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Yoga Vashishtha 3.102.21–31
(The body is perishable while the Self is Eternal and Unchanging)
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।
यः कुण्डवदरन्यायो यो घटाकाशयोः क्रमः।
स्थितिर्देहात्मनोः सैव सविनाशाविनाशयोः ॥ २१॥
बदरं हस्तमायाति यथा स्फुटति कुण्डके।
आत्मा गगनमायाति तथा चलति देहके ॥ २२॥
कुम्भे गच्छत्यकुम्भत्वं कुम्भाकाशो यथाम्बरे।
तिष्ठत्येवमयं क्षीणे देहे देही निरामयः ॥ २३॥
मनोदेहो हि जन्तूनां देशकालतिरोहितः।
मुहुर्मृतिपटाच्छन्नः शठे किं परिदेवना ॥ २४॥
देशकालतिरोधाने मूढोऽपि मरणे नरः।
किं बिभेति महाबाहो नेह पश्यति कश्चन ॥ २५॥
अतस्त्वं वासनां राम मिथ्यैवाहमिति स्थिताम्।
त्यज पक्षीश्वरो व्योमगमनोत्क इवाण्डकम् ॥ २६॥
एषा हि मानसी शक्तिरिष्टानिष्टनिबन्धनी।
अनयैव मुधा भ्रान्त्या स्वप्नवत्परिकल्पना ॥ २७॥
अविद्यैषा दुरन्तैषा दुःखायैषा विवर्धते।
अपरिज्ञायमानैषा तनोतीदमसन्मयम् ॥ २८॥
एषा तुच्छवदाकाशं तुषारमलिनं यथा।
परिपश्यति विभ्रान्ता स्वरूपस्य स्वभावतः ॥ २९॥
असदेवेदमारम्भमन्थरं सदिवोत्थितम्।
कल्पितं जगदाभोगि दीर्घस्वप्न इवैतया ॥ ३०॥
भावनामात्र एवास्याः स्वरूपं कर्तृतां गतम्।
जगन्नामाविलं चक्षुर्व्योम्नि बिम्बरुचामिव ॥ ३१॥
Sage Vashishta continued:
3.102.21–31
> The same rule that applies to a berry inside a pot, and to the space inside a pot, also applies to the body and the Self: one is perishable, the other is not.
> Just as a berry comes into the hand when the pot breaks, so the Self enters Pure Space when the body moves or falls.
> Just as the space inside a pot becomes one with the open sky when the pot is broken, so the Self remains free from all harm when the body wastes away.
> The mind and body of living Beings are hidden by place and time, and are repeatedly covered by the veil of death. Why then grieve for the foolish?
> Even a foolish person fears death when place and time hide the body. O mighty-armed one, no one truly sees anything here.
> Therefore, O Rama, give up the false idea “I am this body,” just as a great bird leaves its egg-shell in its eagerness to fly through the sky.
> This power of the mind binds us to what is liked and disliked. Through this empty delusion it creates the World like a dream.
> This ignorance is endless and grows only to cause sorrow. When it is not understood, it spreads this unreal world.
> This ignorance, restless by nature, sees empty space as if it were filled with mist, just as a confused mind sees its own nature wrongly.
> This unreal World rises slowly and appears real. The whole expanse of the World is imagined by it, like a long dream.
> Its very nature is only thought, yet it takes on the role of the doer. The entire World is like the many images of the Sun that appear in the sky when the eyes blink.
Summary of the teachings:
These verses teach that the body is perishable while the Self is Eternal and Unchanging. The body is compared to a pot or a vessel that holds something greater; when the pot breaks, the space or the fruit inside is not destroyed. In the same way, when the body dies, the Self simply becomes free and remains pure, without any harm or change.
Fear of death and grief over the body arise only from ignorance and false identification with the body. The mind and body appear and disappear according to place and time, covered again and again by death. A wise person does not waste energy mourning what is temporary and has no real substance.
The root of suffering is the false sense of “I am the body.” This idea must be completely abandoned, just as a bird ready to fly leaves behind the shell of its egg. Once this false notion is dropped, the Self is free to rest in its True Nature.
The mind itself creates the appearance of the world through its own power. It binds us to likes and dislikes and projects a dream-like reality that seems solid. This ignorance is endless and keeps growing as long as it is not clearly understood, spreading an unreal World full of sorrow.
In truth, the World is nothing but a mental construction, like a long dream or like many Suns appearing in the sky when the eyes blink. Its only substance is thought. When this is seen clearly, the false sense of doership and the entire World of suffering dissolve, leaving the pure, unharmed Self.
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