Chapter 3.110, Verses 60–67

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.60–67

(A person is not the body; excitement, joy, and restlessness are all movements of the mind)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

प्रशाम्यत्युल्लसत्येति याति नन्दति वल्गति।

मनःशरीरसंकल्पे फलिते न शरीरकम् ॥ ६०॥

नानास्फारसमुल्लासैः स्वसंकल्पोपकल्पितैः।

मनो वल्गति देहेऽस्मिन्साध्वीवान्तःपुराजिरे ॥ ६१॥

चापले प्रसरस्तस्मादन्तर्येन नदीयते।

मनोविलयमादत्ते तस्यालान इव द्विपः ॥ ६२॥

न स्पन्दते मनो यस्य शस्त्रस्तम्भ इवोत्तमः।

सद्वस्तुतोऽसौ पुरुषः शिष्टाः कर्दमकीटकाः ॥ ६३॥

यस्याचपलतां यातं मन एकत्र संस्थितम्।

अनुत्तमपदेनासौ ध्यानेनानुगतोऽनघ ॥ ६४॥

संयमान्मनसः शान्तिमेति संसारविभ्रमः।

मन्दरेऽस्पन्दतां याते यथा क्षीरमहार्णवः ॥ ६५॥

मानस्यो वृत्तयो या या भोगसंकल्पविभ्रभैः।

संसारविषवृक्षस्य ता एवाङ्कुरयोनयः ॥ ६६॥

चित्तं चलत्कुवलयं वलयन्त एते मूढा महाजडजवे मदमोहमन्दाः।

आवर्तवर्तिनि विलूनविशीर्णचिन्ताचक्रभ्रमे पुरुषदुर्भ्रमराः पतन्ति ॥ ६७॥

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.110.60–67

> The mind grows quiet, then it rises again. It goes, it rejoices, and it leaps about. All of this happens when the mind’s idea of a body bears fruit. The body itself does none of it.

> With many wide bursts of excitement, all made by its own will, the mind dances inside this body, like a good woman moving in the inner courtyard of a palace.

> When the spread of that restlessness is not allowed inside, the mind settles and fades away, like an elephant held still by its tying-post.

> The person whose mind does not move, standing firm like a strong iron pillar, is truly a human Being. The rest are only worms in the mud.

> O faultless one, the person whose mind has stopped wandering and stays fixed in one place is carried, by that steady meditation, to the Highest State.

> When the mind is held in check, the whirl of Worldly life grows calm, just as the Ocean of milk grows still when Mount Mandara stops churning it.

> Whatever movements rise in the mind from the confusion of enjoyment and desire, those very movements are the seeds from which the poison-tree of worldly life sprouts.

> The mind is like a blue lotus tossing in a current. These fools, dull and slow with pride and delusion, circle around it. Like unlucky bees, they fall into the whirlpool where the broken, scattered wheel of thought keeps turning.

Detailed summary of the teachings: 

These verses teach that a person is not the body. Quiet, excitement, going, joy, and restlessness are all movements of the mind. The body only seems to do them because the mind has already pictured a body and then treated that picture as real. When that mental picture “bears fruit,” life appears to happen in the body, yet the body itself remains a lifeless thing. What people call their life is the mind playing inside an idea it has made.

The image of the woman in the inner courtyard makes this play look ordinary rather than mysterious. The mind does not need an outside stage. With ideas formed by its own will, it leaps about inside the body, inventing near and far, pleasure and pain, action and rest. Worldly life is therefore not something forced on the mind from outside. It is the mind amusing itself with its own creations, and then forgetting that it made them.

The way out is not more movement, but the stopping of restlessness at its source. If the spread of fickleness is not given room inside, the mind loosens its grip and settles, as an elephant is held by the post to which it is tied. The person whose mind no longer throbs, firm like an iron pillar, is called a real person. Others, however busy or learned they appear, are compared to worms in the mud, because they are carried along by every impulse. When the mind becomes steady and stays in one place, meditation naturally follows, and that steadiness leads to the Highest State.

Restraint of the mind brings peace to the whole confusion of Worldly life. The comparison is with the Ocean of milk: while Mount Mandara keeps turning, the ocean is thrown into waves; when the mountain stops, the Ocean is calm. In the same way, the World does not have to be destroyed piece by piece. When the mind that stirs it is restrained, the apparent turmoil subsides. The movements born of enjoyment and desire are the sprouts of a poison-tree. Cut off those movements, and the tree of repeated sorrow has nothing from which to grow.

The closing image is a warning. The restless mind is like a blue lotus spinning in a stream. People dulled by pride and delusion circle that lotus and, like bees caught in a bad whirl, fall into a wheel of torn and scattered thoughts. The teaching of these verses is therefore simple and strict: watch the mind’s movements, refuse to feed its restlessness, and let it stand still. From that Stillness the illusion of Worldly life loses its force.

Chapter 3.110, Verses 51–59

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.51–59

(The mind is not a fixed thing but a Pure Power of construction)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

यद्यत्संवेद्यते किंचित्तेन तेनाशु भूयते।

मनो मनननिर्माणं यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु ॥ ५१॥

नानापुरसरिच्छैलरूपतामेत्य देहिनाम्।

तनोत्यन्तःस्थमेवेदं जाग्रत्स्वप्नमयं मनः ॥ ५२॥

सुरत्वाद्दैत्यतामेत्य नागत्वान्नगतामपि।

प्रतिभासवशाच्चित्तमापन्नं लवणो यथा ॥ ५३॥

नरत्वादेति नारीत्वं पितृत्वात्पुत्रतां गतः।

यथा क्षिप्रं प्रति नरः स्वसंकल्पात्तथा मनः ॥ ५४॥

संकल्पतः प्रम्रियते संकल्पाज्जायते पुनः।

मनश्चिरन्तनाभ्यस्ताज्जीवतामेत्यनाकृति ॥ ५५॥

मनो मननसंमूढमूढवासनमाततम्।

संकल्पाद्योनिमायाति सुखदुःखे भयाभये ॥ ५६॥

सुखं दुःखं च मनसि तिले तैलमिव स्थितम्।

तद्देशकालवशतो घनं वा तनु वा भवेत् ॥ ५७॥

तैलं तिलस्य चाक्रान्त्या स्फुटतामेति शाश्वतीम्।

चेतसो मननासंगाद्घनीभूते सुखासुखे ॥ ५८॥

देशकालाभिधानेन राम संकल्प एव हि।

कथ्यते तद्वशाद्यस्माद्देशकालौ स्थितिं गतौ ॥ ५९॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.110.51–59

> Whatever the mind comes to know or perceive, it quickly becomes that very thing. The mind is built only by its own thinking; shape it however you wish.

> Taking on the forms of many cities, rivers and mountains, this mind that dwells inside embodied Beings spreads outward what is really only within itself—the stuff of waking and dream.

> From the State of a god it becomes a demon; from a serpent it becomes a mountain. Under the power of mere appearance the mind falls into such States, just as happened with King Lavana.

> From being a man it becomes a woman; from being a father it becomes a son. Just as a person quickly changes through his own intention, so does the mind.

> By its own intention the mind dies; by intention it is born again. Through long-practised habits this formless mind takes on the State of living Beings.

> The mind, deluded by its own thinking and stretched by foolish impressions, enters a new birth through intention—into pleasure and pain, fear and fearlessness.

> Pleasure and pain sit inside the mind the way oil sits inside a sesame seed. According to place and time they become thick or thin.

> Oil becomes fully visible only when the sesame seed is crushed. In the same way, pleasure and pain grow dense and clear when the mind keeps thinking about them.

> What we call place and time, O Rama, is really only this same intention, because place and time come into existence only under its power.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the mind is not a fixed thing but a pure power of construction. Whatever it knows or thinks about, it instantly becomes. The entire visible World of cities, rivers, mountains, gods, demons, men and women is nothing but the mind’s own thinking projected outward. Because the mind is made only of thought, a person can deliberately reshape it; the choice of what to dwell upon is free and decisive.

The mind’s changes of State are illustrated by the story of King Lavana and by ordinary human experience. Just as Lavana seemed to live an entire life as an outcaste through a momentary appearance, the mind moves from godhood to demonhood, from manhood to womanhood, from fatherhood to sonship, purely by the force of its own resolve. Birth and death themselves are only successive intentions of the same mind.

Long-continued habits and latent impressions give the formless mind the appearance of a living Being. Through these deep-seated tendencies the mind enters new births, experiencing pleasure and pain, fear and security. The root of every new existence is therefore the mind’s own intention, not any external force.

Pleasure and pain are not outside the mind; they reside within it exactly as oil resides inside a sesame seed. Their intensity—whether thick or thin—depends on the circumstances of place and time. Only when the mind repeatedly presses and dwells upon them do they become fully manifest and solid, just as oil appears only when the seed is crushed.

Finally, the verses declare that even the notions of Space and Time are only names for the mind’s intention. Space and Time exist and continue solely because the mind’s resolve sustains them. Understanding this brings the teaching full circle: the whole framework of Worldly experience is a projection of thought, and therefore it can be mastered by changing the direction of thought itself.

Chapter 3.110, Verses 38–50

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.38–50

(The mind alone creates and sustains every experience of the World)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

कुसुमोल्लासिधम्मिल्ला हेलाचलितलोचना।

काष्ठकुड्योपमाङ्गेषु लग्नाप्यमनसोऽङ्गना ॥ ३८॥

मनस्यन्यत्र संसक्ते वीतरागेण कानने।

क्रव्यादचर्वितोऽङ्कस्थः स्वकरोऽपि न लक्षितः ॥ ३९॥

सुखीकर्तुं सुदुःखानि दुःखीकर्तुं सुखानि च।

सुखेनैवाशु युज्यन्ते मनसोऽतिशया मुनेः ॥ ४०॥

मनस्यन्यत्र संसक्ते कथ्यमानापि यत्नतः।

लता परशुकृत्तेव कथा विच्छिद्यते बत ॥ ४१॥

मनस्यद्रितटारूढे गृहस्थेनापि जन्तुना।

शुभ्राभ्रकन्दरभ्रान्तिदुःखं समनुभूयते ॥ ४२॥

मनस्युल्लसिते स्वप्ने हृद्येव पुरपर्वताः।

आकाश इव विस्तीर्णे दृश्यन्ते निर्मिताः क्षमाः ॥ ४३॥

मनो विलुलिते स्वप्ने हृद्येवाद्रिपुरावलिम्।

तनोति चलिताम्भोधिर्वीचीचयमिवात्मनि ॥ ४४॥

अन्तरब्धिजलाद्यद्वत्तरङ्गापीडवीचयः।

देहान्तर्मनसस्तद्वत्स्वप्नाद्रिपुरराजयः ॥ ४५॥

अङ्कुरस्य यथा पत्रलतापुष्पफलश्रियः।

मनसोऽस्य तथा जाग्रत्स्वप्नविभ्रमभूमयः ॥ ४६॥

व्यतिरिक्ता यथा हेम्नो न हेमवनिता तथा।

जाग्रत्स्वप्नक्रियालक्ष्मीर्व्यतिरिक्ता न चेतसः ॥ ४७॥

धाराकणोर्मिफेनश्रीर्यथा संलक्ष्यतेऽम्भसः।

तथा विचित्रविभवा नानातेयं हि चेतसः ॥ ४८॥

स्वचित्तवृत्तिरेवेह जाग्रत्स्वप्नदृशोदितम्।

रसावेशादुपादत्ते शैलूष इव भूमिकाम् ॥ ४९॥

चण्डालत्वं हि लवणे प्रतिभासवशाद्यथा।

तथेदं जगदाभोगि मनो मननमात्रकम् ॥ ५०॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.110.38–44

> A woman with flowers blooming in her hair and eyes moving playfully remains like a wooden log or a wall to one whose mind is elsewhere, even if she clings to his body.

> When the mind of a passionless person is fixed elsewhere in the forest, even his own hand, chewed by a flesh-eating beast while resting on his lap, goes unnoticed.

> With ease and speed, the extraordinary mind of a Sage can turn sufferings into joys and joys into sufferings.

> When the mind is attached elsewhere, even a story carefully told is cut short and broken, like a creeper severed by an axe. Alas!

> When the mind of even a householder climbs a mountain slope, he experiences the misery of wandering in the caves of white clouds.

> When the mind is lively in a dream, cities and mountains appear built right inside the heart, as if in the vast sky.

> When the mind is restless in a dream, it spreads out rows of mountains and cities within the heart, just as a moving ocean spreads waves of foam within itself.

3.110.45–50

> Just as waves and rows of foam arise from the waters of the inner ocean, so rows of dream mountains and cities arise from the mind within the body.

> Just as leaves, creepers, flowers and the glory of fruits arise from a sprout, so the fields of waking and dream delusions arise from this mind.

> Just as a golden woman is not separate from gold, so the glory of waking and dream activities is not separate from the mind.

> Just as the glory of streams, drops, waves and foam is seen as belonging to water, so this manifold variety of wondrous powers belongs only to the mind.

> The movements of one’s own mind alone rise as the sights of waking and dream; under the force of emotion it takes on roles, like an actor on the stage.

> Just as the state of being an outcaste appears in salt through mere appearance, so this whole expanse of the world is only the mind’s mere thinking.

Summary of the Teachings: 

These verses teach that the mind alone creates and sustains every experience of the world. When attention is withdrawn or fixed elsewhere, even the most attractive or painful bodily contacts lose all power and become as lifeless as wood or stone. A controlled mind can instantly reverse feelings of pleasure and pain, while an uncontrolled mind breaks the flow of even careful teaching and projects distant dangers into ordinary life.  

Dreams show the mind’s creative power most clearly: cities, mountains and entire landscapes arise and spread within the heart itself, exactly as waves and foam arise within the ocean. The same power continues in the waking state. All the variety of life grows from the mind just as leaves, flowers and fruit grow from a single seed.  

Nothing that appears in waking or dream exists apart from the mind, any more than a golden image exists apart from gold, or foam and waves exist apart from water. The mind simply plays different parts, like an actor putting on costumes, and the entire world is only its own continuous thinking.  

The famous example of King Lavana shows how a mere idea can make a person experience a completely different identity and life. In the same way, the whole visible Universe is nothing but the mind’s temporary assumption of form through its own thought.  

Therefore the teaching is that freedom lies in recognising the mind as the sole source of every appearance. By withdrawing attention, mastering thought and seeing that waking and dream are of one nature, the Sage remains undisturbed by outer events and rests in Pure Awareness beyond the play of the mind.

Chapter 3.110, Verses 25–37

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.25–37

(True mastery over life begins with mastery over the mind)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

जिते मनसि सर्वैव विजिता चेन्द्रियावलिः।

शीर्यते च यथा तन्तौ दग्धे मौक्तिकमालिका ॥ २५॥

सर्वत्र स्थितया स्वच्छरूपया निर्विकारया।

समया सूक्ष्मया नित्यं चिच्छक्त्या साक्षिभूतया ॥ २६॥

सर्वभावानुगतया न चेत्यार्थविभिन्नया।

रामात्मसत्तया मूकमपि देहसमं जडम् ॥ २७॥

मनोऽन्तश्चलति व्यर्थं मननैषणमुह्यया।

बहिर्गिरिसरिद्व्योमसमुद्रपुरलीलया ॥ २८॥

जाग्रच्चाभिमतं वस्तु नयत्यमृतमृष्टताम्।

अनीहितं च विषतां नयत्यमृतमप्यलम् ॥ २९॥

अमृष्टसर्वभावानामलमात्मचमत्कृतिम्।

मनः स्वाभिमताकारं रूपं सृजति वस्तुषु ॥ ३०॥

स्पन्देषु वायुतामेति प्रकाशेषु प्रकाशताम्।

द्रवेषु द्रवतामेति चिच्छक्तिस्फुरितं मनः ॥ ३१॥

पृथ्व्यां कठिनतामेति शून्यतां शून्यदृष्टिषु।

सर्वत्रेच्छास्थितिं याति चिच्छक्तिस्फुरितं मनः ॥ ३२॥

शुक्लं कृष्णीकरोत्येव कृष्णं नयति शुक्लताम्।

विनैव देशकालाभ्यां शक्तिं पश्यास्य चेतसः ॥ ३३॥

मनस्यन्यत्र संसक्ते चर्वितस्यापि जिह्वया।

भोजनस्यापि मृष्टस्य न स्वादोऽस्यानुभूयते ॥ ३४॥

यच्चित्तदृष्टं तद्दृष्टं न दृष्टं तदलोकितम्।

अन्धकारे यथा रूपमिन्द्रियं निर्मितं तथा ॥ ३५॥

इन्द्रियेण मनो देहि मनसेन्द्रियमुन्मनः।

इन्द्रियाणि प्रसूतानि मनसो नेन्द्रियान्मनः ॥ ३६॥

अत्यन्तभिन्नयोरैक्यं येषां चित्तशरीरयोः।

ज्ञातज्ञेया महात्मानो मनस्यास्ते सुपण्डिताः ॥ ३७॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.110.25–30

> When the mind is conquered, the whole group of senses is also conquered, just as a string of pearls falls apart when its thread is burned.

> The mind is a power of Consciousness that is present everywhere. It (Consciousness) is Pure and clear by Nature, Unchanging, even, subtle, Eternal, and acts only as a Witness.

> It follows every State of Being and is not divided by the many objects it knows. Through the Reality of the True Self, O Rama, even though silent, it is like an inert body.

> Confused by its own urge to think and desire, the mind moves about uselessly inside. Outside, it plays as mountains, rivers, sky, ocean, and cities.

> In the waking state, the mind turns a desired object into something as sweet as nectar. It turns an undesired object into poison, even if that object is nectar itself.

> For all things not yet experienced, the mind fully creates its own wonder. It gives objects whatever form and shape it prefers.

3.110.31–37

> In moving things the mind becomes like wind. In shining things it becomes light. In flowing things it becomes the flow. The mind is only a flash of the power of Consciousness.

> In the Earth it becomes hardness. In empty Spaces it becomes emptiness. Everywhere it takes the form of desire. The mind is only a flash of the power of Consciousness.

> See the power of this mind: without any need of place or time, it turns white into black and black into white.

> When the mind is attached elsewhere, even tasty food being chewed by the tongue gives no experience of taste.

> Whatever the mind looks at is seen. Whatever it does not look at is not seen at all. Just as an eye may be formed, yet in darkness it sees no shape.

> Through the senses one seems to gain a body, and through the mind a sense organ, though the mind itself is beyond them. The senses are born from the mind; the mind is not born from the senses.

> Those great souls who understand the unity of the mind and the body—two things that are completely different—are the truly wise ones who know what should be known and rest in the mind as true scholars.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that true mastery over life begins with mastery over the mind. When the mind is brought under control, all the senses automatically come under control, just as pearls scatter when the thread that holds them is burned. The mind itself is not a solid thing but a pure, subtle, ever-present power of Consciousness that remains an unchanging Witness to everything.

The mind creates the appearance of the outer world through its restless thinking and desires. Inside, it wanders pointlessly; outside, it appears as mountains, rivers, cities, and every other form. It has the power to turn the same object into nectar or poison simply by liking or disliking it, and it freely invents shapes and qualities for things it has never experienced.

Because the mind is only a flash of Consciousness, it can take on any quality—movement, light, hardness, emptiness, or desire—according to what it rests upon. This power works without depending on time or place, so it can even reverse the nature of things, turning white into black and black into white.

Everyday experience proves the mind’s central role: when attention is elsewhere, even delicious food has no taste, and only what the mind notices is truly perceived. The senses and the body appear through the mind, not the other way around; the senses arise from the mind.

Those who understand this relationship—that mind and body are utterly different yet seem united—are the truly wise. By knowing the mind as the Source and resting in that Knowledge, they become free of confusion and live as true scholars of the Self.

Chapter 3.110, Verses 12–24

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.12–24

(True nature of a person is the mind rather than the physical body)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

येन च्छिन्ना विचारेण जीवस्य ज्ञेयवासना।

निरभ्रस्येव सूर्यस्य तस्यालोको विराजते ॥ १२॥

अतस्त्वं मन एवेदं नरं विद्धि न देहकम्।

जडो देहो मनश्चात्र न जडं नाजडं विदुः ॥ १३॥

यत्कृतं मनसा तात तत्कृतं विद्धि राघव।

यत्त्यक्तं मनसा तावत्तत्त्यक्तं विद्धि चानघ ॥ १४॥

मनोमात्रं जगत्कृत्स्नं मनः पर्यन्तमण्डलम्।

मनो व्योम मनो भूमिर्मनो वायुर्मनो महान् ॥ १५॥

मनो यदि पदार्थे तु तद्भावेन न योजयेत्।

ततः सूर्योदयेऽप्येते न प्रकाशाः कदाचन ॥ १६॥

मनो मोहमुपादत्ते यस्यासौ मूढ उच्यते।

शरीरे मोहमापन्ने न शवो मूढ उच्यते ॥ १७॥

मनः पश्य भवत्यक्षि श्रृण्वच्छ्रवणतां गतम्।

त्वग्भावं स्पर्शनादेति घ्राणतामेति जिघ्रणात् ॥ १८॥

रसनाद्रसतामेति विचित्रास्तत्र वृत्तिषु।

नाटके नूटवद्देहे मन एवानुवर्तते ॥ १९॥

लघु दीर्घं करोत्येव सत्येऽसत्तां प्रयच्छति।

कटुतां नयति स्वादु रिपुं नयति मित्रताम् ॥ २०॥

य एव प्रतिभासोऽस्य चेतसो वृत्तिवर्तिनः।

ततस्तदेव प्रत्यक्षं तथात्रानुभवादिह ॥ २१॥

प्रतिभासवशादेव स्वप्नाकुलितचेतसः।

हरिश्चन्द्रस्य संपन्ना रात्रिर्द्वादशवार्षिकी ॥ २२॥

चित्तानुभाववशतो मुहूर्तत्वे गतं युगम्।

इन्द्रद्युम्नस्य वैरिञ्च्यपुराभ्यन्तरवर्तिनः ॥ २३॥

मनोज्ञया मनोवृत्त्या सुखतां याति रौरवम्।

प्रातःप्राप्तव्यराज्यस्य सुबद्धस्येव बन्धनम् ॥ २४॥

Sage Vashishtha continued:

3.110.12–17

> When discriminative inquiry cuts off the living being’s craving for knowable objects, that person’s light shines forth like the sun in a cloudless sky.

> Therefore know that a human Being is the mind itself, not merely the body. The body is inert, but the mind is neither purely inert nor purely conscious.

> Dear Rama, know that whatever is done by the mind is truly done; and, O sinless one, whatever is abandoned by the mind is truly abandoned.

> The entire World is nothing but the mind; the whole circle of existence is bounded by the mind. The mind is Space, the mind is Earth, the mind is Air, and the mind is the great principle.

> If the mind does not connect with an object through its own nature, then even at sunrise those objects never shine forth at all.

> The one whose mind takes on delusion is called deluded. When the body is overcome by insensibility, a corpse is not called deluded.

3.110.18–24

> The mind, when seeing, becomes the eye; when hearing, it becomes the ear. Through touching it becomes the skin; through smelling it becomes the nose.

> Through tasting it becomes the sense of taste. In all these varied activities the mind alone acts in the body, just as an actor performs in a play.

> It makes the short appear long and turns the Real into the unreal. It turns the sweet into the bitter and turns an enemy into a friend.

> Whatever appears in this mind that functions through its modifications, that alone becomes direct perception, as is known from experience in this World.

> Simply by the force of appearance, King Harishchandra, whose mind was disturbed as in a dream, experienced a single night as lasting twelve years.

> Through the power of mental experience, for King Indradyumna who dwelt inside Brahma’s city, an entire age passed as if it were a mere moment.

> Through a pleasing activity of the mind, even the hell called Raurava becomes happiness, just as the bonds of one tightly bound do not feel heavy when a kingdom is to be received in the morning.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach that the true nature of a person is the mind rather than the physical body. Discriminative inquiry severs the deep-seated tendencies that bind the individual soul to objects of Knowledge. When those tendencies are cut away, the light of Awareness shines clearly, free from obstruction, like the sun in a sky without clouds. The body is merely inert matter; the mind is the living principle that experiences, acts, and suffers. Therefore the human being is essentially the mind.

Everything that is done or left undone is truly accomplished only by the mind. The whole visible World, including Space, Earth, Air, and the great elements, is nothing other than the mind itself. Objects appear and become luminous only when the mind joins itself to them. Without that mental connection even the brightest light fails to reveal anything. Delusion belongs exclusively to the mind; a lifeless body cannot be called deluded.

The mind alone takes the form of every sense organ. It becomes the eye when seeing, the ear when hearing, the skin when touching, the nose when smelling, and the tongue when tasting. In all these varied functions the mind is the sole actor within the body, performing like an actor on a stage. The mind also has the power to distort Reality at will: it can make the short seem long, the Real seem unreal, the sweet seem bitter, and an enemy seem a friend.

Whatever arises as an appearance within the active mind is immediately taken as direct, concrete experience. Time itself is elastic under the influence of mental perception. King Harishchandra experienced one night as twelve long years because his mind was agitated by dream-like appearances. King Indradyumna, dwelling in Brahma’s city, saw an entire Cosmic age pass as a single moment solely through the force of mental experience.

Finally, the quality of mental activity determines the quality of experience. A pleasant movement of the mind can turn even the torment of Raurava hell into happiness, just as a tightly bound prisoner feels no weight from his bonds when he knows that a kingdom awaits him at dawn. The mind, therefore, is the sole creator, sustainer, and transformer of every joy and sorrow. Mastery over the mind is the key to freedom from all limitation.

Chapter 3.110, Verses 1–11

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.1–11

(How Pure Consciousness first turns outward, begins to imagine objects, and becomes the restless, divided mind)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

परमात्कारणादादौ चिच्चेत्यपदपातिनी।

कलनापदमासाद्य कला कलिलतां गता ॥ १॥

असत्स्वेव विमोहेषु रामैवंप्रायवृत्तिषु।

घनेषु तुच्छतामेत्य चिराय परिमूर्च्छति ॥ २॥

असदेव मनोवृत्तिर्म्लाना विस्तारयत्यलम्।

दुःखं दोषसहस्रेण वेतालानिव बालिका ॥ ३॥

सदेव हि महादुःखमसत्तां नयति क्षणात्।

निष्कलङ्का मनोवृत्तिरन्धकारमिवार्करुक् ॥ ४॥

नयत्यभ्याशतां दूरं दूरमभ्याशतां नयेत्।

मनो वल्गति भूतेषु बालो बालखगेष्विव ॥ ५॥

अभयं भयमज्ञस्य चेतसो वासनावतः।

दूरतो मुग्धपान्थस्य स्थाणुर्याति पिशाचताम् ॥ ६॥

शत्रुत्वं शङ्कते मित्रे कलङ्कमलिनं मनः।

मदाविष्टमतिर्जन्तुर्भ्रमत्पश्यति भूतलम् ॥ ७॥

पर्याकुले हि मनसि शशिनो जायतेऽशनिः।

अमृतं विषभावेन भुक्तं याति विषक्रियाम् ॥ ८॥

सुरपत्तननिर्माणमसत्सदिव पश्यति।

वासनावलितं चेतः स्वप्नवज्जाग्रदेव हि ॥ ९॥

मोहैककारणं जन्तोर्मनसो वासनोल्वणा।

उत्खातव्या प्रयत्नेन मूलोच्छेदेन सैव च ॥ १०॥

वासनावागुराकृष्टो मनोहरिणको नृणाम्।

परां विवशतामेति संसारवनगुल्मके ॥ ११॥

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.110.1–5

> In the beginning, from the highest cause, pu6re Consciousness falls toward objects. Reaching the state of imagining and measuring, it becomes a restless, tangled fragment.

> O Rama, in these unreal delusions of this kind, when they grow thick, the mind becomes empty and lies fainted for a long time.

> This faded and unreal movement of the mind greatly spreads sorrow through a thousand faults, just as a little girl imagines ghosts.

> A pure, stainless movement of the mind instantly turns even great sorrow into nothing, just as the light of the Sun drives away darkness.

> The mind can make what is near seem far and what is far seem near. It jumps among living beings the way a child jumps among small birds.

3.110.6–11

> For an ignorant mind filled with old impressions, even safety becomes fear. From a distance, a simple tree-stump looks like a ghost to a confused traveler.

> A stained mind suspects an enemy even in a friend. A creature whose mind is drunk with pride sees the ground spinning.

> When the mind is agitated, even the moon looks like a thunderbolt. Nectar eaten with the thought that it is poison acts like poison.

> A mind wrapped in impressions sees the building of a city of the gods—something unreal—as if it were real. Even while awake, it sees the world as in a dream.

> Strong impressions in the mind are the one cause of a living being’s delusion. That same impression must be dug out with effort by cutting it at the root.

> The mind of human beings is like a deer pulled by the net of impressions. It falls into complete helplessness in the thickets of the forest of worldly life.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses describe how Pure Consciousness first turns outward, begins to imagine objects, and becomes the restless, divided mind. Once this happens, the mind lives among things that are not ultimately Real. Thick clouds of confusion make it weak and almost unconscious for a long time. Suffering grows not from solid outer facts but from this faded, empty activity of thought, the way a child suffers from ghosts that do not exist.

A mind that stays clean and without stain can dissolve even heavy pain at once, as sunlight removes darkness. The same mind, when restless, distorts distance and nearness and leaps from one living thing to another without rest. Fear, suspicion, and dizziness arise from inner impressions, not from the world itself. A safe place looks dangerous; a friend looks like an enemy; the solid earth seems to spin.

When the mind is disturbed, even gentle or good things turn harmful. The moon can look like a destroying bolt, and nectar can act as poison if taken with a poisoned idea. Impressions make waking life itself look like a dream-city of the gods—appearing solid while remaining empty. The world of waking and the world of dream are not two different kinds of seeing; both are shaped by the same inner traces.

The single root of all this confusion is vasana, the strong leftover impression or craving stored in the mind. It must not be managed on the surface. It has to be pulled out by the root through steady effort and clear seeing. Until that happens, the mind remains a small deer caught in a hunter’s net, dragged helplessly through the tangled forest of birth and death.

The teaching is practical: watch how thought creates distance, fear, enmity, and dream-like worlds. Keep the movement of the mind stainless so that sorrow loses its power. Uproot the impressions themselves rather than fighting their outer effects. Freedom comes when the mind is no longer pulled by the net of old desires and can rest as the Undivided Consciousness from which it first arose.

Chapter 3.109, Verses 20–31

Yoga Vashishtha 3.109.20–31

(The King’s long ordeal come to a sudden end)

राजोवाच।

तस्यां तु यावदात्मानं चितायां निक्षिपाम्यहम्।

चलितोऽस्मि जवात्तावदस्मात्सिंहासनान्नृपः ॥ २०॥

ततस्तूर्यनिनादेन जयशब्देन बोधितः।

इति शाम्बरिकेणायं मोह उत्पादितो मम ॥ २१॥

अज्ञानेनेव जीवस्य दशाशतसमन्वितः।

इत्युक्तवति राजेन्द्रे लवणे भूरितेजसि ॥ २२॥

अन्तर्धानं जगामाशु तत्र शाम्बरिकः क्षणात्।

अथेदमूचुस्ते सभ्या विस्मयोत्फुल्ललोचनाः ॥ २३॥

नायं शाम्बरिको देव यस्य नास्ति धनैषणा।

दैवी काचन मायेयं संसारस्थितिबोधिनी ॥ २४॥

मनोविलासः संसार इति यस्यां प्रतीयते।

सर्वशक्तेरनन्तस्य विलासो हि मनोजगत् ॥ २५॥

सर्वशक्तेर्विचित्रा हि शक्तयः शतशो विधेः।

यद्विवेकि मनोऽप्येष विमोहयति मायया ॥ २६॥

विज्ञातलोकवृत्तान्तः क्व नामायं महीपतिः।

क्व सामान्यमनोवृत्तियोग्यो विपुलसंभ्रमः ॥ २७॥

न च शाम्बरिकेच्छेयं माया मनसि मोहिनी।

अर्थस्य सिद्ध्यै चेहन्ते नित्यं शाम्बरिकाः किल ॥ २८॥

यत्नेन प्रार्थयन्तेऽर्थं नान्तर्धानं व्रजन्ति भो।

इति संदेहवेलायां संस्थिता लुलिता वयम् ॥ २९॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

सभायामवसं तस्यामहं राम तदा किल।

तेन प्रत्यक्षतो दृष्टं मयैतन्नान्यतः श्रुतम् ॥ ३०॥

इति बहुकलनाविवर्धिताङ्गं जयति चिरं विततं मनो महात्मन्।

शममुपगमिते परस्वभावे परममुपैष्यसि पावनं पदं यत् ॥ ३१॥

The King said: 

3.109.20–29

> But just as I was about to throw myself into that pyre, at that very moment I, the King, suddenly moved from this throne.

> Then, awakened by the sound of musical instruments and the cry of “Victory!”, I realised: “This delusion has been produced in me by the conjurer.”

> As if through ignorance, the living Being is endowed with a hundred states. When the radiant King Lavana had spoken thus,

> the conjurer instantly vanished from that place. Then the courtiers, with eyes wide open in wonder, said this:

> “This is no ordinary conjurer, O Lord, for he has no desire for wealth. This is some Divine illusion that teaches the nature of Worldly Existence.

> In it the World appears as the play of the mind. Indeed the World of the mind is the play of the Infinite all-powerful One.

> The powers of the all-powerful Creator are manifold and number in hundreds; even a discriminating mind is deluded by this magic.

> How can this King, who knows the ways of the World, be fit for the vast confusion that belongs to ordinary mental activity?

> Nor is this mind-deluding magic the wish of a conjurer. Conjurers, after all, always strive for the attainment of wealth.

> They seek gain with effort and do not simply disappear. Thus we stand tossed about in a state of doubt.”

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.109.30–31

> O Rama, I was present in that assembly at that time. I saw this with my own eyes; I did not hear it from anyone else.

> Thus the great mind, expanded by many imaginings, long prevails, O high-souled one. When it is brought to rest in its True Nature, you will attain the Pure Supreme State.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses bring the king’s long ordeal to its sudden end. At the moment he is about to cast himself into the funeral pyre, the sound of royal music and victory shouts startles him back to his throne. He recognises that the entire lifetime of tribal hardship was only a conjurer’s illusion.

The courtiers then interpret the event. They declare that the visitor was no ordinary magician seeking money, because such people never vanish without reward. What occurred was a Divine demonstration meant to reveal the true character of worldly life.

The heart of the teaching is that the World itself is the play of the mind. This mental world is an expression of the infinite power of the Absolute. Even a discerning intellect can be caught in the web of this creative magic, so ordinary people are easily overwhelmed.

The assembly’s doubt about the conjurer’s identity underlines a further point: true illusion does not operate for personal gain. It arises spontaneously from the Nature of Consciousness itself and serves to instruct those who witness it.

Vasistha confirms that he was present and saw the whole episode with his own eyes. He concludes that the mind, swollen by countless imaginings, rules for a long time; yet when that same mind is quieted and restored to its essential nature, the Pure and Highest State is attained.