Dreaming is always about that which is lacking while you are awake; that which you have missed in the day comes in the dream. If you don’t miss anything in the day, dreaming will disappear. A man who is totally content will not dream. That’s why buddhas never dream. They cannot dream even if they want, because everything is complete and finished, nothing remains hanging on the mind.

A dream is a hangover: something incomplete goes on trying to be complete. And desires are such that you can never complete them. They go on growing and become bigger and bigger. Whatsoever you do, something is always lacking. Who will fulfill that hole? Dreams fulfill that hole.

You fasted, a hole is created in you. It is uncomfortable to carry that hole, so in the night, in dreams, you eat. The mind has deceived you, the eating has not been real. It cannot become blood in you; you cannot digest a dream, you cannot live on it. So what is it going to do? One thing: it can help a good sleep, it is a sleep-support.

If there is no dream and you have incomplete desires, you will be absolutely unable to sleep: sleep will be broken many times. You are hungry, how can you sleep? But the dream gives you a false solution: “You have eaten, eaten delicious foods, now go to sleep.”

And you believe it, because there is no way to know whether it is true or false. And you are so fast asleep, so unconscious, how can you know whether it is true or false? – because the truth about anything can be known only by awareness, and you are not aware. And then, moreover, the dream is beautiful, it fulfills a deep need. So why bother about it? Why try to find out whether it is true or not?

Whenever you are happy you never try to find out whether it is true or not. You would like it to be true, it is a wish fulfillment. And it is dangerous to try to think about it – it may prove untrue, then what to do? So it is better not to open the eyes. The dream is beautiful, the sleep is good. Why not rest?

In the night if you feel an urge to go to the toilet, immediately there is a dream: you are in the toilet. This is how the dream protects the sleep, otherwise you will have to go. The bladder is full and it is becoming uncomfortable; you will have to go to the toilet.

But the dream protects, the dream says, “Yes, this is the toilet, you have unloaded yourself. Now go to sleep.” The bladder remains full, the discomfort remains full, but the dream gives a comfortable coating, it makes it easier to tolerate. In reality the situation remains the same, but the dream gives you a false illusion that the reality has changed.

So what is the deep meaning of dreaming? The deep meaning is that reality as such is so harsh, you cannot tolerate it. Reality as such, naked, is too much, you are not ready to bear it. The dream fills the gap; it gives you a reality you can tolerate. Reality is given to you by the mind in such a way that you can adjust to it.