CONTENTS:- 1. The World as Dream: An Introduction. 2. The Antiquity of the Dream Metaphor in India. 3. The Dream-Metaphor in Western Religion and Thought. 4. The Uses of the Dream-Metaphor in Advaita Vedanta: Ramana Maharsi. 5. The Uses of the Dream-Metaphor in Advaita Vedanta: Nisargadatta Maharaja. 6. The World as Dream in Hindu Mythology. 7. The World as Daydream. 8. The World as Dream: Implications of Modern Dream Research. 9. The World as Dream and Its Relations to Types of Dreams. 10. The Dream Metaphor: Some Problems.
DESCRIPTION
The ontological status of the world has been a subject of much philosophical speculation despite the fact that the world is an existential given. According to some philosophers, such existential givenness could turn out to be comparable to the earth's apparent flatness, with the actual truth turning out to be the very opposite of what it seems. Philosophers often cite the experience of a dream to establish the plausibility of their position that the world might appear to be real while it is being experienced, and yet turn out to be ultimately false like a dream this motif plays a particularly important role in schools of philosophy in the East and the West which are idealistic in their orientation. This book explores the nuances of the theme of the world as dream in all its richness.
