Yoga Vashishtha 1.16.1-13
(The ungovernable mind)
श्रीराम उवाच ।
दोषैर्जर्जरतां याति सत्कार्यादार्यसेवनात्।
वातान्तःपिच्छलववच्चेतश्चलति चञ्चलम् ॥ १ ॥
इतश्चेतश्च सुव्यग्रं व्यर्थमेवाभिधावति।
दूराद्दूरतरं दीनं ग्रामे कौलेयको यथा ॥ २॥
न प्राप्नोति क्वचित्किंचित्प्राप्तैरपि महाधनैः ।
नान्तः संपूर्णतामेति करण्डक इवाम्बुभिः ॥ ३ ॥
नित्यमेव मुने शून्यं कदाशावागुरावृतम्।
न मनो निवृतिं याति मृगो यूथादिव च्युतः ॥ ४ ॥
तरङ्गतरलां वृत्तिं दधदालूनशीर्णताम् ।
परित्यज्य क्षणमपि हृदये याति न स्थितिम् ॥ ५ ॥
मनो मननविक्षुब्धं दिशो दश विधावति।
मन्दराहननोद्धूतं क्षीरार्णवपयो यथा ॥ ६॥
कल्लोलकलितावर्तं मायामकरमालितम्।
न निरोद्धुं समर्थोऽस्मि मनोमयमहार्णवम् ॥ ७ ॥
भोगदूर्वाङ्कुराकाङ्क्षी श्वभ्रपातमचिन्तयन् ।
मनोहरिणको ब्रह्मन्दूरं विपरिधावति ॥ ८॥
न कदाचन मे चेतः स्वामालूनविशीर्णताम् ।
त्यजत्याकुलया वृत्त्या चञ्चलत्वमिवार्णवः ॥ ९ ॥
चेतश्चञ्चलया वृत्त्या चिन्तानिचयचञ्चुरम् ।
धृतिं बध्नाति नैकत्र पञ्जरे केसरी यथा ॥ १० ॥
मनो मोहरथारूढं शरीरात्समतासुखम् ।
हरत्यपहतोद्वेगं हंसः क्षीरमिवाम्भसः ॥ ११ ॥
अनल्पकल्पनातल्पे विलीनाश्चित्तवृत्तयः ।
मुनीन्द्र न प्रबुध्यन्ते तेन तप्येऽहमाकुलः ॥ १२ ॥
क्रोडीकृतदृढग्रन्थितृष्णासूत्रे स्थितात्मना।
विहगो जालकेनेव ब्रह्मन्बद्धोऽस्मि चेतसा ॥ १३ ॥
1.16.1 Shriram said: "O Sage, the mind becomes corroded with faults despite engaging in noble deeds or associating with the virtuous. Like a feather caught in the wind, it keeps fluttering restlessly."
1.16.2 "This mind runs here and there in distraction, chasing thoughts that lead nowhere—like a destitute man wandering from village to village, only to end up more lost and miserable."
1.16.3 "Even when surrounded by immense wealth, the mind does not attain inner fullness—just as a perforated vessel cannot retain water, however much is poured into it."
1.16.4 "O Sage, the mind is ever-empty, always ensnared by desires—like a deer that, having strayed from its herd, finds no peace."
1.16.5 "Bearing fleeting and unsteady activity, the mind withers like a delicate plant in harsh winds, never finding stable rest, even for a moment."
1.16.6 "Shaken by its own thoughts, the mind dashes in all ten directions, like the turbulent churning of the ocean stirred by Mount Mandara."
1.16.7 "This ocean of mind, filled with whirlpools of thought and infested with illusory sea-monsters, overwhelms me, and I am powerless to restrain it."
1.16.8 "Longing for sensory pleasures like grass, the deer-like mind runs toward them without foreseeing the fatal drop ahead—just as a deer leaps off a cliff in pursuit of green blades."
1.16.9 "My mind never relinquishes its broken and scattered state. Like the restless ocean, it maintains its agitation with no hope of stillness."
1.16.10 "This churning mind, stirred by a crowd of worries, cannot be anchored in any one place—like a lion unable to be caged, it resists all bonds."
1.16.11 "Riding the chariot of delusion, my mind robs the body of its peace and balance—like a swan extracting only the milk from a mixture of milk and water, leaving behind confusion."
1.16.12 "In the bed of endless imagination, the mental modifications lie dissolved. O Great Sage, they do not awaken to reality—this is the root of my anguish and restlessness."
1.16.13 "Bound by the strong threads of desires that I myself have tightly embraced, my Consciousness is imprisoned—like a bird trapped in a net it has flown into."
Summary of Teachings (Verses 1.16.1–1.16.13)
These verses are a deeply introspective outpouring by Śrī Rāma, capturing the agitated and restless nature of the human mind. Through vivid metaphors, he reflects on the futility of external achievements, the illusions of pleasure, and the inescapable turbulence of thought. The central insights are:
1. Restlessness is inherent in the untrained mind, regardless of virtue, wealth, or external circumstances. Good actions and noble company alone do not subdue its agitation.
2. The mind wanders aimlessly, unable to focus, much like a vagabond or a lost deer. It fails to find peace or fulfillment in what it gains.
3. Desires never bring lasting contentment. Even when wealth or sensory pleasures are attained, the sense of inner emptiness persists.
4. The mind’s activity is compared to oceanic turbulence, stirred by its own inner churning—a direct parallel to the Samudra Manthana myth, highlighting both the intensity and the unpredictability of thoughts.
5. The mind is both deceived by illusion and the creator of that illusion. This duality leads to sorrow.
6. Imaginations (kalpanā) are shown as traps—the mental world becomes a bed where the Real Self lies asleep, disconnected from Truth.
7. The desire-driven Consciousness becomes self-imprisoned, with Rāma expressing deep anguish that he himself is the cause of his bondage.
In essence, these verses paint a vivid psychological landscape of samsāra as experienced within the mind, laying the groundwork for the teachings of vairāgya (dispassion) and Self-Inquiry that follow in the later sections of the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha. This lament is not one of despair alone—it’s the precursor to awakening, born from intense introspection and the longing for Realization.
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