as soon as the moment is past. There is an old phrase "Sufficient to the
day the evils thereof." It means we should contain even disagreeable
challenges of life in their appropriate place and not let them fester and
pollute the rest of our time. If we learn this, our sleep will not carry
over a toxic hangover from the previous day of unresolved worries and
fears. Similarly, we should not eat heavily or too late as our sleep will
be turbulent (rajasic). We will awake in a discontented, agitated state.
If we feed our minds on violent images, thoughts, and words, our un
conscious will regurgitate them in disturbed dreams. Just as right imag
ination opens the creative mind, right sleep exhilarates the mind and
brings alertness. By living each day presently and thoroughly, we earn
a clear conscience. A clear conscience is the best preparation for a
restful and peaceful night.
It is sometimes said that a dullard, someone who is completely vac
uous, presents to the observer the same appearance as one who is in
samadhi, a state of divine bliss. This is because neither the dullard's
mind, nor the saint's, has movement in the consciousness. The differ
ence is that one is negative, comatose, and insensitive, but the other is
alert, positive, and supremely aware. I mention this because it is easy
for beginners to confuse somnolence or a pleasant languor with the
meditative state. Often, as students do Savasana (corpse pose, see
chapter 7) or attempt meditation, they drift into an agreeable torpor,
as if they were swaddled in cotton wool. This is not the prelude to
samadhi but to sleep. The dullness of sleep is undesirable in a waking
state. So is the frenetic overactivity that arises from turbulent sleep. If
we toss and turn at night, we shall toss and turn in the day. What we
are seeking is an alert, self-contained, egoless state that corresponds to
the refreshing aftermath of good repose. The experience of repose at
night will give us clues to the repose of mind and sense in the medita
tive state. Good sleep makes consciousness brilliant. Poor sleep leaves
it tarnished.
A had night makes us see everything askew. Errom·ous knowlt·dl-\t'
W I S II ll M T II I· I NT 1·. I. I. 1'. I "II I 1\ I. II ll II Y I I' I/ N II N .1 I