A farmer was standing completely still amidst the wind-blown wheat in his field, deep in thought. His wife came rushing up, beside herself with grief, crying that their only son had just been killed by a cobra. When her husband made no reply, she blurted out, “You are heartless!”

“Forgive me, but you don’t understand,” the farmer replied. “Last night I dreamt that I was a king with seven sons, who all were bitten by cobras and died. Now I am wondering whether I should grieve for my seven dead sons in that dream, or for my one son who has died in this dream we are dreaming now.”

Our life’s experiences, with all their joys and sorrows, mesmerize us with a sense of their undeniable reality. Yet, in truth, everything is only a thought in the mind of God. Paramhansa Yogananda (who related the story above) explains it this way: “This world seems real to you only because God dreamed you into existence along with His cosmic dream. You are a part of His dream. If, at night, you dream that you bump your head against a wall, you may get an imaginary pain in your head. The moment you awake, however, you realize that there was no wall there to hurt you. The pain you experienced was in your mind, but not in your head!

whose dream is this

“The same is true of this dream you are dreaming now. Wake up to the one Reality, God, and you will see that this earth life is just a show. It is nothing but shadows and light!”

While I was a high school student, I was fortunate to have a wise teacher, Mrs. Gottlieb, for an English literature class. During the second semester, after she had gotten to know us better, she did a remarkable thing. Each of the thirty students in the class received a unique reading list of books for our individual growth and enjoyment. How we delighted in comparing one another’s lists and trying to figure out the particular message for us in every book!

In a small way, this reflects Master’s statement that all of life’s experiences are for our “education and entertainment.” God dreams a particular dream for each of us, and arranges the events in life for our benefit. Though it’s often hard to see in the midst of suffering, His only motive is the deepest love and concern for our welfare and growth.

When we get caught up in the pleasure or pain in life, it’s good to remember that we’re not really in charge of our circumstances. We’re only playing our part in God’s dream—be it one of success or failure; health or sickness; love or rejection. With compassion and wisdom God gives to us the roles we are to play, perfectly designed for what we need to learn in this lifetime.

So try to release the anxiety over what has happened in the past, what choices you need to make now, and what the future holds. Let God take charge of your life, for, in fact, He already has. Try to see, in every person and every event in your life, the Dreamer behind the dream. Behind the light and shadows of life is only one reality: God’s joy.

I’ll close with a selection from one of Master’s most beautiful poems, “When I Am Only a Dream”:

I come to tell you all of Him,
And the way to encase Him in your bosom,
And of the discipline that brings His grace. . . .
And yet when I am only a dream to you,
I will come to remind you that you too are naught
But a dream of my Heavenly Beloved;
And when you know you are a dream,
As I know now,
We will be ever awake in Him.

With love and joy,

Nayaswami Devi