There are two kinds of worlds - the inner world and the external world. The external world as we all know is made of earth, water, fire, air, and space; it is the combination of these five gross elements and the other subtle elements.  However, there is an internal world as well. 

Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology, had introduced the concept of subconscious. Interestingly, this concept is already found in Vedic literature and is there since thousands of years. The Maitreyyupanishat says that there is a world inside us.


The inner world within us is exceedingly big.  It is so big that even the external world that we see, is nothing in comparison to it.  We come in contact with our internal world when we are asleep.  Recall how in the dream state we hear, touch, see and smell things.  How do we manage to do these things when our knowledge and working senses are under the comforter?  The eyes are closed while sleeping which means we are obviously not seeing the external world.  There is a world other than the world that we see when we are awake.   This other world is our inner world and it is extraordinarily fascinating.  In the inner world, we sometimes go all the way to Hong Kong, Singapore, to the moon, we meet God or we even meet demons.

You may find it interesting that even somebody who is blind from birth can see dreams.  So how does a blind person see dreams?  What people with sight see in their dreams are the things they have seen or thought during the waking state.  When they sleep, those thoughts or resolves are disjointed and rejoined in a jumbled manner and that becomes the dream.   For example, a person sees a bird flying and he thinks what a thrilling experience it would be to become a bird and fly.   He sees the bird and makes the resolve.   Now in the dream state, possibly these two resolves will be joined. So, he may not become a bird but he will start flying in his human state and that becomes his dream.  Now, why does that happen?

In the dream state, the intellect is sleeping but the mind is still active. That is the sleep state. Throughout the day the body tires, but that is not enough to fall asleep.  It is when the intellect is tired, that one falls asleep.  When we sleep, the intellect falls asleep but the mind remains awake.  Therefore, all these thoughts that exist in the inner world start joining without rationality.  Hence, an intelligent person doesn't give much importance to dreams.  One in a million maybe a divine dream inspired by God, but the other 9,99,999 are merely the creations of an irrational mind.  Now people with sight dream in accordance with what they have seen in the waking state, but how does a person who is blind from birth see dreams?

They see dreams because the inner world of a human continues from past lives. We all know that when a person dies, his or her soul leaves the body and the gross body is left behind.  However, the soul does not leave alone; it is accompanied by the subtle body consisting of the mind, intellect, and ego. Therefore, our mind is not from just one lifetime, it contains impressions from countless past lifetimes and these impressions form the basis of dreams for people who are blind from birth.  That is the inner world.

Simply put, the external world is one for everyone. If there is the hall of Durga Mandir, it is the same for all the people.  But the internal world is different for everyone.  One person associates the temple with peace, one person associates it with devotion, one with faith and a young teenager who is forced there by his parents associates it with a torcher chamber that is terribly boring.  So, our inner world is our own creation and the external world is not our creation, it is the creation of God.

Whether it is a sage, an ascetic, a yogi, a Saint or even God, everyone has to leave the world at the appointed time.  The world may say that so-and-so died of heart attack, or cancer, but the fact is that his time to die had arrived.  Even God does not stay a moment longer than the scheduled period of His descension.  Then how can anyone else stay beyond his appointed time?  You may have heard of an incident in Ayodhya in this context.  Yamraj came to Lord Ram to tell Him that the period of His descension was over.  When Yamraj comes to God and the Saints, he places his head at their feet and says, "I have come to inform you that the period of Your descension is complete.  You may choose to stay or leave.  I am merely fulfilling my duty."  He cannot force them to leave as he does with others.  Yet, the supremely independent Ram did not stay a moment longer than His planned 11,000 years.  At the exact time, to the second, He left the world.  And this is true for every descension of God, and every Saint, whether it be Tulsidas, Surdas, Meera,orKabir.  Seeing that even God, who is the lawmaker Himself, does not violate this rule, then why should the Saints, who are His servants break the law?

When we say we do not wish to die, it can be for two possible reasons.  One reason is that we are too attached to the world-to wealth, home, father, mother, wife, son-and still wish to enjoy them, and so do not wish to leave.  On the other hand, elevated aspirants have a sensible reason for not wanting to die.  They think, "I have not attained God as yet.  If I had some more time, I could achieve my goal."  They want more time, just like students who become very happy when given a few extra days to study for exams.  But, God and Saints have nothing to attain.  They leave at the appropriate time, without any reluctance.

There is an incident about Ramakrishna Paramhans.  He developed throat cancer.  Everyone knew that the Saint's death was imminent.  He was famous in Kolkata and all over Bengal as a Saint who had transformed many lives.  So, people went to him and said, "You have attained perfection.  To rid yourself of cancer is child's play for you.  Just ask God to cure you, and your cancer will disappear."  Ramakrishna Paramhans replied strictly, "Should I divert my mind from God to worrying about cancer?  Besides, how can I ask God to do such dirty work for me?  I have loved God only with the desire to serve Him.  I cannot engage in such pettiness and ask for His help just for the sake of this wretched body.  Moreover, even if I am cured, I will still have to leave my body at the appointed time."

So, Ramakrishna Paramhans said, "Everyone has to leave at the scheduled time.  I have no objection to this hole in my throat.  This body has nine holes anyway-the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc.  So what if there is one more!  It would be very wrong to bother the Divine Mother over it."  Thus, asking God for worldly favours is the greatest folly.