A Wisdom Archive on Deep Sleep

Mandukya Upanishad - Three mātrās. There are three mātrās in the word aum : ‘a’ as the ‘u’ in ‘but’; ‘u’ as the ‘u’ in ‘put’; and the ‘m’. The term mātrā is used for the upper limb of Nagari characters and a syllabic instant in prosody. Esoterically, the ‘a’ stands for the first stage of wakefulness, where we experience in our gross body the totality of external experiences through our mind and sense organs. The ‘u’ stands for the dream state of sleep in which ...

Read more here: » Mandukya Upanishad: Encyclopedia II - Mandukya Upanishad - Explanation of Aum as in Mandukya Upanishad

Māndūkya Upanishad is one of the shortest Upanishads, that form the speculative metaphysical parts of the Hindu texts, the Vedas. It belongs to the Atharva Veda. It devotes itself entirely to the explanation of the mystic syllable Aum. It is in prose. Mandukya Upanishad - About the Upanishad. For the very reason that it explains the esoteric meaning of the fundamental syllable Aum of Hindu spiritual tradition, the Upanishad has been extolled greatly. The Muktikopanishad, which talks about all other ... Including:

• Mandukya Upanishad - About the Upanishad
• Mandukya Upanishad - Commentary by Gaudapada
• Mandukya Upanishad - Explanation of Aum as in Mandukya Upanishad
• Mandukya Upanishad - Three mātrās
• Mandukya Upanishad - Waking state and Dream state
• Mandukya Upanishad - Deep sleep state
• Mandukya Upanishad - Beyond the three states
• Mandukya Upanishad - Gaudapada’s thesis
• Mandukya Upanishad - Sources

Read more here: » Mandukya Upanishad: Encyclopedia - Mandukya Upanishad

The Secret of Agni (Agni Rahasya):
In ancient Vedic thought, the individual soul was symbolized by fire. Our inner soul, hidden like a secret flame deep within our hearts, abides inextinguishable throughout all our states of consciousness of waking, dream and deep sleep. It endures as the witness through our every birth and death, through all the many sojourns in the various worlds and planes of existence of our soulÕs vast manifestation.
 

Read more here: » Agni: The Secret of Agni

Hindu Quotes: Unfamiliar Country
 
Like strangers in an unfamiliar country
 walking over a hidden treasure, day by day
 we enter the world of Brahman while in deep
 sleep but never find it, carried away by what
 is false.
 
- Chandogya Upanishad
 
 

 
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(See also: Hinduism Archives, Hindu Quotes, Inspirational Quotes, Love Quotes, Friendship Quotes, Life Quotes )

Read more here: » Hindu Quotes: Unfamiliar Country

Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte was a man of great concentration. His success was all due to the power of concentration. He suffered from various diseases as epileptic fits, Brady cardia, etc. But for these maladies, he would have proved still more powerful.
 
From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda
 

Read more here: » Yogis: Napoleon Bonaparte

It was a beautiful night. Poets lay awake, drawing inspiration from the star-spangled sky. Lovers drew closer, gazing at the moon. The elderly came out to feel the cool breeze. Children were playing in the moonlight.
 
One man watched all this with increasing despair. He was a thief. If nobody slept, how was he to do what he wanted to do? The entire community was awake. He waited endlessly. Somehow the people of this town were just not sleepy that night.

 
(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Tolerance And Tranquility Go Together

The vision of the self and awareness of it as the abidance in the heart - where the unbroken awareness of ones existence can be felt spontaneously as the - I-I - has been described by Ramana Maharshi.
 
What obstructs ones awareness of the fullness of existence is the ego - the minds wrong identification with a particular body, mistaking it to be the - I or the subject. Hence the destruction of ego, or its merging with the source, the only way to experience the joyous and uninterrupted throb of - I-I.
 

Read more here: » The Ego: Tracking the Ego to Its Source

Pradosha Vrata
The Pradosha worship is to be done in the evening twilight on the 13th day of each lunar fortnight. It is the worship of Lord Shiva for victory and success in all undertakings, and the fulfilment of all your heart's cherished desires
 
From Hindu Fasts & Festivals by Sri Swami Sivananda.
 

Read more here: » Pradosha Vrata: Hindu Worship - Pradosha Vrata

A delta wave is a large, slow brain wave associated with deep sleep. Delta waves are present only in stage-three sleep, stage-four sleep, cases of brain injury and coma. During sleep, delta waves are not present in the other stages (1, 2, and REM). See Slow Wave Sleep See also. Electroencephalography Theta wave Alpha wave SMR Beta wave Gamma wave ...

Read more here: » Delta wave: Encyclopedia - Delta wave

At the time of death when the breathing becomes difficult the Jiva or the individual self that is in the body goes out making noises. Just as a cart heavily loaded goes on creaking, so does the Jiva creak while the Prana departs.

The death and dying and the life after death has always fascinated man. This is an excerpt from the book What Becomes Of The Soul After Death by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Soul’s Journey After Death: How Soul Departs After Death

In India, there are two thoughts. One of the signs of approaching enlightenment is "witnessing sleep," that is to say, being seemingly lucid in sleep — such as with sleep paralysis. It was also believed within the movement that rakshasas (Hindu demons) may assail those making strides towards their own enlightenment and the good of all mankind. The other thought is a female entity, called Mohini (a demoness from the underworld), comes into the night-time world by means of ascending through a deep well. She is enchantingly beautiful, yet sim ...

Read more here: » Sleep paralysis: Encyclopedia II - Sleep paralysis - Cultural references

Normally, when an individual is awake, brain waves show a regular rhythm. When a person first falls asleep, the brain waves become slower and less regular. This sleep state is called non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. After about an hour and a half of NREM sleep, the brain waves begin to show a more active pattern again, even though the person is in deep sleep. This sleep state, called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, is when dreaming occurs. In narcolepsy, the order and length of NREM and REM sleep periods are disturbed, with REM sl ...

Read more here: » Narcolepsy: Encyclopedia II - Narcolepsy - What happens in narcolepsy