Yoga Vashishtha 3.94.23–32
(Brahm - the Absolute Reality)
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।
मन्दारमञ्जरीरूपाश्चन्द्रबिम्बादिवांशवः।
सर्वा एव समुत्पन्ना ब्रह्मणो दृश्यदृष्टयः ॥ २३॥
यथा विटपिनश्चित्रास्तद्रूपा विटपश्रियः।
सर्वा एव समुत्पन्ना ब्रह्मणो जीवपङ्क्तयः ॥ २४॥
कटकाङ्गदकेयूरयुक्तयः कनकादिव।
सर्वा एवोत्थिता राम ब्रह्मणो जीवराशयः ॥ २५॥
निर्झरादमलोद्योतात्पयसामिव बिन्दवः।
अजस्यैवाखिला राम भूतसंततिकल्पनाः ॥ २६॥
आकाशस्य घटस्थालीरन्ध्राकाशादयो यथा।
सर्वा एवोत्थिता लोककलना ब्रह्मणः पदात् ॥ २७॥
सीकरावर्तलहरीबिन्दवः पयसो यथा।
सर्वा एवोत्थिता राम ब्रह्मणो दृश्यदृष्टयः ॥ २८॥
मृगतृष्णातरङ्गिण्यो यथा भास्करतेजसः।
सर्वा दृश्यदृशो द्रष्टुर्व्यतिरिक्ता न रूपतः ॥ २९॥
शीतरश्मेरित ज्योत्स्ना स्वालोक इव तेजसः।
एवमेता हि भूतानां जातयो विविधाश्च याः ॥ ३०॥
यस्मादेव समायान्ति तस्मिन्नेव विशन्ति च।
काश्चिज्जन्मसहस्रान्ते जातयश्चिरकालिकाः।
काश्चित्कतिपयातीतजन्मरूपा व्यवस्थिताः ॥ ३१॥
इत्थं जगत्सु विविधेषु विचित्ररूपास्तस्येच्छया भगवतो व्यवहारवत्यः।
आयान्ति यान्ति निपतन्ति तथोत्पतन्ति रूपश्रियः कणघटा इव पावकोत्थाः ॥ ३२॥
Sage Vashishta continued:
3.94.23–32
> Just as rays resembling clusters of Mandara flowers come forth from the moon’s disc, so all perceptions of the visible world have arisen from Brahm.
> Just as diverse trees and their various forms of beauty arise from themselves, so all multitudes of living Beings have arisen from Brahm.
> O Rama, just as all ornaments such as bracelets, armlets and bangles arise from gold, so all multitudes of living Beings have arisen from Brahm.
> O Rama, just as drops of water arise from a pure and shining spring, so all the imaginings of successive Beings arise from the Unborn One alone.
> Just as the spaces inside a pot, a plate or a hole and the like are of the one vast space, so all conceptions of the Worlds have arisen from the State of Brahm.
> Just as spray, whirlpools, waves and drops arise from water, so all perceptions of the visible World have arisen from Brahm, O Rama.
> Just as the waves of a mirage appear from the sun’s rays, so all visible perceptions are not different in nature from the Seer.
> Just as the cool moonlight is the light of the moon itself and the sun’s own radiance is its light, so are all the various kinds of Beings.
> From whom they come, into that same they return. Some species last for a thousand births and are of long duration; others are established after only a few past births.
> Thus, by the Will of the Lord, the manifold forms of various kinds move about in the many Worlds. They come and go, fall and rise, shining like sparks that fly up from fire.
Summary of the Teachings:
These verses teach that the entire visible universe and all living beings arise solely from Brahm, the Absolute Reality, without any real separation from it. Through a series of clear analogies—moon-rays, trees and their beauty, gold ornaments, water-drops from a spring, limited spaces within the one sky, waves and spray from water, and the false waves of a mirage—the text shows that every appearance is only a temporary expression of the same Undivided Source.
The teaching emphasises non-difference: the perceptions of the World are not other than the Seer or Brahm in their essential nature. Just as cool moonlight is nothing but the moon’s own light and sunlight is the sun’s own radiance, the many kinds of Beings are only modifications of the one Consciousness. Apparent multiplicity is therefore an appearance, not an independent Reality.
All these forms come forth from Brahm and eventually return into it. Some species persist through many thousands of births and last a long time; others appear after only a few previous lives. This cycle of arising and dissolving is continuous and is governed solely by the will of the Lord.
The World with its countless shapes and activities is therefore only a play of Divine Will. Beings move, appear, disappear, rise and fall exactly as sparks rise from a fire, shine briefly and then vanish. Nothing has an independent existence apart from Brahm.
The practical import is that true understanding of this origin and identity frees the mind from attachment to the changing forms. When one sees every appearance as nothing but Brahm expressing itself, the sense of separation and the suffering that follows from it come to an end.