Indian Philosophy v2.c25.s2.36

v2.c25.s2.36

Mental perception by which we become cognisant of pleasure, pain, and the like, is admitted by the Mīmāṁsā. A cognition, however, cannot be the object of introspection. Mental perception is restricted to non-cognitive activities. Even in dreams, what the cognition renders cognisable is some object of the external world.⁴ Though the object is not actually present at the time of dreaming, still it is something previously perceived and now revived through the impressions. The cognition that we have in dreams is of the nature of remembrance brought about by the arousing of certain impressions. Only that part of the past experience is revived in dreams which would cause happiness or unhappiness to the agent and for which he is ripe at that moment. Dreams are possible only in that form of sleep where the self is in contact with the manas, though the latter may not be in contact with the sense-organs. In deep dreamless sleep the contact of the self with the manas ceases. While this is Prabhākara’s view, Kumārila is of opinion that in deep sleep the self regains its form of pure consciousness where no dreams are possible.¹