معرفت ادیان

As a gateway through which one can enter the unseen world, the scholars have always considered the subject of "dream" in their works. However, dream has different aspects from the perspective of mystics. Shankara, a prominent Hindu mystic and philosopher, is one of the scholars who has considered this issue from various aspects in his system of thought. One of its most important aspects is its ontological aspect; it means he does not consider dream as a personal state - in which human being experiences the state of dreaming during the day or night - and has studied this subject in the realm of universe. From this point of view, "dream" – i.e. the opposite of reality - requires special metaphysical explorations. Considering this point of view, Shankara believes: the whole universe is like a dream issued by Brahman. Analyzing the works of Shankara and studying dream on both human and global levels, this article has tried to examine the aspects of considering the universe as a dream, from his perspective.