Discussions on the nature of the Self and its eternal presence draw on the analogy of the waking/dream/deep sleep states that every being experiences. Wonderful experiences are possible during the dream state. Chances for both joy and sorrow are also possible. Dreams are an offshoot of the mind. They can create objects that are not real.
Dream life may be similar to one's actual life but there can be no interaction or exchange between these two worlds. What is in dream is not in life. What is in life is not in dream. But the experiences are true.
Andal experienced her own wedding with Lord Ranganatha in her dream. In her hymn Varanamayiram, Andal describes every detail of the wedding preparations she had experienced in her dream — the exchange of garlands, the scene of Lord Narayana mounted on an elephant, the wedding decorations and the auspicious music of the wedding, the plantain trees, etc.
Andal's dream was real because she saw the truth — in the sense that she merged with the Lord on being taken to Ranganatha's sanctum sanctorum, said Sri P. M. Vijayaraghava Sastrigal in a lecture.
In contrast, our dreams are insubstantial and lose their validity on waking. A deeper analysis of the Absolute Reality makes it clear that even this waking state along with the worldly paraphernalia is also unreal in one sense, because enlightenment (about the nature of Reality and the Self) makes the worldly objects lose their legitimacy.
Jnana is metaphorically spoken of as effulgence. Even as darkness disappears when the sun rises, Jnana dispels ignorance. When the roots of Avidya are cut, realisation creeps in. In such a mental frame, the worldly objects though appearing as tangible and real are recognised by the realised soul as unreal.
The state of deep sleep is one of bliss. It is indescribable. There is no way to indicate it. Sound, touch speech, etc. are of no use to describe this state. All that one remembers after a spell of deep sleep is that of bliss when there was total disconnect with worldly dealings — a feeling we recognise but cannot explain.
