Chapter 3.115, Verses 27–36

Yoga Vashishtha 3.115.27–36

(The story of King Lavana to show the extraordinary power of the mind)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

हरिश्चन्द्रकुलोत्थेन लवणेन पुरानघ।

एकं तेनोपविष्टेन चिन्तितं मनसा चिरम् ॥ २७॥

पितामहो मे सुमहान्राजसूयस्य याजकः।

अहं तस्य कुले जातस्तं यजे मनसा मखम् ॥ २८॥

इति संचिन्त्य मनसा कृत्वा संभारमादृतः।

राजसूयस्य दीक्षायां प्रविवेश महीपतिः ॥ २९॥

ऋत्विजश्चाह्वयामास पूजयामास सन्मुनीन्।

देवानामन्त्रयामास ज्वालयामास पावकम् ॥ ३०॥

यथेच्छं यजमानस्य मनसोपवनान्तरे।

ययौ संवत्सरः साग्रो देवर्षिद्विजपूजया ॥ ३१॥

भूतेभ्यो द्विजपूर्वेभ्यो दत्त्वा सर्वस्वदक्षिणाम्।

विबुध्यत दिनस्यान्ते स्व एवोपवने नृपः ॥ ३२॥

एवं स लवणो राजा राजसूयमवाप्तवान्।

मनसैव हि तुष्टेन युक्तं तस्य फलेन च ॥ ३३॥

अतश्चित्तं नरं विद्धि भोक्तारं सुखदुःखयोः।

तन्मनः पावनोपाये सत्ये योजय राघव ॥ ३४॥

पूर्णे देशे सुसंपूर्णः पुमान्नष्टे विनश्यति।

देहोऽहमिति येषां तु निश्चयस्तैरलं बुधाः ॥ ३५॥

उच्चैर्विवेकवति चेतसि संप्रबुद्धे दुःखान्यलं विगलितानि विविक्तबुद्धेः।

भास्वत्करप्रकटिते ननु पद्मखण्डे संकोचजाड्यतिमिराणि चिरं क्षतानि ॥ ३६॥

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.115.27–36

> O sinless one, long ago King Lavana, born in the line of Harishchandra, sat alone and thought for a long time in his mind.

> “My great-grandfather was a performer of the great Rajasuya sacrifice. Born in his family, I too shall perform that sacrifice with my mind.”

> Having thought thus, and carefully arranging all the materials in his mind, the King entered the initiation of the Rajasuya.

> He invited the priests, worshipped the true sages, summoned the gods, and kindled the sacred fire.

> Just as the sacrificer wished, within the garden of his mind a full year and more passed in the worship of gods, sages, and Brahmins.

> After giving away all his wealth as the sacrificial fee to beings beginning with the Brahmins, the King awoke at the end of the day, still sitting in his own garden.

> In this way King Lavana obtained the Rajasuya sacrifice solely through his satisfied mind and also received its fruit.

> Therefore know the mind itself as the man who experiences pleasure and pain. O Raghava, join that mind to the pure means which is the Truth.

> When the country is complete a man is fully complete; when it is lost he perishes. Enough of those so-called wise ones who hold the firm belief “I am the body.”

> When the mind, filled with lofty discrimination, becomes fully awakened, all sufferings of the one whose understanding is pure completely fall away. Just as the darkness of contraction and dullness is long destroyed in a lotus grove when the rays of the sun reveal it.

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses continue the story of King Lavana to show the extraordinary power of the mind. Sitting alone in a garden, Lavana decided in thought alone to perform the great Rajasuya sacrifice that his ancestor had once performed. Without any outer materials or helpers he mentally gathered everything needed, took the initiation, invited priests and gods, and conducted the entire year-long ritual inside the space of his own mind.

When the mental sacrifice was complete and he had given away all his imagined wealth as the final fee, Lavana simply woke up at the end of the day, still sitting in the same garden. Yet the sacrifice was considered fully accomplished and he received its full fruit. This demonstrates that the mind alone is the true doer and enjoyer of every experience.

Vasistha therefore declares that the mind itself must be recognised as the human Being who feels every pleasure and every pain. The only wise course is to turn that same mind toward the pure means of truth—discrimination and self-knowledge—rather than letting it wander in imaginary worlds.

Those who cling to the conviction “I am the body” are dismissed. Just as a man flourishes when his country is whole and collapses when it is destroyed, so a person who identifies with the body rises and falls with the body’s changing conditions. Only when the mind is awakened by clear discrimination do all sufferings dissolve, just as the darkness and stiffness of night vanish the moment sunlight falls upon a bed of lotuses.

Chapter 3.115, Verses 18–26

Yoga Vashishtha 3.115.18–26

(Suffering does not belong to the physical body. The body is inert matter and cannot feel pain or pleasure)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

चित्ताविद्यामनोजीववासनेति कृतात्मभिः।

कर्मात्मेति च यः प्रोक्तः स देही दुःखकोविदः ॥ १८॥

जडो देहो न दुःखार्हो दुःखी देह्यविचारतः।

अविचारो घनाज्ञानादज्ञानं दुःखकारणम् ॥ १९॥

शुभाशुभानां धर्माणां जीवो विषयतां गतः।

अविवेकैकदोषेण कोशेनेव हि कीटकः ॥ २०॥

अविवेकामयोन्नद्धं मनो विविधवृत्तिमत्।

नानाकारविहारेण परिभ्रमति चक्रवत् ॥ २१॥

उदेति रौति हन्त्यत्ति याति वल्गति निन्दति।

मन एव शरीरेऽस्मिन्न शरीरं कदाचन ॥ २२॥

यथा गृहपतिर्गेहे विविधं हि विचेष्टते।

न गृहं तु जडं राम तथा देहे हि जीवकः ॥ २३॥

सर्वेषु सुखदुःखेषु सर्वासु कलनासु च।

मनः कर्तृ मनो भोक्तृ मानसं विद्धि मानवम् ॥ २४॥

अत्र ते श्रृणु वक्ष्यामि वृत्तान्तमिममुत्तमम्।

लवणोऽसौ यथा यातश्चण्डालत्वं मनोभ्रमात् ॥ २५॥

मनः कर्मफलं भुङ्कते शुभं वाऽशुभमेव वा।

यथैतद्बुद्ध्यसे नूनं तथाकर्णय राघव ॥ २६॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.115.18–26

> That which the wise call mind, ignorance, manas, jiva, and vasana, and also name as the doer of actions—that embodied Being is well-versed in suffering.

> The inert body cannot suffer. The embodied one suffers only through lack of proper reflection. This lack of reflection arises from dense ignorance, and ignorance itself is the cause of all suffering.

> Through the single fault of non-discrimination the jiva becomes the object of both good and bad qualities, just as a worm becomes confined inside its own cocoon.

> Bound by the dense mass of non-discrimination, the mind—full of countless modifications—wanders about in ever-changing forms like a revolving wheel.

> It rises, it cries, it kills, it eats, it moves, it leaps, it criticizes— the mind alone performs all these in this body; the body itself never does any of them.

> Just as a householder moves about and acts in many ways inside his house while the house itself remains inert, O Rama, so does the jiva act inside the body.

> In every experience of pleasure and pain, and in every mental construction, know the mind as the doer and the mind as the enjoyer. Know the human being itself to be nothing but mind.

> Listen now, I shall tell you an excellent story: how that king Lavana fell into the condition of a Chandala solely through the delusion of his mind.

> The mind alone experiences the fruits of actions, whether those fruits are good or bad. Understanding this Truth firmly, listen carefully, O Raghava.

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that suffering does not belong to the physical body. The body is inert matter and cannot feel pain or pleasure. All suffering is experienced only by the embodied Consciousness that fails to discriminate between the Real Self and the false identification with body and mind. Dense ignorance produces this failure of discrimination, and that ignorance is the single root of every form of sorrow.

Because of this one defect of non-discrimination, the individual soul becomes entangled in the dualities of good and evil, virtue and vice, just as a silkworm imprisons itself inside the cocoon it has spun. The mind, swollen with countless thought-waves and bound by ignorance, spins endlessly through changing forms and situations like a wheel that never stops turning.

All activity—rising, speaking, killing, eating, moving, rejoicing, or blaming—belongs solely to the mind. The body is only a passive instrument. In the same way that a householder alone performs every action inside a lifeless house, the jiva alone acts within the inert body. Therefore every experience of happiness or misery, every mental projection and imagination, has the mind as both the doer and the enjoyer. The human Being is in truth nothing other than mind.

To make this truth vivid, Vasistha prepares to narrate the story of King Lavana, who through pure mental delusion temporarily became a chandala and lived that degraded life as though it were real. The mind alone tastes the results of all actions, whether pleasant or painful. Once this is clearly understood, one is ready to hear the illustrative tale that follows.

Chapter 3.115, Verses 10–17

Yoga Vashishtha 3.115.10–17

(The mind when clothed in the power of Consciousness, appears as the living individual)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

काष्ठकुड्योपमो देहो न किंचन इहानघ।

स्वप्नालोक इवानेन चेतसा परिकल्प्यते ॥ १०॥

चेतस्तु जीवतां यातं चिच्छक्तिपरिभूषितम्।

विद्यात्संसारसंरम्भं कपिपोतकचञ्चलम् ॥ ११॥

देही हि कर्मभाग्यो हि नानाकारशरीरधृक्।

अहंकारमनोजीवनामभिः परिकल्प्यते ॥ १२॥

तस्येमान्यप्रबुद्धस्य न प्रबुद्धस्य राघव।

सुखदुःखान्यनन्तानि शरीरस्य न कानिचित् ॥ १३॥

अप्रबुद्धं मनो नानासंज्ञाकल्पितकल्पनम्।

वृत्तीरनुपतच्चित्रा विचित्राकृतितां गतम् ॥ १४॥

अप्रबुद्धं मनो यावन्निद्रितं तावदेव हि।

संभ्रमं पश्यति स्वप्ने न प्रबुद्धं कदाचन ॥ १५॥

अज्ञाननिद्राक्षुभितो जीवो यावन्न बोधितः।

तावत्पश्यति दुर्भेदं संसारारम्भविभ्रमम् ॥ १६॥

संप्रबुद्धस्य मनसस्तमः सर्वं विलीयते।

कमलस्य यथा हार्दं दिनालोकविकासिनः ॥ १७॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.115.10–17

> O sinless One, the body is nothing at all here, like a wall of wood. It is only imagined by this mind, just as the scenes of a dream are imagined.

> Know that the mind has become the living Being, decorated with the power of Pure Consciousness. The whole busy activity of Worldly existence is as restless and fickle as a young monkey.

> The embodied one is simply the experiencer of the results of actions and wears many different kinds of bodies. It is only imagined under the names of ego and mind.

> For the one who is not awakened, O Raghava, these endless pleasures and pains belong to the body. For the one who is awakened, there are none of them at all.

> The unawakened mind is full of imaginations created by many names and concepts. Following its various movements, it takes on countless strange and different forms.

> As long as the unawakened mind remains asleep, it keeps seeing the confusion of the dream. The awakened mind never sees any such confusion.

> As long as the individual soul, disturbed by the sleep of ignorance, has not been awakened, it continues to see the hard-to-break delusion that is the whole show of Worldly existence.

> When the mind is fully awakened, all darkness completely dissolves, just as the darkness inside a lotus dissolves when the flower opens in the light of day.

Detailed Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the physical body has no independent reality. It is only a mental construction, as insubstantial as a wooden wall or the objects seen in a dream. The mind itself, when it is clothed in the power of consciousness, appears as the living individual. All the restless activity of the World is nothing more than the restless play of this mind, as unpredictable as a young monkey.

What we call the ego, and the the mind  are only different names for the same imagined entity. This entity experiences the results of past actions and takes on many different bodily forms. Pleasure and pain belong only to the unawakened State. For the one who has woken up, the body and its joys and sufferings no longer exist as real experiences.

The unawakened mind is a factory of endless imaginations. It invents names, concepts and stories, and by following its own restless movements it appears in countless changing shapes. As long as this mind remains asleep in ignorance, it continues to dream the confusing drama of the world. The moment it truly wakes up, the dream and its confusion disappear.

Ignorance is described as a deep sleep that keeps the individual agitated and bound. Until that sleep is broken by True Knowledge, the mind keeps seeing the solid-seeming illusion of Worldly existence. Once the mind is completely awakened, every trace of this darkness vanishes, just as the darkness inside a closed lotus vanishes when the flower opens in the light of the sun.

The central teaching is therefore very simple: the body, the ego, pleasure, pain and the whole of Worldly life are products of an unawakened mind. When the mind wakes up to its own True Nature, all of these imagined things dissolve of themselves, leaving only clear, open Awareness.

Chapter 3.115, Verses 1–9

Yoga Vashishtha 3.115.1–9

(Just as light removes night, Sriram now sees the World with new eyes)

श्रीवाल्मीकिरुवाच।

एवमुक्तो भगवता वसिष्ठेन महात्मना।

रामः कमलपत्राक्ष उन्मीलित इवाबभौ ॥ १॥

विकासितान्तःकरणः शोभामलमुपाययौ।

आश्वस्तस्तमसि क्षीणे पद्मोऽर्कालोकनादिव ॥ २॥

बोधविस्मयसंजातसौम्यस्मितसिताननः।

दन्तरश्मिसुधाधौतामिमां वाचमुवाच ह ॥ ३॥

श्रीराम उवाच।

अहो नु चित्रं पद्मोत्थैर्बद्धास्तन्तुभिरद्रयः।

अविद्यमाना या विद्या तया सर्वे वशीकृताः ॥ ४॥

इदं तद्वज्रतां यातं तृणमात्रं जगत्त्रये।

अविद्ययापि यन्नामासदेव सदिव स्थितम् ॥ ५॥

अस्याः संसारमायाया नद्यास्त्रिभुवनाङ्गणे।

रूपं मदवबोधार्थं कथयानुग्रहात्पुनः ॥ ६॥

अन्यो यत्संशयोऽयं मे महात्मन्हृदि वर्तते।

लवणोऽसौ महाभागः किं नामापदमाप्तवान् ॥ ७॥

संश्लिष्टयोराहतयोर्द्वयोर्वा देहदेहिनोः।

ब्रह्मन्क इव संसारी शुभाशुभफलैकभाक् ॥ ८॥

लवणस्य तथा दत्त्वा तामापदमनुत्तमाम्।

किं गतश्चञ्चलारम्भः कश्चासावैन्द्रजालिकः ॥ ९॥

Sage Valmiki said: 

3.115.1–3

> When the great-souled Vasistha spoke these words, Rama, whose eyes were like lotus petals, shone as if he had just awakened.

> His inner mind opened fully and he gained great brightness, just as a lotus feels safe and blooms when darkness fades and it sees the sunlight.

> With a gentle smile lighting his face—born of deep understanding and wonder—and with words that seemed washed clean by the nectar-like glow of his teeth, he began to speak.

Sriram said: 

3.115.4–9

> How strange this is! It is as if great mountains are tied by thin threads that come from a lotus. All beings are controlled by a knowledge that does not really exist at all.

> What is only as light as a blade of grass has become as hard as a diamond in the three worlds. Even though it is nothing, ignorance makes it appear real and solid.

> Out of your kindness, please tell me again, so that I may understand better, the nature of this river of Worldly illusion that flows through the courtyard of the three worlds.

 

> O great soul, another doubt still lives in my heart: what kind of trouble did that noble King Lavana fall into?

> O Brahman, of the body and the one who lives in the body—whether they stay tightly joined or are only lightly connected—who is the real traveller in this World who alone receives the results of good and bad actions?

> After giving that unmatched calamity to Lavana, what became of that restless magician? And who exactly was that illusionist?

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses mark a turning point in Rama’s spiritual journey. After long teaching from Vasistha, Rama’s mind suddenly opens. He is no longer heavy with confusion. His face shines with the quiet joy that comes when true understanding begins to dawn. The comparison to a lotus opening in sunlight shows that knowledge removes the darkness of ignorance just as light removes night, Sriram now sees the world with new eyes.

Sriram expresses deep wonder at the power of ignorance. He says that something completely unreal—like thin threads from a lotus—seems strong enough to bind even mountains. In the same way, false knowledge that has no real existence still manages to control every living being. What is lighter than grass appears as solid and hard as diamond because of this ignorance. The World looks real and firm only because the mind projects Reality onto emptiness.

Sriram then asks Vasistha to explain once more the nature of the river of worldly illusion (samsara-maya). He wants to understand clearly how this illusion flows through the three worlds and keeps beings trapped in the cycle of birth and death. This request shows that true teaching is not heard only once; the student returns again and again until the truth becomes fully clear in the heart.

Two more doubts arise in Sriram's mind. He asks about the story of King Lavana and the strange calamity that fell upon him. He also questions who truly experiences the results of actions—the physical body or the conscious being inside it. These questions show that even after a first awakening, finer points of the teaching still need to be settled. The mind that has begun to wake still seeks complete clarity about agency, responsibility, and the play of illusion.

Taken together, the verses teach that spiritual progress often begins with a sudden brightening of the inner mind, followed by fresh questions that arise from the new light. The World is shown to be a powerful appearance created by ignorance, yet it has no substance of its own. The student is encouraged to keep asking until every remaining doubt dissolves. The body is only a temporary support; the real actor is the mind powered by Consciousness. Understanding this frees a person from both pride in good deeds and fear of bad ones.

Chapter 3.114, Verses 70–77

Yoga Vashishtha 3.114.70–77

(Whole drama of building and destroying cities in empty Space is already experienced in dreams)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

नभोनगरनिर्माणपातोत्पातन संभ्रमाः।

स्वप्नादिष्वनुभूयन्ते विचित्राः सुखदुःखदाः ॥ ७०॥

संसारवासनाश्चेतो यदि नाम न पूरयेत्।

तज्जाग्रत्स्वप्नसंरम्भाः किं नयेयुरिहापदम् ॥ ७१॥

दृश्यते रौरवा वीचिनरकानर्थशासना।

मिथ्याज्ञाने गते वृद्धिं स्वप्नोपवनभूमिषु ॥ ७२॥

अनया वेधितं चेतो विसतन्तावपि क्षणात्।

पश्यत्यखिलसंसारसागरानर्थविभ्रमम् ॥ ७३॥

अनयोपहते चित्ते राज्य एव हि संस्थिताः।

तास्तादृश्यो जना यान्ति या न योग्याः श्वपाकिनः ॥ ७४॥

तस्माद्राम परित्यज्य वासनां भवबन्धनीम्।

सर्वरागमयीं तिष्ठ नीरागः स्फटिको यथा ॥ ७५॥

तिष्ठतस्तव कार्येषु मास्तु रागेषु रञ्जना।

स्फटिकस्येव चित्राणि प्रतिबिम्बानि गृह्णतः ॥ ७६॥

विदितकौतुकसङ्घसमिद्धया यदि करोषि सदैव सुशीलया।

वरधिया गतप्राकृतिकक्रियस्तदसि केन सहानुपमीयसे ॥ ७७॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.114.70–77

> The confusions of building and demolishing cities in the sky are experienced in dreams and similar states; they are varied and give both pleasure and pain.

> If the mind does not fill itself with the latent desires of saṃsāra, then how can the agitations of waking and dream bring any calamity here?

> When false knowledge has grown, the Raurava hells with their waves of disastrous commands are seen even in the garden-grounds of dreams.

> The mind pierced by this, even for a moment as thin as a lotus-filament, sees the entire ocean of saṃsāra with all its calamitous delusions.

> When the mind is afflicted by this, even people established in kingdoms fall into conditions that are not fit even for the lowest outcastes.

> Therefore, O Rāma, abandon the latent desire that binds one to worldly becoming and is full of every attachment; remain free of attachment like a clear crystal.

> While you remain engaged in actions, let there be no coloring by attachments, just as a crystal receives colorful reflections without being stained by them.

> If with a mind kindled by the known collection of wonders, always of good conduct, and with excellent intelligence free from instinctive natural actions, then with whom can you be compared?

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses show that the whole drama of building and destroying cities in empty space is already experienced in dreams, complete with every variety of pleasure and pain. The same mechanism operates in the waking state. The root cause is the mind’s filling itself with the latent desires of saṃsāra. If those desires are not allowed to occupy the mind, the turmoil of both waking and dream cannot produce any real misfortune.

False knowledge, once it has grown strong, projects even the torments of Raurava hell into the pleasant garden-scenes of dreams. A mind pierced by this avidyā, even for the briefest moment as fine as a lotus filament, immediately beholds the entire Ocean of Worldly existence with all its disastrous confusions. Under the influence of this same force, people who sit on thrones can sink to states lower than those of the most despised outcastes.

Therefore the clear instruction is given: completely abandon the latent desire that chains one to repeated becoming and is saturated with every form of attachment. Remain instead like a pure crystal—transparent and free of all coloring. While continuing to perform necessary actions, let no attachment tinge the mind. Just as a crystal receives many-colored reflections yet stays itself unstained, so the wise person receives the appearances of the World without being altered by them.

When the mind is thus awakened by the wonder of Truth, remains constantly of pure conduct, and is guided by the highest intelligence free from blind instinctive reactions, the person becomes incomparable. No one stands on the same level as one who has reached this state of detached clarity.

Chapter 3.114, Verses 58–69

Yoga Vashishtha 3.114.58–69

(The entire visible World of sky, Space, Ocean, Earth and rivers is nothing but avidyā for one who does not Know the Truth)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

खाद्व्यब्ध्युर्वीनदी सेयं याऽविद्याऽज्ञस्य राघव।

नाविद्या ज्ञस्य तद्ब्रह्म स्वमहिम्ना व्यवस्थितम् ॥ ५८॥

रज्जुसर्पविकल्पौ द्वावक्षेनैवोपकल्पितौ।

ज्ञेन त्वेकैव निर्णीता ब्रह्मदृष्टिरकृत्रिमा ॥ ५९॥

मा भवाज्ञो भव प्राज्ञो जहि संसारवासनाम्।

अनात्मन्यात्मभावेन किमज्ञ इव रोदिषि ॥ ६०॥

कस्तवायं जडो मूको देहो भवति राघव।

यदर्थं सुखदुःखाभ्यामवशः परिभूयसे ॥ ६१॥

यथा हि काष्ठजतुनोर्यथा बदरकुण्डयोः।

श्लिष्टयोरपि नैकत्वं देहदेहवतोस्तथा ॥ ६२॥

भस्त्रादाहे यथा दाहो न भस्त्रान्तरवर्तिनः।

पवनस्य तथा देहनाशे नात्मा न नश्यति ॥ ६३॥

दुःखितोऽहं सुखाढ्योऽहमिति भ्रान्ति रघूद्वह।

मृगतृष्णोपमां बुद्ध्वा त्यज सत्यं समाश्रय ॥ ६४॥

अहो नु चित्रं यत्सत्यं ब्रह्म तद्विस्मृतं नृणाम्।

यदसत्यमविद्याख्यं तन्नूनं स्मृतिमागतम् ॥ ६५॥

प्रसरं त्वमविद्याया मा प्रयच्छ रघूद्वह।

अनयोपहिते चित्ते दुष्पारेह कदर्थना ॥ ६६॥

मिथ्यैवानर्थकारिण्या मनोमननपीनया।

अनया दुःखदायिन्या महामोहफलान्तया ॥ ६७॥

चन्द्रबिम्बे सुधार्द्रेऽपि कृत्वा रौरवकल्पनम्।

नारकं दाहसंशोषदुःखं समनुभूयते ॥ ६८॥

जलकल्लोलकह्लारपुष्पसीकरवीचिषु।

सरस्सु मृगतृष्णाढ्यं मरुत्वं परिदृश्यते ॥ ६९॥

Maharishi Vashishta continued:

3.114.58–63

> This sky, Space, Ocean, Earth and river that you see, O Rāghava, is only avidyā for the ignorant. For the Knower there is no avidyā; it is Brahm standing in its own glory.

> The two notions of rope and snake are both invented by the eye alone. The Knower, however, decides that only one is Real—the natural vision of Brahm.

> Do not remain ignorant; become wise and abandon the latent desire for saṃsāra. Why do you weep like an ignorant person by taking the non-Self as the Self?

> What is this dull, mute body of yours, O Rāghava, for whose sake you are overpowered and made helpless by pleasure and pain?

> Just as wood and lac, or a jujube fruit and its seed-cup, though stuck together, are never one, so the body and the embodied Self are never one.

> Just as the burning of a bellows does not burn the air that stays inside it, so when the body is destroyed the Self is not destroyed.

3.114.64–69

> “I am miserable, I am full of happiness”—this is only a delusion, O descendant of Raghu. Knowing it to be like a mirage, abandon it and take refuge in the Truth.

> How strange that the True Brahm has been forgotten by people, while the false thing called avidyā has certainly come into their memory!

> Do not give room to avidyā, O descendant of Raghu. When the mind is occupied by it, endless misery follows.

> This false, harmful, swollen-by-mental-thinking, pain-giving power ends in the fruit of great delusion.

> Even on the cool, nectar-like disc of the moon one invents the idea of the terrible Raurava hell and then experiences the suffering of burning and drying that belongs to hell.

> In the waves, water-lilies, flowers, spray and ripples of lakes one sees the mirage-like quality of a desert.

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses declare that the entire visible World of sky, Space, Ocean, Earth and rivers is nothing but avidyā for one who does not Know the Truth. For the Knower the same appearance is simply Brahm resting in its own natural greatness; avidyā itself does not exist for him. The classic example of rope and snake is recalled: both ideas arise only through the organ of sight, yet the wise person settles that only one reality is present—the direct, uncontrived vision of Brahm.

A clear command is given: stop remaining ignorant, become a Knower, and cast away the deep-seated desire that keeps saṃsāra going. The root of sorrow is the mistaken identification of the non-Self with the Self. The body is described as dull and mute; it is absurd that a person allows himself to be tossed about by pleasure and pain for the sake of such an inert object. Body and Self are never identical, just as wood and lac or a fruit and its cup remain two even when stuck together. When the body perishes the Self remains untouched, exactly as the air inside a bellows is not burned when the bellows itself is burned.

The feelings “I am unhappy” and “I am happy” are pure delusion, comparable to a mirage. Once this is understood, the delusion must be dropped and the real must be clung to. The greatest wonder is pointed out: people have forgotten the True Brahm and have firmly remembered the false appearance called avidyā. Therefore no space should be given to avidyā in the mind; once it occupies the mind, suffering without end follows. This avidyā is false, harmful, swollen by continuous thinking, and its final fruit is the great delusion that produces endless pain.

Even the cool, nectar-filled moon can be imagined as the fiery Raurava hell, and the imagined burning is then actually felt. In the same way, the playful waves, lotuses, spray and ripples of a lake are seen as a waterless desert mirage. The teaching is that all suffering arises from mental superimposition alone; when the superimposition is withdrawn, only the Undivided Reality of Brahm remains.

Chapter 3.114, Verses 49–57

Yoga Vashishtha 3.114.49–57

(The entire visible World never truly existed, either at the beginning or now)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

यदादावेव नास्तीदं तदद्यापि न विद्यते।

यदिदं भाति तद्ब्रह्म शान्तमेकमनिन्दितम् ॥ ४९॥

मननीयमतो नान्यत्कदा कस्य कथं कुतः।

निर्विकारमनाद्यन्तमास्यतामपयन्त्रणम् ॥ ५०॥

परं पौरुषमाश्रित्य यत्नात्परमया धिया।

भोगाशाभावनां चित्तात्समूलामलमुद्धरेत् ॥ ५१॥

यदुदेति परो मोहो जरामरणकारणम्।

आशापाशशतोल्लासिवासना तद्विजृम्भते ॥ ५२॥

मम पुत्रा मम धनमयं सोऽहमिदं मम।

इतीयमिन्द्रजालेन वासनैव विवल्गति ॥ ५३॥

शून्ये एव शरीरेऽस्मिन्विलोलो जलवातवत्।

अनन्यया वासनया त्वहंभावाहिरर्पितः ॥ ५४॥

परमार्थेन तत्त्वज्ञ ममाहमिदमित्यलम्।

नदिश्रेण्योआत्मतत्त्वादृते सत्यं न कदाचन किंचन ॥ ५५॥

खाद्रिद्यूर्वीनदिश्रेण्यो दृष्टिसृष्ट्या पुनः पुनः।

सैवान्येव विचित्रेयमविद्या परिवर्तते ॥ ५६॥

उदेत्यज्ञानमात्रेण नश्यति ज्ञानमात्रतः।

सन्मात्रे परिविच्छेद्या रज्ज्वामिव भुजंगधीः ॥ ५७॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.114.49–57

> What was not present at the very beginning is not present even now. What appears here is only Brahm — Peaceful, One, and free from all blame.

> Therefore nothing else is to be thought of—neither when, nor whose, nor how, nor from where. Remain free of all restraint in that which is without change, without beginning and without end.

> Taking firm hold of the highest human effort and employing the finest intelligence, one must completely uproot from the mind the feeling of desire for enjoyment, together with all its roots.

> The great delusion that arises as the cause of old age and death expands through the many bonds of hope; that expansion is nothing but latent desire (vāsanā).

> “These are my sons, this is my wealth, I am this, this is mine”—through this magical display latent desire alone keeps dancing.

> In this empty body that moves restlessly like water and wind, the sense of “I” has been imposed from outside by that same exclusive latent desire.

> O Knower of the Truth, in the Highest Reality enough of “mine,” “I” and “this.” Apart from the Reality of the Self, nothing whatsoever is ever True.

> Sky, mountains, Earth and chains of rivers are created again and again by the mere act of seeing. This same avidyā, though appearing different and wonderful, simply keeps revolving.

> It arises through mere ignorance and is destroyed through mere Knowledge. In Pure Existence itself it must be completely cut off, just as the idea of a snake is cut off when the rope is known.

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the entire visible world never truly existed, either at the beginning or now. Whatever appears is only the One Peaceful, faultless Brahm. Because nothing other than Brahm has ever been Real, the mind has no need to inquire into time, ownership, manner or origin of anything. The only proper stance is to rest unforced and free of all mental restraint in that changeless reality which has neither beginning nor end.

The practical means given is resolute human effort guided by the clearest intelligence. One must dig out from the mind, roots and all, the feeling of longing for sense enjoyment. This longing is not a minor habit; it is the very power that produces the supreme delusion responsible for the whole cycle of birth, aging and death. Hope multiplies itself into countless binding cords, and that multiplication is nothing but latent desire (vāsanā).

Latent desire alone creates the magical show of personal ownership and identity: “my children, my wealth, I am this body, this is mine.” The body itself is empty and restless, moving like wind-driven water; the sense of “I” has been projected onto it from outside by this exclusive vāsanā. In the light of Ultimate Truth, therefore, all such notions of “mine,” “I” and “this” are to be abandoned as insufficient and false. Nothing other than the Reality of the Self has ever possessed the slightest truth.

The same avidyā, by the mere power of seeing, repeatedly projects the whole variety of sky, mountains, earth and rivers. Though it appears ever new and marvelous, it is only the same ignorance turning round and round. Because it is produced solely by ignorance, it is destroyed solely by Knowledge. Once Pure Existence is recognized, the false appearance must be cut off completely, exactly as the notion of a snake vanishes the moment the rope is clearly known.

Thus the teaching moves from the absolute non-existence of the World, through the necessity of uprooting desire, to the final recognition that ignorance alone creates and Knowledge alone dissolves the entire illusory display, leaving only the Undivided Self.