Yoga Vashishtha 3.60.16–29
(The verses teach that the world and all experiences are shaped entirely by how the mind perceives them)
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
येन येन यथा यद्यद्यदा संवेद्यतेऽनघ।
तेन तेन तथा तत्तत्तदा समनुभूयते ॥ १६॥
अमृतत्वं विषं याति सदैवामृतवेदनात्।
शत्रुर्मित्रत्वमायाति मित्रसंवित्तिवेदनात् ॥ १७॥
यथा भावितमेतेषां पदार्थानां निजं वपुः।
तदेव हि चिराभ्यासान्नियतेर्वशमायतम् ॥ १८॥
कचनैकात्मिकैषा चिद्यथा कचति यादृशम्।
तथा तथाशु भवति तत्स्वभावैककारणात् ॥ १९॥
निमेषे यदि कल्पौघसंविदं परिविन्दति।
निमेष एव तत्कल्पो भवत्यत्र न संशयः ॥ २०॥
कल्पे यदि निमेषत्वं वेत्ति कल्पोऽप्यसौ ततः।
निमेषीभवति क्षिप्रं तादृग्रूपात्मिका हि चित् ॥ २१॥
दुःखितस्य निशा कल्पः सुखितस्यैव च क्षणः।
क्षणः स्वप्ने भवेत्कल्पः कल्पश्च भवति क्षणः ॥ २२॥
यथा च मृत्वा जातोऽहं तरुणो यौवनस्थितः।
यातोऽस्मि योजनशतं स्वप्न इत्यनुभूयते ॥ २३॥
रात्रिं द्वादशवर्षाणि हरिश्चन्द्रोऽनुभूतवान्।
लवणो भुक्तवानायुरेकरात्र्या समाः शतम् ॥ २४॥
यन्मुहूर्तः प्रजेशस्य स मनोर्जीवितं मुनेः।
जीवितं यद्विरिञ्चस्य तद्दिनं किल चक्रिणः ॥ २५॥
विष्णोर्यज्जीवितं राम तद्वृषाङ्कस्य वासरः।
ध्यानप्रक्षीणचित्तस्य न दिनानि न रात्रयः ॥ २६॥
न पदार्था न च जगत्सत्यमात्मनि योगिनः।
मधुरं कटुतामेति कटुभावेन चिन्तितम् ॥ २७॥
कटु चायाति माधुर्यं मधुरत्वेन चिन्तितम्।
मित्रबुद्ध्या द्विषन्मित्रं रिपुबुद्ध्या रिपुः सुहृत् ॥ २८॥
भवतीति महाबाहो यथासंवेदनं जगत्।
अनभ्यस्ताः पदार्था ये शास्त्रपाठजपादयः ॥ २९॥
Sage Vasistha said:
3.60.16–19
> Whatever is perceived in whatever way, at whatever time, by whatever means, that very thing is experienced exactly in the same manner at that time.
> Poison turns into nectar through the constant feeling of it being nectar. An enemy becomes a friend through the feeling of friendship.
> The true form of these objects appears exactly as one has imagined them. Through long practice, it comes under the control of that fixed notion.
> This Consciousness, being one with its object in a unique way, shines forth in whatever manner it does. It quickly becomes that very thing because its own nature is the sole cause.
3.60.20–24
> If in a moment one experiences the Knowledge of many world-ages (kalpas), then that moment itself becomes those kalpas—there is no doubt about it.
> If in a world-age one knows it to be just a moment, then even that world-age quickly becomes a moment, for consciousness has the nature of taking such forms.
> For a suffering person, a night feels like a world-age; for a happy person, it feels like a mere moment. In a dream, a moment can become a world-age, and a world-age can become a moment.
> Just as one feels in a dream: “I died and was born again as a young man in youth, and traveled a hundred yojanas.”
> King Harishchandra experienced a night as twelve years. King Lavana enjoyed a lifespan of a hundred years in just one night.
3.60.25–29
> What is a moment for the lord of beings (Brahma) is the entire life of Manu the sage. What is the life of Virinchi (Brahma) is a day for the wielder of the discus (Vishnu).
> O Rama, what is the life of Vishnu is a day for the one with the bull-mark (Shiva). For the yogi whose mind is dissolved in meditation, there are neither days nor nights.
> For the yogi, objects and the world are not real in the Self. Sweetness turns bitter when thought of with a bitter feeling.
> Bitterness turns sweet when thought of with a sweet feeling. Through the thought of friendship, an enemy becomes a friend; through the thought of enmity, a friend becomes an enemy.
> O mighty-armed one, the world becomes exactly as it is perceived. Those things that are not practiced—such as scriptural study and chanting—remain unmastered.
Summary of the Teachings:
Consciousness is the Root Cause, and whatever form or quality one strongly attributes to an object or situation, that is what it becomes in experience.
Poison can feel like nectar and enemies like friends simply through repeated mental conviction. This shows the power of imagination and habit in coloring reality.
Time itself is relative and depends on the state of the mind. A single moment can expand into countless ages or shrink a vast period into an instant, as seen in dreams, joy, or sorrow. Stories of kings like Harishchandra and Lavana, and the differing timescales of gods like Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, illustrate that objective time has no fixed existence apart from perception. For the yogi absorbed in meditation, ordinary divisions of day and night dissolve completely.
Objects and the external world lack independent reality; they appear according to the inner feeling or conviction of the observer. Sweet can become bitter and vice versa based on mental attitude. Relationships too transform—an enemy turns friendly or a friend hostile purely through changes in thought. The yogi Realizes that nothing exists as truly Real outside the Self.
Long practice and repeated mental engagement fix these perceptions deeply, making them seem solid and natural. Consciousness has the unique ability to become whatever it contemplates intensely, because its own nature is the only True Cause.
What is not practiced or deeply contemplated, such as scriptural knowledge or repetition of mantras, does not take firm root or yield its fruits.
Ultimately, these verses emphasize mind-only Reality (drishti-srishti) and the freedom that comes from understanding this principle. By mastering perception through disciplined practice and meditation, one can transform suffering into joy, bondage into liberation, and the illusory world into a reflection of Inner Peace. The yogi who rests in the Self sees the Universe as non-different from Consciousness and lives beyond the limitations of ordinary time and duality.