Chapter 3.97, Verses 1–11

Yoga Vashishtha 3.97.1–11

(The entire visible and invisible display of the World is a product of the mind)

श्रीराम उवाच।

ब्रह्मन्मनस एवेदमन्तश्चाडम्बरं सृतम्।

यतस्तदेव कर्मेति वाक्यार्थादुपलभ्यते ॥ १॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

दृढभावोपरक्तेन मनसैवोररीकृतम्।

मरुचण्डातपेनेव भास्वरावरणं पुनः ॥ २॥

ब्रह्मात्मनि जगत्यस्मिन्मन एकाकृतिं गतम्।

क्वचिन्नरतया रूढं क्वचित्सुरतयोत्थितम् ॥ ३॥

क्वचिद्दैत्यतयोल्लासि क्वचिद्यक्षतयोदितम्।

क्वचिद्गन्धर्वतां प्राप्तं क्वचित्किन्नररूपि च ॥ ४॥

नानाचारनभोभागपुरपत्तनरूपया।

मन्ये विततयाकृत्या मन एव विजृम्भते ॥ ५॥

एवं स्थिते शरीरौघस्तृणकाष्ठलतोपमः।

तद्विचारणया कोऽर्थो विचार्यं मन एव नः ॥ ६॥

तेनेदं सर्वमाभोगि जगदित्याकुलं ततम्।

मन्ये तद्व्यतिरेकेण परमात्मैव शिष्यते ॥ ७॥

आत्मा सर्वपदातीतः सर्वगः सर्वसंश्रयः।

तत्प्रसादेन संसारे मनो धावति वल्गति ॥ ८॥

मनो मन्ये मनः कर्म तच्छरीरेषु कारणम्।

जायते म्रियते तद्धि नात्मनीदृग्विधा गुणाः ॥ ९॥

मन एव विचारेण मन्ये विलयमेष्यति।

मनोविलयमात्रेण ततः श्रेयो भविष्यति ॥ १०॥

मनोनाम्नि परिक्षीणे कर्मण्याहितसंभ्रमे।

मुक्त इत्युच्यते जन्तुः पुनर्नाम न जायते ॥ ११॥

Sriram said:

3.97.1

> O Brahman, this entire internal display and manifestation arises from the mind itself. From the meaning of the words, it is understood that this very (mental activity) is action (karma).

Sage Vasishta answered: 

3.97.2–6

> It is again taken up by the mind itself when that mind is coloured by firm conviction, just as a shining covering is taken up by the fierce heat of the sun.

> In this world which is the Self of Brahm, the mind has assumed a single form. Sometimes it is established as a human Being, and sometimes it rises as a god.

> Sometimes it shines forth as a demon, sometimes it appears as a yaksha, sometimes it attains the State of a gandharva, and sometimes it takes the form of a kinnara.

> I believe that the mind itself expands and manifests through this vast form, which takes the shape of various customs, regions of the sky, cities and towns.

> When this is so, the multitude of bodies is like grass, wood and creepers. What is the use of examining them? For us, the mind alone is to be examined.

3.97.7–11

> I believe that this entire expansive World, full of turmoil, is spread out by that (mind). Apart from it, only the Supreme Self remains.

> The Self is beyond all categories, all-pervading and the support of everything. By its Grace the mind runs and leaps about in the cycle of Worldly existence.

> I consider the mind itself to be action, and that is the cause in the bodies. Indeed it is born and dies; such qualities do not exist in the Self.

> I believe that the mind itself will dissolve through proper inquiry. Then, merely by the dissolution of the mind, the Highest good will result.

> When the thing called mind is completely worn away and the agitation inherent in action is overcome, the living Being is said to be liberated and is not born again under any name.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the entire visible and invisible display of the World is a product of the mind. Rama first recognises that all internal show and outer activity arise from the mind, and that what we call action is really mental activity. Vasishta confirms that the mind, when coloured by firm belief, holds on to this appearance exactly as intense sunlight holds a shining covering.

The mind is not separate from Brahm; it is Brahm appearing in a single form that then takes countless shapes. It appears as human, god, demon, yaksha, gandharva or kinnara, and it stretches itself out as the many customs, skies, cities and towns of the world. All the countless bodies that fill existence are therefore as insubstantial as grass, wood or creepers. Examining the bodies is pointless; the only thing worth examining is the mind itself.

Because the whole restless, spreading World is produced by the mind, once the mind is set aside only the Supreme Self remains. That Self is beyond every category, present everywhere and the sole support of all. It is by the Grace of this Self that the mind is able to run and leap through the cycle of birth and death.

The mind is both action and the Cause of the body. The mind is born and dies; the Self has none of these changing qualities. Through careful inquiry the mind dissolves. When the mind dissolves, the highest good automatically follows.

Finally, when the entity called mind is completely exhausted and the restless activity that belongs to action ceases, the living Being is declared free. Such a Being is never born again under any name. Liberation is therefore nothing other than the ending of the mind and its restless work.

Chapter 3.96, Verses 66–73

Yoga Vashishtha 3.96.66–73

(The mind is essentially One, yet appears many because of the force of actions and latent impressions)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

नानाकर्मवशावेशान्मनो नानाभिधेयताम्।

एकं विचित्रतामेति कालो नाना यथर्तुमिः ॥ ६६॥

यदि नामामनस्कारमहंकारेन्द्रियक्रियाः।

क्षोभयन्ति शरीरं तत्सन्तु जीवादयः परे ॥ ६७॥

दर्शनेषु तु ये प्रोक्ता भेदा मनसि तर्कतः।

क्वचित्कचिद्वादकरैरपवादकरैः किल ॥ ६८॥

ते हि राम न बुध्यन्ते विशिष्यन्ते न च क्वचित्।

सर्वा हि शक्तयो देवे विद्यन्ते सर्वगा यतः ॥ ६९॥

यदैव खलु शुद्धाया मनागपि हि संविदः।

जडेव शक्तिरुदिता तदा वैचित्र्यमागतम् ॥ ७०॥

ऊर्णनाभाद्यथा तन्तुर्जायते चेतनाज्जडः।

नित्यप्रबुद्धात्पुरुषाद्ब्रह्मणः प्रकृतिस्तथा ॥ ७१॥

अविद्यावशतश्चित्तभावनाः स्थितिमागताः।

चिति पर्यायशब्दा हि भिन्नास्ते नेह वादिनाम् ॥ ७२॥

जीवो मनश्च ननु बुद्धिरहंकृतिश्चेत्येवं प्रथामुपगतेयमनिर्मला चित्।

सैषोच्यते जगति चेतनचित्तजीवसंज्ञागणेन किल नास्ति विवाद एषः ॥ ७३॥

Sage Vashishta said:

3.96.66–73

> The mind, though one, takes on many names and forms under the influence of different actions, just as time becomes many through the seasons.  

> If the activities of ego and the senses can agitate a body that has no mind, then let individual souls and similar things be regarded as higher or transcendent.  

> The distinctions concerning the mind that various systems of thought declare through reasoning are put forward here and there by both those who support them and those who oppose them.  

> O Rama, those people neither understand nor are ever truly distinguished, because every all-pervading power exists in the Divine Being.  

> The moment even a slight power that appears inert arises from Pure Consciousness, diversity comes into existence.  

> Just as an inert thread is spun from a conscious spider, so Nature arises from the eternally awake Person, from Brahm.  

> Under the sway of ignorance the mind’s conceptions gain a seeming solid existence. For True Knowers these are only alternative names for Consciousness itself and are not different from one another.  

> This impure Consciousness becomes known as the individual soul, the mind, the intellect and the ego. In the World it is therefore called by the collective names “conscious being,” “mind” and “individual soul.” There is no real dispute about this.  

Summary of the teachings: 

These verses teach that the mind is essentially one, yet appears many because of the force of actions and latent impressions, just as one continuous time appears as many seasons. All the varied labels that different schools invent for the mind—ego, intellect, individual soul and the rest—are secondary designations that arise only when pure consciousness is veiled by a slight appearance of inert power.  

The diversity of the world and of mental functions therefore begins the moment Pure Awareness allows even a faint vibration that looks unconscious. That vibration is compared to the thread a spider spins out of itself: the spider is conscious, the thread is inert, yet both are continuous. In the same way nature and all mental phenomena proceed from the ever-awake Brahm without ever becoming truly separate from it.  

Because of ignorance these mental movements seem to stand on their own and receive separate names. The wise, however, recognise that the names are only synonyms pointing back to the same Consciousness. There is therefore no genuine disagreement among those who see clearly; the apparent multiplicity is only a matter of conventional speech.  

The verses thereby dissolve the notion of an independent mind or an independent individual soul. Both are temporary superimpositions on the One Undivided Awareness. When the superimposition is understood for what it is, the many names fall away and the original unity is restored.  

In short, the teaching points the seeker away from endless classification and argument toward the direct recognition that every power, every form and every name is already contained within the single, all-pervading Divine Consciousness.

Chapter 3.96, Verses 55–65

Yoga Vashishtha 3.96.55–65

(Mind, the central force behind all experience and the appearance of the World)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

यथैव पुरुषः स्नानदानादानादिकाः क्रियाः।

कुर्वंस्तत्कर्तृवैचित्र्यमेति तद्वदिदं मनः ॥ ५५॥

विचित्रकार्यवशतो नामभेदेन कर्तृता।

मनः संप्रोच्यते जीववासनाकर्मनामभिः ॥ ५६॥

चित्तमेवेदमखिलं सर्वेणैवानुभूयते।

अचित्तो हि नरो लोकं पश्यन्नपि न पश्यति ॥ ५७॥

श्रुत्वा स्पृष्ट्वा च दृष्ट्वा च भुक्त्वा घ्रात्वा शुभाशुभम्।

अन्तर्हर्षं विषादं च समनस्को हि विन्दति ॥ ५८॥

आलोक इव रूपाणामर्थानां कारणं मनः।

बध्यते बद्धचित्तो हि मुक्तचित्तो हि मुच्यते ॥ ५९॥

तज्जडानां परं विद्धि जडं येनोच्यते मनः।

न चावगच्छति जडं मनो यस्य हि चेतनम् ॥ ६०॥

न चेतनं न च जडं यदिदं प्रोत्थितं मनः।

विचित्रसुखदुःखेहं जगदभ्युदितं तदा ॥ ६१॥

एकरूपे हि मनसि संसारः प्रविलीयते।

उपाविलं कारणं तैर्भ्रान्त्या जगदुपस्थितम् ॥ ६२॥

अजडं हि मनो राम संसारस्य न कारणम्।

जडं चोपलधर्मापि संसारस्य न कारणम् ॥ ६३॥

न चेतनं न च जडं तस्माज्जगति राघव।

मनः कारणमर्थानां रूपाणामिव भासनम् ॥ ६४॥

चित्तादृतेऽन्यद्यद्यस्ति तदचित्तस्य किं जगत्।

सर्वस्य भूतजातस्य समग्रं प्रविलीयते ॥ ६५॥

Sage Vashishta said:

3.96.55–65

> Just as a person, while performing actions like bathing, giving gifts, and receiving things, comes to be known by different names according to those varied roles, in the same way this mind also becomes known by different names through the variety of its actions.

> Because of the many different kinds of work it does, the mind is called by various names such as the living Being (jiva), desire (vasana), and action (karma).

> This entire World is experienced only through the mind. A person without mind, even while looking at the World, does not truly see it.

> Only a person who has a mind feels inner joy or sorrow after hearing, touching, seeing, tasting, or smelling things that are good or bad.

> Just as light is the cause that makes forms visible, the mind is the cause that makes all objects known. One whose mind is bound remains bound; one whose mind is free becomes free.

> Know that those who call the mind inert (jada) are themselves the most inert. A mind that is truly Conscious never understands itself as inert.

> This mind that has arisen is neither purely Conscious nor purely inert. When it arises, the World full of varied pleasures and pains also appears.

> When the mind becomes one-pointed and pure, the world of birth and death dissolves. Because of impurity and confusion, the World appears through those restless movements of the mind.

> O Rama, a mind that is not inert is not the cause of the World of birth and death. An inert mind, even if it has the nature of a stone, is also not the cause of the World of birth and death.

> Therefore, O Raghava, in this World the mind is neither purely Conscious nor purely inert. The mind is the cause of all objects, just as light is the cause that reveals forms.

> If anything exists apart from the mind, what world remains for one who has no mind? For every living Being, the whole World dissolves when the mind dissolves.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the mind is the central force behind all experience and the appearance of the World. Just as a person receives different names according to the different actions he performs, the mind receives many names—living soul, desire, action, and others—because of the many roles it plays. Without the mind there is no real perception of the World; a person may look at things yet not truly see them if the mind is absent. All feelings of joy and sorrow arise only when the mind is present and active through the senses.

The mind is described as the light that reveals objects, just as ordinary light reveals forms and colours. Bondage and freedom depend entirely on the state of the mind: a bound mind keeps a person in bondage, while a free mind brings liberation. The mind is neither purely conscious nor purely inert; it stands in between and, when it arises with its restlessness, the world of pleasure and pain appears with it.

When the mind becomes pure, steady, and one-pointed, the entire cycle of birth and death dissolves. Impurity and confusion in the mind create the false appearance of the world. Neither Pure Consciousness alone nor dull matter alone can produce the world; it is the mind, standing between the two, that acts as the cause of all objects and experiences, just as light makes forms visible.

Finally, the verses declare that without the mind there is no World at all. For every living Being the whole Universe disappears the moment the mind itself disappears. Therefore, understanding, purifying, and ultimately transcending the mind is the key to freedom from the world of suffering and the cycle of birth and death.

Chapter 3.96, Verses 45–54

Yoga Vashishtha 3.96.45–54

(The many definitions of the mind)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

या एताः कथिताः संज्ञा मया राघव चेतसः।

एता एवान्यथा प्रोक्ता वादिभिः कल्पनाशतैः ॥ ४५॥

स्वभावाभिमतां बुद्धिमारोप्य मनसा कृताः।

मनोबुद्धीन्द्रियादीनां विचित्रा नामरीतयः ॥ ४६॥

मनो हि जडमन्यस्य भिन्नमन्यस्य जीवतः।

तथाहंकृतिरन्यस्य बुद्धिरन्यस्य वादिनः ॥ ४७॥

अहंकारमनोबुद्धिदृष्टयः सृष्टिकल्पनाः।

एकरूपतया प्रोक्ता या मया रघुनन्दन ॥ ४८॥

नैयायिकैरितरथा तादृशैः परिकल्पिताः।

अन्यथा कल्पिताः सांख्यैश्चार्वाकैरपि चान्यथा ॥ ४९॥

जैमिनीयैश्चार्हतैश्च बौद्धैर्वैशेषिकैस्तथा।

अन्यैरपि विचित्रैस्तैः पाञ्चरात्रादिभिस्तथा ॥ ५०॥

सर्वैरेव च गन्तव्यं तैः पदं पारमार्थिकम्।

विचित्रं देशकालोत्थैः पुरमेकमिवाध्वगैः ॥ ५१॥

अज्ञानात्परमार्थस्य विपरीतावबोधतः।

केवलं विवदन्त्येते विकल्पैरारुरुक्षवः ॥ ५२॥

स्वमार्गमभिशंसन्ति वादिनश्चित्रया दृशा।

विचित्रदेशकालोत्था मार्गं स्वं पथिका इव ॥ ५३॥

तैर्मिथ्या राघव प्रोक्ताः कर्ममानसचेतसाम्।

स्वविकल्पार्पितैरर्थैः स्वाः स्वा वैचित्र्ययुक्तयः ॥ ५४॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.96.45–54

> O Raghava, these designations of the mind that I have described are spoken of differently by various debaters through hundreds of imaginations.

> Having superimposed their preferred ideas of its nature, the mind itself creates these. There arise many different ways of naming the mind, intellect, senses and so on.

> For some the mind is inert; for others it is different and living. In the same way the ego is seen differently by some, and the intellect differently by other debaters.

> The views concerning ego, mind and intellect are imaginations about Creation. I have described them as being of one Nature, O delight of the Raghu line.

> The Naiyayikas imagine them in another way, and so do others of similar views; the Sankhyas conceive them differently, and the Charvakas also in yet another manner.

> So too the followers of Jaimini, the Arhats, the Buddhists, the Vaisheshikas, and various others such as the Pancharatras.

> Yet all of them must ultimately reach the same Supreme Reality, just as travellers from different places and times all head toward one city.

> Because of ignorance of the Highest Truth and through inverted understanding, they merely keep arguing with their differing views while wishing to rise higher.

> The debaters praise their own path according to their varied outlooks, just as travellers coming from different regions and times each speak of their own road.

> O Raghava, through their false statements about action, mind and Consciousness, each group sets forth its own strange reasonings by projecting meanings born of its own imaginations.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the many names and definitions given to mind, intellect, ego and the senses are not absolute. Different schools simply invent various labels according to their own preferences and mental constructions. What appears as separate categories is in truth one continuous Reality of Consciousness that has been divided by thought.

The text points out that philosophical systems such as Nyaya, Sankhya, Charvaka, Mimamsa, Jain, Buddhist, Vaisheshika and Pancharatra each describe these faculties differently. Their disagreements arise only from limited viewpoints and the tendency to superimpose personal ideas onto the same underlying experience.

Despite the variety of doctrines, every genuine seeker is moving toward the same ultimate goal—the direct Realization of the Supreme Truth. The different paths are compared to travellers who set out from many places and times yet all journey toward a single city. The destination remains one even when the routes look dissimilar.

Arguments and mutual contradictions among the schools stem from ignorance of that Supreme Reality and from inverted or partial understanding. People cling to their own formulations and praise their chosen method, much as travellers from different regions insist that their road is the correct one.

The verses therefore counsel the aspirant not to be confused by the multiplicity of theories. All such descriptions are mental constructions. What matters is to go beyond the names and concepts and to Realize the single, Undivided Truth that underlies every system.

Chapter 3.96, Verses 36–44

Yoga Vashishtha 3.96.36–44

(The Mind - continued)

श्रीराम उवाच।

मनः किं स्याज्जडं ब्रह्मंस्तथा वापि च चेतनम् ।

इत्येको मम तत्त्वज्ञ निश्चयोऽन्तर्न जायते ॥ ३६॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

मनो हि न जडं राम नापि चेतनतां गतम्।

म्लानाऽजडा तदा दृष्टिर्मन इत्येव कथ्यते ॥ ३७॥

मध्ये सदसतो रूपं प्रतिभूतं यदाविलम्।

जगतः कारणं नाम तदेतच्चित्तमुच्यते ॥ ३८॥

शाश्वतेनैकरूपेण निश्चयेन विना स्थितिः।

येन सा चित्तमित्युक्ता तस्माज्जातमिदं जगत् ॥ ३९॥

जडाजडदृशोर्मध्ये दोलारूपं स्वकल्पनम्।

यच्चितो म्लानरूपिण्यास्तदेतन्मन उच्यते ॥ ४०॥

चिन्निःस्पन्दो हि मलिनः कलङ्कविकलान्तरम्।

मन इत्युच्यते राम न जडं न च चिन्मयम् ॥ ४१॥

तस्येमानि विचित्राणि नामानि कलितान्यलम्।

अहंकारमनोबुद्धिजीवाद्यानीतराण्यपि ॥ ४२॥

यथा गच्छति शैलूषो रूपाण्यलं तथैव हि।

मनो नामान्यनेकानि धत्ते कर्मान्तरं व्रजत् ॥ ४३॥

चित्राधिकारवशतो विचित्रा विकृताभिधाः।

यथा याति नरः कर्मवशाद्याति तथा मनः ॥ ४४॥

Sriram asked:

3.96.36

> O Brahman, Knower of Truth, I cannot decide in my heart whether the mind is inert or Conscious.

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.96.37–44

> O Rama, the mind is neither completely inert nor fully Conscious. When Pure Awareness becomes dulled and clouded, that State is simply called the mind.

> When Consciousness appears as a mixed form between existence and non-existence and becomes the Cause of the World, it is called the Heart or mind.

> That which stays without firm, unchanging certainty is called the mind; from it this World arises.

> The mind is the swinging imagination of Consciousness that stands between the views of the inert and the non-inert, and has grown dull.

> O Rama, when Pure Consciousness becomes still, stained, and impure inside, it is called the mind—neither inert matter nor Pure Consciousness.

> This same principle has many names given to it: ego, mind, intellect, living soul, and others as well.

> Just as an actor takes many forms and names while performing different parts, so the mind takes many names as it moves from one action to another.

> Just as a man receives different titles according to the work he does under the force of his actions, so the mind receives varied and changing names according to its activities.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the mind is not a fixed thing that is either purely material or purely spiritual. It is Pure Consciousness that has become clouded, restless, and mixed. When Awareness loses its clear, steady nature and begins to swing between opposite ideas, it is given the name “mind.”

The mind stands in the middle ground between what is Real and what is unreal, between the inert and the Conscious. Because it lacks firm, unchanging certainty, it creates the appearance of the World. All the variety we see comes from this unsteady, imagining activity of Consciousness.

Pure Consciousness itself does not change, but when it becomes stained by desires, sensations, and inner impurity, it appears as the limited mind. In that condition it is neither solid matter nor pure spirit. It is a dull, restless form of awareness that keeps moving and creating experiences.

This same underlying principle is known by many different names—ego, intellect, and others—depending on the particular function it is performing at any moment. Just as an actor changes costume and name for each role, or a person is called by different titles according to the work he does, the mind receives many labels according to its changing activities.

The teaching points toward understanding that the World and the sense of individuality arise only from this fluctuating, named activity of the mind. When the clouding and restlessness cease, the Pure Consciousness that was always present remains, free of the many names and free of the World that the mind had projected.

Chapter 3.96, Verses 26–35

Yoga Vashishtha 3.96.26–35

(How Consciousness became limited)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

स्फुरत्यात्मविनाशाय विस्मारयति तत्पदम्।

मिथ्याविकल्पजालेन तन्मलं परिकल्प्यते ॥ २६॥

श्रुत्वा स्पृष्ट्वा च दृष्ट्वा च भुक्त्वा घ्रात्वा विमृश्य च।

इन्द्रमानन्दयत्येषा तेनेन्द्रियमिति स्मृतम् ॥ २७॥

सर्वस्य दृश्यजालस्य परमात्मन्यलक्षिते।

प्रकृतत्वेन भावानां लोके प्रकृतिरुच्यते ॥ २८॥

सदसत्तां नयत्याशु सत्तां वा सत्त्वमञ्जसा ।

सत्तासत्ताविकल्पोऽयं तेन मायेति कथ्यते ॥ २९॥

दर्शनश्रवणस्पर्शरसनघ्राणकर्मभिः।

क्रियेति कथ्यते लोके कार्यकारणतां गता ॥ ३०॥

चितेश्चेत्यानुपातिन्या गतायाः सकलङ्कताम्।

प्रस्फुरद्रूपधर्मिण्या एताः पर्यायवृत्तयः ॥ ३१॥

चित्ततामुपयाताया गतायाः प्रकृतं पदम्।

स्वैरेव संकल्पशतैर्भृशं रूढिमुपागताः ॥ ३२॥

चेतनीयकलङ्काङ्काज्जाड्यजालानुपातिनी।

संख्याविभागकलना स्ववैकल्याकुलेव चित् ॥ ३३॥

जीव इत्युच्यते लोके मन इत्यपि कथ्यते।

चित्तमित्युच्यते सैव बुद्धिरित्युच्यते तथा ॥ ३४॥

नानासंकल्पकलिलं पर्यायनिचयं बुधाः।

वदन्त्यस्याः कलङ्किन्याश्च्युतायाः परमात्मनः ॥ ३५॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.96.26–35

> It arises leading to the loss of the Self and makes one forget that Supreme State. Through a web of false ideas, that impurity is imagined.

> By hearing, touching, seeing, tasting, smelling and thinking, this faculty delights the individual. Therefore it is remembered as a sense organ.

> When the Supreme Self remains unseen, the natural arising of all visible things in the world is called nature.

> It quickly turns existence into non-existence or non-existence into existence. This shifting idea of Being and non-being is therefore called illusion.

> Through the acts of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling, action that has entered the relation of cause and effect is called action in the world.

> These are successive changes of Consciousness that has followed objects of thought, become impure, and whose nature is to keep flashing forth in form.

> Having reached the state of mind and left its original nature, it becomes firmly fixed through hundreds of its own imaginations.

> Consciousness, marked by the stain of what is to be known, following the net of dullness, calculating numbers and divisions, seems disturbed by its own incompleteness.

> In the World it is called the living soul; it is also called mind. That same is called thought-mind and likewise intellect.

> The wise say that this stained one, fallen from the Supreme Self, is a confused mass of many imaginations and a collection of changing States.

Summary of teachings:

These verses teach that Pure Consciousness, which is the True Self, appears to become limited when it begins to follow objects and ideas. False notions arise and cover the Pure State, creating a sense of impurity and separation. What we experience as the World and the individual is only this temporary covering.

The senses, nature, illusion and action are different names for the same movement of Consciousness when it turns outward. Seeing, hearing and the other senses simply please the limited self and keep the cycle going. Nature is the way things appear when the Supreme Self is not noticed. Illusion is the rapid change between “is” and “is not.” Action is the chain of cause and effect carried by the senses.

Once Consciousness takes the form of mind, it loses its original pure condition and becomes fixed by countless personal imaginations. It starts counting, dividing and judging, and feels incomplete. In ordinary speech this same limited Consciousness is called the living soul, the mind, the thought-mind or the intellect—different words for one underlying process.

The wise therefore describe the mind as a stained collection of changing thoughts that has slipped away from the Supreme Self. All these names and functions are only temporary appearances. When the false ideas stop, the Pure State is remembered again.

Understanding these teachings helps one see that the sense of a separate self and the busy world of experience are not Ultimate Realities. They are movements of Consciousness that can be recognised and released, returning Awareness to its original, Unchanging Freedom.

Chapter 3.96, Verses 16–25

Yoga Vashishtha 3.96.16–25

(The many mental functions)

श्रीराम उवाच।

परायाः संविदो ब्रह्मन्नेताः पर्यायवृत्तयः।

कल्प्यमानविचित्रार्थाः कथं रूढिमुपागताः ॥ १६॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

गतेव सकलङ्कत्वं कदाचित्कल्पनात्मकम्।

उन्मेषरूपिणी नाना तदैव हि मनःस्थिता ॥ १७॥

भावनामनुसंधानं यदा निश्चित्य संस्थिता।

तदैषा प्रोच्यते बुद्धिरियत्ताग्रहणक्षमा ॥ १८॥

यदा मिथ्याभिमानेन सत्तां कल्पयति स्वयम्।

अहंकाराभिमानेन प्रोच्यते भवबन्धनी ॥ १९॥

इदं त्यक्त्वेदमायाति बालवत्पेलवा यदा।

विचारं संपरित्यज्य तदा सा चित्तमुच्यते ॥ २०॥

यदा स्पन्दैकधर्मत्वात्कर्तुर्या शून्यशंसिनी।

आधावति स्पन्दफलं तदा कर्मेत्युदाहृता ॥ २१॥

काकतालीययोगेन त्यक्त्वैकघननिश्चयम्।

यदेहितं कल्पयति भावं तेनेह कल्पना ॥ २२॥

पूर्वदृष्टमदृष्टं वा प्राग्दृष्टमिति निश्चयैः।

यदैवेहां विधत्तेऽन्तस्तदा स्मृतिरुदाहृता ॥ २३॥

यदा पदार्थशक्तीनां संभुक्तानामिवाम्बरे।

वसत्यस्तमितान्येहा वासनेति तदोच्यते ॥ २४॥

अस्त्यात्मतत्त्वं विमलं द्वितीया दृष्टिरङ्किता।

जाता ह्यविद्यमानैव तदा विद्येति कथ्यते ॥ २५॥

Sriram asked:

3.96.16

> O Brahmin, how did these successive changes of the Supreme Consciousness, imagined with many different meanings, come to take firm, fixed forms?

Sage Vashishta answered: 

3.96.17–25

> Sometimes Pure Consciousness seems to take on the nature of imagination and become stained. At that very moment, appearing in many forms, it settles as the mind.

> When it firmly settles after carefully examining a thought or idea, it is called the intellect. This intellect can grasp clear limits and measures of things.

> When, through false pride, it invents its own existence as Real, then by the sense of “I” it is called the ego that binds one to the World.

> When, like a tender child, it leaves one thing and runs to another without any proper thinking, it is called the mind-stuff.

> When, by its very nature of movement alone and showing no solid doer, it runs after the fruit of that movement, it is called action or karma.

> When, by chance like a crow landing on a palm tree, it drops its single firm decision and invents a desired idea, that is called imagination.

> When inside itself, with the firm belief “this was seen before,” it makes an effort about something once seen or not now seen, it is called memory.

> When the powers of objects, as if already enjoyed, rest quietly within like in open space, and other desires have set, that is called latent tendency or vasana.

> The Pure Essence of the Self truly exists. A second, stained view that arises even though it is not real is then called Knowledge (or rather ignorance appearing as knowledge).

Summary of the teachings:

These verses explain that the many names we give to mental functions—mind, intellect, ego, thought, action, imagination, memory, tendency, and so on—are not separate real things. They are only different appearances or stages of one Pure Consciousness when it seems to forget its own Pure Nature and starts imagining.

The Pure Self is ever free and stainless. Yet by a kind of accidental self-forgetfulness it begins to move and imagine. That first movement is called the mind. When the same power looks carefully and decides limits, it is called intellect. When it claims “I exist separately,” it becomes the ego that ties us to repeated birth and suffering.

When the same power jumps restlessly from one object to another without deep thought, it is mind-stuff. When it simply moves toward results, it is called karma. When it invents pictures of what it wants, it is imagination. When it holds past pictures as real, it is memory. When subtle impressions of past experiences stay hidden, they are vasanas. Even the sense of “knowing” objects is only a second, unreal view covering the Pure Self.

The teaching is that none of these States is ultimately Real. They arise only when Pure Consciousness seems to become limited and active. By clear understanding that all these are only names of One Consciousness in different moods, the restless movements quiet down. Then the Pure, Stainless Self shines by itself, free from every name and form.

The practical point is simple: do not take the changing mental states as the True Self. See them as temporary waves on the Ocean of Consciousness. When this clear seeing becomes firm, the waves settle and the boundless Pure Awareness remains.