Yoga Vashishtha 1.28.33–43
(Mistaking appearance for Reality)
श्रीराम उवाच ।
घटस्य पटता दृष्टा पटस्यापि घटस्थितिः।
न तदस्ति न यद्दृष्टं विपर्यस्यति संसृतौ ॥ ३३ ॥
तनोत्युत्पादयत्यत्ति निहत्यासृजति क्रमात् ।
सततं रात्र्यहानीव निवर्तन्ते नरं प्रति ॥ ३४ ॥
अशूरेण हतः शूर एकेनापि हतं शतम्।
प्राकृताः प्रभुतां याताः सर्वमावर्त्यते जगत् ॥ ३५ ॥
जनतेयं विपर्यासमजस्रमनुगच्छति ।
जडस्पन्दपरामर्शात्तरङ्गाणामिवावली ॥ ३६ ॥
बाल्यमल्पदिनैरेव यौवनश्रीस्ततो जरा ।
देहेऽपि नैकरूपत्वं कास्था बाह्येषु वस्तुषु ॥ ३७ ॥
क्षणमानन्दितामेति क्षणमेति विषादिताम् ।
क्षणं सौम्यत्वमायाति सर्वस्मिन्नटवन्मनः ॥ ३८ ॥
इतश्चान्यदितश्चान्यदितश्चान्यदयं विधिः ।
रचयन्वस्तुनायाति खेदं लीलास्विवार्भकः ॥ ३९ ॥
चिनोत्युत्पादयत्यत्ति निहत्यासृजति क्रमात् ।
सततं रात्र्यहानीव निवर्तन्ते नरं प्रति ॥ ४० ॥
आविर्भावतिरोभावभागिनो भवभागिनः।
जनस्य स्थिरतां यान्ति नापदो न च संपदः ॥ ४१ ॥
कालः क्रीडत्ययं प्रायः सर्वमापदि पातयन् ।
हेलाविचलिताशेषचतुराचारचञ्चुरः ॥ ४२ ॥
समविषमविपाकतो विभिन्नास्त्रिभुवनभूतपरम्पराफलौघाः ।
समयपवनपातिताः पतन्ति प्रतिदिनमाततसंसृतिद्रुमेभ्यः ॥ ४३ ॥
Sriram said:
33. "One sees the cloth in the pot and the pot in the cloth—yet that which is seen does not truly exist. This is the nature of transmigration, ever in reversal and contradiction."
34. "It creates, it gives rise, it consumes, it destroys, and it gives rise again—this cycle continues ceaselessly for each individual, just like day and night."
35. "A brave warrior may fall to a coward; a hundred may be slain by one. The ordinary attain power, and the world turns upon itself in endless cycles."
36. "This human race perpetually follows delusion, stirred by the dull movement of inertial tendencies, like a series of waves arising in succession."
37. "Childhood passes in a few days, then comes the bloom of youth, and later, old age. The body assumes many forms, just as external objects are never fixed."
38. "In one moment, the mind delights; in the next, it grieves. One moment it is gentle and serene—like an actor, it assumes many moods."
39. "Here something, there something else—this is how the world process behaves. Like a child playing with toys, it creates and tires of things with equal abandon."
40. "It (Time) shapes, it produces, it consumes, it destroys, and it creates again. Ceaselessly, like the turning of day and night, it operates upon the individual."
41. "All beings subject to the cycles of appearing and disappearing are bound to the processes of becoming. Stability does not belong to either adversity or fortune."
42. "Time plays with the world like a mischievous child, casting all into ruin—toppling the clever and the wicked with equal force, in mere sport."
43. "The streams of karmic fruit across the three worlds, whether sweet or bitter, fall daily from the trees of rebirth—uprooted by the wind of Time."
Summary of the Teachings:
These verses from the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha offer a deep contemplation on the transitory and illusory nature of worldly phenomena. They emphasize the unreliability of perception, showing how things that appear to exist may not hold true substance. This reflects a central theme of Māyā—the cosmic illusion—which causes Beings to mistake appearance for Reality, leading them into the ever-turning wheel of saṃsāra, or worldly existence.
The second core teaching revolves around the cyclical nature of life. Creation, destruction, and rebirth occur repeatedly and inevitably, much like the alternation of day and night. Nothing remains fixed—neither the body, emotions, relationships, nor even events like victory or defeat. Time enforces a relentless rhythm, wherein Beings are born, grow, age, die, and are reborn, with no rest or permanence.
The text also reflects on the unpredictable reversals in worldly experience. A weak person may defeat the strong; the lowly may ascend to high status. These events underscore the unreliability of social and personal achievements, revealing the hand of fate or kāla (Time) that disrupts all stability and overturns conventional logic.
A profound psychological insight is presented through the description of the mind’s ever-shifting states. The mind flickers rapidly from joy to sorrow, from gentleness to agitation. It is portrayed as a stage actor, performing various roles but never remaining in one state. This instability renders all attempts at lasting satisfaction within the mind fundamentally unreliable.
Finally, the verses portray Time (kāla) as the ultimate player—capricious, powerful, and utterly impartial. Time is not a passive backdrop but an active force that upturns all efforts, scattering the fruits of karma like wind through trees. In this portrayal, both adversity and fortune are fleeting, and liberation lies in rising above this endless game through Inner Wisdom and detachment.
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