“Why There Is No Knowledge in Deep Sleep — Oneness as the Cause of Ignorance.”-Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad

🌙 Why There Is No Knowledge in Deep Sleep — Oneness as the Cause of Ignorance

(Based on the teachings from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad class)

🔷 Central Teaching

Today’s discourse from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad addresses one of the most profound spiritual questions:

“Why is there no knowledge in deep sleep (suṣupti)?”

The Self (Ātman) is by nature Pure Knowledge.

Yet in deep sleep, we say, “I knew nothing.”

Does this mean knowledge ceases to exist?

No — Knowledge does not vanish; it merges into Oneness.

🔶 Oneness — The Cause of Ignorance

In deep sleep, the individual self (jīva) becomes one with the Supreme (Paramātman).

When there is no duality (no ‘knower’ and ‘known’),

there is no experience of knowing.

Śaṅkarācārya gives a striking analogy:

> “When a lover embraces his beloved,

he forgets both himself and the world.”

That is suṣupti — the state where the jīva becomes one with Brahman,

and the very sense of ‘I know’ disappears.

🕯️ Knowledge Exists — But Recognition Fails

As Bhagavatpāda explains:

> “Brahman, the Supreme Self, is Knowledge itself.

Even in deep sleep, knowledge exists.

But because there is no grasping (agrahaṇa),

the experience of knowing does not occur.”

The Self is Self-luminous (svayaṃjyotiḥ),

but our perception is veiled by the odor of darkness — vāsanā.

Therefore, we fail to recognize the Light that is ever shining.

🌿 The Role of Vāsanās (Mental Impressions)

Vāsanā means the subtle residue of past experiences.

These impressions veil pure awareness even in deep sleep.

> “When light is held by a mind steeped in darkness,

the light itself appears dark,”

the teacher says.

Just as gold is mistaken for an ornament,

Brahman is mistaken for the world.

🌕 Suṣupti — The State of Perfect Serenity (Sampraśāda)

The Upaniṣad calls deep sleep sampraśāda —

a state of calm purity.

Here there are no fears, no karmic reactions,

yet a subtle ignorance remains — the absence of sāmānya jñāna (universal awareness).

Hence, suṣupti is not liberation (mokṣa),

but it is the threshold of it — the nearest state to freedom.

💫 Two Types of Knowledge

According to the teacher, there are two levels of knowledge:

1. Viśeṣa-jñāna (Particular Knowledge):

Knowledge of names, forms, and sensory experiences —

active in waking and dream states.

2. Sāmānya-jñāna (Universal Knowledge):

The undivided, pure consciousness —

the very nature of the Self.

In deep sleep, viśeṣa-jñāna disappears,

but sāmānya-jñāna continues unbroken.

It is not recognized because the mind — the instrument of knowing — is inactive.

🔱 Upaniṣadic Illustrations

The Upaniṣad gives a sacred metaphor —

the purusha (individual) and the strī (divine principle).

When the two unite, duality ceases,

and the world dissolves from perception.

Sufi mystics express the same through Laila and Majnūn:

Laila (the Divine), Majnūn (the seeker) —

when they unite, nothing else exists to be seen.

🌺 The Teacher’s Question

The guru challenges the student:

> “You say you cannot see Brahman —

but the very seeing is Brahman!

Who is the one that cannot see?”

Our eyes and mind are instruments for perceiving objects,

not for perceiving the Infinite.

To see Brahman, one must be Brahman —

the seer and the seen are one.

🌼 Both Statements Are True

The teacher affirms:

> “To say ‘knowledge exists’ is true,

and to say ‘I knew nothing’ is also true.”

Why?

Because knowledge exists in a universal form,

but not in a particularized, experiential form.

Therefore, deep sleep appears as “blankness,”

though it is filled with pure consciousness.

🔶 Advaitic Vision — ‘All This Is Me’

Bhagavad Gītā echoes this truth:

> “That which is night for all beings,

is day for the wise.” (2.69)

For the ignorant, Brahman appears as darkness;

for the wise, that very darkness is radiant light.

Light and darkness are only relative experiences —

the Reality behind both is the Self-Luminous Being.

🪷 Practical Teaching

Eliminate the vāsanās of particular knowledge.

Cultivate the awareness of universal knowledge.

Through śravaṇa (listening) → manana (reflection) → nididhyāsana (deep contemplation),

ignorance dissolves and Knowledge alone shines.

Then life itself becomes liberation (jīvanmukti).

🌸 Essence of the Teaching

Even though knowledge seems absent in deep sleep,

it never truly disappears.

It only merges into Oneness —

where there is no ‘knower’ and ‘known’.

Vāsanās obscure awareness,

making knowledge appear as ignorance.

When particularity subsides into universality,

ignorance ends and liberation dawns.

🕉️ Mahāvākya (Final Insight)

> “The absence of knowledge in deep sleep

is not due to the absence of the Self,

but due to the merging of all distinctions into the One.

The Seer and the Seen are not two —

Thou art That.”