An Open Window: Dream As Everyman's Guide To The Spirit - Softcover

Ashish, Sri Madhava

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143100238 ISBN 13: 9780143100232

Publisher: Viking (India), 2007

Synopsis

Movement on the spiritual path necessarily involves taking light into the dark corners of our psyche, and it is there that dreams provide an open window into the inner reality. In the early years of the twentieth century, Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung proposed that, more often than not, dreams represent those thoughts and memories which are unbearably painful and have been relegated to the realm of the unconscious. Unlocking the meanings in these dreams can help people free their mind and feelings from irrational desires, fears and insecurities. This brief but profound book assails the 'conventional' understanding of dreams and their interpretation, drawing attention to a much-neglected aspect of dreams as a source of guidance to the spiritual aspirant. It uses the insights of psychology, but transcends it, to confront the inescapable questions most people should be driven by: What is the purpose of life, and does it all end with death? Laying bare dreams of childhood anxiety, traumas and sexuality'cleaning the windows' to uncover the deeply buried material that blocks our efforts on the inner pathit then invites contention from 'materialists' in its discussion of subjects beyond psychology such as precognitive dreams, reincarnation, out-of-the-body experiences, death dreams, and numinous or 'big dreams"-'an open window' through which deeper, non-physical levels of reality can shine. Drawing on examples from real life, Sri Madhava Ashish teaches the 'language of dreams', ensuring a better understanding and awareness of the unconscious self, guiding the reader on the path to mental and spiritual freedom.

About this title

About the Author

Sri Madhava Ashish (1920–1997), who was for many years the head of a remote ashram, Mirtola, in the Kumaon hills of northern India, was a spiritual teacher whose teachings transcend conventional religious categories.
Born in Edinburgh, Sri Madhava Ashish was trained as an aircraft engineer in London and came to India during the Second World War. While travelling in India after the war, he met the great sage Ramana Maharshi at Tiruvannamalai and realized the supreme importance of the inner quest. His search led him to Mirtola ashram and to his guru, Sri Krishna Prem, an English professor who had become a Vaishnava monk.
At Sri Krishna Prem’s death, nearly twenty years later, Sri Madhava Ashish became the head of the ashram and with his successor, Dev Ashish, he transformed the ashram farm and forest, making it a model for environmentally sound rural development. He served on several Planning Commission committees for hill development, and was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1992 for his work on environmental education.
In his teachings, Sri Madhava Ashish integrated tradition and modern thought, eastern wisdom and western analysis. He wrote a number of articles and books for international publications.

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking (India)
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0143100238
• ISBN 13: 9780143100232
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 158