A MONK'S ANSWER TO INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS

 

It’s  a long story about how I happened to be hosting a couple of very learned Geshes (Tibetan Buddhist teachers) in Mumbai in the December of 2022, but let me dive in.

Exactly one month after my father’s passing away, on 17^th April’22 I had a dream ..

There was this person who I could only see as a silhouette …to whom I was repeatedly asking … “what’s your message for me” and the reply was “Every hour of your life, be virtuous!”

The way I recognised it as my dad’s shadow in that dream - was because this conversation was happening while I was adjusting the radio antenna on the terrace of our old apartment in Vile Parle. It so happens, this was exactly the activity we father-son duo used to engage in on weekends. My dad was a ham radio operator & I was his handy man to run up and down from the terrace, turning antennas while he adjusted the frequencies and tuned into distant ham radio stations.

The message in the dream was very clear, and worthy of following, but it also had me thinking about this whole business of dreams.

So when in December that year I was hosting these very learned Buddhist teachers, I got that opportunity of a private moment with my guest Geshe Rabga, to finally ask this question

“What’s the significance of dreams, and how do we interpret them?” .

I had been very eagerly wanting to hear what he had to say about the subject.

It had so happened, until their arrival in Mumbai for touristic reason, I had not known them personally – so I was a bit hesitant in suddenly asking these kinds of questions.

But finally, I had it all planned out.

On the morning of their departure, I would take my chance and ask.

Since a large part of hospitality was on my list, I had arranged things that morning in such a way that nothing would disturb us - Having got all the practical things out of the way, I finally sat with him. I had mentioned the earlier night that I had some thing that needed clarification, so I guess he was expecting me.

 Geshe Rabga sat in their room taking some notes in his notebook along with Geshe Lhabsum, who was immersed in reading his scriptures.

I went and sat next to Geshe Rabga and said,

“Geshe la, I have a question to ask. What do you think of dreams?”

“Dreams?” he looked perplexed at my question but was quick in his reply…
“Dreams are all nonsense. It doesn’t mean anything”, he said, with a soft firm look on his face.

Before I could build my response to his short pointed reply, the doorbell rang. Flustered, I went to attend the door, I thought I had taken care of everything, so didn’t deserve to be disturbed by this doorbell.

I opened the door with irritation writ all over my face.

It was the garbage collector.

He was surprised at my unusually upset face,

but asked “Sir, don’t you have garbage to get rid off today? “
 .. I did the needful, handed over the garbage bags…and went back to Geshe La.

Geshe La was grinning & had his luggage in his hand, all ready and set to leave for the train station,

“Ok, got it?
let’s go then!” he said.

The symbolism of the moment was not lost on me.

I understood well, to be able to interpret dreams – one’s got to first get rid of the garbage in our heads.