Chapter 3.20, Verses 31–41

Yoga Vashishtha 3.20.31–41

(The dreamer and the dreamed world are both Consciousness alone)

श्रीदेव्युवाच ।

अनुभूय क्षणं जीवो मिथ्यामरणमूर्च्छनम् ।

विस्मृत्य प्राक्तनं भावमन्यं पश्यति सुव्रते ॥ ३१ ॥

तदेवोन्मेषमात्रेण व्योम्न्येव व्योमरूप्यपि ।

आधेयोऽयमिहाधारे स्थितोऽहमिति चेतति ॥ ३२ ॥

हस्तपादादिमान्देहो ममायमिति पश्यति ।

यदेव चेतति वपुस्तदेवेदं स पश्यति ॥ ३३ ॥

एतस्याहं पितुः पुत्रो वर्षाण्येतानि सन्ति मे ।

इमे मे बान्धवा रम्या ममेदं रम्यमास्पदम् ॥ ३४ ॥

जातोऽहमभवं बालो वृद्धिं यातोऽहमीदृशः ।

बान्धवाश्चास्य मे सर्वे तथैव विचरन्त्यमी ॥ ३५ ॥

चित्ताकाशघनैकत्वात्स्वेऽप्यन्येऽपि भवन्ति ते ।

एवं नामोदितेऽप्यस्य चित्ते संसारखण्डके ॥ ३६ ॥

न किंचिदप्यभ्युदितं स्थितं व्योमैव निर्मलम् ।

स्वप्ने द्रष्टरि यद्वच्चित्तद्वद्दृश्ये चिदेव सा ॥ ३७ ॥

सर्वगैकतया यस्मात्सा स्वप्ने दृष्टदर्शना ।

यथा स्वप्ने तथोदेति परलोकदृगादिभिः ॥ ३८ ॥

परलोके यथोदेति तथैवेहाभ्युदेति सा ।

तत्स्वप्नपरलोकेह लोकानामसतां सताम् ॥ ३९ ॥

न मनागपि भेदोऽस्ति वीचीनामिव वारिणि ।

अतो जातमिदं विश्वमजातत्वादनाशि च ॥ ४० ॥

स्वरूपत्वात्तु नास्त्येव यच्च भाति चिदेव सा ।

यथैव चेत्यनिर्हीणा परमव्योमरूपिणी ॥ ४१ ॥

Goddess Saraswati continued:

3.20.31: The living being experiences for a moment the false death and fainting, forgets the previous State, and sees another one, O good-vowed one.

3.20.32: With just that slight awakening, like space appearing in space, it thinks: "I am this content placed here in the container."

3.20.33: It sees the body with hands, feet, and so on as "this is mine," and whatever body it imagines, that very one it perceives.

3.20.34: "I am the son of this father, these many years are mine, these are my pleasant relatives, this pleasant abode is mine."

3.20.35: "I was born, I became a child, I grew up in this way, and all my relatives behave in the same manner."

3.20.36: Because of Oneness with the dense mind-space, others also become the same for oneself. Even when the mind, this fragment of the world, arises in this way,

3.20.37: Nothing at all has arisen; it remains Pure Space alone. Just as in a dream for the dreamer, so in the seen object, it is Consciousness alone.

3.20.38: Because it is all-pervading oneness, it is the Seer of what is seen in the dream. It arises in the same way with visions of the other world and so on.

3.20.39-41: It arises in the other world just as it arises here in this world. Therefore, in dream, other world, and this world, for the worlds that are unreal and Real, there is not even the slightest difference, like waves in water. Therefore, this Universe, because it is unborn, is indestructible. But because of its True Nature, it does not exist at all, yet what appears is Consciousness alone, just as it is the Supreme Space devoid of thoughts.

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses from the Yoga Vasishta, spoken by Goddess Saraswati, explain the illusory nature of rebirth and the world, emphasizing that everything arises from Pure Consciousness, similar to a dream.

In the first part, the jiva (individual soul) experiences a momentary false death, forgets its prior existence, and immediately identifies with a new body and life. It perceives hands, feet, family, age, and possessions as its own, creating a sense of personal history and relationships that feel Real but are newly imagined each time.

This identification happens instantly upon "awakening" in the new state, like forms appearing in empty space. The mind projects relatives and the world as extensions of itself due to its dense, condensed nature, but in Reality, nothing new truly arises—the underlying Space (Consciousness) remains Pure and unchanged.

The verses compare this to a dream: the dreamer and the dreamed world are both Consciousness alone. There is no fundamental difference between experiences in dreams, the afterlife, and this waking life—all are appearances in the same undivided Consciousness.

Ultimately, the world has no Real birth, hence no destruction; it seems to exist but does not, as its Essence is only the thought-free, Infinite Consciousness. This teaches non-dual reality where apparent multiplicity is illusion. True Freedom comes from recognizing this: the seeming individual life cycle is false projection, and resting in Pure Awareness ends the cycle of illusion.