Yoga Vashishtha 1.27.22–32
(The illusion of relationships, social interactions, and worldly attachments)
श्रीराम उवाच।
प्रियासुभिः कालमुखं क्रियन्ते जनैडकास्ते हतकर्मबद्धाः ।
यैः पीनतामेव बलादुपेत्य शरीरबाधेन न ते भवन्ति ॥ २२ ॥
अजस्रमागच्छति सत्वरैवमनारतं गच्छति सत्वरैव ।
कुतोऽपि लोला जनता जगत्यां तरङ्गमाला क्षणभङ्गुरेव ॥ २३ ॥
प्राणापहारैकपरा नराणां मनो मनोहारितया हरन्ति ।
रक्तच्छदाश्चञ्चलषट्पदाक्ष्यो विषद्रुमालोललताः स्त्रियश्च ॥ २४ ॥
इतोऽन्यतश्चोपगता मुधैव समानसंकेतनिबद्धभावा ।
यात्रासमासंगसमा नराणां कलत्रमित्रव्यवहारमाया ॥ २५ ॥
प्रदीपशान्तिष्विव भुक्तभूरिदशास्वतिस्नेहनिबन्धनीषु ।
संसारमालासु चलाचलासु न ज्ञायते तत्त्वमतात्त्विकीषु ॥ २६ ॥
संसारसंरम्भकुचक्रिकेयं प्रावृट्पयोबुद्बुदभङ्गुरपि ।
असावधानस्य जनस्य बुद्धौ चिरस्थिरप्रत्ययमातनोति ॥ २७ ॥
शोभोज्ज्वला दैववशाद्विनष्टा गुणाः स्थिताः संप्रति जर्जरत्वे ।
आश्वासनादूरतरं प्रयाता जनस्य हेमन्त इवाम्बुजस्य ॥ २८ ॥
पुनःपुनर्दैववशादुपेत्य स्वदेहभारेण कृतोपकारः ।
विलूयते यत्र तरुः कुठारैराश्वासने तत्र हि कः प्रसङ्गः ॥ २९ ॥
मनोरमस्याप्यतिदोषवृत्तेरन्त र्विंघाताय समुत्थितस्य ।
विषद्रुमस्येव जनस्य सङ्गादासाद्यते संप्रति मूर्च्छनैव ॥ ३० ॥
कास्ता दृशो यासु न सन्ति दोषाः कास्ता दिशो यासु न दुःखदाहः ।
कास्ताः प्रजा यासु न भङ्गुरत्वं कास्ताः क्रिया यासु न नाम माया ॥ ३१ ॥
कल्पाभिधानक्षणजीविनो हि कल्पौघसंख्याकलने विरिञ्चयाः ।
अतः कलाशालिनि कालजाले लघुत्वदीर्घत्वधियोऽप्यसत्याः ॥ ३२॥
Sriram said:
Verse 22
"People, bound by the consequences of past actions, waste their precious lives in futile pursuits. Though their bodies are worn by suffering, they strive only for physical comfort and sensual pleasures."
Verse 23
"Time moves swiftly and ceaselessly, bringing constant change. The people of the world are as fickle and transient as a wave-crest that rises and falls in a moment."
Verse 24
"Women, whose beauty and restless eyes captivate the minds of men, draw away their vitality—just like poisonous trees with alluring creepers attract and destroy."
Verse 25
"The social dealings of men with wives and friends are illusory, founded on shared ignorance. These relationships, like travelers meeting briefly on the road, are superficial and fleeting."
Verse 26
"Just as a lamp is extinguished when its oil runs out, the world of relationships—despite its deep attachments—does not reveal Ultimate Truth. It sways between the stable and the unstable, hiding the Real Essence."
Verse 27
"This rotating wheel of worldly life, though as fragile as water bubbles during the rains, deceives the minds of the unwise into believing in its permanence."
Verse 28
"Virtues that once shone brightly disappear by fate, and the qualities that now remain are aged and decaying—like a lotus flower shriveled in the winter, offering no comfort to the heart."
Verse 29
"Just as a tree once helpful for shelter is repeatedly struck down by axes, the body—though it serves—suffers repeated harm from destiny. In such a state, what hope of refuge remains?"
Verse 30
"Even pleasing forms, if their behavior is corrupted, become sources of inner suffering—just as contact with a poisonous tree leads only to fainting and disease."
Verse 31
"Where are those sights untainted by faults? Where are the directions free from the burning pain of sorrow? Where are the people who are not perishable? And which actions are free from the deceit of illusion?"
Verse 32
"Even Brahmās, who live for the duration of eons, arise and perish by the count of time. In this vast net of time, where parts and cycles rise and fall, all ideas of shortness and length are meaningless and illusory."
Summary of Teachings:
These verses present a somber and penetrating view of the impermanence of worldly life. They describe how human beings, bound by past karma, live chasing ephemeral joys while their bodies are consumed by suffering. The swiftness of time and the transience of human affairs are emphasized as central realities that people often ignore in favor of short-lived pleasures.
The allurements of the world—particularly sensual attractions—are depicted as deceptive forces that drain one's energy and distract from spiritual growth. These verses critique attachments to beauty and relationships, likening them to poisonous trees cloaked in alluring creepers. The seeming pleasures of the world hide a destructive undercurrent, where desire leads to entrapment rather than liberation.
Relationships, social interactions, and worldly attachments are described as illusions—momentary encounters without lasting substance. Just as a lamp is extinguished when oil is exhausted, relationships too dissolve, revealing the inherent emptiness behind them. Despite their apparent stability, they conceal the deeper truths of existence and reinforce the illusion of permanence.
The text highlights how the unwise mistake the fragile world for something enduring. Like bubbles during a rainstorm, worldly experiences appear briefly and vanish, yet they produce lasting impressions of reality in the minds of those who lack discernment. Even virtues and values, once radiant, decline with time, leaving behind emptiness and disillusionment.
Finally, these verses dismantle any lingering sense of permanence even at Cosmic levels. Time itself is depicted as a vast web in which even Divine beings like Brahmā are transient. The ideas of long and short, gain and loss, stability and decay, are all illusory constructs. Ultimately, the passage calls for spiritual awakening through dispassion, wisdom, and insight into the fleeting nature of Existence.
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