Yoga Vashishtha 1.23.12–22
(The seemingly real illusion of Time)
श्रीराम उवाच।
भिनत्ति प्रविभागस्थभूतबीजान्यनारतम्।
जगत्यसत्तया बन्धाद्दाडिमानि यथा शुकः ॥ १२ ॥
शुभाशुभविषाणाग्रविलूनजन पल्लवः।
स्फूर्जति स्फीतजनताजीवराजीवनीगजः ॥ १३॥
विरिञ्चिमूलब्रह्माण्डबृहद्देव फलद्रुमम् ।
ब्रह्मकाननमाभोगि परमावृत्य तिष्ठति ॥ १४ ॥
यामिनी भ्रमरापूर्णा रचयन्दिनमञ्जरीः ।
वर्षकल्पकलावल्लीर्न कदाचन खिद्यते ॥ १५ ॥
भिद्यते नावभग्नोऽपि दग्धोऽपि हि न दह्यते ।
दृश्यते नापि दृश्योऽपि धूर्तचूडामणिर्मुने ॥ १६ ॥
एकेनैव निमेषेण किंचिदुत्थापयत्यलम् ।
किंचिद्विनाशयत्युच्चैर्मनोराज्यवदाततः ॥ १७ ॥
दुर्विलासविलासिन्या चेष्टया कष्टषुष्टया ।
द्रव्यैकरूपकृद्रूपं जनमावर्तयन्स्थितः ॥ १८ ॥
तृणं पांसुं महेन्द्रं च सुमेरुं पर्णमर्णवम्।
आत्मंभरितया सर्वमात्मसात्कर्तुमुद्यतः ॥ १९ ॥
क्रौर्यमत्रैव पर्याप्तं लुब्धतात्रैव संस्थिता।
सर्वदौर्भाग्यमत्रैव चापलं वापि दुःसहम् ॥ २० ॥
प्रेरयँल्लीलयार्केन्दू क्रीडतीव नभस्तले।
निक्षिप्तलीलायुगलो निजे बाल इवाङ्गणे ॥ २१ ॥
सर्वभूतास्थिमालाभिरापादवलिताकृतिः ।
विलसत्येव कल्पान्ते कालः कलितकल्पनः ॥ २२ ॥
Sriram said:
12. "Just as a parrot cracks open pomegranate fruits without fail, the mind continually splits the elemental seeds residing in duality, giving rise to the illusion of the world and bondage."
13. "The elephant of worldly life, sustained by the life-force of beings, blossoms with the shoots of people whose horns of virtue and vice have been broken by experience."
14. "It stands like a grand divine tree bearing fruits of the vast universe, rooted in Brahma the Creator, and overshadowing even the forest of Supreme Knowledge."
15. "Like a night overflowing with black bees, it continually produces the flowers of day—festooned with endless cycles of Time, yet it never tires."
16. "It is not cut though struck, not sunk though broken, not burned though scorched, and not seen though visible—this mysterious gem of illusion, O Sage."
17. "In the blink of an eye, it can raise one thing up and destroy another, much like a fantasy kingdom crafted by the mind’s imagination."
18. "With the harsh play of mischief-loving fickleness, it spins people into cycles of becoming, making them assume a single illusory form composed of mere matter."
19. "Whether it be a blade of grass, a speck of dust, mighty Indra, the vast Meru mountain, a leaf, or an ocean—this entity attempts to swallow all within itself."
20. "Here alone abide cruelty, greed, all misfortunes, and unbearable restlessness, as though they are all well established and thriving in one place."
21. "Like a child playing in his courtyard with the sun and moon as toys, it stirs them playfully across the sky, as if for sport."
22. "At the end of an age, Time—imagined and personified—dances adorned with garlands of the bones of all beings, its form reaching from foot to crown."
Summary of Teachings:
These verses present a striking poetic vision of the illusory nature of cosmic manifestation.
The mind or māyā is depicted as the central force responsible for perpetuating the world through constant fragmentation and projection of elemental seeds, much like a parrot persistently breaking open fruits. This imagery symbolizes how thought and perception perpetuate bondage through endless division and duality.
The world is likened to a grand, ever-flowering tree rooted in cosmic creativity, yet shrouded in illusion. It displays vigor and diversity, teeming with beings and events, but all under the veil of avidyā (ignorance). The creative energy is depicted as tireless, cyclic, and all-consuming, illustrating how Time and change dominate worldly existence without fatigue or limit.
Despite being seemingly real and powerful, this illusion cannot be grasped, destroyed, or contained. Its resilience and inscrutability are emphasized—burned but unburnt, broken but whole, invisible yet seen. Such metaphors highlight the paradoxical nature of māyā, which defies empirical Reality and logic.
The mind's playful capacity to create and destroy entire realms, like a child with toys, illustrates the fickle and arbitrary nature of creation. It generates suffering, desire, and delusion, manipulating forms and beings into cycles of existence through appearances and experiences, which are all ultimately unreal.
Finally, the figure of Time as a Cosmic devourer crowned with the bones of beings paints a chilling but vivid picture of impermanence. The verses emphasize that all creation—however grand—is subject to dissolution, and that Time, though imagined, reigns supreme in this illusory drama. The teaching here guides the seeker to recognize the unreality of the perceived world and the mind’s power in projecting it, urging a shift toward the Eternal, formless Truth beyond illusion.
No comments:
Post a Comment