SB 11.22.41 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

स्वप्नं मनोरथं चेत्थं प्राक्तनं न स्मरत्यसौ । तत्र पूर्वमिवात्मानमपूर्वम् चानुपश्यति ॥ ४१ ॥

Verse text

svapnaṁ manorathaṁ cetthaṁ prāktanaṁ na smaraty asau tatra pūrvam ivātmānam apūrvam cānupaśyati

Synonyms

svapnam — a dream ; manaḥ — ratham — a daydream ; ca — and ; ittham — thus ; prāktanam — previous ; na smarati — does not remember ; asau — he ; tatra — in that (present body) ; pūrvam — the previous ; iva — as if ; ātmānam — himself ; apūrvam — having no past ; ca — and ; anupaśyati — he views .

Translation

Just as a person experiencing a dream or daydream does not remember his previous dreams or daydreams, a person situated in his present body, although having existed prior to it, thinks that he has only recently come into being.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Just a person situated in his present body, although having existed at prior points in this life, thinks of himself in the present only, a person experiencing a dream or fantasy does not remember his previous dreams or fantasies. The example is given. Just as the jīva in his present body does not remember his previous gross body, so the jīva involved in his present dream or fantasy does not remember a previous dream or fantasy. Sometimes someone (called jāti-smaraḥ) can remember his previous body. But this is not a rule for everyone. Moreover the jīva situated in his present body thinks himself to be only in the present, even though he did exist before. “I am six years old.” “I am seven years old.” This recollection of the previous “I” is destroyed. He is aware of himself only at the present moment.

Purport

The objection may be raised that sometimes when experiencing a dream one actually remembers a previous dream. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura replies that by the mystic power of jāti-smara one can remember one’s previous body, and as is well known, “The exception establishes the rule.” Normally, conditioned souls do not perceive their past existence; they think, “I am six years old” or “I am thirty years old,” and “previous to this birth I did not exist.” In such material ignorance one cannot understand the actual situation of the soul.