Diary of a Devotee

Padmaragaprabha Parvati

2011-12-27T23:31:00.000-08:00

I saw a life-size statue of Goddess Parvati. She was fair complexioned with all the ornaments. The statue was kept in a grand room, the details of which I do not remember. Goddess Parvati had all the ornaments. Her face was beautiful. Among them, I was paying attention to the hair-parting ornament (maang-teeka) and ear-rings. Both of them had large "padmaraaga" (best quality rubies) studded. The rubies were quite large. The precious gems were making the cheeks and forehead of Goddess Parvati reddish in color.

Hanuman Temple

2011-12-27T23:21:00.001-08:00

This dream is about two months old. I saw that I am in the compound (ksetra) of a Hanuman temple and I am waiting for a friend (who is a Hanuman devotee). The temple ksetra was beautiful and clean, and the time was sandhya-vela.

Dream 32: Siva Tandav Stotra

2009-12-28T03:28:00.000-08:00

On the next night after the night of Dream 31, I saw this dream about the recitation of Siva Tandav Stotra. Some benevolent teacher (unseen before in life) was training me to sing the stotra in a tune that I was unaware of. The tune was simple but enticing. Some words of the stotra were different from what is commonly published nowadays. I forgot the words and the tune on waking up.

Dream 31: Wandering in villages

2009-12-28T03:19:00.000-08:00

This dream is about five days old. In the dream, during a journey towards Āmī (Bihar), I get stuck around a village. I did not see any mode of transport, which probably means I was on foot. I noticed a hand-pump and I decided to wash my hands and feet in its water, before moving ahead. However, I noticed my ancestor's village home on reaching the hand-pump, and therefore I decided to take blessings from my village relatives.

No one replied to my door-knocks, after which I entered through the doors on my own. I noticed a bright and grand room, with lots of photos and small idols of Pārvatī decked up against the wall. I immediately took a bow. The floor was made of white marble. In another room to the left of Pārvatī temple, was a room of Lakṣmī decked up in a similar fashion. I noticed two more rooms before my dream ended. One room had many small idols and photos of Kṛṣṇa, and the last one had a somewhat large wooden idol of Gaṇeśa.

Dream 30: Two temples

2009-12-28T03:17:00.001-08:00

This dream is about a month old. During the night or during a dark evening, I saw two adjacent temples, one of Śiva and one of Pārvatī (Devi). The temples were lighted from outside and they looked beautiful.

Dream 29: Ganesh, Siva, Parvati

2009-09-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

This dream is from 15th May week in 2009. I saw Gaṇeśa, along with Śiva and Pārvatī, in some unknown location. Gaṇeśa was clad in a shining dark-blue garment. I do not remember the cloth of Śiva and Pārvatī.

A similar image of Gaṇeśa can be found at Ghee Happy.

Dream 28: Rama, Sita, and Gauri

2009-09-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

This dream is from 15th May week in 2009. I was around a huge mansion (haveli) in the night, with moonlight shining in the field. I saw some elderly aunts, whom I respect deeply. Inside the mansion, there were stairs leading to the roof. I went up on the stairs, till I finally met a temple.

The temple had a unified idol, consisting of Rāma, Sītā, and Gaurī (with Sītā in the middle). Within the dream, I thought that this temple represents the blessing of Gaurī to Sītā in the puṣpavāṭikā.

Dream 27: The temple of Shiv

2008-09-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

This dream is about two to three months old. I was standing at a three-way crossing, which mapped itself to two geographical locations. In the first location within USA, I was waiting for my friend to pick me up. I was standing with some items in hand. In the second location, I was confronted by a temple and a priest in India. I still had those items in hand and the priest refused to let me in with everything. He asked me to come inside without those things. I ended up in a debate, whether I should leave everything outside for theft or not. I finally went inside, and offered Moong Dal (lentil) to the Linga of Shiva. The Linga was in an earthen-lamp lit setting. Otherwise the room was dark.

Dream 26: Healer Baby Gopal

2008-06-23T22:33:00.000-07:00

This dream is from January 2008. I am somewhat late in posting it.

I was troubled by a nasty upper-back pain for about two three weeks, starting from the second week of December. I did some exercises, stretching, etc. to no avail. Later, I also took a week off from work and completely relaxed. The pain didn't go away.

During those troubled times, I had a dream of Baby Gopal. It was about early morning. I was sleeping on my bed with my back towards the ceiling. In my dream, I was sleeping in an identical fashion. He was standing next to me. In the dream, Gopal was gliding his palm over my back, from my neck to my waist. The dream itself was not long. I woke up and to my surprise, the pain was gone.

Dream 25: Vivekananda and Goddess

2008-06-23T22:24:00.001-07:00

This is a beautiful dream. Read along. I saw a beautiful, somewhat dark and somewhat lighted, temple arena. Tens of idols of Goddess, all beautifully carved, were occupying the wall area and surrounding the arena. And then I saw Swami Vivekananda dancing and begging for food. One statute converted into an old lady, with little bent back. Her hairs were silver-white, and Her eyes were clear. She had a white cloth (sari) and She served food to Swami Vivekananda. The saint was overjoyed, and so was I.

Given the looks of Goddess, I would speculate Her to be Annapūrnā or Vrddhamātā.

Dream 24: Lalita Sahasranama verses

2008-06-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

In a short dream, I saw reading Lalitā Sahasranāma from my book. I was reading a ślokam beginning with the aksara "ka."

Dream 23: The voice of Sītā

2008-05-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

In a dark setting, I heard the voice of Mother Sītā. I could not remember what I heard after waking up.

Dream 22: The Himalayan Trek

2008-05-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

In this dream, I was trekking on some mountain in Himalaya, possibly on the Chinese side. I had a knee-sprain at that time, so I wondered how I will get down. For some bizarre reason, I had to assume my brother’s name while trekking. While returning, my assumed name was called from a door. I entered and I found delightful posters or images of Lord Rāma and His Leela. The images were in a well-lit wooden room and every painting was beautiful.

Dream 21: The Temple

2008-05-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

I saw myself walking on a stoned path, raised by few hundred feet on a hill, towards a temple. The temple structure was huge. I found well decorated elephants and horses treading along a circular route inside the temple. Aspect ratio would suggest that the inner dome of the temple was few hundred meter tall.

I could not see the deity inside.

Dream 20: Bhavānī's voice

2007-12-10T00:25:00.000-08:00

In reality, I was discussing some Tantra and stuff with my friends last night. I told them how the Devi Bhagvat differs from the commonly known interpretation of Śivalinga as a phallus with Pārvatī's vulva. The Devi Bhagvat narrates the Linga as the egg shaped cosmos, while some books like Rudrayamalam suggest it to be the primordial energy egg from which the universe expanded (hint: Big Bang).

Now, let's move on to the dream part. Just the same night, I saw a black dark area, from which a voice was emanating. The voice was in English (unlike some previous dreams where it would be Sanskrit). The voice seemed confident and aware of what it was talking about. Yet the voice was soft and tender (like that of a teacher). The voice was of a woman, and most likely Goddess. The voice said, ‘‘It is really impossible to tell whether Bhavānī's energy is present in vulva or not. But that should not really concern you.’’

I woke up suddenly, but luckily I remembered the dialogue this time. Its interpretation is not completely clear to me, as of now.

Dream 19: Mother Kīrti

2007-12-10T00:21:00.000-08:00

I had this confusing dream a few days ago. Either a narration was being done by my father about a version of Rāmāyana (not the Valmiki one). Or otherwise, I was just roaming in ancient times, witnessing various characters.

At some point in time, I reached a strange temple with beautiful white stairs. While ascending, I found an emanating fire coming out from the mouth of Goddess. The Goddess was called as Kīrti there. The fire was about ten meters long. My luck was not good enough to see Her face.

Dream 18: Mātā Kālī

2007-10-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

I had this dream today. In a somewhat dark, dīyā-lit room, I saw Mātā Kālī in an unusual appearance. She was placid, with loose hairs, and a waist cloth. She had no weapons, Her tongue was invisible, and Her hands were free. Her body was dark-blue in complexion and it was shining. Her face resembled my mother's young-age face. I saw Her twice, among which I don't remember the dialogues (again!) in the first meeting. It is remembered though, that She was caring as a Mother.

In the second meeting, She was patting me to sleep, while lying behind me (like how a Mother pats Her baby from behind). She mentioned that I don’t need to worry about mundane problems since She is taking care of them.

Dream 17: Missing Durgā

2007-10-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

I moved about two months ago. In my previous place, I had the habit to keep Durgā Saptaśatī beneath my pillow. One night, unaware of the fact that the book was lying in my prayer area, I slept without the book beneath my pillow. My dream had a few musings on Durgā. I was reciting verses (which I forgot by the morning, as usual!) which had thoughts of separation.

That Durgā, Whose presence removes any inauspicion; that Durgā, Whose lotus-feet destroy all the grief of ours'; that Durgā, Who loves Her children — where is that Durgā. Why isn't She here and around? No wonder I am sad.

As usual, I was surprised in the morning, when I found that the book was missing at its usual location.

PS: I noticed that Internet Exploder does not displays diacritics in "any" font supported by Blogspot. I will sincerely urge the readers to move to Firefox. Of what use is the browser, which cannot even put a dot below "d" in a faithful manner.

Dream 16: Idol of Kālī

2007-06-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

I saw the idol of Mother Kālī in a dream. She was made of black stone and lying in front of my eyes. She had a crown and Her features were somewhat hard to recognize. She had a silken-yellow background (aura?) behind the idol.

The dream was short in length.

Dream 15: The invisible Tārā

2007-06-18T10:01:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, I saw a dialogue with Goddess Tārā in my dreams. I didn't remember either Her appearance or Her voice in the morning. But I do remember that the room of discussion was completely dark (perhaps that's why She was not visible).

Goddess Tārā is the second in the Daśamahāvidyā devī studied in the Tantra literature.

Dream 14: Angry Sarasvatī

2007-06-18T09:56:00.001-07:00

I saw this dream around the 2007 new year. I was seriously ill and after some tolerance, I was completely annoyed. I started meditating on Sarasvatī and slept; my intuition said that She was angry.

I saw a dream of Her around 2:00 a.m. in the morning. She was extremely fair and beautiful. Her hairs were black, wavy, and loose. Her eyes were splendid. Her forehead was radiant. There was no crown (as if the loose hair and no crown were symbols of anger). She was empty handed — without lotus, lute, garland, or book.

She disappeared after giving a darśana, but I recovered very quickly after that.

Dream 13: Śańkara with His disciples

2007-01-23T12:34:00.001-08:00

I got a copy of Kaṭopaniṣat from Gitapress while I was in Chennai. The cover face illustrates Śańkara sitting with His disciples. The same night I saw Śańkara sitting on a seat with five disciples around Him in a manner identical to the cover-illustration. This dream could be related to what happened during the day before — but it was bliss nevertheless.

Dream 12: They appeared one by one

2007-01-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

This dream was pretty long, in which I was lost along various roads and streets. The most interesting part is narrated below. Against a moonlit sky, I saw the form of Viṣṇu to begin with. He stood there in the caturbhuja (four-arm) form and then slowly faded away. He was replaced by another deity, which I don't remember now, in a manner similar to a slide-show. This deity was replaced by Goddess Kālī; Goddess Kālī was replaced by Lakṣmī; Lakṣmī was replaced by Hanumān; and finally Hanumān was replaced by Rāma and Sītā together. That was the end of the divine-show.

Dream 7a: Baby Kṛṣṇa

2006-10-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

Like I said my memory is failing. A dream was missed in the previous list. About eight-months ago, I saw the cosmos and heavenly objects of all colors moving around in a celestial kaleidoscope. Amidst that, I saw Baby Kṛṣṇa with his mouth open and showing the cosmos inside His mouth to Mother Yaśodā. My viewpoint was behind the Mother so I don't remember any sight of Her. Kṛṣṇa was standing still all this while. The dream finished at that point.

PS: I noticed that Internet Explorer is displaying diacritics badly. I will urge the visitors to move to Firefox for better and safer browsing.

Dream 11: Śiva Śambho

2006-10-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

I used to walk on a certain curvy path each day while returning from my college (school). The path had a certain curvature which appeared in my dream. I was walking on a similar curved path except that the surroundings were different. It was evening (or morning) time with orange light filling the skies. I saw a temple while walking along the path. The temple was on a lower plane compared to the path. A white bull (or white cow) was standing outside the temple building. And Śiva was washing the cow with water. I had a glance at them and the dream finished.

Dream 10: The Most Handsome Kṛṣṇa

2006-09-26T17:54:00.001-07:00

Every soldier of Dwarika was dressing for a parade. And standing in front of my eyes was Śyāmasundara Kṛṣṇa. Beautiful blue face, somewhat round, with two big and deep eyes. No decoration on the face, not even a ṭīkā, but still His face had a remarkable beauty. Curly tresses reached till His neck and wrapped He was in a yellow silken robe. Luckily, I did remember the dialogue this time.

I asked, ‘‘Should I decorate You (for everyone else was getting ready)?’’

With a gentle smile He replied, ‘‘No.’’

The beauty of Nandakumāra needs no decoration.

Dream 9: Śakti — The Temple Dance

2006-09-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

I was standing in a vast open field in clear moonlight. My sister, father, and mother were standing opposite me. I looked at the right side, and a grey-color temple was there. The presence of family-folks was set-aside and the eyes got glued to what was happening inside the temple. A huge hurricane-like fireball was spinning and dancing inside the temple. The fireball was thickest in the middle and tapered towards the ends (somewhat like an eye-shape). Just a moment later, the fireball escaped the doors of the temple and flew in air. As the fireball approached me, my hands attained the posture of a ‘‘bhikṣāmudrā.’’ The fireball changed into a beautiful idol of the Goddess and sat exactly in my two-palms set in the begging-posture. My dream finished there, imparting bliss.

Dream 8: Rāma, the Protector

2006-07-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

I got my new silent keyboard today. And I think the best way to do an initiation of it would be to write a blog here.

This dream is slightly old. I saw that I am in a beautiful moonlit temple compound. The temple had buildings facing east and west and the north and south side had open gates. On the building side, I was standing, with Rāma standing in front of me as a protector. He had an arrow placed on a bow — ready to be shot at any intruder. He had a beautiful blue cloud like body with a tress-matt as during the forest exile. He had plain clothes, like that of a forest seer. We both saw a chariot, with beautiful horses, but the chariot was empty. Perhaps it was a Māyā trap to hide something from His eyes. Then we saw Rāvaṇa, trying to chop off the head of Daśaratha in the skies. But that didn't shake the patience of Rāma. He kept protecting me, till I woke up.

Dream 7: Vishnu, Shiv, and Adi Shankara

2006-06-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

There is a small story behind this dream. Adi Shankara is very renowned as the re-invigorator of the Advaita philosophy. One day I found the beautiful work of His, named vivekachudamani, and started working on its translation.

The same evening, I met another person who claimed that atheism and Nietszche philosophy are far more superior to the denial which Upanishat creates. She also claimed that she has gone through vivekachudamani and other texts without much satisfaction. I stopped talking on that issue due to ideological differences, but thought more about the criticism she made.

For a moment my faith was trembling. Then came the night and the inevitable sleep. I saw Adi Shankara in my dream. He chanted a few verses and then Lord Vishnu and Shiva appeared together in front of me. I forgot the chant by the morning, however.

Dream 1a: Hanuman

2006-05-31T22:47:00.000-07:00

My memory is failing, or so it seems. I missed to discuss the appearance of Hanuman in my previous posts. After a few nights of seeing Lord Vishnu in my dream, I woke up once in the night. I could see a monkey sitting on the couch. Somewhat old and all curled up, sitting in a corner of the couch. I blinked my eyes quite a few times but the monkey was right there. Finally, He vanished.

Dream 6: Mother Lakshmi

2006-05-31T22:38:00.000-07:00

Being upset at some point of time is perhaps an essential ingredient of any relation; even of a devotee and the Mother. One fine evening, something didn't work and I got annoyed by the Divine Mother. I murmured, ‘‘You want me to remain hungry, so be it’’.

I slept without eating. Around 3:00 am in the morning, I saw a dream. In one corner of my room, I could see Goddess standing, albeit against light. I could see Her there, in somewhat low light. My dream shattered and I woke up. To my surprize, the figure could be seen with open eyes too! I rubbed my eyes, the figure was still there. In a few moments She vanished.

Dream 5: Krishna, Ganesh, Adi Shankara, Varaha, and Garuda

2006-05-28T02:03:00.000-07:00

There was a long gap, about a few months, between this dream and its predecessor. But luckily I saw many incarnations together. I saw a room with a few sages and and saints and then came a beautiful procession. My eyes moved from left to right, trying to identify all the incarnations. First one was Garuda, with a golden body. Next was Varaha incarnation with mighty fangs. Ganesh was very similar to my previous dream. Then there was Adi Shankara and finally Krishna.

I again forgot the reasons of gathering and the voices, if any.

Dream 4: Rama and Sita

2006-05-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

Dream 4 and Dream 3 may be swapped in order. I don't remember their order well enough. In this dream I saw a dark room where I was sitting. Soon I heard Rama and Sita enter the room. They came and sat in the darkness and talked. I think this dream was very long and I heard them talking for long. Unfortunately, I forgot their dialogues by morning.

Perhaps my spiritual advancement in this mundane world is not good enough to hear the dialogues from Saketa-loka.

Dream 3: Ganesh

2006-05-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

I clearly remember a night when I saw Ganesh for the first time in my dream. He had a beautiful white head, which had some pink spots at the trunk portion. He was standing in front of me, wearing a shiny pink robe. He spoke to me, and told that Sarasvati gave Him a conch-shell. I forgot the name of the conch-shell by next-morning.

Later, my mother confirmed that according to one legend, Sarasvati gave Ganesh a conch-shell in the Lotus-forest of Lakshmi. Quite consistent!

Dream 2: Sri Rama

2006-05-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

After I saw Lord Vishnu in a dream, my thirst for seeing Him again grew. I kept craving for His appearance. Each night I would wonder if I will get to see Him again. It didn't happen for about two weeks.

After two weeks, I saw myself in a train. I closed my eyes and saw the beautiful face of Sri Rama. The dream was momentary and I just saw the face of Lord Rama. But it was another joy that came to me in an otherwise mundane world.

Dream 1: Vishnu

2006-05-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

My affection with Lord Vishnu grew many-fold when I saw Him in a dream. Those days I was very depressed with mundane cycle of life and always wondered if I have something special to boast about. I had nothing! But just in a day or two, I saw Shyam Sundar in a beautiful form. He stood in front of me. Tall figure, with four sub-organs or Sudarshan Chakra, Lotus, Kaumodaki Mace, and Pa~nchajanya Shell. He had a beautiful garland of flowers and an exquisite golden yellow silk robe at the waist.

A deer in my backyard shattered the dream. Not to mention, the deer was an unwanted guest, since my backyard was never visited by a deer again.

Perhaps the deer represented the desires (as has been represented again and again in our texts) and Vishnu represents the Poorna-Brahma. The desires take away our attention from the Poorna Brahma.