Chapter 3.100, Verses 1–11

Yoga Vashishtha 3.100.1–11

(Mind originates from the Highest State of Brahm and is both non-different from and different from it)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

चित्तमेतदुपायातं ब्रह्मणः परमात्पदात्।

अतन्मयं तन्मयं च तरङ्गः सागरादिव ॥ १॥

प्रबुद्धानां मनो राम ब्रह्मैवेह हि नेतरत्।

जलसामान्यबुद्धीनामब्धेर्नान्यस्तरङ्गकः ॥ २॥

मनो रामाप्रबुद्धानां संसारभ्रमकारणम्।

अपश्यतोऽम्बुसामान्यमन्यताम्बुतरङ्गयोः ॥ ३॥

अप्रबुद्धदृशां पक्षे तत्प्रबोधाय केवलम्।

वाच्यवाचकसंबन्धकृतो भेदः प्रकल्प्यते ॥ ४॥

सर्वशक्ति परं ब्रह्म नित्यमापूर्णमव्ययम्।

न तदस्ति न तस्मिन्यद्विद्यते विततात्मनि ॥ ५॥

सर्वशक्तिर्हि भगवान्यैव तस्मै हि रोचते।

शक्तिं तामेव विततां प्रकाशयति सर्वगः ॥ ६॥

चिच्छक्तिर्ब्रह्मणो राम शरीरेष्वभिदृश्यते।

स्पन्दशक्तिश्च वातेषु जडशक्तिस्तथोपले ॥ ७॥

द्रवशक्तिस्तथाम्भःसु तेजःशक्तिस्तथाऽनले।

शून्यशक्तिस्तथाकाशे भावशक्तिर्भवस्थितौ ॥ ८॥

ब्रह्मणः सर्वशक्तिर्हि दृश्यते दशदिग्गता।

नाशशक्तिर्विनाशेषु शोकशक्तिश्च शोकिषु ॥ ९॥

आनन्दशक्तिर्मुदिते वीर्यशक्तिस्तथा भटे।

सर्गेषु सर्गशक्तिश्च कल्पान्ते सर्वशक्तिता ॥ १०॥

फलपुष्पलतापत्रशाखा विटपमूलवान्।

वृक्षबीजे यथा वृक्षस्तथेदं ब्रह्मणि स्थितम् ॥ ११॥

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.100.1–11

> This mind has arisen from the Supreme State of Brahm. It is both different from it and identical with it, just as a wave is from the Ocean.

> O Rama, for the awakened ones the mind is nothing but Brahm itself here. For those who understand the common nature of water, a wave is not separate from the Ocean.

> O Rama, for the unawakened the mind is the cause of the delusion of worldly existence. It is like one who fails to see the common nature of water and therefore regards water and wave as different.

> From the standpoint of the unawakened, solely for the sake of their awakening, a distinction is imagined that arises from the relation between the word and its meaning.

> The Supreme Brahm is all-powerful, eternal, complete and imperishable. There is nothing that does not exist in it, nor is there anything in the Infinite Self that is absent from it.

> The Lord is all-powerful; whichever power is pleasing to him, that alone the all-pervading one manifests as the expanded power.

> O Rama, the Consciousness-power of Brahn is seen in bodies. The power of movement appears in winds, and the power of inertness appears in stones.

> The power of fluidity appears in waters, the power of brilliance in fire, the power of emptiness in Space, and the power of existence in the State of Becoming.

> The all-power of Brahm is seen spread throughout the ten directions. The power of destruction appears in destructions, and the power of sorrow appears in those who grieve.

> The power of Bliss appears in the joyful, the power of valor in the warrior, the power of creation in creations, and at the end of a Cosmic cycle the state of all-power itself.

> Just as a tree complete with fruits, flowers, creepers, leaves, branches, trunk and roots exists within the seed of the tree, so does this entire Universe exist within Brahm.

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach that the mind originates from the Highest State of Brahm and is both non-different from and different from it, like a wave arising from the Ocean. For those who have awakened to Truth, the mind is recognized as Pure Brahm itself; nothing else exists. For those still bound by ignorance the mind appears as the Source of the endless cycle of worldly delusion, because they fail to perceive the underlying unity of the water that is both ocean and wave.

A provisional distinction between names and forms is therefore allowed only as a temporary device to help the unawakened move toward understanding. In Reality the Supreme Brahm is the one all-powerful, eternal, complete and unchanging Reality. Nothing lies outside it and nothing within it is missing; it is the Infinite Self that contains all.

Because Brahm is all-powerful, it freely manifests whatever power it chooses. The same Undivided Consciousness appears as different capacities according to the medium: awareness in living bodies, motion in air, inertia in solid matter, fluidity in water, radiance in fire, emptiness in Space, and the power of Existence itself in the process of Becoming.

These powers are visible everywhere—in destruction, sorrow, joy, courage, creation, and even in the total dissolution at the end of a Cosmic age. The entire variety of the Universe is therefore only the varied expression of the single power of Brahm.

The final image of the tree already present within its seed makes the teaching concrete: just as every part of the fully grown tree—roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits—exists potentially and completely inside the tiny seed, so the whole of Creation rests Undivided within Brahm. Realization consists in seeing that the apparent multiplicity of mind, world and powers is only Brahm appearing as itself.

Chapter 3.99, Verses 37–44

Yoga Vashishtha 3.99.37–44

(Mind is the sole creator of its own bondage and suffering)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

स्ववासनोपतप्तानि सर्वाण्येव मनांसि हि।

स्वयमेव पलायन्ते गन्तुं युक्तानि तत्पदम् ॥ ३७॥

यदिदं विततं दुःखं तत्तनोति स्वयं मनः।

स्वयमेवातिखिन्नं तु पुनस्तस्मात्पलायते ॥ ३८॥

संकल्पवासनाजालैः स्वयमायाति बन्धनम्।

मनो लालामयैर्जालैः कोशकारकृमिर्यथा ॥ ३९॥

यथानर्थमवाप्नोति तथा क्रीडति चञ्चलम्।

भाविदुःखमपश्यन्स्वं दुर्लीलाभिरिवार्भकः ॥ ४०॥

अपश्यन्काष्ठरन्ध्रस्थवृषणाक्रमणं यथा।

कीलोत्पाटी कपिर्दुःखमेतीदं हि तथा मनः ॥ ४१॥

चिरपालनया चैव चिरभावनया तथा।

अभ्यासात्तुच्छतामेत्य न भूयः परिशोचति ॥ ४२॥

मनःप्रमादाद्वर्धन्ते दुःखानि गिरिकूटवत्।

तद्वशादेव नश्यन्ति सूर्यस्याग्रे हिमं यथा ॥ ४३॥

यावज्जीवमनिन्द्यया च रमते शास्त्रार्थसंजातया तुल्यं वासनया मनो हि मुनिवन्मौनेन रागादिषु।

पश्चात्पावनपावनं पदमजं तत्प्राप्य तच्छीतलं तत्संस्थेन न शोच्यते पुनरलं पुंसा महापत्स्वपि ॥ ४४॥

Sage Vasishta continued: 

3.99.37–44

> All minds heated and distressed by their own latent desires themselves run away, being fit to reach that Supreme State.

> This widespread suffering is itself spread by the mind. Extremely distressed by itself, it then flees from that suffering again.

> By the nets of its own mental constructs and desires, the mind binds itself, just as a silkworm is trapped by the sticky threads of its own saliva.

> Just as it meets misfortune, so the restless mind plays about, not seeing the coming suffering, like a child lost in mischievous play.

> Not seeing how its testicles get crushed in the hole of the wood, the monkey that pulls out the peg suffers pain; in the same way this mind suffers.

> Through long nurturing and long contemplation, by steady practice the mind becomes insignificant and no longer grieves.

> From the mind’s carelessness, sufferings grow high like mountain peaks. By control of the mind alone they melt away, like snow before the sun.

> Throughout life the mind delights equally in the pure tendency born of scriptural understanding, remaining silent like a Sage toward attachments and the rest. Afterwards, attaining that purest, purifying, unborn, cool State and resting there, a person does not grieve again even in the greatest calamities.

Summary of the Teachings: 

These verses teach that the mind is the sole creator of its own bondage and suffering. Every sorrow a person experiences is produced and expanded by the mind itself through its latent desires and restless mental activity. The mind first generates the pain, then feels overwhelmed by it and tries to escape, yet the escape remains incomplete because the root cause—its own tendencies—stays intact.

The mind traps itself in a web of its own making, exactly as a silkworm spins sticky threads that become its prison. Restless and playful, it pursues fleeting pleasures without noticing the future pain that follows, just as a child continues mischievous games without seeing the harm. In a still more vivid image, the mind acts like a foolish monkey that pulls a peg from a split log and thereby crushes its own sensitive parts, bringing needless agony upon itself through its own impulsive action.

Liberation does not come from flight or external change. Only long, steady practice of restraint, contemplation, and right understanding can make the troublesome tendencies of the mind grow weak and insignificant. When the mind is carefully governed, the mountains of accumulated sorrow dissolve as quickly as snow melts under the morning sun.

Therefore a person should train the mind, throughout the whole of life, to take delight only in pure tendencies that arise from the clear understanding of scriptural Truth. Remaining inwardly silent toward all attachments and aversions, like a Sage, the mind gradually settles into the Pure, cool, Unborn State that is free from disturbance. Established in that State, one remains unshaken and free from grief even when the greatest outward calamities arise.

In essence the teaching is simple and practical: the mind alone binds and the mind alone liberates. By recognizing its self-created suffering, refusing to feed its restless play, and patiently training it in pure understanding and silence, a person reaches lasting inner peace that no external event can destroy.

Chapter 3.99, Verses 25–36

Yoga Vashishtha 3.99.25–36

(These verses explain that partial spiritual discrimination brings greater suffering when the mind begins to detach from the body and the world, because the Pure State has not yet been reached)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

अर्धप्राप्तविवेकस्य न प्राप्तस्यामलं पदम्।

चेतसस्त्यजतोऽङ्गानि परितापो हि वर्धते ॥ २५॥

हसितं तु यदानन्दि पुंसा मदवबोधतः।

परिप्राप्तविवेकेन तत्तुष्टं राम चेतसा ॥ २६॥

परिप्राप्तविवेकस्य त्यक्तसंसारसंस्थितेः।

चेतसस्त्यजतो रूपमानन्दो हि विवर्धते ॥ २७॥

हसताङ्गानि दृष्टानि पुंसा यान्युपहासतः।

तानि दृष्टानि मनसा विप्रलम्भपदानि ह ॥ २८॥

मिथ्याविकल्परचितैर्विप्रलब्धमहो चिरम्।

इत्यङ्गान्युपहासेन दृष्टानि स्वानि चेतसा ॥ २९॥

मनः प्राप्तविवेकं हि विश्रान्तं वितते पदे।

प्राक्तनादीनताधारं हसन्पश्यति दूरतः ॥ ३०॥

यदसौ समवष्टभ्य मया पृष्टः प्रयत्नतः।

तद्विवेको बलाच्चित्तमादत्त इति दर्शितम् ॥ ३१॥

यदङ्गानि विशीर्णानि गतान्यन्तर्धिमग्रतः।

तच्चित्तेन विनार्थाशा शाम्यतीति प्रदर्शितम् ॥ ३२॥

सहस्रनेत्रहस्तत्वं यत्पुंसः परिवर्णितम्।

तदनन्ताकृतित्वं हि चेतसः परिदर्शितम् ॥ ३३॥

यदात्मनि प्रहारौघैः पुमान्प्रहरति स्वयम्।

तत्तत्कुकल्पनाघातैः प्रहरत्यात्मनो मनः ॥ ३४॥

पलायते यत्पुरुषः स्वात्मनः प्रहरन्स्वयम्।

स्ववासनाप्रहारेभ्यस्तन्मनः प्रपलायते ॥ ३५॥

स्वयं प्रहरति स्वान्तं स्वयमेव स्वयेच्छया।

पलायते स्वयं चैव पश्याज्ञानविजृम्भितम् ॥ ३६॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.99.25–36

> For one who has only partially attained discrimination and has not yet reached the Pure State, when the mind abandons the body and its limbs, suffering only increases.  

> The joyful laughter that arises in a person from the Realization that comes with (the intoxication of) true understanding, when discrimination is fully attained, is the contentment of the mind, O Rama.  

> For one who has fully attained discrimination and has abandoned the condition of Worldly existence, when the mind gives up form, Bliss indeed increases.  

> The limbs that a person looks upon with laughter out of mockery are seen by the mind as positions of deception and betrayal.  

> “Alas, I have long been deceived by false imaginings!”—thus one’s own limbs are viewed by the mind with mockery.  

> The mind that has attained discrimination and rests in the expansive State laughs as it looks from afar upon its former dependence on lower conditions.  

> That which I firmly grasped and questioned with great effort—discrimination forcibly takes hold of the mind—this has been shown.  

> That the limbs decay and disappear before one’s eyes shows that without the mind the hope for objects comes to rest.  

> The description of a person having a thousand eyes and hands points to the Infinite, formless nature of the mind.  

> When a person strikes himself with a stream of blows, it is the mind striking itself with the blows of false imaginations.  

> When a person flees while striking himself, it is the mind fleeing from the blows of its own latent tendencies.  

> One strikes one’s own inner self by oneself and of one’s own will, and flees by oneself as well—behold the play of ignorance.  

Summary of the Teachings: 

Full discrimination produces contentment and growing Bliss as the mind naturally releases attachment to form and Worldly existence. The earlier laughter of mockery toward the body becomes the wise mind’s recognition that the body and its experiences were long-standing deceptions created by false imaginings.  

A mind established in discrimination rests in an expansive, peaceful state and looks back with amusement on its former dependence on limited, lower conditions. Discrimination itself is shown to seize the mind by force once it is earnestly sought, ending the mind’s restless hold on appearances.  

The decay and disappearance of the body illustrate that all hope directed toward external objects ceases when the mind no longer supports them. Descriptions of a being with countless eyes and hands simply reveal the mind’s own infinite, formless capacity.  

All self-inflicted suffering—striking oneself and then fleeing—is revealed as the mind attacking itself through false imaginations and then running from the very latent tendencies it has created. Ignorance alone makes a person both the striker and the one who flees, all by his own will.  

In essence the teaching is that complete discrimination ends the cycle of self-torment. The mind, once free of false notions, rests in Bliss, sees the World as its own deceptive creation, and no longer harms or flees from itself.  

Chapter 3.99, Verses 13–24

Yoga Vashishtha 3.99.13–24

(These verses use vivid images to show how the mind becomes trapped or freed)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

पुण्यसंभारयुक्तानि तानि चित्तानि राघव।

करञ्जवनयातानि निर्गतानि न यानि तु ॥ १३॥

तानि मानुष्यजातानि चित्तानि रघुनन्दन।

कानिचित्संप्रबुद्धानि तत्र मुक्तानि बन्धनात् ॥ १४॥

कानिचिद्बहुरूपाणि योनेर्योनिं विशन्ति हि।

मनांसि तानि तिष्ठन्ति निपतन्त्युत्पतन्ति च ॥ १५॥

यत्तत्करञ्जगहनं तत्कलत्ररसं विदुः।

दुःखकण्टकसंबाधं मानुष्यं विविधैषणम् ॥ १६॥

करञ्जगहनं यानि प्रविष्टानि मनांसि तु।

मानुष्ये तानि जातानि तत्रैव रसिकानि च ॥ १७॥

कदलीकाननं यत्तच्छशाङ्ककरशीतलम्।

तन्मनोह्लादनकरं स्वर्गं विद्धि रघूद्वह ॥ १८॥

कानिचित्पुण्यभूतेन तपसा धारणात्मना।

धारयन्ति शरीराणि संस्थितान्युदितान्यपि ॥ १९॥

यैरहं पुंभिरबुधैर्बुद्धिचित्ततिरस्कृतः।

तैर्मनोभिरनात्मज्ञैः स्वविवेकस्तिरस्कृतः ॥ २०॥

त्वया दृष्टो विनष्टोऽस्मि त्वं मे शत्रुरिति द्रुतम्।

यदुक्तं तद्धि चित्तेन गलता परिदेवितम् ॥ २१॥

रुदितं यन्महाक्रन्दं पुंसा बह्नाशु राघव।

तद्भोगजालं त्यजता मनसा रोदनं कृतम् ॥ २२॥

अर्धप्राप्तविवेकस्य न प्राप्तस्यामलं पदम्।

चेतसस्त्यजतो भोगान्परितापो भृशं भवेत् ॥ २३॥

रुदताङ्गानि दृष्टानि कारुण्येनावबोधिना।

कष्टमेतानि संत्यज्य किं प्रयामीति चेतसा ॥ २४॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.99.13–17

> O Raghava, those minds endowed with stores of merit that have entered the thickets of the karanja tree do not come out again.

> O delight of the Raghus, among the minds born as human beings, some become fully awakened and are freed from bondage there.

> Some take on many forms and keep entering one birth after another; those minds remain, falling and rising again and again.

> Know that dense karanja thicket to be the attachment to wife and family—full of the thorns of sorrow and crowded with the many desires of human life.

> The minds that have entered that karanja thicket are born as human beings and remain attached to the enjoyments found there.

3.99.18–24

> O support of the Raghu line, know that plantain grove, cool with the rays of the moon and delighting the mind, to be heaven.

> Some, through the power of meritorious austerity and firm concentration, continue to uphold their bodies even after they have risen high.

> Those ignorant men who disregarded me, suppressing their intelligence and mind—by those minds that do not know the Self, their own discrimination was also suppressed.

> The quick cry “I am ruined by seeing you; you are my enemy” was only the lament of a melting mind.

> O Raghava, the loud weeping and flood of tears of many men was the mind’s own crying as it gave up the net of enjoyments.

> For a mind that has gained only partial discrimination and has not yet reached the Pure State, great anguish arises when it abandons enjoyments.

> Seeing the limbs with compassion and understanding, the mind weeps: “Alas, abandoning these, where shall I go?”

Summary of the Teachings: 

The karanja thicket stands for family ties, marriage, and worldly desires that prick like thorns and keep the mind bound in repeated human births full of pain. Only some minds, through accumulated merit and awakening, escape this entanglement and gain Freedom.

Heaven is pictured as a cool, moonlit plantain grove that refreshes the soul. Minds that reach it do so through virtue and steady austerity; they may even keep their bodies while rising higher. In contrast, minds that reject wisdom suppress their own power of discrimination and remain ignorant of the Self.

When true understanding begins to dawn, the mind often resists. It feels as if it is being destroyed, calls the guide an enemy, and weeps loudly because it must leave the familiar net of pleasures. Even a partially awakened mind suffers intense grief at the thought of giving up enjoyments before it has fully attained the Pure State.

The final image shows a compassionate mind looking at the body it has sustained through hard work for family and feeling sorrow at the idea of leaving it. Together the verses teach that bondage and liberation both rest in the mind: attachment to worldly relations and pleasures keeps it cycling through births, while merit, discrimination, and turning away from those attachments lead it toward Freedom and the delight of Higher States.

Chapter 3.99, Verses 1–12

Yoga Vashishtha 3.99.1–12

(The forest of samsara)

श्रीराम उवाच।

कासौ महाटवी ब्रह्मन्कदा दृष्टा कथं मया।

के च ते पुरुषास्तत्र किं तत्कर्तुं कृतोद्यमाः ॥ १॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

रघुनाथ महाबाहो श्रृणु वक्ष्यामि तेऽखिलम्।

न सा महाटवी राम दूरे नैव च ते नराः ॥ २॥

येयं संसारपदवी गम्भीराऽपारकोटरा।

तां तां शून्यां विकाराढ्यां विद्धि राम महाटवीम् ॥ ३॥

विचारालोकलभ्येयं यदैकेनैव वस्तुना।

पूर्णा नान्येन संयुक्ता केवलेव तदैव सा ॥ ४॥

तत्र ये ते महाकाराः पुरुषाः प्रभ्रमन्ति हि।

मनांसि तानि विद्धि त्वं दुःखे निपतितान्यलम् ॥ ५॥

द्रष्टा योऽयमहं तेषां सविवेको महामते।

विवेकेन मया तानि दृष्टान्यन्येव नानघ ॥ ६॥

मया तान्येव बोध्यन्ते विवेकेन मनांसि हि।

सततं सुप्रकाशेन कमलानीव भानुना ॥ ७॥

मत्प्रबोधं समासाद्य मत्प्रसादान्महामते।

मनांसि कानि चित्तानि गतान्युपशमात्परम् ॥ ८॥

कानिचिन्नाभिनन्दन्ति मां विवेकं विमोहतः।

मत्तिरस्कारवशतः कूपेष्वेव पतन्त्यधः ॥ ९॥

ये तेऽन्धकूपा गहना नरकास्ते रधूद्वह।

कदलीकाननं यानि संप्रविष्टानि तानि तु ॥ १०॥

स्वर्गैकरसिकानि त्वं मनांसि ज्ञातुमर्हसि।

प्रविष्टान्यन्धकूपान्तर्निर्गतानि न यानि तु ॥ ११॥

महापातकयुक्तानि तानि चित्तानि राघव।

कदलीकाननस्थानि निर्गतानि न यानि तु ॥ १२॥

Sriram asked: 

3.99.1

> O Brahman, what is that great forest? When was it seen by me and how? Who are those men there, and what are they striving to do?

Sage Vasistha answered: 

3.99.2–12

> O mighty-armed Raghunatha, listen; I shall tell you everything. O Rama, that great forest is not far away, nor are those men.

> This path of Worldly existence, deep and full of boundless hollows—know that empty, modification-filled expanse as the great forest, O Rama.

> It is attained through the light of inquiry when it is filled with only one Reality, unconnected with anything else, and pure by itself.

> Those great-formed men who wander about there—know them as the minds that have thoroughly fallen into suffering.

> The Seer among them who is this “I,” endowed with discrimination, O great-minded one—by discrimination I have seen them, and not otherwise, O sinless one.

> Those very minds are enlightened by me through discrimination, constantly with clear light, just as lotuses are by the sun.

> Having attained my enlightenment and by my Grace, O great-minded one, some minds and thoughts have gone beyond to Supreme Peace.

> Some do not welcome me—the discrimination—because of delusion; under the force of rejecting me they fall downward into wells.

> Those deep blind wells are the hells, O descendant of Raghu. Those that have entered the plantain grove...

> You should understand the minds that are solely attached to heaven—those that have entered inside the blind wells and have not come out.

> Those minds associated with great sins, O Raghava, that remain in the plantain grove and have not emerged.

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses present the World of ordinary experience as a vast, empty forest of samsara. The forest is not a distant physical place but the deep, hollow path of worldly life itself—filled with constant change yet essentially void. The men wandering inside it are not external beings; they are the individual minds that have fallen into suffering through endless roaming within this apparent multiplicity.

True Knowledge of this forest arises only through discriminative inquiry. When the light of discrimination reveals that the forest is filled solely by one undivided Reality and is free of any second thing, the entire expanse is understood as pure and empty of independent existence. The seer who recognizes this is the discriminating “I” that observes the minds without being trapped by them.

Discrimination acts like the sun that opens lotuses: it steadily illuminates the minds and frees those that accept its light. Through the teacher’s grace and the arising of this clear understanding, certain minds cross beyond agitation and rest in lasting peace. Others, clouded by delusion, refuse the same discrimination; rejecting it, they sink into deeper darkness.

The “blind wells” into which the rejecting minds fall are the various hells of continued suffering. Minds solely attached to heavenly pleasures or weighed down by great sins remain trapped inside these wells or inside the plantain grove of fleeting enjoyments and never emerge. Thus the teaching underscores that liberation depends on welcoming discriminative insight; without it the mind stays imprisoned in the forest of samsara.

Chapter 3.98, Verses 21~45

Yoga Vashishtha 3.98.21~45

(The mind as a restless, self-torturing giant wandering in a vast, empty, terrifying desert that represents the World of samsara)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

इति पृष्टेन कथितं तेन मे रघुनन्दन।

नाहं कश्चिन्न चैवेदं मुने किंचित्करोम्यहम् ॥ २१॥

त्वयाहमवभग्नोऽस्मि त्वं मे शत्रुरहो वत।

त्वया दृष्टोऽस्मि नष्टोऽस्मि दुःखाय च सुखाय च ॥ २२॥

इत्युक्त्वा विक्लवान्यङ्गान्यालोक्य स्वान्यतुष्टिमान्।

रुरोदातिरवं दीनो मेघो वर्षन्निवाटवीम् ॥ २३॥

क्षणमात्रेण तत्रासावुपसंहृत्य रोदनम्।

स्वान्यङ्गानि समालोक्य जहास च ननाद च ॥ २४॥

अथाट्टहासपर्यन्ते स पुमान्पुरतो मम।

क्रमेण तानि तत्याज स्वान्यङ्गानि समंततः ॥ २५॥

(३.९८.२६–४०)

मदुक्तं नाभिनन्दन्ति केचिच्छवतनुं यथा।

विनिपत्यान्धकूपेभ्यः केचित्तत्प्रोत्थिताः पुनः ॥ ४१॥

कदलीखण्डकात्केचिच्चिरेणापि न निर्गताः।

केचिदन्तर्हिताः स्फारे करञ्जवनगुल्मके ॥ ४२॥

न क्वचित्स्थितिमायान्ति केचिद्धर्मपरायणाः।

एवंविधा सा वितता रघूद्वह महाटवी ॥ ४३॥

अद्यापि विद्यते यस्यामित्थं ते पुरुषाः स्थिताः।

सा च दृष्टा त्वया राम त्वयेह व्यवहारिणी।

बाल्यात्तु बुद्धितत्त्वस्य न तां स्मरसि राघव ॥ ४४॥

सा भीषणा विविधकण्टकसङ्कटाङ्गी घोराटवी घनतमोगहनापि लोके।

आगत्य निर्वृतिमलब्धपरावबोधैरासेव्यते कुसुमगुल्मकवाटिकेव ॥ ४५॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.98.21–25

> O joy of the Raghu race, when I asked him, he replied to me: “O sage, I am nobody, and I am doing nothing at all.”

> “You have broken me. You are my enemy, alas! You have seen me, and I am destroyed—both for sorrow and for joy.”

> Saying this, the miserable one looked at his own limbs with dissatisfaction, and wept loudly, like a cloud raining upon the forest.

> In a moment he stopped his weeping. Looking at his own limbs, he laughed and shouted.

> Then, at the end of his loud laughter, that man before me gradually abandoned all his own limbs on every side.

3.98.26–40

> Many more similar men appeared one after another in the same vast desert. They too struck themselves, ran about in fear, fell into dark pits, rose again or stayed trapped, entered thorny thickets or pleasant plantain groves, and either escaped, remained stuck, or disappeared. Vasistha tried to stop and question them, but most ignored him, answered with mixed crying and laughing, or simply continued their self-harm and flight until they discarded their bodies or vanished, showing the same endless pattern of self-inflicted suffering.

3.98.41–45

> Some do not welcome my words, just as one ignores a dead body. Some fall into blind wells and rise out again.

> Some never come out of the plantain thicket even after a long time. Some disappear forever inside the wide karanja bush thicket.

> Some devoted to dharma never find a settled place anywhere. Such is this vast great forest, O best of the Raghus.

> Even today that forest exists, and such men still stand in it in this way. You have seen that forest yourself, Rama, as the place of worldly action. From childhood until the rise of true understanding, you do not remember it, O Raghava.

> That fearful forest, with many kinds of thorny obstacles in its body, is terrible in the world and dense with thick darkness. Yet those who have not gained Higher Knowledge come and enjoy it as if it were a garden of flowering bushes, seeking rest but finding none.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses form part of the allegory of the mind as a restless, self-torturing giant wandering in a vast, empty, terrifying desert that represents the world of samsara. The desert is boundless, dark, full of dangers, and without true peace; the giant with a thousand arms and eyes is the individual mind that endlessly strikes itself with its own weapons of desire, fear, and attachment, then flees in panic, only to fall into pits of suffering, rise again, get caught in thorns of further misery, or briefly rest in temporary pleasures before repeating the cycle.

The conversation between Vasistha (as the voice of discriminating reason) and the self-harming figures shows that the mind denies its own actions and identity—“I am nobody and do nothing”—while still blaming the observer and oscillating between extreme grief and sudden laughter. This reveals the mind’s deep delusion: it refuses to recognize that all its pain is self-created, and it continues the same destructive pattern even when confronted with clear insight.

Verses 26–40 illustrate the universality of this condition. Countless similar minds appear one after another, each repeating the identical drama of self-punishment, flight, temporary relief, and renewed torment. Most ignore or reject the attempt to stop them; a few rise from the pits, some remain trapped in pleasant or painful places, and others vanish, showing that without awakening, the cycle simply multiplies across lives and individuals.

The forest still exists today and is none other than the ordinary world of human activity that every person experiences from childhood. Ordinary people, lacking Higher Knowledge, treat this thorny, dark wilderness as if it were a pleasant flower garden, seeking comfort and rest in it while remaining bound by its dangers. Only those who gain true understanding of the Self see it for what it is and cease to be trapped by it.

The core teaching is that bondage and liberation both depend entirely on the mind. When the mind is directed toward the Supreme and freed from latent desires and imaginations, it becomes Pure and rests in its True Nature. Until then, the mind continues to create and suffer its own endless desert of delusion. Discriminating Wisdom alone can stop the self-inflicted suffering and reveal the Peace that is already present beyond the illusory forest.

Chapter 3.98, Verses 1~20

Yoga Vashishtha 3.98.1~20

(Mind is the root of both bondage and freedom)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

यतःकुतश्चिदुत्पन्नं चित्तं यत्किंचिदेव हि।

नित्यमात्मविमोक्षाय योजयेद्यत्नतोऽनघ ॥ १॥

संयोजितं परे चित्तं शुद्धं निर्वासनं भवेत्।

ततस्तु कल्पनाशून्यमात्मतां याति राघव ॥ २॥

चित्तायत्तमिदं सर्वं जगत्स्थिरचरात्मकम्।

चित्ताधीनवतो राम बन्धमोक्षावपि स्फुटम् ॥ ३॥

अत्रार्थे कथ्यमानं मे चित्ताख्यानमनुत्तमम्।

ब्रह्मणा यत्पुरा प्रोक्तं श्रृणु रामातियत्नतः ॥ ४॥

अस्ति रामाटवी स्फारा शून्याशान्तातिभीषणा।

योजनानां शतं यस्यां लक्ष्यते कणमात्रकम् ॥ ५॥

तस्यामेको हि पुरुषः सहस्रकरलोचनः।

पर्याकुलमतिर्भीमः संस्थितो वितताकृतिः ॥ ६॥

(३.९८.७–१६)

अन्धकूपात्समुत्थाय प्रविष्टः कदलीवनम्।

कदलीकाननाच्छ्वभ्रं करञ्जवनगुल्मकम् ॥ १७॥

करञ्जकाननात्कूपं कूपाद्रम्भावनान्तरम्।

प्रविशन्प्रहरंश्चैव स्वयमात्मनि संस्थितः ॥ १८॥

एवंरूपनिजाचारः सोऽवलोक्य चिरं मया।

अवष्टभ्य बलादेव मुहूर्तं रोधितः पथि ॥ १९॥

पृष्टः स कस्त्वं किमिदं केनार्थेन करोषि वा।

किं नामाभिमतं तेऽत्र किं मुधा परिमुह्यसि ॥ २०॥

Sage Vasishta said: 

3.98.1–6

> O sinless one, the mind arises from whatever source and is of whatever nature. One should always carefully direct it toward liberation of the Self.

> O Raghava, when the mind is joined to the Supreme, it becomes pure and free from latent tendencies. Then, empty of all imaginings, it attains the Nature of the Self.

> O Rama, this entire World of things that move and things that do not move depends on the mind. Bondage and liberation clearly depend on the mind as well.

> O Rama, listen with great care to this excellent story of the mind that I am telling you. Brahmadev himself spoke it long ago.

> There is a vast, empty, restless, and extremely terrifying forest called Ramatavi forest. In it, a distance of a hundred yojanas looks like a mere speck.

> In that forest stands one man with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. He is of huge form, fearsome, and his mind is greatly disturbed.

3.98.7–16

The man seizes many clubs with his thousand arms, beats his own back and body, then flees in terror from himself. Exhausted and crying, he falls into a deep, pitch-dark well. After a long time he climbs out, resumes beating himself, and runs farther. He plunges into a thorny Karanja thicket like a moth into fire, escapes, continues the self-beating and flight, enters a cool and lovely banana grove as if laughing, leaves it, and finally rushes again into the same dark well, his body broken and worn.

3.98.17–20

> Rising from the dark well, he entered a banana grove. From the banana forest he went into a pit, then into a thicket of Karanja bushes.

> From the Karanja thicket he entered a well, and from the well he entered another banana grove. Thus he keeps entering and striking while remaining within himself.

> I (Brahmadev) watched this kind of behavior of his for a long time. Then, using force, I blocked his path for a short while.

> I asked him: Who are you? What is this? For what purpose do you do it? What do you wish for here? Why do you uselessly delude yourself?

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach that the mind is the root of both bondage and freedom. Whatever its origin or present State, it must be steadily turned toward the Self. When fixed on the Supreme it is purified, loses its deep-seated tendencies, and finally becomes free of all imagination, resting as Pure Self-nature.

The world of moving and unmoving things is shown to be entirely dependent on the mind. Bondage and liberation are therefore not external conditions but States of the mind itself. The allegory that follows makes this concrete.

The vast, empty, terrifying forest stands for the cycle of Worldly Existence. In delusion it appears immense; with right understanding it is seen as insignificant. The single man with a thousand hands and eyes is the mind itself, filled with countless desires and perceptions. By its own desires it strikes itself and then flees from the pain it has created, running endlessly through experiences of pleasure and pain.

The dark well represents states of deep suffering or hellish existence. The thorny thicket stands for ordinary worldly life full of sharp attachments and cares. The pleasant banana grove stands for temporary heavenly or sensual enjoyments. The mind repeatedly leaves one and plunges into another, never finding rest because the root cause—its own restless activity—remains.

The final teaching is that the mind’s endless self-torture and flight can be interrupted only by firm inquiry and discrimination. When the mind is held and questioned, its false activity is exposed. Liberation begins the moment the mind is stopped in its tracks and turned from self-created suffering toward the Stillness of the Self.