Chapter 3.111, Verses 11–20

Yoga Vashishtha 3.111.11–20

(The work is simply to master one’s own mind, and that this work is both possible and close at hand)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

स्वायत्तं च सुसाध्यं च स्वचित्ताक्रान्तिमात्रकम्।

शक्नुवन्ति न ये कर्तुं धिक्तान्पुरुषजम्बुकान् ॥ ११॥

स्वपौरुषैकसाध्येन स्वेप्सितत्यागरूपिणा।

मनःप्रशममात्रेण विना नास्ति शुभा गतिः ॥ १२॥

मनोमारणमात्रेण साध्येन स्वात्मसंविदा।

निःसपत्नमनाद्यन्तमनिङ्गनमिहोच्यताम् ॥ १३॥

ईप्सितावेदनाख्यात्तु मनःप्रशमनादृते।

गुरूपदेशशास्त्रार्थमन्त्राद्या युक्तयस्तृणम् ॥ १४॥

सर्वं सर्वगतं शान्तं ब्रह्म संपद्यते तदा।

असंकल्पनशस्त्रेण च्छिन्नं चित्तं गतं यदा ॥ १५॥

स्वसंवेदनसाध्येऽस्मिन्संकल्पानर्थशासने।

शान्तायामत्र वपुषि पुंसः कैव कदर्थना ॥ १६॥

नूनं दैवमनादृत्य मूढसंकल्पकल्पितम्।

पुरुषार्थेन संवित्त्या नय चित्तमचित्तताम् ॥ १७॥

तां महापदवीमेकां कामप्यधिगतं चिरम्।

चित्तं चिद्भक्षितं कृत्वा चित्तादपि परो भव ॥ १८॥

भव भावनया युक्तो युक्तः परमया धिया।

धारयात्मानमव्यग्रो ग्रस्तचित्तं ततः परम् ॥ १९॥

परं पौरुषमाश्रित्य नीत्वा चित्तमचित्तताम्।

तां महापदवीमेहि यत्र नाशो न विद्यते ॥ २०॥

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.111.11–14

> Shame on those jackals among men who cannot do what lies in their own power, is easy to achieve, and is nothing more than mastering their own mind.

> There is no good path except the calming of the mind. That calming is won only by one’s own effort, and it takes the form of giving up what one wants.

> By merely ending the mind — an ending reached through Knowledge of one’s own Self — let that State be known here which has no rival, no beginning, no end, and no restlessness.

> Apart from calming the mind, which means not feeling the things one longs for, a teacher’s instruction, the meaning of scripture, mantras, and other methods are only straw.

3.111.15–20

> When the mind is cut off and gone by the weapon of not forming wishes, then everything becomes the peaceful Brahm that is present everywhere.

> In this checking of the harm caused by mental wishes — a checking reached by one’s own awareness — when the body is quiet here, what real trouble remains for a person?

> Surely set aside fate, which is only imagined by a dull person’s fancies. By human effort and by clear awareness, lead the mind into the state of no-mind.

> Let Consciousness swallow the mind. Reach that one great path sought for so long, and become even beyond the mind.

> Be joined with steady contemplation and with the highest understanding. Hold the Self without agitation, the mind already swallowed, and then go beyond.

> Taking refuge in the highest human effort, and having led the mind into the State of no-mind, enter that great path where destruction does not exist.

Summary of the teaching:

These verses place the whole spiritual task inside a person’s own reach. Vasistha does not ask for rare powers or distant conditions. He says the work is simply to master one’s own mind, and that this work is both possible and close at hand. Those who will not attempt even this are compared to jackals among men: creatures who shrink from a task that is already theirs.

The method is equally plain. The mind is calmed by one’s own effort, and that effort consists in dropping desired objects rather than chasing them. Scripture, a teacher’s words, and mantras are not dismissed as useless in themselves, but they are called straw if they do not produce this quieting. What matters is the ending of the feeling of “I want this.” When longing is no longer felt, the mind loses its fuel.

The mind is treated as something that can be ended, not merely managed. Knowledge of one’s own Self is the means of that ending. The State that then remains has no rival passion, no beginning, no end, and no inner shaking. When the weapon of non-wishing cuts the mind away, what is left is not a blank, but the peaceful Reality present in everything. The body may still be here, yet once mental wishes no longer rule, the person is not truly afflicted.

Fate is set aside as a story made by dull imagination. Vasistha asks the listener to rely on human effort and clear awareness, and to carry the mind into a condition where it no longer functions as mind. Consciousness is said to swallow the mind. The seeker is told to stay joined to contemplation and to the highest understanding, holding the Self steady, and then to pass even beyond that swallowed mind.

The closing note is practical and final. Supreme effort is not opposed to freedom; it is the way into it. By that effort the mind is led to no-mind, and the person enters the great path where nothing is destroyed. The teaching of these verses is therefore one continuous instruction: stop feeding desire, cut off mental wishing by your own awareness, refuse the excuse of fate, and rest in the State that neither begins nor ends.