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.

Chapter 3.97, Verses 12–27

Yoga Vashishtha 3.97.12–27

(Mind is the root of the different kinds of human experience)

श्रीराम उवाच।

भगवन्भवता प्रोक्ता जातयस्त्रिविधा नृणाम्।

प्रथमं कारणं तासां मनः सदसदात्मकम् ॥ १२॥

तत्कथं शुद्धचिन्नाम्नस्तत्त्वाद्बुद्धिवि वर्जितात्।

उत्थितं स्फारतां यातं जगच्चित्रकरं मनः ॥ १३॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

आकाशा हि त्रयो राम विद्यन्ते विततान्तराः।

चित्ताकाशश्चिदाकाशो भूताकाशस्तृतीयकः ॥ १४॥

एते हि सर्वसामान्याः सर्वत्रैव व्यवस्थिताः।

शुद्धचित्तत्वशक्त्या तु लब्धसत्तात्मतां गताः ॥ १५॥

सबाह्याभ्यन्तरस्थो यः सत्तासत्तावबोधकः।

व्यापी समस्तभूतानां चिदाकाशः स उच्यते ॥ १६॥

सर्वभूतहितः श्रेष्ठो यः कालकलनात्मकः।

येनेदमाततं सर्वं चित्ताकाशः स उच्यते ॥ १७॥

दशदिङ्मण्डलाभोगैरव्युच्छिन्नवपुर्हि यः।

भूतात्मासौ य आकाशः पवनाब्दादिसंश्रयः ॥ १८॥

आकाशचित्ताकाशौ द्वौ चिदाकाशबलोद्भवौ।

चित्कारणं हि सर्वस्य कार्यौघस्य दिनं यथा ॥ १९॥

जडोऽस्मि न जडोऽस्मीति निश्चयो मलिनश्चितः।

यस्तदेव मनो विद्धि तेनाकाशादि भाव्यते ॥ २०॥

अप्रबुद्धात्मविषयमाकाशत्रयकल्पनम्।

कल्प्यते उपदेशार्थं प्रबुद्धविषयं न तु ॥ २१॥

एकमेव परं ब्रह्म सर्व सर्वावपूरकूम्।

प्रबुद्धविषयं नित्यं कलाकलनवर्जितम् ॥ २२॥

द्वैताद्वैतसमुद्भेदैर्वाक्यसंदर्भ गर्भितैः।

उपदेश्यत एवाज्ञो न प्रबुद्धः कथंचन ॥ २३॥

यावद्रामाप्रबुद्धस्त्वमाकाशत्रय कल्पना।

तावदेवावबोधार्थं मया त्वमुपदिश्यसे ॥ २४॥

आकाशचित्ताकाशाद्याश्चिदाकाशकलङ्कितात्।

प्रसूता दावदहनाद्यथा मरुमरीचयः ॥ २५॥

चिनोति मलिनं रूपं चित्ततां समुपागतम्।

त्रिजगन्तीन्द्रजालानि रचयत्याकुलात्मकम् ॥ २६॥

चित्तत्वमस्य मलिनस्य चिदात्मकस्य तत्त्वस्य दृश्यत इदं ननु बोधहीनैः।

शुक्तौ यथा रजतता नतु बोधवद्भिर्मौर्ख्येण बन्ध इह बोधबलेन मोक्षः ॥ २७॥

Sriram asked:

3.97.12–13

> O venerable one, you have said that there are three kinds of people. The first cause of them is the mind, which is of the nature of both existence and non-existence.

> How then did the mind, which paints the picture of the world and has expanded, arise from that Pure Consciousness which is without intellect?

Sage Vashishta answered: 

3.97.14–20

> O Rama, there are three spaces with vast interiors: the space of the mind, the space of Consciousness, and the third is the physical space of the elements.

> These are common to all and exist everywhere. Through the power of Pure Consciousness they have gained the nature of existence.

> That which is present both outside and inside, which makes known existence and non-existence, and which pervades all Beings is called the space of Consciousness.

> That which is beneficial to all Beings, the highest, of the nature of the calculation of time, and by which this whole World is spread is called the space of the mind.

> That which has an unbroken body filling the circles of the ten directions, the self of the elements, which is space and the support of wind, water and the rest.

> The two, physical space and mind-space, arise from the power of the Space of Consciousness. Consciousness is the cause of the whole mass of effects, just as day is the cause of the day’s activities.

> The impure mind is the firm belief “I am inert” or “I am not inert.” Know that itself to be the mind; by it space and the rest are imagined.

3.97.21–27

> The idea of the three spaces is formed for those whose self is not awakened, for the sake of teaching. It is not meant for the Awakened.

> There is only One Supreme Brahm that fills everything. For the Awakened it is Eternal and free from all parts and distinctions.

> Only the ignorant are taught through statements filled with distinctions of duality and non-duality. The Awakened are never taught in that way.

> O Rama, as long as you remain unawakened and hold the idea of the three spaces, so long I instruct you for the sake of understanding.

> Physical space, mind-space and the rest arise from the Space of Consciousness that appears stained, just as mirages arise from a forest fire.

> Having taken on a defiled form that has become mind, it creates the three worlds as confused magical shows.

> This State of mind of the defiled essence, which is truly of the Nature of Consciousness, is seen by the unenlightened, just as silver is seen in a mother-of-pearl shell, but not by the wise. Here bondage comes from ignorance and liberation comes through the power of Knowledge.

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses explain that the mind is the root of the different kinds of human experience. Pure Consciousness itself has no mind or intellect, yet the mind appears to arise from it and spreads out to paint the whole picture of the World. To help the seeker understand this appearance, three kinds of space are described: the Space of Pure Consciousness, the space of the mind, and ordinary physical space.

The Space of Pure Consciousness is all-pervading, present both inside and outside, and the ground of both existence and non-existence. From its power arise the other two spaces. The space of the mind is connected with time and the welfare of Beings, while physical space is the unbroken expanse that holds the elements. Consciousness is the True Cause of everything, just as day is the condition for the activities of the day.

The mind itself is nothing but impure conviction—such as “I am inert” or “I am not inert.” Through this conviction the elements and the World are imagined. The teaching about the three spaces is only a temporary device meant for those who are still unawakened; it is not needed by those who already know the truth.

For the Awakened there is only the one Supreme Brahm, Eternal, without parts or distinctions, filling all. Teachings that speak of duality and non-duality are given only to the ignorant. As long as a person remains unawakened and still thinks in terms of the three spaces, such instruction continues for the sake of awakening.

Finally, the mind and the World arise from Pure Consciousness that seems to be stained, like mirages arising from a forest fire. The mind takes on a defiled form and projects the three worlds as magical illusions. What the ignorant see as mind is only an appearance on Pure Consciousness, like the false silver seen in a shell. Bondage comes from this ignorance; liberation comes from the strength of True Knowledge.

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.