Chapter 3.21, Verses 1–7

Yoga Vashishtha 3.21.1–7

(Consciousness operates dualistically: creating the sense of experience from nothing and generating memories without actual prior events)

 

श्रीदेव्युवाच ।

प्रतिभान्ति जगन्त्याशु मृतिमोहादनन्तरम् ।

जीवस्योन्मीलनादक्ष्णो रूपाणीवाखिलान्यलम् ॥ १ ॥

दिक्कालकलनाकाशधर्मकर्ममयानि च।

परिस्फुरन्त्यनन्तानि कल्पान्तस्थैर्यवन्ति च ॥ २ ॥

नानुभूतं न यद्दृष्टं तन्मया कृतमित्यपि।

तत्क्षणात्स्मृतितामेति स्वप्ने स्वमरणं यथा ॥ ३ ॥

भ्रान्तिरेवमनन्तेयं चिद्व्योमव्योम्नि भासुरा ।

अपकुड्या जगन्नाम्नी नगरी कल्पनात्मिका ॥ ४ ॥

इदं जगदयं सर्गः स्मृतिरेवेति जृम्भते।

दूरकल्पक्षणाभ्यासविपर्यासैकरूपिणी ॥ ५ ॥

नानुभूतानुभूता च ज्ञप्तिरित्थं द्विरूपिणी ।

पूर्वकारणरिक्तैव चिद्रूपैव प्रवर्तते ॥ ६॥

नानुभूतेऽनुभूतत्वसंविदन्तरुदेत्यपि ।

स्वप्नभ्रमादावन्यस्मिन्पितरीव पितुः स्मृतिः ॥ ७ ॥

Goddess Saraswati said:

3.21.1: Worlds appear suddenly right after the death and delusion of the jiva, just like various forms fully appear when the jiva's eyes open.

3.21.2: Infinite worlds, made of directions, Time, divisions, Space, laws, and actions, sparkle vividly and remain stable until the end of the kalpa.

3.21.3: Whatever has not been experienced or seen before suddenly comes into memory at that moment as if "I did this," just like remembering one's own death in a dream.

3.21.4: This endless illusion shines brightly in the vast sky of Consciousness —it is a false city called "world," entirely made of imagination, like a mirage.

3.21.5: "This is the world, this is Creation"—it expands like this, taking the form of perversion through repeated practice of distant imagined moments.

3.21.7: Knowledge appears in two forms: as experienced even though not experienced before, and as Awareness. It functions purely as Consciousness, empty of prior Causes.

3.21.7: Even in something not experienced, the Awareness of it as experienced arises inside—like in a dream or illusion, the memory of a father arises in another context as the father's memory.

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses, spoken by Goddess Saraswati in the Yoga Vasishta, explain the illusory nature of the world and how it arises purely from the mind and memory of Consciousness.

The first two verses describe how entire universes manifest instantly after the "death" or end of delusion in one State of the jiva (individual soul). They appear complete with all elements like space, time, directions, and karmic laws, lasting stably for cosmic cycles. This teaches that worlds are not solid or independently real but sudden projections, similar to opening one's eyes and seeing forms.

The third verse illustrates that memories of unexperienced events arise spontaneously, claiming "I did this," akin to vividly recalling one's death in a dream. It emphasizes that past lives, actions, and experiences are fabricated by the mind in the moment, without any prior real basis.

The fourth and fifth verses 

portray the world as an infinite delusion shining within the vast expanse of Pure Consciousness. It is compared to an imaginary city built on faulty walls—a mirage-like creation of pure fancy. The world "expands" through habitual misidentification and repeated mental distortions over imagined time, reinforcing the illusion.

The sixth and seventh verses delve deeper into how 

Consciousness operates dualistically: creating the sense of experience from nothing and generating memories without actual prior events. This dual awareness arises empty of real causes, like dream memories or illusions where unrelated things trigger false recollections. Ultimately, all proceeds from formless Consciousness alone.

Together, these teachings convey Advaita Vedanta's core insight: the world is a mental fabrication, born of delusion and memory in Consciousness, with no independent existence.