Transforming Sleep, Not Suppressing It

In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna: “Verily this Yoga is not for him who eats too much or sleeps too much, even as it is not for him who gives up sleep and food, O Arjuna.” (Bhagavad Gita and Its Message, tr. by Sri Aurobindo, Ch. 6, V. 16) It is interesting to note that one of the epithets linked to Arjuna was Gudakesha, the ‘master of sleep’, one who overcomes the force of tamas so that he can remain alert and focused to achieve whatever he was destined to achieve. Sri Krishna therefore underlines that this does not mean, what is frequently understood, that Arjuna did not need to sleep!

When an individual takes up spiritual practice, the action of the Gunas is not suspended; rather, they influence the manner and process the individual follows in trying to achieve his objectives. When the Guna of Rajas is predominant, it tries to push things along, sometimes with harsh methods. When these methods go beyond the limits of the mind, the vital being and the physical body, various types of breakdowns can occur. Thus, the excess of Rajas leads to the rise of Tamas.

The Guna of Sattwa tends to lead with an emphasis on balance, harmony and light. This provides the basis for steady development and leads the seeker to an understanding of the need for an approach that respects the nature of the mind, vital and body. The seeker can avoid the disruptions that occur with either the excess or the deficiency, and the resultant oscillation between ambition and indolence. Rather than attempting to artificially suppress the body’s need for and utilization of sleep as part of its normal processes, the sattwic method tries to appreciate the use of sleep and how to balance and harmonise it with the other needs and priorities of the life.

For the practitioner of the integral yoga, the objective is transformation of human life. To accomplish this a strong and balanced physical body, vital being and mental power are necessary. In order to transform life, a certain understanding is eventually necessary. Our limited view of life and its meaning and our purpose in life represents an obstacle that can be overcome through a constant growth of consciousness and a widening to encompass the wider existence within which our earthly life takes place. Gaining access to the expanded field available through sleep and dream can aid the seeker in achieving this understanding.

Sri Aurobindo notes: “It is not a right method to try to keep awake at night; the suppression of the needed sleep makes the body tamasic and unfit for the necessary concentration during the waking hours. The right way is to transform the sleep and not suppress it, and especially to learn how to become more and more conscious in sleep itself. If that is done, sleep changes into an inner mode of consciousness in which the sadhana can continue as much as in the waking state, and at the same time one is able to enter into other planes of consciousness than the physical and command an immense range of informative and utilisable experience.”

Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 5, Physical Consciousness — Subconscient — Sleep and Dream — Illness, pg. 101