If this life itself is a dream then does Ramana Maharshi exist only in that dream?

Question:

Ramana says “Waking is long and a dream short; other than this there is no difference. Just as waking happenings seem real while awake, so do those in a dream while dreaming."

If this life itself is a dream then

1) Does even Ramana or for that matter whoever is replying to this question exist only in my dream?

2) Does it mean I'm (self) all alone and everything else including all people and things is fictitious?

3) So the teachings provided by Ramana and other gurus are happening in my dream only?

Answer:

There is an elephant in the forest.The elephant is scared about the Lion in the forest.The Lion has not appeared before the elephant in recent times. It was once sighted and the elephant became totally afraid of lion. One night, the elephant dreamt of the Lion, it got scared even its dream about the Lion. It woke up with a huge cry.There was not Lion. Only it was there. The elephant got self realized.

All are dreams. But unlike the elephant's dream, our dream about Bhagavan Ramana is a pleasant dream. But this dream should also end one day, when you would really wake up.That waking is the realization.

...After an ‘I’ rises, everything rises… -- Ulladu Narpadu verse 23

Bhagavan Ramana says in Who am I?: There is no difference between dream and waking up, excepting the former is short and the latter is long.

We are living in a long dream.Lion was sighted once.That is,we came from the Brahman, as the game started.It is however,a pleasant dream. When we wake up we are Brahman again.

This waking up need not be only when one leaves the body.For most of the enquirers it is afer leaving the body.But people like Sankara, Saint Manikkavachagar and Bhagavan
Ramana, the waking up took place while in dream itself! However,they continued in the dream life for some years in full waking state.This is Sahaja Samadhi.Waking up after the body is discarded is Nirvikalpa Samadhi.Waking up, again getting into dream and again waking up, this game is Savikalpa Samadhi.

Bhagavan Ramana used to tell one story:

Once two persons were sleeping in a hall.Both were poor.During the sleep, one man was dreaming.He dreamt that he is a very rich person and he has stacked all the gold and currency in a cupboard.And a thief comes and takes away all the gold and currency, and runs away.The dreaming man shouts in shock: "O! the thief is running away with all my wealth.

Please catch him, please catch him...."

The other man woke up. He was not dreaming anything, neither the thief, nor the gold and currency. What shall he do? Will he run out to the front yard to catch the thief? Will he rush to the police station to complain? He will simply wake that wailing man from sleep and dream.

The Guru is like the man who wakes us, the dreaming men, up.The only difference is that the Guru is within your Heart.

The state where "I-thought" is not there, even in a trice,is Swarupam. This is called as Silence. I am Swarupam.The world is Swarupam. Isvara is Swarupam. All are Siva-Swarupam."

When we are not with Self, then we are with dreams. so, to contact us, It is something like Ramana comes to our dream by taking a form of a human body and says to us please come out of dreams...

Source: http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/forum/index.php?topic=3713.msg0#new

Readers interested are requested to read below articles as well

http://prashantaboutindia.blogspot.com/2009/10/sri-ramakrishna-says-guru-will-let-you.html