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Yoga Vashishtha 3.42.14–24
(These verses continue the central teaching of Yoga Vasishta that the entire universe is dream-like, lacking Ultimate Reality)
श्रीराम उवाच ।
स्वप्नेऽपि स्वप्नपुरुषा न सत्याः स्युर्मुने यदि ।
वद तत्को भवेद्दोषो मायामात्रशरीरिणि ॥ १४ ॥
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
स्वप्ने न पुरवास्तव्या वस्तुतः सत्यरूपिणः ।
प्रमाणमत्र शृणु मे प्रत्यक्षं नाम नेतरत् ॥ १५ ॥
सर्गादावात्मभूर्भाति स्वप्नाभानुभवात्मकः ।
तत्संकल्पकलं विश्वमेव स्वप्नाभमेव तत् ॥ १६ ॥
एवं विश्वमिदं स्वप्नस्तत्र सत्यं भवान्मम ।
यथैव त्वं तथैवान्ये स्वप्ने स्वप्नवरा नृणाम् ॥ १७ ॥
स्वप्ने नगरवास्तव्याः सत्या न स्युरिमे यदि ।
तदिहापि तदाकारे न सत्यं मे मनागपि ॥ १८ ॥
यथाहं तव सत्यात्मा सत्यं सर्व भवेन्मम ।
स्वप्नोपलम्भे संसारे मिथः सिद्ध्यै प्रमेदृशी ॥ १९ ॥
संसारे विपुले स्वप्ने यथा सत्यमहं तव।
यथा त्वमपि मे सत्यं सर्वं स्वप्नेष्विति क्रमः ॥ २० ॥
श्रीराम उवाच ।
स्वप्नद्रष्टरि निर्निद्रे तद्द्रष्टुः स्वप्नपत्तनम् ।
सद्रूपत्वात्तथैवास्ते ममेति भगवन्मतिः ॥ २१ ॥
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
एवमेतत्तथैवास्ते सत्यत्वात्स्वप्रपत्तनम् ।
स्वप्नद्रष्टरि निर्निद्रेऽप्याकाशविशदाकृति ॥ २२॥
एतदास्तामिदं तावद्यज्जाग्रदिव मन्यसे।
विद्धि तत्स्वप्नमेवान्तर्देशकालाद्यपूरकम् ॥ २३ ॥
एवं सर्वमिदं भाति न सत्यं सत्यवत्स्थितम् ।
रञ्जयत्यपि मिथ्यैव स्वप्नस्त्रीसुरतोपमम् ॥ २४ ॥
Maharishi Vashishta continued:
3.42.14–20
> O Sage, if even the people seen in a dream are not real, then tell me, what fault or defect would there be in a being whose body is mere illusion/maya?
> In a dream, the cities and objects are not truly Real in existence. Listen to my direct proof here; there is no other evidence.
> At the beginning of Creation, the self-born (Brahm) shines as the experience of dream-like appearance. That very will/sankalpa becomes the Universe, which is dream-like only.
> Thus this whole Universe is a dream. In it, you are real to me, just as you are. In the same way, others in dreams are dream-people to people.
> If the inhabitants of a city in a dream are not real, then here also, in this similar form, nothing is Real to me even slightly.
> Just as I am Real to you in your True Nature, everything becomes real to me in the dream-like experience of this world, mutually established like this.
> In this vast dream of the world, just as I am real to you, so you are real to me, and everything in dreams follows this sequence.
Sriram said:
3.42.21
> In the dreamer who is free from sleep (the Pure Witness), the city seen in the dream exists as truly Real. My understanding is that it remains so due to its true form.
Maharishi Vashishta said:
3.42.22–24
> Yes, it is exactly so. Due to its reality, the dream-city exists truly even in the sleepless dreamer, appearing clear like the sky.
> Let this be as it is for now—the one you think of as the waking state. Know that it is only a dream inside, filling Space, Time, and so on.
> In this way, everything appears but is not truly Real, though it seems established as real. It delights falsely, like the pleasure with a woman in a dream.
Detailed Summary of the Teachings:
Sriram questions the implications if dream-figures are unreal—does this imply some flaw in the illusory nature of embodied Beings? Vasishta explains that just as dream-cities and people have no substantial existence, the waking world has no true reality either. The only valid proof is direct perception (pratyaksha), showing how creation arises as a dream-like manifestation from the self-luminous Consciousness at the dawn of existence.
The dialogue emphasizes non-difference between waking and dreaming States. The Universe emerges from the sankalpa (will or conception) of Pure Consciousness (Brahm or the Self-born), making it appear real but remaining dream-like in essence. Rama and Vasishta mutually affirm each other's "reality" within this dream-framework, illustrating how beings seem real to one another through mutual projection, yet none possesses independent existence.
The teaching highlights interdependence and relativity of reality. What appears real in one state (waking to the dreamer) is unreal in another (dream to the waker). If dream-inhabitants are false, the same logic applies to the waking world—no part of it holds even the slightest truth. This mutual establishment (mithah siddhi) shows how the mind creates and sustains illusions through belief and perception.
Rama reflects that even in the pure, sleepless Witness (the Atman free from ignorance), the dream-city appears to have true form due to its apparent reality. Vasishta affirms this: the dream retains its seeming truth within the dreamer's Consciousness, vast and clear like Space. Yet ultimately, what is taken as waking life is itself an inner dream, pervaded by Space, Time, and other categories that fill it artificially.
The conclusion reinforces the illusory nature of all phenomena. Everything shines or appears as if real but stands without true substance, entertaining and deluding like dream-pleasures (e.g., union with a dream-woman). The world, though captivating, is mithya (false appearance), urging the seeker to recognize its dream-like quality to transcend attachment and Realize the Unchanging Reality beyond.
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