svapnaá¹ manorathaá¹ cetthaá¹
prÄktanaá¹ na smaraty asau
tatra pÅ«rvam ivÄtmÄnam
apÅ«rvam cÄnupaÅ›yati
svapnam - a dream; manaḥ-ratham - a daydream; ca - and; ittham - thus; prÄktanam - previous; na smarati - does not remember; asau - he; tatra - in that (present body); pÅ«rvam - the previous; iva - as if; ÄtmÄnam - himself; apÅ«rvam - having no past; ca - and; anupaÅ›yati - he views.
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.
The objection may be raised that sometimes when experiencing a dream one actually remembers a previous dream. ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura replies that by the mystic power of jÄti-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.
