And the followers of one sâkhâ state in their text that the dreaming
soul is the shaper of its desires: 'He, the person who is awake in those
who sleep, shaping one desired thing (kâma) after the other.' The term
'kâma' there denotes not mere desires, but such things as sons and the
like which are objects of desire. For sons and so on are introduced as
'kâmas' in previous passages: 'Ask for all kâmas according to thy wish';
'Choose sons and grandsons living a hundred years' (Ka. Up. I, 1, 25;
23). The individual soul thus creates chariots, and so on, in its dreams.
That the soul has the power of realising all its wishes is known from
the declaration of Prajâpati. It is therefore able to create, even in
the absence of special instruments.--This view is set aside by the next
Sûtra.
3. But it is mere Mâyâ; on account of the true nature (of the soul) not
being fully manifested.
The things appearing in dreams-chariots, lotus tanks, and so on--are
absolute Mâyâ, i.e. things created by the Supreme Person. For the term
'Mâyâ' denotes wonderful things, as appears from passages such as 'She
was born in the race of Janaka, appearing like the wonderful power of
the divine being in bodily shape' (devamâyâ). The sense of the passage
'there are no chariots,' &c. then is--there are no chariots and horses
to be perceived by any other person but the dreaming one; and then 'he
creates chariots,' &c.--i. e. the Supreme Person creates things to be
perceived by the dreamer and persisting for a certain time only. Those
things therefore are of a wonderful nature (but not illusions). And the
creation of such wonderful things is possible for the Supreme Person who
can immediately realise all his wishes; but not for the individual soul.
The latter also, indeed, fundamentally possesses that power; but as in
the Samsâra state the true nature of the soul is not fully manifested,
it is then incapable of accomplishing such wonderful creations. The text
'the person shaping one desired thing after the other' declares the
Supreme Person to be the creator, for the clauses immediately preceding
and following that text (viz. 'He who is awake in those who sleep'; and
'that is the Bright, that is Brahman, that alone is called the Immortal;
all worlds are contained in it and no one goes beyond'--Ka. Up. II, 5,
8) mention attributes distinctively characteristic of the Supreme Person.
And the Bri. Up. text, 'For he is the maker,' must therefore, in
agreement with the Katha-text, also be understood as declaring that it
is the Supreme Person only that creates the things seen in a dream.--But
if it is the true nature of the soul to be free from all imperfections,
and so on, why then does this not manifest itself?--To this the next
Sûtra replies.
4. But owing to the wish of the highest it is hidden; for from that are
its bondage and the opposite state.
The _but_ sets the objection aside. Owing to the wish of the highest, i.
e. the Supreme Person, the essential nature of the individual soul is
hidden. The Supreme Person hides the true, essentially blessed, nature
of the soul which is in a state of sin owing to the endless chain of
karman. For this reason we find it stated in Scripture that the bondage
and release of the soul result from the wish of the Supreme Person only
'when he finds freedom from fear and rest in that invisible, incorporeal,
undefined, unsupported; then he has gone to fearlessness '; 'for he
alone causes blessedness'; 'from fear of it the wind blows' (Taitt. Up.
II, 7, 8).