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Yoga Vashishtha 3.29.47–60
(These verses describe a profound spiritual journey undertaken by Queen Lila and Goddess Sarasvati through increasingly subtle layers of Cosmic Reality)
लीलोवाच ।
तद्देवि भास्करादीनां क्वाधस्तेजो गतं वद ।
शिलाजठरनिष्पन्दं मुष्टिग्राह्यं तमः कुतः ॥ ४७ ॥
श्रीदेव्युवाच ।
एतावतीमिमां व्योम्नः पदवीमागतासि भोः ।
अर्कादीन्यपि तेजांसि यतो दृश्यन्त एव नो ॥ ४८ ॥
यथा महान्धकूपाधः खद्योतो नावलोक्यते ।
पृष्ठगेन तथेहातो नाधः सूर्योऽवलोक्यते ॥ ४९ ॥
लीलोवाच ।
अहो नु पदवीं दूरमावामेतामुपागते।
सूर्योऽप्यधोणुकणवन्न मनागपि लक्ष्यते ॥ ५० ॥
इत उत्तरमन्या स्यात्पदवी का नु कीदृशी ।
कथं च मातरेतव्या कथ्यतामिति देवि मे ॥ ५१ ॥
श्रीदेव्युवाच ।
इत उत्तरमग्रे ते ब्रह्माण्डपुटकर्परम् ।
यस्य चन्द्रादयो नाम धूलिलेशाः समुत्थिताः ॥ ५२ ॥
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
इति प्रकथयन्त्यौ ते प्राप्ते ब्रह्माण्डकर्परम् ।
भ्रमर्याविव शैलस्य कुड्यं निबिडमण्डपम् ॥ ५३ ॥
अक्लेशेनैव ते तस्मान्निर्गते गगनादिव।
निश्चयस्थं हि यद्वस्तु तद्वज्रगुरु नेतरत् ॥ ५४ ॥
निरावरणविज्ञाना सा ददर्श ततस्ततम्।
जलाद्यावरणं पारे ब्रह्माण्डस्यातिभासुरम् ॥ ५५ ॥
ब्रह्माण्डाद्दशगुणतस्तोयं तत्र व्यवस्थितम् ।
आस्थितं वेष्टयित्वा तु त्वगिवाक्षोटपृष्ठगा ॥ ५६ ॥
तस्माद्दशगुणो वह्निस्तस्माद्दशगुणोऽनिलः ।
ततो दशगुणं व्योम ततः परममम्बरम् ॥ ५७ ॥
तस्मिन्परमके व्योम्नि मध्याद्यन्तविकल्पनाः ।
न काश्चन समुद्यन्ति वन्ध्यापुत्रकथा इव ॥ ५८ ॥
केवलं विततं शान्तं तदनादि गतभ्रमम्।
आद्यन्तमध्यरहितं महत्यात्मनि तिष्ठति ॥ ५९ ॥
आकल्पमुत्तमबलेन शिला पतेच्चेत्तस्मिन्बलात्पतगराडपि चोत्पतेच्चेत् ।
तद्योजनं न लभते विमलेऽम्बरेऽन्तर्माकल्पमेकजवगोऽप्यथ मारुतोऽपि ॥ ६० ॥
Queen Lila said:
3.29.47
> O Goddess, tell me where the light of the sun and others has gone below. How can there be darkness here that is still like stone in the belly and can be grasped by the fist?
The Goddess said:
3.29.48–49
> You have now reached this far extent in the sky, O dear one. Even the lights of the sun and others are no longer visible to us.
> Just as a firefly at the bottom of a great dark well is not seen from above, so here the sun below is not visible from our position behind it.
Queen Lila said:
3.29.50–51
> Alas, we have traveled so far on this path! Even the sun appears tiny like a particle and is hardly visible at all.
> What kind of path lies further ahead from here? How should it be understood, O Goddess? Please tell me.
The Goddess said:
3.29.52
> Beyond this, ahead of you, is the shell or covering of the Universe (brahmanda-karpura). In it, the moon, sun, and others rise like tiny specks of dust.
Sage Vasishtha said:
3.29.53–60
> As they spoke thus, they reached the shell of the Universe, like bees reaching the dense vaulted hall of a mountain cave.
> Without any effort, they emerged from it, just as from the sky. Whatever is firmly established in Reality is as hard as diamond; nothing else is.
> Then, with unobstructed Knowledge, she saw beyond that the brilliant covering of water surrounding the Universe on the other side.
> Beyond the Universe is water, ten times greater in extent, placed there and enveloping it like the skin covering the surface of a castor-oil seed.
> Beyond that is fire, ten times greater; beyond that, air ten times greater; beyond that, space ten times greater; and then the supreme ether.
> In that Supreme Ether, no notions of middle, beginning, or end arise at all, just like stories of a barren woman's son.
> It is only vast, peaceful, beginningless, free from illusion, without beginning, end, or middle, and it exists in the Great Self.
> Even if a stone were thrown with utmost force into it for an entire kalpa, or if the king of birds flew upward with full speed, or even if wind moved with the speed of one jump for a kalpa, it would not reach even a yojana's distance within that Pure Ether.
Summary of the teachings:
These verses describe a profound spiritual journey undertaken by Queen Lila and Goddess Sarasvati through increasingly subtle layers of Cosmic Reality. Beginning from the visible world where the sun's light seems to vanish below, the dialogue illustrates how ordinary perception is limited. What appears as vast darkness or tiny specks (like the sun from afar) reveals the illusory nature of sensory experience. The teaching emphasizes that physical light and objects lose their grandeur as Consciousness ascends, showing the world as a small, localized phenomenon within Infinite Space.
The journey reaches the "shell of the brahmanda" (Cosmic egg or Universe), portrayed as a dense, cave-like enclosure. Emerging from it effortlessly symbolizes transcending the boundaries of the manifested Universe through Pure Awareness. The firm "diamond-like" Reality refers to the Unchanging Truth of the Self, contrasting with the relative, penetrable nature of cosmic structures. This teaches that spiritual progress involves piercing illusions without force, as True Knowledge naturally overcomes limitations.
Beyond the manifested world lie successive coverings (Water, Fire, Air, Space, and Supreme Ether), each ten times larger than the previous, echoing traditional cosmological models. These layers represent progressively subtler elements enveloping the gross world, like skins around a seed. The teaching conveys that the material Cosmos is finite and enclosed, while the path of inquiry leads to ever-expanding subtlety, revealing the Universe as a mere bubble in Infinite Consciousness.
In the Supreme Ether (paramam ambaram), all dualistic notions—beginning, middle, end—cease entirely, comparable to nonexistent tales (like a barren woman's son). This State is vast, tranquil, eternal, and illusion-free, abiding in the great Atman. The verses teach non-dual Advaita Reality: Ultimate Truth is Attri, Boundless Awareness where Time, Space, and Causation dissolve.
The final verse dramatically illustrates the Infinity of this Supreme Ether: no motion—whether a stone hurled for eons, a mighty bird flying, or wind rushing—can cover even a tiny fraction of it. This underscores the incomprehensibility of the Absolute; all effort, time, and movement are insignificant before the eternal, unmoving Self. The overall teaching inspires detachment from the finite world, urging Realization of one's identity with this limitless, peaceful Consciousness beyond all layers and illusions.
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