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Yoga Vashishtha 3.57.38–54
(These verses deepen the teaching that the world perceived by ordinary people is accepted as Real simply due to habit and lack of inquiry)
श्रीराम उवाच ।
अनन्तर ये वास्तव्या लीलां पश्यन्ति ते यदि।
तत्सत्यसंकल्पतया बुध्यन्ते किमतः प्रभो ॥ ३८॥
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
एवं ज्ञास्यन्ति ते राज्ञी स्थितेयमिह दुःखिता।
वयस्या काचिदन्येयं कुतोऽप्यस्या उपागता ॥ ३९॥
संदेहः क इवात्रैषां पशवो ह्यविवेकिनः।
यथादृष्टं विचेष्टन्ते कुत एषां विचारणा ॥ ४०॥
यथा लोष्टो लुठद्वृक्षं वञ्चयित्वाशु गच्छति।
अज्ञानत्वेऽजपशवस्तथा ह्यस्ति पुरादिकम् ॥ ४१॥
यथा स्वप्नवपुर्बोधान्न जाने क्वेव गच्छति।
असत्यमेव तद्यस्मात्तथैवेहाधिभौतिकम् ॥ ४२॥
श्रीराम उवाच ।
भगवन्स्वप्नशिखरी प्रबोधे क्वेव गच्छति।
इति मे संशयं छिन्धि शरदभ्रमिवानिलः ॥ ४३॥
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
स्वप्नभ्रमेऽथ संकल्पे पदार्थाः पर्वतादयः।
संविदोऽन्तर्मिलन्त्येते स्पन्दनान्यनिले यथा ॥ ४४॥
अस्पन्दस्य यथा वायोः सस्पन्दोऽन्तर्विशत्यलम्।
अनन्यात्मा तथैवायं स्वप्नार्थः संविदो मलम् ॥ ४५॥
स्वप्नाद्यर्थावभासेन संविदेव स्फुरत्यलम्।
अस्फुरन्ती तु तेनैव यात्येकत्वं तदात्मिका ॥ ४६॥
संवित्स्वप्नार्थयोर्द्वित्वं न कदाचन लभ्यते।
यथा द्रवत्वपयसोर्यथा वा स्पन्दवातयोः ॥ ४७॥
यस्तत्र स्यादिवाबोधस्तदज्ञानमनुत्तमम्।
सैषासंसृतिरित्युक्ता मिथ्याज्ञानात्मिकोदिता ॥ ४८॥
सहकारिकारणानामभावे किल कीदृशी।
संवित्स्वप्नपदार्थानां द्विता स्वप्ने निरर्थिका ॥ ४९॥
यथा स्वप्नस्तथा जाग्रदिदं नास्त्यत्र संशयः।
स्वप्ने पुरमसद्भाति सर्गादौ भात्यसज्जगत् ॥ ५०॥
न चार्थो भवितुं शक्यः सत्यत्वे स्वप्नतोदितः।
संविदो नित्यसत्यत्वं स्वप्नार्थानामसत्यता ॥ ५१॥
झटित्येव यथाकाशं भवति स्वप्नपर्वतः।
क्रमेण वा तथा बोधे खं भवत्याधिभौतिकम् ॥ ५२॥
उड्डीनोऽयं मृतो वेति पश्यन्ति निकटस्थिताः।
ज्ञमातिवाहिकीभूतं स्वस्वभावहता यतः ॥ ५३॥
मिथ्यादृष्टय एवेमाः सृष्टयो मोहदृष्टयः।
मायामात्रदृशो भ्रान्तिः शून्याः स्वप्नानुभूतयः ॥ ५४॥
Sriram asks:
3.57.38
> When people later see the events of Lila, do they understand them as Real because of the power of True intention?
Sage Vasistha replies:
3.57.39–42
> They will think, “This queen is here, sorrowful, and this other woman is her companion who has come from somewhere.”
> Why would they have any doubt? People without discrimination behave like animals—they simply act according to what they perceive, without inquiry.
> Just as a clod of earth rolls quickly past a tree without awareness, so too ignorant beings move through cities and experiences without understanding.
> Just as a dream body disappears upon waking and we do not know where it goes, because it was unreal, in the same way the physical world is unreal.
Sriram further asks:
3.57.43
> Where does the mountain seen in a dream go when one awakens? Please remove my doubt like the wind clears autumn clouds.
Sage Vasistha replies:
3.57.44–47
> In dream or imagination, objects like mountains dissolve back into Consciousness, just as movements settle into still air.
> Just as motion subsides into unmoving air, these dream objects merge into Consciousness, which alone remains as their underlying Reality.
> Through the appearance of dream objects, Consciousness seems to shine as if divided. When these appearances cease, it returns to its Unity.
> There is never truly any duality between Consciousness and dream objects, just as there is no separation between water and its fluidity, or air and its movement.
3.57.48–54
> The seeming ignorance that appears there is the root of illusion. This is called samsara—the cycle of existence born of false knowledge.
> Without supporting causes, how can there be any real division between Consciousness and dream objects? Their separation is meaningless.
> Just like a dream, this waking world too is unreal—there is no doubt about it. As a city appears unreal in a dream, so the world appears unreal at Creation.
> What appears in a dream cannot be truly Real. Consciousness alone is eternally Real, while dream objects are unreal.
> Just as a dream mountain instantly becomes empty space, so too, with Awakening, the physical world is known to be like Space.
> Observers nearby may say, “He has flown away” or “He is dead,” but in truth the Knower has become subtle, transcending ordinary nature.
> All these Creations are false perceptions born of delusion. They are mere appearances of illusion, empty like dream experiences.
Summary of Teachings:
Most individuals do not question their perceptions; they take appearances at face value, much like animals reacting instinctively. This unquestioned acceptance gives rise to a shared but illusory sense of Reality.
The analogy of the dream is central here. Just as objects seen in a dream vanish upon waking without leaving a trace, so too the physical world has no independent existence apart from Consciousness. The question of “where things go” after disappearing is answered by understanding that they never truly existed as separate entities.
Consciousness is presented as the sole Reality in which all appearances arise and dissolve. Objects, whether in dreams or waking life, are not separate from Consciousness — they are simply temporary expressions within it. The appearance of duality arises only due to ignorance, not because of any real division.
The teaching also clarifies that samsara, or the cycle of worldly existence, is rooted in this ignorance. When Consciousness is mistakenly seen as divided into subject and object, the illusion of multiplicity arises. Without this ignorance, there is no real separation, and thus no bondage.
Finally, the text asserts that all perceived Creation is fundamentally illusory, like a dream. Even the waking world is no more real than dream experiences. True Knowledge reveals that only Consciousness is Real and unchanging, while all forms and phenomena are empty appearances that arise and dissolve within it.
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