Unbidden dreams of Gods

Lately there seems to be a pickup in non-Hindu folks asking about dreams they get. Generally the pattern is "I know nothing whatsoever about Hinduism other than it's a religion of India. But last night I had this amazing dream. Some God or Goddess showed Himself to me. He was playing a flute (or dancing, or just staring) ... and something really intrigued me. I thought it had something to do with a Hindu god so I googled pictures of Indian gods this morning, and I found the same figure."

It's Kali, Vishnu, Krishna, Hanumanji, or Siva, etc.

So ... what do you think? Some kind of made up stories, wishful thinking, or are the God's calling more people?

Vinayaka said:

Lately there seems to be a pickup in non-Hindu folks asking about dreams they get. Generally the pattern is "I know nothing whatsoever about Hinduism other than it's a religion of India. But last night I had this amazing dream. Some God or Goddess showed Himself to me. He was playing a flute (or dancing, or just staring) ... and something really intrigued me. I thought it had something to do with a Hindu god so I googled pictures of Indian gods this morning, and I found the same figure."

It's Kali, Vishnu, Krishna, Hanumanji, or Siva, etc.

So ... what do you think? Some kind of made up stories, wishful thinking, or are the God's calling more people?

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I think its very interesting.

I think if they feel called, they should investigate further.

I wasn't looking for Krishna when he appeared...

JustGeorge said:

I think its very interesting.

I think if they feel called, they should investigate further.

I wasn't looking for Krishna when he appeared...

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Yes, and most people do indeed investigate further. Aren't you glad you did? This wasn't, BTW, how I got hooked.

Vinayaka said:

Yes, and most people do indeed investigate further. Aren't you glad you did? This wasn't, BTW, how I got hooked.

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I am. I also believe Krishna wouldn't have left me alone if I'd ignored him, anyways. I can only take so many jokes at my expense!

How did you get hooked?

Vinayaka said:

He was playing a flute (or dancing, or just staring) ... and something really intrigued me.
So ... what do you think? Some kind of made up stories, wishful thinking, or are the God's calling more people?

Click to expand...

Dancing and with flute - no God other than Krishna or perhaps Pan.
What I think? During sleep, the memory files are being defragmented and cleaned up. So, many things can crop up. And what happens in five second can seem to you like five hours. So, enjoy your meeting with the flute-carrying dancing God. Convey my regards to him.

Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia playing flute in the morning - Raag Lalit:

Vinayaka said:

So ... what do you think? Some kind of made up stories, wishful thinking, or are the God's calling more people?

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I think it depends. Eleven months ago, when I was researching Hinduism and Sikhism, I found both religions equally fascinating to where I was not sure which one to subscribe to. My spiritual situation prompted me to supplicate 'the One.' I asked him to show me which religion to follow. That night, I had a dream that I was standing in the bathroom, looking at the tile floor. On some of the tiles were coins as well as something small, spherical, hard, brown, and edible that I did not recognize. A voice said to me, 'Remember, a gursikh does not lie because he knows that someday he will die.' A few days later, when I was reading The Sikh Gurus by Harshdeep Dhillon, I discovered that when Gurū Nānak appointed his successor, Gurū Angad, he placed on the ground before him five coins and a coconut. Upon reading that, which was something I had not known about beforehand, I remembered my dream and I felt amazed. Whereas Gurū Angad was given five coins and a coconut very likely of normal size, I saw more than five coins as well as a very small coconut in my dream. Am I a Sikh today? No, I cannot be a Sikh, but I am still impressed with the dream, and I like many things about Sikhism.

JustGeorge said:

I am. I also believe Krishna wouldn't have left me alone if I'd ignored him, anyways. I can only take so many jokes at my expense!

How did you get hooked?

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Nataraja in a store ... first time I saw that image. Later I saw what I though at the time were real aarti like flames around Nataraja. Twenty years later I asked the caretakers if they had ever fastened some kind of lamps to that metal flame circle, and they said "never," so I guess I had a vision I didn't know was a vision.

Other stuff too of course.

Yes, they won't leave you alone, even if you try and run. I tried to hide from my Guru once when I wasn't doing all that well, but he kept asking, "Where's _____?" and eventually I went. Glad I did.

Vinayaka said:

Nataraja in a store ... first time I saw that image. Later I saw what I though at the time were real aarti like flames around Nataraja. Twenty years later I asked the caretakers if they had ever fastened some kind of lamps to that metal flame circle, and they said "never," so I guess I had a vision I didn't know was a vision.

Other stuff too of course.

Yes, they won't leave you alone, even if you try and run. I tried to hide from my Guru once when I wasn't doing all that well, but he kept asking, "Where's _____?" and eventually I went. Glad I did.

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Nataraja is breathtaking...

That's an awesome way to step onto the path. How did you know where to go next? How did you find your Guru, if you don't mind me asking?

Vinayaka said:

Nataraja in a store ... first time I saw that image. Later I saw what I though at the time were real aarti like flames around Nataraja. Twenty years later I asked the caretakers if they had ever fastened some kind of lamps to that metal flame circle, and they said "never," so I guess I had a vision I didn't know was a vision.

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That's amazing. Jaya Naṭarāja.

I have some god dreams occur to me from age 18 till about a decade ago. Now for the past 10 yrs have not had any. I have had darshan of few Hindu gods.

Apart from proudly claiming in fora like this of my adventurous dreams with deities, I have not had the pleasure of truly knowing their meaning.

Vinayaka said:

or are the God's calling more people?

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I think it’s this. Many people are leaving or abandoning their previous religious beliefs, or non-beliefs, i.e. Christianity and atheism or agnosticism, respectively. By way of dreams or other inspiration it’s possible the Gods are saying here is another way.