e\u0926\u094d\u0935\u0935\u093f\u092d\u0947\u0926\u0947\u093d\u092a\u093f \u0924\u0926\u092d\u0947\u0926\u0947 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0938\u0941\u092a\u094d\u0924\u0935\u0924\u094d\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Even <\/span>though <\/span>waking, <\/span>dream, <\/span>and <\/span>deep <\/span>sleep <\/span>appear <\/span>different,<\/span>
that <\/span>subtle <\/span>reality <\/span>is <\/span>not <\/span>divided <\/span>by <\/span>them.<\/span>
It <\/span>never <\/span>leaves <\/span>its <\/span>own <\/span>nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>don\u2019t <\/span>pretend <\/span>to <\/span>fully <\/span>understand <\/span>that,<\/span>
but <\/span>it <\/span>makes <\/span>me <\/span>pause.<\/span><\/p>\n

While <\/span>I\u2019m <\/span>practicing, <\/span>this <\/span>question <\/span>has <\/span>started <\/span>coming <\/span>up.<\/span><\/p>\n

During <\/span>a <\/span>pose, <\/span>everything <\/span>feels <\/span>clear <\/span>and <\/span>very <\/span>real.<\/span>
Weight <\/span>in <\/span>my <\/span>feet.<\/span>
Gravity <\/span>pulling <\/span>down.<\/span>
Pulse <\/span>in <\/span>the <\/span>hands.<\/span>
Breath <\/span>expanding <\/span>and <\/span>softening.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>experience <\/span>feels <\/span>convincing.<\/span><\/p>\n

And <\/span>then <\/span>I <\/span>think <\/span>about <\/span>how, <\/span>every <\/span>night, <\/span>this <\/span>entire <\/span>waking <\/span>world <\/span>disappears.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>body <\/span>I\u2019m <\/span>so <\/span>aware <\/span>of <\/span>dissolves <\/span>into <\/span>dream.<\/span>
Then <\/span>even <\/span>the <\/span>dream <\/span>dissolves <\/span>into <\/span>deep <\/span>sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>deep <\/span>sleep, <\/span>there\u2019s <\/span>no <\/span>body <\/span>being <\/span>felt.<\/span>
No <\/span>thoughts. <\/span>No <\/span>movement. <\/span>No <\/span>experience <\/span>in <\/span>the <\/span>usual <\/span>sense.<\/span><\/p>\n

And <\/span>yet, <\/span>I <\/span>don\u2019t <\/span>feel <\/span>like <\/span>I <\/span>disappear <\/span>every <\/span>night.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because <\/span>when <\/span>I <\/span>wake <\/span>up, <\/span>I <\/span>say,<\/span>
\u201c<\/span>I <\/span>slept,\u201d <\/span>or \u201c<\/span>I <\/span>had <\/span>a <\/span>good <\/span>sleep,\u201d <\/span>or \u201c<\/span>I <\/span>had <\/span>a <\/span>bad <\/span>sleep.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So <\/span>something <\/span>remains.<\/span><\/p>\n

If <\/span>the <\/span>body <\/span>is <\/span>changing <\/span>every <\/span>moment,<\/span>
if <\/span>sensations <\/span>come <\/span>and <\/span>go,<\/span>
if <\/span>even <\/span>the <\/span>waking <\/span>personality <\/span>switches <\/span>off <\/span>at <\/span>night,<\/span>
what <\/span>is <\/span>it <\/span>that <\/span>doesn\u2019t?<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m <\/span>just <\/span>practicing,<\/span>
and <\/span>noticing <\/span>that <\/span>maybe <\/span>our <\/span>svabh\u0101va<\/span><\/em>, <\/span>our <\/span>real <\/span>nature,<\/span>
isn\u2019t <\/span>something <\/span>dramatic <\/span>or <\/span>mysterious.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe <\/span>it\u2019s <\/span>simply <\/span>what <\/span>has <\/span>always <\/span>been,<\/span>
through <\/span>waking, <\/span>dream, <\/span>and <\/span>deep <\/span>sleep,<\/span>
without <\/span>ever <\/span>announcing <\/span>itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

If <\/span>you\u2019re <\/span>on <\/span>your <\/span>mat,<\/span>
see <\/span>if <\/span>you <\/span>can <\/span>feel <\/span>into <\/span>that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not <\/span>trying <\/span>to <\/span>improve <\/span>the <\/span>state <\/span>or <\/span>the <\/span>asana,<\/span>
but <\/span>just <\/span>noticing <\/span>the <\/span>simple <\/span>fact <\/span>that <\/span>you <\/span>are.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m <\/span>not <\/span>concluding <\/span>anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just <\/span>sitting <\/span>with <\/span>the <\/span>possibility<\/span>
that <\/span>maybe <\/span>we <\/span>are <\/span>not <\/span>limited <\/span>to <\/span>the <\/span>state <\/span>we\u2019re <\/span>in.<\/span><\/p>\n

And <\/span>noticing <\/span>if <\/span>that, <\/span>even <\/span>subtly,<\/span>
changes <\/span>how <\/span>we <\/span>practice.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ashutosh Agarwal Lately, I\u2019ve been trying to deepen my understanding as I study texts from Kashmiri Shaivism. The Spanda K\u0101rik\u0101 says: \u201c\u091c\u093e\u0917\u094d\u0930\u0926\u093e\u0926\u094d\u0935\u0935\u093f\u092d\u0947\u0926\u0947\u093d\u092a\u093f \u0924\u0926\u092d\u0947\u0926\u0947 \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0938\u0941\u092a\u094d\u0924\u0935\u0924\u094d\u2026\u201d Even though waking, dream, and deep sleep appear different,that subtle reality is not divided by them.It never leaves its own nature. I don\u2019t pretend to fully understand that,but it makes …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":6539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1451],"tags":[347,46,68,78,4,16,18,43,8,178,183,252,308,65],"class_list":["post-6536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-benefits-of-yoga","tag-meditation","tag-omstars","tag-omstarsblog","tag-practice","tag-spirituality","tag-strength","tag-wellness","tag-yoga","tag-yoga-philosophy","tag-yoga-practice","tag-yoga-teacher","tag-yoga-teacher-interview","tag-yogalifestyle"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/asu-1.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6536"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6541,"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6536\/revisions\/6541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omstars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}